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Al-Akhras

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ʿAbd al-Ghaffār b. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Wahb (Arabic: عبد الغفار بن عبد الواحد بن وهب), known as al-Akhras (Arabic: الأخرس), (b. 1220/1805-6 – d. 1290/1873-4) was an Iraqi poet who was called al-Akhras (the mute) due to his stutter. He is renowned not only in Iraq but throughout Arab countries.

Beautiful opening verses (maṭlaʿ), pleasant compositions and expressions, elegance and firmness of vocabulary, and delightful and exhilarating musicality are considered characteristics of his poetry. He used verses and narrations in his poems and composed a qasida (ode) in praise of Imam al-Kazim (a) and Imam al-Jawad (a). Also, in a qasida, he considered Abu Hanifa as an Imam and called the Shi'a "Rafidis" who have attributed lies to the Prophet (s) and his family.

Birth

His date of birth has been variously mentioned as 1210/1795-6, 1217/1802-3, 1221/1806-7, and 1225/1810.[1] He was born in Mosul[2] and spent his childhood there.

Education

In his childhood, he learned language, literature, and fiqh from the masters of Mosul.[3] Then he went to Baghdad and settled near Karkh.[4] The reason for his migration from Mosul to Baghdad is not clear, but apparently, due to a mistake he made, 'Abd al-Rahman Pasha Jalili (r. 1243/1827-8 – 1244/1828-9) became angry with him, and he migrated to Baghdad out of fear.[5] In Baghdad, al-Akhras joined Abu l-Thana' al-Alusi and continued his studies in language and literature under him.[6] He learned Sibawayh's al-Kitab from him and then received permission to teach.[7]

Nickname al-Akhras

The poet was nicknamed al-Akhras because of his stutter.[8] Al-Akhras's stutter caused severe psychological complexes in him, which greatly influenced his behavior and made him a touchy and hot-tempered man.[9]

In his youth, he composed a qasida in praise of Dawud Pasha, the governor of Iraq, and asked him to help him treat his tongue. Dawud Pasha sent him to one of the states of India, but he did not submit to treatment and returned unsuccessfully.[10]

Relationship with Dawud Pasha and Prominent Figures

Al-Akhras was greatly supported by Dawud Pasha and had a firm connection with prominent figures such as Muhammad Sa'id Tabaqchali, Shaykh 'Abd al-Ghani Al Jamil, Abu l-Thana' al-Alusi, and Al al-Naqib.[11]

Occupation

Al-Akhras did not have a job and spent most of his time in coffeehouses[12] or traveling to different cities in Iraq.[13] Seeing the generosity and hospitality of many people of Basra, especially the litterateurs of that city, he went there more often and praised many of its prominent figures and nobles.

Fame

The era of Dawud Pasha is considered the beginning of a new literary movement in Iraq, and al-Akhras was one of the pioneers of this movement. After him, many poets such as al-Rusafi, al-Zahawi, al-Athari, and al-Shabibi followed his poetic style, although none reached his level.[14] Al-Akhras's fame soon went beyond the borders of Iraq and penetrated into neighboring Arab and non-Arab countries, and his poems adorned literary gatherings.[15] Shakib Arslan[16] says: "There were 3 or 4 famous Iraqi poets in our land, one of whom was al-Akhras."

Poetic Characteristics

Beautiful opening verses, pleasant compositions and expressions, elegance and firmness of vocabulary, and delightful and exhilarating musicality are considered characteristics of al-Akhras's poetry.[17] From studying his diwan, it appears that he possessed excellent intelligence and imagination and was skilled in creating beautiful meanings.[18]

Like most poets of his time, he made poetry a means of livelihood and engaged in praising the rulers of the time. According to some contemporaries, this left little room for the fruition of his poetic talent.[19] However, in his diwan, out of a total of 378 qasidas, only 26 are dedicated to praising judges, rulers, and other dignitaries,[20] and his fame is mostly due to his ghazals, khamriyyat (wine poetry), and muwashshahat[21]. He was so skilled in ghazal and describing wine that he has been called the Abu Nuwas of the 19th century. Of course, life problems, lack of a specific profession, lagging behind peers,[22] and especially the discomfort of stuttering caused a significant part of his poems to be devoted to his personal and private issues.

