The Pillar of Poetry in the Poetry of Al-Hārith ibn Ḥillizah Al-Yashkurī

Abstract

The term ʿAmūd al-Shiʿr constituted a fundamental pillar in reading, understanding, appreciating, and critically evaluating poetic texts based on the artistic criteria embedded within this concept—beginning with its earliest roots in the pre-Islamic era, represented through spontaneous and taste-based critical viewpoints, up until its full development at the hands of Al-Marzūqī.

       For the importance of this term in shaping poetic discourse, we attempted to apply it to the poetry of a distinguished figure regarded as one of the elite poets, namely Al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah al-Yashkurī, in order to assess the extent to which his poetic texts align with the aesthetic and artistic values encompassed by this concept.

       Words are not merely vessels for meaning; rather, they often appear infused with new meanings that emerge as a result of social, political, economic, religious, and intellectual interactions across different historical periods. Thus, words become carriers of meanings shaped by the historical context accompanying their usage.

   As a result of these different interactions and transformations, words acquire both general and specific meanings, clarified by the textual context in which they occur. Institutions likewise impose upon these words particular connotations according to their orientations, producing specialized meanings depending on the field of knowledge to which they belong. From this standpoint, we shall examine the word ʿamūd both linguistically and terminologically.

First: The term al-ʿamūd linguistically:

The word al-ʿamūd is taken from the linguistic root (ʿamada), and its plural form is aʿmidah, referring to columns made of iron or wood. ʿAmūd al-khibāʾ is the wooden pole standing upright in the middle of the tent, and from it comes the expression ʿamūd al-amr, which means the fundamental support on which a matter stands upright(1), which in turn indicates uprightness or firmness in something(2). Al-ʿamūd also refers to the piece of wood on which a house stands, and likewise the pole standing in the middle of a tent. ʿAmūd al-ṣubḥ refers to the streak of dawn light that becomes visible and prominent, and ʿamūd al-qawm means their chief or leader(3).

Al-Zabīdī, in Tāj al-ʿArūs, did not depart from the meanings mentioned by his predecessors(4).

From the foregoing, we conclude that the word al-ʿamūd has evolved into two distinct semantic paths: one material and the other abstract, the latter of which approaches the meaning relevant to our subject, namely the “poetic column” (ʿamūd al-shiʿr)

Second: The  Definition of “ʿAmūd al-Shiʿr” (The Pillar of Poetry) Terminologically

The issue of ʿAmūd al-Shiʿr was not new or recently developed; rather, its earliest roots can be traced back to the pre-Islamic era. The critical opinions expressed by poets such as Al-Nabigha al-Dhubyānī regarding the poetry of his contemporaries—although characterized by being immediate evaluative judgments—or the opinions of Umm Jundub on the poetry of Imru’ al-Qays and ʿAlqamah, and later the opinions of caliphs in both the Islamic and Umayyad periods, even up to the beginning of the Abbasid era, besides with the viewpoints of linguists and philological critics—all of these fall within this context.

Their views fall within the essential linguistic levels: the lexical, linguistic, rhetorical, and semantic levels. By identifying and categorizing these levels, the broad features of the concept of ʿAmūd al-Shiʿr began to emerge—a concept that became clearer in the opinions of al-Jāḥiẓ and his views concerning wording and meaning, where he said: “Speech does not deserve to be called eloquent unless its meaning competes with its wording, and its wording competes with its meaning; so its wording does not reach your ear before its meaning reaches your heart.”

As for Bishr ibn al-Muʿtamir, he aimed for the speaker to avoid grave mistakes in wording, for meaning to be noble, to stay away from awkwardness that leads to complexity—something that consumes meanings and spoils expressions—and for every noble meaning to have an equally noble wording.

Al-Jāḥiẓ refereed to several rhetorical purposes and their ability to create the poetic text through changing a word from one meaning to another that was not previously associated with it. He also talked about simile, the strength of resemblance, and its instruments.

As for Ibn Qutaybah, he addressed the pillars of ʿAmūd al-shiʿr (the poetic canon) in a scattered manner throughout his book, emphasizing the correctness of meter, the elegance of diction, and the subtlety of meaning.

  It is clear that he determined forth a group of criteria which he considered as important foundations on which the poetic process is built, obliging modern poets not to deviate from them, but rather to follow their path.

When Ibn al-Muʿtazz came, he discussed in his book al-Badīʿ several opinions consierding the poetic process, especially regarding its rhetorical aspects, such as his discussion of metaphor and simile, their forms of occurrence, and the proper ways of employing them. These later became among the basic components of ʿAmūd al-shiʿr clearly recognized by Arab critics.

As for Ibn Ṭabāṭabā, he held the view that poets should follow the path of their predecessors by handling delicate meanings and addressing the themes that earlier poets explored in their poetry. Through this, he depended upon criteria that must be fulfilled in poetry—criteria that are undoubtedly fixed and form the basis of classical poetry in all its linguistic, rhetorical, and semantic dimensions.

  However, Qudāmah ibn Jaʿfar believed that the poetic process must be structurally sound, beginning with diction, which should be refined, easy in articulation, possessing a tone of eloquence, and free from harshness. He also mentioned that poetry must be free from metrical flaws and excessive deviation from standard measure. Furthermore, its rhymes must be pleasant and smooth in pronunciation. He regarded tasrīʿ (opening-line rhyme) as a type or form of sajʿ (harmonized prose), and the more rhyme and phonetic harmony there is in a poem, the closer it comes to the domain of poetry.

Al-Āmidī explicitly mentioned ʿAmūd al-Shiʿr, saying: “Al-Buḥturī was a Bedouin-minded poet by nature, adhering to the method of the ancients, and he never deviated from the pillar of poetry.” (18)He also said: “Poetry, according to those who are knowledgeable about it, is nothing but careful deliberation, closeness of expression to meaning, choosing the appropriate wording, placing words in their proper position, presenting meanings in wording commonly used for them, and ensuring that metaphors and similes are suitable for the purpose for which they are used, without scattering the meaning. For speech does not acquire elegance and refinement unless it bears such qualities.” (19)

  Finally, ʿAmūd al-Shiʿr reached its settled form with Al-Marzūqī, who defined it through seven foundational principles. These include the nobility and correctness of meaning, as well as the strength, richness, and accuracy of wording. They also involve precision in description, appropriateness in simile, and the cohesion and unity of the poem’s structural components, achieved through the careful selection of a pleasant and harmonious meter. In addition, they require a suitable correspondence between what is borrowed in figurative expression and the thing for which it is borrowed, along with a stylistic harmony between wording and meaning, while maintaining strong commitment to rhyme in such a way that no inconsistency or incompatibility arises between them.