Fadl al-Sha'irah
Fadl al-Qaysi or Faḍl al-Shāʻirah (Arabic: فضل الشاعرة "Faḍl the Poet"; d. 871) was one of "three early ʻAbbasid singing girls ... particularly famous for their poetry" and is one of the pre-eminent medieval Arabic female poets whose work survives.[1]
Fadl al-Shaʻirah فضل الشاعرة | |
|---|---|
| Born | Al-Yamama, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Died | c. 870/871 Samarra, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Resting place | Samarra |
| Pen name | Fadl |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Language | Arabic |
| Nationality | Caliphate |
| Period | Islamic Golden Age (Early Abbasid era) |
| Spouse | al-Mutawakkil |
Life
Born in al-Yamama (now in Bahrain), Fadl was brought up in ʻAbbasid Basra, (now in Iraq). Her brothers sold her to a leading officer of the Caliphate, and he gave her to Caliph Al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). Fadl became a prominent figure in the court. According to ibn Annadim, a bibliographer (died 1047), Fadl's diwan extended to twenty pages.[2] Her pupils included the singer Faridah.[3] When Fadl was brought to before al-Mutawakkil the very day she had been given to him, Al-Mutawakkil asked her, "Are you really a poet"? She replied: Those who buy and sell me all say so. He laughed and said "Recite some of your poetry to us" and she recited following verses:
The rightly guided Ruler acceded in the year three and thirty.
A Caliphate entrusted to al-Mutawakkil, when he was seven and twenty Let's us hope, Rightly guided Ruler that your rule goes on for eighty.
God bless you! On all who do not say Amen" — The curse of Almighty
Abu al-Ayna said that the Caliph liked the poem and gave her fifty thousand dirhams.
Fadl was the concubine of Al-Mutawakkil. She was a poet, born in Al-Yamamah. She was from the Abd al-Qays tribe. She was purchased by Muhammad ibn al-Faraj al-Rukhkhaji, who gave her to Al-Mutawakkil.[4]
She died in 870/71.[5]
Poetry
An example of Fadl's work, in the translation of Abdullah al-Udhari, is:
- The following poem was written in response to the poet Abu Dulaf (d. 840) who hinted in a poem that she was not a virgin and he preferred virgins, whom he compared to unpierced pearls.
- Riding beasts are no joy to ride until they're bridled and mounted.
- So pearls are useless unless they're pierced and threaded.[2]
References
Citations
- Tahera Qutbuddin, 'Women Poets', in Medieval Islamic Civilisation: An Encyclopedia, ed. by Josef W. Meri, 2 vols (New York: Routledge, 2006), II 866, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-07. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). - Udhari 1999, p. 132.
- Farmer 1929, p. 162-3.
- Ibn al-Sāʿī 2017, p. 38.
- Ibn al-Sāʿī 2017, p. 43.
Sources
- Farmer, Henry George (1929). A history of Arabian music to the XIIIth century.
- Qutbuddin, Tahera (2006). "Women Poets". In Meri, Josef W. (ed.). Medieval Islamic Civilisation: An Encyclopedia. Vol. II. New York: Routledge. p. 866.
- Udhari, Abdullah (1999). Classical Poems by Arab Women. Saqi Books. ISBN 978-0-86356-047-7.
- Ibn al-Sāʿī (2017). Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. Translated by Shawkat M. Toorawa; Editors of the Library of Arabic Literature. Introduction by Julia Bray, Foreword by Marina Warner. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-1-4798-0477-1.
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