A Consice Biography of Al-Farazdaq pdf download

A Consice Biography of Al-Farazdaq – A Poetic Colossus Of The Umayyah Era By Prof. Z. I. Oseni

A CONSICE BIOGRAPHY OF AL-FARAZDAQ – A POETIC COLOSSUS OF THE UMAYYAH ERA

“I’m the son of the Tamimites who ‘re famous for their comely habits as generous leaders and as lions”.

Al-Farazdaq is recognized as one of the greatest classical poets of the Arabs. He lived in the Umayyad period and was influenced partly by the spirit of Islam which permeated his society and his rough Bedouin origin which had traces of pre-lslamic crudeness and rudeness.

This study aims at giving a. brief, biography of the poet, interlaced with some extracts from his poetry.

This is to give the English reader some insight into his multi-faceted poetry and also enable the scholars .of Arabic literature to see him in true historical perspective and through his own poetic works.

After all, the poet lived at a time when poetry played an indispensable role in historical documentation.

In writing this work, we have relied much on primary and secondary sources. We have, used two. versions of the poet’s Diwan\ one of them is plain and bowdlerised in-.order .not to corrupt students with some obscene verses while the other is full, with copious commentary.

We also consulted some other ancient and modern Arabic historical arid literary works written by scholars like al-Mubarr.iq, al-Fakhuri, Farrukh, and Ifram al-Bustani, Some English works by orientalists were consulted top. Nevertheless, the opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of the present writer.³

The main body of the paper is divided into two broad sections. The first one dwells on the history of al-Farazdaq while the second one treats his poetic legacy for Arabic scholars in particular and mankind in general.

It is hoped that this humble study would help Arabic literary historians and literary, critics to understand a little more about the person and phenomenon of al-Farazdaq, an enigmatic poet whose poetry gives Arabic scholars some pleasure and a headache.

Al-Farazdaq’s full names were Abu Firas, Hammam b. Ghalib b. Sa’sa’ah. He was named “al-Farazdaq” a name which means “the loaf of bread” in Persian because of the wrinkles on his face.⁴ Another version, however, says that

perhaps he was named al-Farazdaq ,by his father in honor of the Dihqan (Grandiose chief) of, al-Hirah because the poet resembled the chief in arrogance.⁵

The poet was from the honorable clan of Mujashi b. Darim, a sub-division of the Tamim group. AI-Farazdaq’s grandfather, Sa’sa’ah, was wealthy and extremely generous.

He is reputed to have saved a good number of girls from being buried alive during a severe famine in Arabia. lt should be recalled that it was not uncommon in-the pre- Islamic times for poor parents to bury their baby girls alive during a famine in order to save themselves the trouble of feeding the fair sex considered -by tradition to be a liability to the tribe. His father, Ghalib,. had a large herd of cattle. His mother was Linah bint Qarazah.⁷

Al-arazdaq was born at Kazimah about the year 20 A. H/642 C.E. during the reign of Umar1.The poet’s people had lived .in Basrah since its foundation

In 35 C.E. though they still had their Bedouin traits. They spread from the lower Iraq to Upper Najd and parts of al-Yamamah. The poet- consequently had nomadic characteristics in language, temperament, and emotional instability despite the fact that he often visited cities

He grew up as a dissolute man and had an unstable marital life, having married and divorced not less than twelve women.

His socialization was so poor that women found it difficult to bear his misdemeanor. The most famous of his wives was an-Nawar, a cousin of his whom he tricked into marriage to himself. Although the couple lived together for a long time and had ten children.

Nevertheless, the poet was compelled to pronounce an irrevocable divorce on an-Nawar, consequent upon her seeking the assistance of Jarir his rival him during one of their frequent disputes.

The major witness during the divorce was no less a personality than al- Hassan al-Basri. The poet later regretted divorcing an Nawar and lamented the act in the poem Feel repentance like al-kisa I,

Now that Nawar has been divorced by me She was my paradise which I have lost Like Adam when the lord command he Trespassed. I am like one who willfully puts Out his eyes, Then dark to him the shinning Day doth rise.

Of al Farazdaq’s children, four were well known, namely Labatah, sahatah, Khabatah and Rakadah.

They were all from an Nawar. He had five or six dauthers from ther women. The poet’s bad dealing with his family made his children offend him frequently. He often complained bitterly against their disrespect to him.

The poet’s regret at his divorce of Nawar was a lasting one. When the woman died many years later, he was deeply touched. He mourned her and pledged to al-Hasar al-Basri that be repented and provision for the

Judgment Day_, with the Word of Testimony (Kalimat ash-shahadah) which he had recited for eighty years.¹⁵ He then sang the following verses to al-Hasan tearfully.

Lost indeed is any of Darims children who walk Into Hell with a tightly chained neck

when a harsh hauler of a warder wou!d come to me . .. On-time Resurrection Day to drag al-Farazdaq’

I fear post grave events which are more painful And more difficult than the tomb if I’m not pardoned. That’s when they’ll like drinking pus therein

And you’ll see them melting into bits from the pus heat.

The poet was not particularly lucky in the company of Umayyad caliphs and governors and this will luck can be explained by his rash manners. As a young man, he was first expelled from Barsan for satirizing the noble family of Banu Nashal.

Moreover, he satirized Ziyad b. Abih, Mu’awiyah’s ruthless viceroy of Iraq and fled to Madinah where he was warmly received by the authorities.

He soon plunged himself “into gallantry and dissipation”, thus occasioning his expulsion from the holy city- in 56/675-6. He then went to Makkah,. Yemeni Bahrayn. Palestine,

Damascus and Rusafah . In all the places, he eulogized and satirized people, depending on his mood and attitude to such people he dealt with.

When Ziyad died; he satirized him and lampooned the poets who composed threnodies for the deceased governor.

This did not, however, stop al-Farazdaq from going back to Iraq to attach himself to ^cUbayd-Allari b. Ziyad b. Abih the new governor of Iraq.²²

The poet praised Ibn az-Zubayr and then satirized Him when he fell in 692. AI-Farazdaq had no reasonable option other than to acknowledge the authority of the Umayyad house. He had contacts with most of the Umayyad Caliphs from Mu^cawiyah to Hisham b. Abd’al-Malik.

He praised and satirized al-Hajjaj b. Yusu and many other Umayyad viceroys at different times. Nonetheless, his praise of Banu Umayyad’did not prevent composing an impressive panegyric on Imam Zayn at- Abidin,