PROSE Examples of Early Rhymed Prose (Sajâ)
Not everything that rhymes is verse: only metrical, rhymed speech is considered poetry according to traditional Arabic opinion. Non-metrical, rhymed prose is called sajâ. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times it was used for special occasions and genres: pithy sayings, maxims, proverbs, speeches of heightened emotion or for solemn occasions, and for the oracular, often enigmatic, mantic utterances of soothsayers and diviners (kuhhÄn, sg. kÄhin). The early suras of the Qurâan also use rhyme or assonance that resembles the soothsayersâ sajâ, and the Prophet took pains to make it understood that he was neither a poet (shÄâir) nor a soothsayer (kÄhin). In the course of the Abbasid period polished and artful kinds of sajâ were used by epistolographers, chancery scribes, and increasingly in other prose genres, notably the maqÄmah; it is also widely used in book titles.
In Arabic editions rhyming segments are often separated by full stops, even when the sentence runs on. This does not work in English, so I have used asterisks instead to mark these divisions in the pieces below where the sajâ is imitated in translation.
The mother of the pre-Islamic poet-brigand Taâabbaáča SharrÄ, lamenting her son:330
wÄ-bnÄh wa-bna l-layl * laysa bi-zummayl * sharĆ«bun lil-qayl * raqĆ«dun bil-layl * wa-wÄdin dhÄ« hawl * âajazta bil-layl * taážribu bidh-dhayl * bi-rajlin ka-th-thawl
O son, son of the night * he is no coward taking flight * who drinks at noon bright * or sleeps at night * many a wadi full of fright * you crossed at night * shaking your coatâs hem (?)331 * with men like bees in a swarm.
Quss Ibn SÄâidah (legendary pre-Islamic orator), preaching, and apparently foretelling the coming of Islam:332
âayyuhÄ n-nÄsu smaâĆ« * wa-âĆ« * man âÄsha mÄt * wa-man mÄta fÄt * wa-kullu mÄ huwa âÄtin âÄt *âŠ
O people, hear * and be aware! * Whoever lives will die * whoever dies will disappear * and everything that will come to pass will come near! * A dark night * Constellations in the sky * Seas that rise * Stars that shine * Light and darkness * Piety and sins * Eating and drinking * Clothing and mounts for riding * How is it that I see people pass away * and not return? * Are they pleased to stay so they stayed away? * Or have they been abandoned so they went to sleep? * By the God of Quss ibn SÄâidah: there is on the face of the earth no religion better than a religion the time of which has come, with its shade to protect you * and its moment has reached you * Blessed he who reaches it and follows it * Woe to him who opposes it *
A prophecy about the ruler of Kindah (Central Arabia), កujr ibn al-កÄrith (father of the poet Imruâ al-Qays) by âAwf ibn RabÄ«âah, a pre-Islamic kÄhin (soothsayer; first half of the sixth century):333
mani l-maliku l-âaáčŁhab * al-ghallÄbu ghayru l-mughallab * fÄ« l-âibili ka-âannahÄ r-rabrab * lÄ yaâlaqu raâsahu áčŁ-áčŁakhab * hÄdhÄ damuhĆ« yanthaâib * wa-hÄdhÄ ghadan âawwalu man yuslab *
Who is the fair-haired king * unvanquished, vanquishing * amidst camels like a herd advancing * his head unaffected by the clamoring * this oneâs blood will be gushing * and this one will tomorrow be the first for plundering.
Two fragments attributed to Musaylimah, the âfalse prophetâ in the time of Muáž„ammad, who was active in Eastern Arabia and was defeated shortly after Muáž„ammadâs death (the texts sound like a parody of the Qurâan):
ážifdaâu bintu ážifdaâayn * niqqÄ« mÄ taniqqÄ«n * âaâlÄki fÄ« l-mÄâi wa-âasfaluki fÄ« áč-áčÄ«n * lÄ l-mÄâa tukaddirÄ«n * wa-lÄ sh-shÄriba tamnaâÄ«n *334
Frog, daughter of two frogs! * Croak! What are you croaking? * Your top half in the water soaking, * your lower half in the mud poking! * The drinker you rile not, * the water you soil not. * We have half the earth and Quraysh335 the other half, but Quraysh are a hostile lot.
wal-mubdiyÄti zarâÄ * wal-áž„ÄáčŁidÄti áž„aáčŁdÄ * wadh-dhÄriyÄti qamáž„Ä * waáč-áčÄáž„inÄti áčaáž„nÄ * wal-khÄbizÄti khubzÄ *wath-thÄridÄti thardÄ * wal-lÄqimÄti laqmÄ * âihÄlatan wa-samnÄ *336
By the seed-sowing women * and the crop-reaping women * and the wheat- winnowing women * and the flour-milling women * and the bread-baking women * and the bread-broth-sopping women * and the women gobbling morsels * of fat and butter: * You are better than the dwellers in tents of hair. * Nor do the village dwellers take precedence over you. * Your cultivated fields, defend them! * He who addresses you humbly, harbor him! * And the oppressor, oppose him!
