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Draft:Qasida al-Lamiya of Abu Talib

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Template:Infobox Poem al-Qaṣīda al-Lāmiyya of Abu Talib (Arabic: قَصیدَة اللّامیَّة لِأبی‌طالب) is a poem attributed to Abu Talib, the father of Imam Ali (a), which was composed in support and defense of Prophet Muhammad (s). Abu Talib composed the Lamiya at a time when the Prophet (s) and other Muslims were living in hardship and confinement in the Shi'b Abi Talib, and the polytheists demanded that Abu Talib surrender Muhammad (s) to them. By composing the Lamiya, Abu Talib rose in opposition to them and declared that he would support the Prophet (s) until his last breath.

Shi'as have argued for the Faith of Abu Talib by citing his Qasida al-Lamiya; including al-Shaykh al-Mufid in his independent book on the faith of Abu Talib, al-Shaykh al-Saduq in his book al-Amali, and Muhammad b. Ya'qub al-Kulayni in al-Kafi. Many traditionists and authors of the Ahl al-Sunna and the Shi'a from the 2nd century AH onwards have mentioned a verse or verses of the Lamiya of Abu Talib in their books; including Muhammad b. Isma'il al-Bukhari, al-Khalil b. Ahmad al-Farahidi, Ahmad b. Hanbal, Ibn Abi l-Hadid al-Mu'tazili, and 'Allama al-Amini.

In addition to the publication of the Qasida al-Lamiya in Arabic, it has been translated into Persian, English, and German, and authors including Haydar Quli Sardar Kabuli have engaged in describing and interpreting its verses in independent books.

Importance and Status

Abu Talib composed the Qasida al-Lamiya in the Shi'b Abi Talib[1] during the period of hardship for Prophet Muhammad (s)[2] and his followers. For this reason, the poem is also known as the Qasida al-Shi'biyya.[3] Another famous qasida with a "Mim" rhyme (al-Mimiyya) is also narrated from Abu Talib. Both the Lamiya and Mimiyya qasidas are mentioned in the book titled Diwan Abu Talib.[4]

Ibn Hisham, the historian of the 2nd century AH and 3rd century AH, mentioned 94 verses of the Lamiya in the book al-Sirat al-Nabawiyya which he considers attributable to Abu Talib. He also noted that some poetry experts have denied the attribution of most of its verses to Abu Talib.[5] Ibn Kathir also narrated 83 verses of this qasida in the book al-Bidaya wa l-nihaya[6] and deemed it so eloquent that it could only be worthy of Abu Talib.[7] He also called the Qasida al-Lamiya superior to the Mu'allaqat al-Sab' (Seven Suspended Poems).[8][9]

Ja'far Subhani, a Shi'a jurist, narrated 121 verses of this qasida in the comprehensive book Diwan Abu Talib collected by Abu Haffan al-'Abdi.[10] Muhammad Mahdi Sabahi Kashani, a Shi'a researcher, extracted 133 verses of the Lamiya from various sources and included them in the book Abū Ṭālib shāʿir al-Rasūl al-Aʿẓam.[11]

From the 2nd century AH onwards, many works of the Ahl al-Sunna and the Shi'a have mentioned a verse or verses of this qasida. These works include Sahih al-Bukhari (Muhammad b. Isma'il al-Bukhari), Musnad (Ahmad b. Hanbal), al-'Ayn (al-Khalil b. Ahmad al-Farahidi), Tabaqat fuhul al-shu'ara' (Muhammad b. Sallam al-Jumahi), Sharh Nahj al-balagha (Ibn Abi l-Hadid al-Mu'tazili), and al-Ghadir ('Allama al-Amini).[12]

Khalil Kamara'i, one of the jurists of the 14th century AH, called this qasida the "Epic of Faith" and narrated a narration from Imam Ali (a) that he recommended teaching this qasida to the youth.[13] Teaching this qasida to children at age seven, alongside teaching rulings, swimming, and archery, has been stated as one of the recommended items in the education of children.[14]