In most of his qasidas, he follows the forms of ancient poetry and sometimes, in the manner of Jahili poets, begins his poems with describing the beloved's abode and weeping over ruins.[23] The abundant use of rhetorical and literary devices, especially tibaq, jinas, tawriya, tawjih, etc. - without adding to the affectation of his poetry - is a prominent feature of his poetic style.[24]

Al-Akhras was strongly influenced by the poems of prominent poets such as al-Buhturi, al-Mutanabbi, Mihyar al-Daylami, and al-Sharif al-Radi.[25] Some of his poems indicate ethnic prejudices among the littérateurs of that time, and the poet strongly criticized the Iraqis' inclination towards foreigners and their division into hostile groups and parties.[26]

One of the features evident throughout al-Akhras's diwan is his frequent use of verses and themes from the Holy Qur'an and Prophetic hadiths.[27] He composed a qasida in praise of Imam al-Kazim (a) and Imam al-Jawad (a).[28] Some have considered him a Shi'a due to a poem by him (stating "I am a follower of the family of Muhammad (s)").[29] However, he composed a qasida in praise of Abu Hanifa Nu'man b. Thabit.[30] Additionally, in a qasida beginning with "Li-man al-sawābiq wa l-jiyād al-ḍummar", besides considering Abu Hanifa an Imam, he condemned the Shi'as with the term "Rawafid" (Rafidi) and considered them liars against the Family of Muhammad (s) and introduced Hisham b. al-Hakam and Hisham b. Salim as Zindiqs.[31]

Other Works

In addition to his diwan, several treatises remain from al-Akhras, written in response to the objections of a Christian scholar to Muslim issues.[32] The prose of these treatises is rhymed and artificial, yet pleasant.[33]

Publication of Diwan after His Death

Al-Akhras did not pay much attention to collecting his poems,[34] and after his death, another poet named Ahmad 'Izzat Pasha Faruqi collected them and named it al-Tiraz al-anfas fi shi'r al-Akhras and published it in Istanbul in 1304/1886. This collection contains 338 qasidas and exceeds 10,000 verses.[35] Later, Khattat Walid A'zami added 40 more qasidas to it, bringing the number of qasidas to 378, and published it under the title Diwan al-Akhras.[36]

Place of Death

One year before his death, al-Akhras intended to perform Hajj but fell ill in Basra and returned to Baghdad. The following year, he went to Basra again, but his illness worsened, and he died there.[37]

Notes

  1. ↑ See: Taymūr Bāy, Aʿlām al-fikr al-Islāmī, p. 330; Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 11; Qāḍī Maḥmūd, Mūjaz al-adab al-ʿArabī fī l-ʿaṣr al-ḥadīth, p. 44.
  2. ↑ Ālūsī, al-Misk al-adhfar, vol. 1, p. 116.
  3. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 11.
  4. ↑ Shīkhū, al-Ādāb al-ʿArabiyya fī l-qarn al-tāsiʿ ʿashar, vol. 2, p. 8.
  5. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, pp. 11–12.
  6. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 11.
  7. ↑ Ālūsī, al-Misk al-adhfar, vol. 1, p. 116.
  8. ↑ Zaydān, Tarājim mashāhīr al-sharq, vol. 2, p. 342.
  9. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 12.
  10. ↑ Ālūsī, al-Misk al-adhfar, vol. 1, p. 117; Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 12.
  11. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 13.
  12. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 14.
  13. ↑ ʿAṭā Allāh, Tārīkh al-ādāb al-ʿArabiyya, vol. 2, p. 324.
  14. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 18; Khafājī, al-Adab al-ʿArabī al-ḥadīth, p. 85; Wardī, Lamḥāt ijtimāʿiyya min tārīkh al-ʿIrāq al-ḥadīth, vol. 1, p. 253.
  15. ↑ Zaydān, Tarājim mashāhīr al-sharq, vol. 2, p. 341; Zaydān, Tārīkh ādāb al-lugha al-ʿArabiyya, vol. 4, p. 216.
  16. ↑ Shakīb Arslān, "Nahḍat al-ʿArab al-ʿilmiyya fī l-qarn al-akhīr", vol. 15, p. 438.
  17. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 15.
  18. ↑ Zaydān, Tarājim mashāhīr al-sharq, vol. 2, p. 343.
  19. ↑ Ṣāʾigh, Tārīkh al-Mawṣil, vol. 2, p. 238; Zaydān, Tarājim mashāhīr al-sharq, vol. 2, p. 343.
  20. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 17.
  21. ↑ muwashshah is a strophic poetic form that developed in al-Andalus in the late 10th and early 11th centuries.
  22. ↑ Qāḍī Maḥmūd, Mūjaz al-adab al-ʿArabī fī l-ʿaṣr al-ḥadīth, p. 45.
  23. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 16.
  24. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 15.
  25. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 15.
  26. ↑ Nawwār, Dāwūd Bāshā wālī Baghdād, p. 315.
  27. ↑ See: Dīwān al-Akhras, pp. 128–129, 291, 361, et passim; Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 17.
  28. ↑ Dīwān al-Akhras, pp. 87–88.
  29. ↑ "Akhras", in Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Buzurg-i Islāmī.
  30. ↑ Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 271.
  31. ↑ Dīwān al-Akhras, pp. 36–40.
  32. ↑ Ālūsī, al-Misk al-adhfar, vol. 1, p. 119.
  33. ↑ See: Dujaylī, al-Band fī l-adab al-ʿArabī, pp. 94–96.
  34. ↑ Jawād, "Makhṭūṭat shiʿr al-Akhras", vol. 10, p. 341.
  35. ↑ Zaydān, Tarājim mashāhīr al-sharq, vol. 2, p. 342; Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 19.
  36. ↑ Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 19.
  37. ↑ Ālūsī, al-Misk al-adhfar, vol. 1, pp. 117–120; Aʿẓamī, Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras, p. 12.

