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| qasida | |
|---|---|
| Name | Qasida |
| Native name | قصيدة |
| Genre | Ode |
| Language | Classical Arabic and others |
| Origin | Pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula |
| Meter | Various, often quantitative prosody |
qasida
The qasida is a classical Arabic ode form with a long monorhymed structure associated with pre-Islamic and medieval literary cultures. Originating among poets and courts across the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and North Africa, it features in the literary histories of Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Cairo, and later courts in Cordoba and Istanbul where it influenced poetic practice. Its practice connected figures such as Imru' al-Qays, patrons like the Lakhmids, and transmitters in centers including the House of Wisdom, linking manuscript traditions preserved in libraries such as Dar al-Kutub and collections copied by scribes tied to the Ottoman Empire.
The term derives from Classical Arabic lexical tradition recorded by scholars of Basra and Kufa working in the milieu of the Abbasid Caliphate and later commentators associated with the courts of Al-Andalus and Fustat. Lexicographers in the wake of scholars at institutions like the Mutazilites and chroniclers connected to the Umayyad Caliphate treated it as a formal poetic genre alongside forms catalogued by grammarians from Ibn al-Nadim's circle. Philologists referencing manuscripts from Baghdad and marginalia preserved in collections associated with the Safavid dynasty trace etymological notes through oral transmission among clans such as the Banu 'Amir.
Early manifestations appear in pre-Islamic oral corpora attributed to poets who performed at seasonal fairs like those held at Ukaz and patronized by tribal leaders including the Banu Thaqif and rulers of the Ghaznavid Empire later adapted courtly practice. Under the Umayyad Caliphate and Abbasid Revolution, poets attached to administrative centers such as Kufa and Basra adapted the form to panegyric, elegy, and satire, while courts in Cordoba and Seville fostered transmissions into Al-Andalus. The Norman and Crusader eras saw interactions with troubadour traditions in Provence and cultural exchanges recorded by travelers like Ibn Jubayr and scribes in archives tied to Ayyubid and Mamluk administrations. Later print and manuscript cultures in Tehran and Delhi mediated qasida through anthologies commissioned by rulers such as the Mughal Empire.
Classically a long monorhymed poem, it typically employs the quantitative meters system codified by scholars such as Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi and discussed in treatises circulated in Cairo and Samarkand. The opening may include conventional tropes linked to pre-Islamic performance contexts recorded by historians like Al-Tabari and encyclopedists in the libraries of Baghdad. Features include elaborate meter, fixed rhyme carried through dozens of lines, and use of devices catalogued by rhetoricians such as Ibn Qutaybah and theorists active at the House of Wisdom. Syntactic and lexical registers draw on lexica compiled by scholars from Basra and literary criticism from commentators attached to the Caliphate of Córdoba.
Genres encompass panegyric linked to patrons such as members of the Abbasid and Umayyad dynasties, elegy associated with events like the Battle of Karbala, tribal boasting traceable to the Banu Hudhayl, and devotional qasidas composed in circles influenced by Al-Ghazali and Sufi orders like the Qadiriyya and Naqshbandi. Other themes include satire reflected in exchanges among poets recorded by chroniclers tied to Baghdad's literary salons, and encomia composed for rulers in Mamluk and Safavid courts. Didactic and panegyrical strains appear in anthologies compiled for elites in Cairo, Cordoba, and Istanbul.
Beyond Classical Arabic, the form adapted into Persian under poets associated with courts in Nishapur and Herat and into Ottoman Turkish at the Sultanate of Rum and later Istanbul under patrons like the Sultanate. In South Asia, Persian-language qasidas circulated in Delhi and Lahore during the Mughal Empire; in North Africa the form appears in Andalusi and Maghrebi repertoires linked to Fez and Tunis. In Sub-Saharan contexts, trans-Saharan routes connected poets in Timbuktu to Arabic traditions; in Iberia, transmission shaped Andalusi culture in Granada and influenced medieval Hispano-Arabic verse preserved in archives of Seville.
The form influenced Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and Andalusi poetic systems, shaping courtly praise in the Safavid and Ottoman administrations and informing genres practiced by poets patronized by rulers such as those of the Mughal Empire. European orientalists in the age of Enlightenment and collectors in institutions like the British Museum and the Bibliothèque nationale de France engaged with manuscripts, while modernists from Cairo to Beirut debated the qasida's role in movements linked to institutions such as the Al-Azhar and journals founded by intellectuals like those associated with An-Nahda. Contemporary poets and scholars in cities such as Rabat, Baghdad, Damascus, and Tehran continue to reinterpret the form in relation to national literatures and literary prizes awarded by cultural bodies like those of Emirates and ministries in Morocco and Egypt.
Prominent classical names include pre-Islamic figures linked to oral repertoires like Imru' al-Qays and tribal poets associated with the Banu Abs, Umayyad and Abbasid court poets attached to patrons such as Al-Mutanabbi and Abu Nuwas, and later Persian and Ottoman figures connected to the courts of Rumi's milieu, Saadi Shirazi, Hafez, Firdawsi, Nizami Ganjavi, and Ottoman poets like Fuzuli. In Al-Andalus notable practitioners include poets tied to the court of Al-Hakam II and anthologists active in Cordoba and Granada. Modern exponents and commentators come from literary scenes in Cairo, Beirut, Baghdad, Rabat, and Tehran, and include revivalists associated with movements centered at universities such as Al-Azhar University and cultural institutions linked to national academies in Morocco and Tunisia.