Someone about to be beheaded is asked, âAre you scared (a-tajzaâ)?â He replies:337
âin âajzaâ fa-qad âarÄ kafanan manshĆ«rÄ * wa-sayfan mashhĆ«rÄ * wa-qabran maáž„fĆ«rÄ!
Wouldnât I be scared seeing a shroud spread and aired, a sword bared, and a grave prepared!
A Pre-Islamic Tale: The Princess on the Myrtle Leaf (Three Versions)
Three different versions of the same tale are given; there are many more in Arabic.338
I. al-Bayhaqī (early fourth/tenth century).339
They say that al-ážayzan al-GhassÄnÄ«,340 the king of al-កīrah, was attacked by SÄbĆ«r DhĆ« l-AktÄf.341 Al-ážayzan fortified himself and was besieged for a month. They say that Mulaykah,342 the daughter of al-ážayzan, looked at SÄbĆ«r from the city wall343 and fell in love with him. She sent a note344 to him, saying, âI have fallen in love with you and I shall point out to you how to conquer this town.â He replied, âDo that and I will be yours, and at your command!â
Then she got the guardians of the wall drunk and opened the gates.345 SÄbĆ«r entered the town, killed those he could lay his hands on, and took her father prisoner. The following morning SÄbĆ«r ordered that al-ážayzan be brought before him, while he sat on a golden throne with the girl at his side. When al-ážayzan saw her, he wrung his hands, stamped his feet, and fainted. When he came to his senses he said to her, âWhy have you done this? May God blacken your face as you have blackened mine, and may He give him power over you!â
On the orders of SÄbĆ«r, he was beheaded. SÄbĆ«r and his followers captured many spoils and returned to his royal residence. He had a special apartment built for the girl and made her live there. He was much pleased with her and she stayed with him for a year. Then, one night, he called for her and she spent the night with him on a bed filled with feathers. But she was very restless, so he asked her, âWhat is the matter with you, my darling?â
âThere is something rough in the bed that has made me feel uncomfortable.â
He searched the bed and found beneath the feathers a myrtle leaf, and see! This had left a mark on her side of precisely the size of the leaf, because her body was so soft346 and her skin so tender. He said to her, âWhat did your father give you to eat?â
âMarrow347 and bread of the finest wheat flourâmeaning white bread348âwith sugar candy.â349
The king said, âBy God, I shall give you what you deserve!â
He gave orders for her plaits to be fastened to the tails of two horses. They were made to gallop and she was torn to pieces.350
II. Ibn Qutaybah (213/828â276/889).351
I have read in the Histories of the Persians,352 that ArdashÄ«r353 marched against alកaážr (Hatra). The king of Babylonia354 had fortified himself there; he was one of the most powerful of the Successor Kings.355 So ArdashÄ«r besieged him there for some time, unable to find a way to take the town. Then, one day, the daughter of the king of Mesopotamia climbed on the town wall and saw ArdashÄ«r. She fell in love with him, went down, took an arrow and wrote on it: âIf you promise to marry me I will show you a place from where you may conquer this town with the least effort and cost.â Then she shot the arrow toward ArdashÄ«r, who wrote his reply on the arrow: âI promise to do what you have asked.â Then he cast it toward her. She wrote to him, pointing out the place. ArdashÄ«r sent his men there, they breached the town, and he entered with his troops while the townspeople remained unaware. They killed the king and most of the garrison, and ArdashÄ«r married her.
One night, while she was lying on his bed, she felt so uncomfortable that she was sleepless all night long. They searched the bed and found beneath the mattress a myrtle leaf which had left a mark on her body. Thereupon ArdashÄ«r asked her on what food her father had raised her. She said, âMy food was mostly honey, cream, and marrow.â
ArdashÄ«r said, âNobody has been as excessively generous and obliging to you as your father. Since his reward from you has been so evil, despite his great kindness, while being so closely related and deserving great respect, I cannot be sure that you will be not the source of something similar befalling me.â
Then he gave orders for her hair to be fastened to the tail of a very restive, untamable horse, and for it to be run. This was done, and she was torn limb from limb.
III. al-Akhfash al-AáčŁghar (ca. 235/849â315/927).356
Al-កaážr was a town in al-JazÄ«rah.357 In the old days a king ruled there called SÄáčirĆ«n. His rule was mild, and he was kind toward his subjects. He adhered to a religion in which he was...