The Abu Hafsah Family of Poets Together with a Critical Edition of the Poetry of Principal Members of the Family

• Main Author: Al-Rasheed, Munierah Muhammad al-Yusuf
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-1980
• Subjects: Middle Eastern literature; Translation studies
• ISBN: 1392262046; 9781392262047

The family of Abu Hafsah was regarded as the most poetic of families for the poetic gift passed by inheritance and was handed down from father to son for ten generations. They all recited verse before the caliphs and received handsome rewards for it. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the origin of the Abu Hafsah family and the careers of its members. It studies the life of each member of the family together with his poetry, his character, and his relationship with the caliphs. For the principal members of the family, the study discusses their life and poetry with a special concentration on Marwan ibn abi Hafsah al-Akbar, who had a relationship with the Umayyad caliphs at first, and then when the caliphate fell into the hands of the 'Abbasids, he contacted Ma'n ibn Za'idah ash-Shaybini, the 'Abbasid wali of the Yaman. He praised him in several poems, and Ma'n was the first who brought him to fame and appreciated him. After the death of Ma'n, Marwan travelled to Baghdad in order to praise the 'Abbasid caliphs. In this stage of his poetic activity we find that his poetic motivation changes from plain panegyric to a political poetry in which he defends the rights of the 'Abb-gsid to the caliphate against the 'Alids. By means of this kind of poetry, Marwan attained wide fame and immense wealth. The thesis then discusses his poetical technique including the structure of his odes, the themes of his poetry and his metres. His grandson Marwan ibn abi al-Janub, although he celebrated the praise of five 'Abbasid caliphs, did not obtain any fame except with al-Mutawakkil, who accepted him as his favourite poet, his boon-companion, and a member of his intimate society; much of this favour stemmed from his clear stance in support of the 'Abbasids in the struggle over the caliphate with their cousins the 'Alids. Following the study of his life, therecomes a study of his poetical technique. Part two is devoted to a collection of the poetry of the family, containing every verse found attributed to them, and showing the differences between the narratives in the sources., whether in the attribution of the verses to them or in placing one word or more in place of another. The alphabetical order is followed for the arrangement of the poetry in their diwan, with a recording of the metre of every poem. Part three is devoted to the notes on the poetry, showing the extraction or talchrij of the poems, explaining all the difficult words, and identifying all the proper names mentioned in the poetry.