Masadir al-Shi'r al-Jahili
- Author died
- 1436 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Maʿārif
Masadir al-Shi'r al-Jahili (full title: Masadir al-Shi'r al-Jahili wa-Qimatuha al-Tarikhiyya, "Sources of Pre-Islamic Poetry and Their Historical Value") is a monograph by Nasir al-Din al-Asad (d. 1436 AH / 2015 CE) examining the writing, oral transmission, compilation, and authenticity of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry .
Background and Purpose
In the introduction to the work, al-Asad relates that his engagement with pre-Islamic poetry began in his youth through memorizing the Mu'allaqat . Prior to entering university, he read Fi al-Shi'r al-Jahili ("On Pre-Islamic Poetry") by Taha Husayn, which prompted him to question the authenticity and historical value of the corpus and led him to investigate its sources from their foundations . The book was published in Cairo by Dar al-Ma'arif in 1956 .
Structure and Content
The work is organized into five main parts (abwab), followed by a conclusion, bibliography, and general indexes :
- Part One: Writing in the Pre-Islamic Era explores the spread of writing among pre-Islamic Arabs, the origins and evolution of the Arabic script, literacy, teachers, scribes, writing implements, materials (such as leather, papyrus, bone, and stone), and the varied subjects recorded in writing prior to Islam . Based on epigraphic inscriptions and early literary reports, the author establishes that northern Arabs knew and used the Arabic script for at least three centuries before Islam in urban centers such as Mecca, Medina, al-Ta'if, al-Hira, and al-Anbar .
- Part Two: Writing and Codifying Pre-Islamic Poetry examines early written records of verse, inferring their existence through rational arguments and explicit historical reports, and traces the subsequent codification (tadwin) of poetry alongside early religious and historical disciplines .
- Part Three: Oral Transmission and Audition traces the continuous chain of oral transmission (riwaya) from the pre-Islamic period through the Umayyad era to the second century AH . It categorizes the classes of transmitters (poet-transmitters, tribal transmitters, master scholars, and forgers) and analyzes the role of the transmission chain (isnad) in literary reports .
- Part Four: Skepticism, Forgery, and Plagiarism opens with a comparative study of the Homeric Question and its parallels with early Arabic poetry . It surveys classical awareness of poetic forgery among early critics such as Ibn Hisham and Ibn Sallam al-Jumahi, critiques modern Western theories including those of D. S. Margoliouth, Charles Lyall, and Giorgio Levi Della Vida, and evaluates the arguments of modern Arab writers such as Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafi'i and Taha Husayn alongside the refutations written against them . It concludes with an appraisal of the schools of Basra and Kufa and key transmitters such as Hammad al-Rawiya, Khalaf al-Ahmar, and al-Asma'i .
- Part Five: Diwans and Literary Compilations surveys the primary textual sources of the poetry, including individual diwans (focusing on Imru' al-Qays and Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma), tribal collections (such as Diwan Hudhayl), major anthologies (al-Mufaddaliyyat, al-Asma'iyyat, al-Hamasa of Abu Tammam, and Jamharat Ash'ar al-'Arab), and poetic citations scattered across grammar, lexicography, biography, and general adab works .
In his analysis of citations in non-poetic treatises (such as the Kitab of Sibawayh, Islah al-Mantiq, and the works of al-Jahiz), al-Asad concludes that while these contain abundant authentic pre-Islamic verses, their authors compiled them strictly for grammatical, lexical, or narrative illustration rather than as primary textual sources for the poets' complete corpora .
Reception
Fuat Sezgin characterized Masadir al-Shi'r al-Jahili as the finest comprehensive standalone work dedicated to the antiquity and authenticity of early Arabic poetry .
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