A'sha Hamdan
Life
A'sha was born in Kufa.{{sfn|Van Gelder|1998|p=108}} He belonged to the South Arabian tribe of Hamdan. He began his career as a Muslim traditionist and {{transliteration|ar|qari}} (Quran reader) and was married to the sister of the prominent theologian Amir al-Sha'bi, who was married to A'sha's sister.{{sfn|Wensinck|von Grunebaum|1960|p=690}} He later shifted to poetry, purportedly after dreaming of being in a room full of 'barley' ({{transliteration|ar|shi'r}}, which has the dual meaning of 'poetry'). He served in the military campaigns of the Kufans during the governorship of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ({{reign|694|714}}),{{sfn|Wensinck|von Grunebaum|1960|p=690}} though evidently this was not always voluntary.{{sfn|Van Gelder|1998|p=108}} One such campaign in Makran took a heavy toll on his health.{{sfn|Wensinck|von Grunebaum|1960|p=690}}
He campaigned under the Kufan commander Ibn al-Ash'ath in Daylam. According to one of his poems, he was taken captive there before gaining the love of a Daylamite woman who helped free him.{{sfn|Van Gelder|1998|p=108}}{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2003|p=190}} He became akin to the spokesman of Ibn al-Ash'ath during the mass Iraqi rebellion he led against al-Hajjaj and the Umayyads in general.{{sfn|Van Gelder|1998|p=108}} He was present at the Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim in 701 or 702 where Ibn al-Ash'ash was put to flight and al-A'sha captured by the Umayyad troops. He was brought before al-Hajjaj who condemned him for his critical verses against him and the Umayyads. His attempt to win al-Hajjaj's favor by reciting to him an ode of praise did not sway the governor, who had him executed.{{sfn|Wensinck|von Grunebaum|1960|p=690}}{{sfn|Van Gelder|1998|p=108}}
Poetry
The historian G. J. H. van Gelder describes A'sha's poetry as "an interesting mixture of the personal and the political".{{sfn|Van Gelder|1998|p=108}} The Encyclopaedia of Islam calls his poems "reflexes of his adventures and political sentiments".{{sfn|Wensinck|von Grunebaum|1960|p=690}} In his poems, he often championed the Yaman (South Arabian) tribal faction to which he belonged, in opposition to the northern Arab faction.{{sfn|Wensinck|von Grunebaum|1960|p=690}} His poems would be turned into songs by his fellow Hamdani tribesman, the musician Ahmad al-Nasbi.{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2003|p=190}}
Al-Tabari preserved the following fragment of A'sha's poem praising Ibn al-Ash'ath (Abd al-Rahman) and condemning al-Hajjaj:
For a lover who has emerged in Zabulistan,
there have been two liars from Thaqif,
their past liar and a second one.
May my Lord give power to Hamdan over Thaqif
For a day until nighttime, so consoling us for what took place [before].
We betook ourselves to the devilish infidel,
When, in unbelief after belief, he exceeded the bounds,
with the noble lord Abd al-Rahman.
He set forth with a throng of Qahtan, like locusts
While from Ma'add ibn Adnan he brought
A tumultuous and might multitude.
So tell Hajjaj, Satan's friend, [if he can],
Stand steady against Madhhij and Hamdan,
that they will give him to drink from the goblet of poison,
And will send him off to the villages of Ibn Marwan.{{sfn|Hinds|1990|p=7}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
- {{The History of al-Tabari |volume=23 |url={{Google Books|XEsflZBlADwC|plainurl=y}}}}
- {{Cite book|last=Kilpatrick |first=Hilary |date=2003 |title=Making the Great Book of Songs: Compilation and the Author's Craft in Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣbahānī's Kitāb al-Aghānī|publisher=Routledge |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-0o7UXhwY8C |isbn=9780700717019}}
- {{cite encyclopedia |last=Van Gelder |first=G. J. H. |editor-last1=Meisami |editor-first1=Julie Scott |editor-last2=Starkey |editor-first2=Paul |article=A'sha Hamdan |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature |volume=1 |publisher=Routledge |year=1998 |page=108 |isbn=0-415-18571-8}}
- {{EI2 |last1=Wensinck |first1=A. J. |last2=von Grunebaum |first2=G. E. |article=Aʾshā Hamdān |volume=1 |page=690}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:7th-century Arabic-language poets
Category:Poets from the Umayyad Caliphate