Shiir al-Khawarij

Shi'r al-Khawarij (The Poetry of the Kharijites) is an anthology and critical study of early Kharijite verse compiled and edited by the Palestinian scholar Ihsan Abbas (1920–2003 CE) Shiir al-Khawarij+1. The collection brings together the scattered revolutionary, ascetic, and martial poetry of the Kharijite movement from early Islamic history into a single scholarly edition Shiir al-Khawarij.

Background and Purpose

Before Abbas's compilation, modern scholarship on Kharijite literature was largely confined to specialized studies, such as Suhayr al-Qalamawi's Adab al-Khawarij and chapters in broader works like Ahmad al-Shayib's al-Shi'r al-Siyasi fi al-'Asr al-Umawi, Zaki al-Mahasini's al-Firaq al-Islamiyya fi al-Shi'r al-Umawi, and Azmi al-Salihi's monograph on al-Tirrimah ibn Hakim Shiir al-Khawarij+1. Critical evaluation had remained limited because the poetic material was scattered across varied historical, literary, and theological sources Shiir al-Khawarij. Abbas compiled these dispersed texts from both manuscripts and printed works to make them accessible to researchers and stimulate renewed literary analysis Shiir al-Khawarij+1.

Scope and Sources

The anthology gathers Kharijite poetry tied directly to the major historical events spanning from the early conflicts at the Battle of Nahrawan and al-Nukhayla up to the Battle of Qudayd, just before the Battle of the Zab at the close of the Umayyad era Shiir al-Khawarij+1. Abbas noted that most Kharijite poets were fighters rather than professional literary figures and therefore did not leave compiled diwans, with rare exceptions such as al-Tirrimah ibn Hakim, whose diwan survived, and Imran ibn Hittan, of whose poetry only fragments were preserved Shiir al-Khawarij. Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a was also prolific, though no early diwan was assembled for him Shiir al-Khawarij.

To reconstruct the corpus, Abbas drew upon major classical chronicles, adab anthologies, and historical compilations, including the works of al-Tabari, al-Baladhuri (Ansab al-Ashraf), al-Mubarrad (al-Kamil), and al-Biyasi (al-I'lam bi al-Hurub al-Waqi'a fi Sadr al-Islam), alongside anonymous texts such as al-'Uyun wa-l-Hada'iq Shiir al-Khawarij.

Critical Introduction and Analysis

Abbas prefaced the anthology with an introductory study titled "Nazra fi Shi'r al-Khawarij" ("A Look into Kharijite Poetry") Shiir al-Khawarij+1. He characterized Kharijite verse as an ascetic, revolutionary, and impassioned genre marked by extreme piety, in which artistic expression was intimately linked with religious conviction and practical action Shiir al-Khawarij+1. Abbas identified three dominant unifying dimensions in the poetry:

• Unity of aims (wahdat al-ghayat): the shared aspiration of Kharijite fighters to seek martyrdom and death in God's path Shiir al-Khawarij.
• Unity of characteristics (wahdat al-khasa'is): a uniform profile of shared virtues attributed to the idealized believer—such as nocturnal worship, asceticism, and vigilance against sin—which made individual figures appear interchangeable in verse Shiir al-Khawarij.
• Unity of psychological currents (wahdat al-tayyarat al-nafsiyya): a shared sentiment of inner self-reproach whenever an individual felt they fell short of these ideals or delayed joining battle Shiir al-Khawarij+1.

Editions and Editorial Method

The work was first published in Beirut in late 1963 (with Abbas dating the preface in August 1963) Shiir al-Khawarij+1. In late 1974, Abbas issued an expanded second edition through Dar al-Thaqafa in Beirut (with the preface dated March 1974) Shiir al-Khawarij+1.

In the second edition, Abbas made several substantial structural adjustments:

• Added numerous poems discovered in sources accessed after the first edition Shiir al-Khawarij+1.
• Reorganized the corpus chronologically according to historical timeline and events rather than previous groupings Shiir al-Khawarij+1.
• Integrated textual provenance (takhrij), variant manuscript readings, and biographical notices directly into footnotes on the same page as each poem, rather than placing them in separate sections at the end as in the first edition Shiir al-Khawarij+1.
• Provided expanded lexical and historical explanations throughout the notes Shiir al-Khawarij.

Abbas emphasized his role as a faithful collector bound to transmit what appeared in classical sources rather than a literary arbiter selecting only what conformed to personal taste Shiir al-Khawarij.

Supplementation

Following the publication of the second edition, the Iraqi scholar Hilal Naji published a supplementary gathering of Kharijite poetry (istidrak), presenting verses and fragments preserved in classical sources that had not been included in Abbas's collection Shiir al-Khawarij+1.