References

  • Akhras, ʿAbd al-Ghaffār. Dīwān. Edited by Khaṭṭāṭ Walīd Aʿẓamī. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1986.
  • Ālūsī, Maḥmūd Shukrī. al-Misk al-adhfar. Baghdad, Maṭbaʿat Dār al-Salām, 1930.
  • Aʿẓamī, Khaṭṭāṭ Walīd. Introduction to Dīwān al-Akhras. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1986.
  • ʿAṭā Allāh, Rashīd Yūsuf. Tārīkh al-ādāb al-ʿArabiyya. Edited by ʿAlī Najīb ʿAṭawī. Beirut, Dār al-Hilāl, 1985.
  • Dujaylī, ʿAbd al-Karīm. al-Band fī l-adab al-ʿArabī. Baghdad, Maṭbaʿat al-Maʿārif, 1959.
  • Jawād, Muṣṭafā. "Makhṭūṭat shiʿr al-Akhras". In Majallat al-Majmaʿ al-ʿIlmī al-ʿIrāqī, vol. 10, Baghdad, 1962.
  • Khafājī, Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Munʿim. al-Adab al-ʿArabī al-ḥadīth. Cairo, Maktabat al-Kulliyāt al-Azhariyya, 1985.
  • Nawwār, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Sulaymān. Dāwūd Bāshā wālī Baghdād. Cairo, Dār al-Kātib al-ʿArabī, 1968.
  • Qāḍī Maḥmūd. Mūjaz al-adab al-ʿArabī fī l-ʿaṣr al-ḥadīth. Baghdad, Maṭbaʿat al-ʿĀnī, 1945.
  • Ṣāʾigh, Sulaymān. Tārīkh al-Mawṣil. Beirut, al-Maṭbaʿa al-Salafiyya, 1928.
  • Shakīb Arslān. "Nahḍat al-ʿArab al-ʿilmiyya fī l-qarn al-akhīr". In Majallat al-Majmaʿ al-ʿIlmī al-ʿArabī, vol. 15, Damascus, 1937.
  • Shīkhū, Luwīs. al-Ādāb al-ʿArabiyya fī l-qarn al-tāsiʿ ʿashar. Beirut, Maṭbaʿat al-Ābāʾ al-Yasūʿiyyīn, 1910.
  • Taymūr Bāy, Aḥmad. Aʿlām al-fikr al-Islāmī. Cairo, Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1967.
  • Wardī, ʿAlī. Lamḥāt ijtimāʿiyya min tārīkh al-ʿIrāq al-ḥadīth. Baghdad, Maṭbaʿat al-Irshād, 1969.
  • Zaydān, Jurjī. Tarājim mashāhīr al-sharq. Beirut, Dār Maktabat al-Ḥayāt, n.d.
  • Zaydān, Jurjī. Tārīkh ādāb al-lugha al-ʿArabiyya. Cairo, Dār al-Hilāl, 1957.
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