Content: Support for the Prophet of Islam

The Qasida al-Lamiya of Abu Talib was composed in a situation where the elders of the Quraysh, seeking to prevent the propagation of the religion of Islam by the Prophet (s), demanded that Abu Talib surrender Muhammad (s) to them and promised him that if he did so, he would reach lordship and kingship over them.[15] By composing the Lamiya, Abu Talib announced to them that the Banu Hashim would support the Prophet (s) until their last breath and would not surrender Muhammad (s) to them.[16] The Lamiya of Abu Talib begins as follows:

Khalīlī mā udhunī li-awwali ʿādhilin * bi-ṣaghwāʾa fī ḥaqqin wa lā ʿinda bāṭili (Translation:) O my two friends; I do not lend my ear to the rebuke and blame of any blamer, nor do I pay attention to them.

Wa lammā raʾaytu l-qawma lā wudda fīhimu * wa qad qaṭaʿū kulla l-ʿurā wa l-wasāʾili... (Translation:) And when I realized that there is no affection among this people (the Quraysh pagans) and they have severed all ties and means of friendship and kinship...

Ṣabartu lahum nafsī bi-samrāʾa samḥatin * wa abyaḍa ʿadhbin min turāthi l-maqāwili (Translation:) I steeled my soul against them with flexible brown spears and sharp white swords from the heritage of kings.

Argument for the Faith of Abu Talib

Main article: Faith of Abu Talib

As mentioned in Sunni sources as well,[17] Shi'as consider Abu Talib a Muslim by citing the themes of the Qasida al-Lamiya. In the book al-Kafi, a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a) is mentioned where he, relying on two verses of the Lamiya, opposed those who consider Abu Talib a disbeliever.[18] In another narration from Abd Allah b. al-Abbas reported in al-Amali of al-Shaykh al-Saduq, he also called Abu Talib a Muslim by citing one of the verses of the Lamiya.[19]

Al-Shaykh al-Mufid, the Shi'a jurist and theologian, emphasized the Faith of Abu Talib in an independent treatise using various proofs, including verses from the Lamiya.[20] From the verse: "fa-ayyadahu Rabbu l-ʿibādi bi-naṣrihī / wa aẓhara dīnan ḥaqquhū ghayru bāṭili" (The Lord of the servants aided him with His help / and made manifest a religion whose truth is devoid of any falsehood), he inferred that Abu Talib accepted the prophethood of the Prophet.[21] Also, the verse: "ḥalīman rashīdan ḥāziman ghayra ṭāʾishin / yuwālī ilāha l-khalqi laysa bi-māḥili" (Forbearing, upright, prudent, and not impulsive / he loves the God of creation and is not contentious) is considered by him as a sign of Abu Talib's belief in monotheism and acceptance of the Prophet's (s) mission.[22]

Translations and Commentaries

The Qasida al-Lamiya of Abu Talib has been translated into various languages including Persian, English, and German.[23] Also, a Persian poetic translation of the Lamiya was composed and published by Gholamreza Dabiran.[24] Some of the authors who have described and explained the various verses of the Lamiya include:

