Risalat al-Tawabi wa al-Zawabi
- Author died
- 426 AH
- Editions
- Dar Sadir lil-Tiba'ah wal-Nashr
Risalat al-Tawabi wa al-Zawabi (The Treatise of Attendant Genies and Demons) is an allegorical and critical literary epistle in Arabic by the Cordoban author and poet Ibn Shuhayd al-Andalusi (382–426 AH / 992–1035 CE) . It depicts a fictional journey to the realm of the jinn (Wadi al-Jinn), where the author confronts the spirit familiars of famous pre-Islamic, early Islamic, and Abbasid poets and prose masters to demonstrate his literary prowess and settle scores with his contemporary critics in Cordoba .
Composition and Context
The epistle is also referred to as Shajarat al-Fukaha ("The Tree of Humor") . In its title, al-tawabi' designates the attendant spirit familiars believed in pre-Islamic lore to inspire human poets, while al-zawabi' refers to demons . Ibn Shuhayd framed the work as an epistle addressed to his friend Abu Bakr Yahya ibn Hazm, who was an elder of literary scholars from a family distinct from that of the jurist Ibn Hazm al-Zahiri .
Because Ibn Shuhayd cites within the text part of his elegy for Hassan ibn Malik, the vizier of Caliph al-Mustazhir who died in 416 AH, the composition of the treatise is dated to 416 AH or slightly later . An earlier hypothesis that it was written in the author's youth rested on mistaking the addressee for the brother of the jurist Ibn Hazm, who died in 401 AH .
A central motivation for the work was polemical and self-vindicatory: Ibn Shuhayd sought to refute detractors in Cordoba who accused him of plagiarism or scrutinized his writings for grammatical and stylistic flaws . In particular, the work directly targets the prominent Cordoban philologist and grammar teacher Ibrahim ibn al-Iflili, along with Abu Bakr Ashkamyat and pedantic teachers whom Ibn Shuhayd ridiculed for prioritizing grammatical minutiae over natural eloquence . By obtaining fictional endorsements from the spirit familiars of both poetic and prose giants, Ibn Shuhayd aimed to overturn the prevailing critical view that a single writer could not achieve equal excellence in both genres .
Narrative Structure and Content
The treatise unfolds across several narrative scenes and assemblies (majalis):
- Encounter with Zuhayr ibn Numir: Ibn Shuhayd opens by describing how, when struck by writer's block while composing verses, his own attendant spirit, Zuhayr ibn Numir from the jinn tribe of Ashja' (matching Ibn Shuhayd's own ancestral tribe), appeared on a black horse, completed his lines, and taught him verses to invoke him whenever needed . Zuhayr then carries him on horseback through the skies into the supernatural realm of the jinn .
- The Assembly of Poets: Guided by Zuhayr, Ibn Shuhayd visits the spirits of ancient and modern masters, beginning with 'Utayba ibn Nawfal, the jinni of Imru' al-Qays, followed by the familiars of Tarafa ibn al-Abd, Qays ibn al-Khatim, Umar ibn Abi Rabi'a, Abu Nuwas, and al-Mutanabbi . In each encounter, the spirits recite their poetry, Ibn Shuhayd responds with his own original compositions or poetic imitations (mu'aradat), and they grant him authorizations (ijazat) confirming his superiority .
- The Assembly of Prose Writers: Ibn Shuhayd interviews the spirits of classical prose stylists, including Abd al-Hamid al-Katib, al-Jahiz, and Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani (whose jinni is named Zubdat al-Huqub) . He presents his own descriptive essays on topics such as cold, fire, wood, sweets (halwa), a flea, and a fox, and defends Andalusian rhymed prose (saj') against al-Jahiz's jinni, earning their recognition as both an accomplished poet and orator .
- Critical Debates on Literary Borrowing: He converses with the jinn Fatik ibn al-Saq'ab and Fir'awn ibn al-Jawn on the circulation and borrowing of poetic motifs (akhdh al-ma'ani), formulating critical rules on how a later poet should handle inherited ideas .
- The Jinn Animals and Satire: Traveling to a pool frequented by jinn donkeys and mules, Ibn Shuhayd arbitrates between love poems composed by a lovesick donkey and mule . A veiled gray she-mule unmasks herself as the former mule of his friend Abu 'Isa, prompting a bittersweet conversation on the changing fortunes of their companions in Cordoba . He then encounters a white goose named al-'Aqila (Umm Khafif), the spirit of a pedantic grammarian, who attempts to cross-examine him on syntax and obscure vocabulary (gharib); Ibn Shuhayd rebukes her foolishness and asserts the supremacy of innate intellect over dry pedantry . Finally, he confronts Anf al-Naqa, the spirit of Ibn al-Iflili, who is silenced after Ibn Shuhayd recites stunning verses .
Transmission and Literary Influence
The complete original manuscript of Risalat al-Tawabi wa al-Zawabi has not survived; it is known primarily through the extensive sections preserved by Ibn Bassam al-Shantarini in his anthology al-Dhakhira fi Mahasin Ahl al-Jazira . Ibn Bassam noted that he truncated his transcription because Ibn Shuhayd's text extended into lengthy elaboration .
Ibn Shuhayd drew inspiration from Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani's al-Maqama al-Iblisiyya, which had introduced the literary trope of meeting the jinn of poets in their mystical valley . Modern comparative literary scholarship frequently analyzes Risalat al-Tawabi wa al-Zawabi alongside Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri's Risalat al-Ghufran (Epistle of Forgiveness) and Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy . While scholars debated whether al-Ma'arri or Ibn Shuhayd influenced the other, literary historians note that their subject matters diverge significantly: Ibn Shuhayd drew upon the pagan Arabic tradition of poetic jinn, whereas al-Ma'arri's work was rooted in Islamic eschatology and the afterlife .
Answer updated