  • Haydar Quli Sardar Kabuli (1293-1372 SH) in a book titled Sharḥ al-qaṣīda al-lāmiyya li-sayyidinā wa mawlānā Abī Ṭālib (a) which was published in 1398 SH.[25]
  • Shaykh Muhammad Ali Hazin Lahiji, in an independent treatise.[26]
  • Ali Fahmi al-Mustari (d. 1326 AH) in a book titled Ṭalabat al-ṭālib fī sharḥ Lāmiyyat Abī Ṭālib which was published in Iran in 1398 SH.[27] This work had previously been published in Istanbul in 1327 AH.[28]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zād al-maʿād, 1428 AH, vol. 1, p. 547.
  2. ↑ Subḥānī Tabrīzī, Furūgh-i abadiyyat, 1385 SH, p. 352.
  3. ↑ Qāḍī ʿAskar, "Dars-i panjāh wa shishum: Shiʿb-i Abī Ṭālib", p. 305.
  4. ↑ Aḥmadī, Tārīkh-i ḥadīth-i Shīʿa dar sada-hā-yi chahārum tā haftum-i Hijrī, 1389 SH, p. 285.
  5. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrat al-Nabawiyya, Beirut, vol. 1, pp. 272-280.
  6. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, 1408 AH, vol. 3, pp. 70-74.
  7. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, 1408 AH, vol. 3, p. 74.
  8. ↑ The Seven Suspended Poems are seven long qasidas by seven prominent Arab poets during the Jahiliyya period. The Arabs wrote these poems in gold water and hung them on the curtains of the Ka'ba. The poets of the Mu'allaqat are: Imru' al-Qays, Tarafa b. al-'Abd, Zuhayr b. Abi Sulma, Labid b. Rabi'a, 'Amr b. Kulthum, 'Antara b. Shaddad, and al-Harith b. Hilliza. (Navīdī Malāṭī, "Kuhantarin tarjuma-yi Muʿallaqāt-i Sabʿ", p. 8)
  9. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, 1408 AH, vol. 3, p. 74.
  10. ↑ Subḥānī Tabrīzī, Furūgh-i abadiyyat, 1385 SH, p. 353.
  11. ↑ Ṣabāḥī Kāshānī, Abū Ṭālib shāʿir al-Rasūl al-Aʿẓam, 1395 SH, p. 61 and pp. 113-330.
  12. ↑ Ṣabāḥī Kāshānī, Abū Ṭālib shāʿir al-Rasūl al-Aʿẓam, 1395 SH, pp. 63-73.
  13. ↑ Kamaraʾī, ʿUnṣur-i shujāʿat yā haftād wa dū tan wa yak tan, vol. 7, p. 459.
  14. ↑ Muʾassasa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, Farhang-i fiqh, 1392 SH, vol. 5, p. 675.
  15. ↑ Raḍāʾī-nasab, Āmūzish-i tārīkh-i Islām, 1396 SH, p. 34.
  16. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrat al-nabawiyya, Beirut, vol. 1, p. 280; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, 1408 AH, vol. 3, p. 70.
  17. ↑ For example, see Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī, 1379 AH, vol. 2, p. 496; al-Ḥalabī, al-Sīrat al-ḥalabiyya, 1427 AH, vol. 1, p. 170.
  18. ↑ al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1429 AH, vol. 2, pp. 462-463, Book of al-Hujja, chapter on the birth and death of the Prophet, h. 29.
  19. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, 1417 AH, vol. 1, p. 712, h. 980.
  20. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, Īmān Abī Ṭālib, 1413 AH, p. 18.
  21. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, Īmān Abī Ṭālib, 1413 AH, pp. 18-19.
  22. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, Īmān Abī Ṭālib, 1413 AH, pp. 19-20.
  23. ↑ Ṣabāḥī Kāshānī, Abū Ṭālib shāʿir al-Rasūl al-Aʿẓam, 1395 SH, pp. 75-76.
  24. ↑ Kamaraʾī, ʿUnṣur-i shujāʿat yā haftād wa dū tan wa yak tan, vol. 7, p. 459.
  25. ↑ Sardār Kābulī, Sharḥ al-qaṣīda al-lāmiyya li-sayyidinā wa mawlānā Abī Ṭālib, 1398 SH.
  26. ↑ Mahdavī, Aʿlām-i Iṣfahān, 1391 SH, vol. 4, p. 725.
  27. ↑ al-Ḥājj, "Abū Ṭālib maʾwā l-Rasūl wa l-risāla", p. 334.
  28. ↑ Fahmī al-Mustarī, Ṭalabat al-ṭālib, 1398 SH, p. 19.

References

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  • Raḍāʾī-nasab, Muḥammad. Āmūzish-i tārīkh-i Islām: tadwīn-i kutub farāzhāyī az tārīkh-i Payāmbar-i Islām (s) bi ṣūrat-i pursish wa pāsukh. Introduction by ʿAlī Qanbariyān. Tehran: Mīrāth-i Farhīkhtagān, 1396 SH.
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