Ibn Zuraiq al-Baghdadi

Abu al-Hasan Ali Abu Abdullah ibn Zuraiq al-Baghdadi (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي أبو عبد الله بن زريق البغدادي; died 420 AH/1029 AD) was an Iraqi poet active in al-Andalus.^[1]

Born in Baghdad, Ibn Zuraiq grew up in the Abbasid Caliphate. Little is known about his early life, but he gained recognition for his poetic talent.^[2] Faced with economic hardship, Ibn Zuraiq left his homeland in pursuit of better opportunities in al-Andalus, seeking prosperity through his poetic endeavors.^[3] He died of an unknown illness around 1029. According to accounts, a single poem was discovered with his body.^{[citation needed]}

Ibn Zuraiq's poetry reflected themes of love, longing, and the human condition. His verses were characterized by their elegance, depth, and emotional resonance, garnering admiration from contemporaries and subsequent generations of poets.^[4] Ibn Zuraiq's poetry continued to resonate with audiences long after his death. His Qaṣīda al-Andalusiyya was praised by Ibn Hazm "as a means of achieving perfect elegance if memorized".^[5] An example of his poetry is this short encomium on Baghdad, "Baghdad's People":

I have traveled far to find a parallel for Baghdad

and her people—my task was second to despair.

Alas, for me Baghdad is the entire world,

her people—the only genuine ones.^[6]

The Bahraini author Ahmad Al Dosari has written a historical novel based on the life of Ibn Zuraiq, entitled Ibn Zuraiq Al Baghdadi: A Passenger of Time.

References

^ Kennedy, Hugh N. (1986). The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century. Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-49313-1.
^ Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary Translated from the Arabic by Bn. Mac Guckin De Slane: Paris Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1843. 1843.
^ Aziz, Aqil. "History of the Arabs From the Earliest Times to the Present by Philip K. Hitti". Philip K Hitti.
^ Sells, Michael Anthony (1996). Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qurʼan, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings. Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0-8091-3619-3.
^ Florian Sobieroj, Variance in Arabic Manuscripts: Arabic Didactic Poems from the Eleventh to the Seventeenth Centuries—Analysis of Textual Variance and Its Control in the Manuscripts (De Gruyter, 2016), pp. 107–125, contains a full analysis of this poem.
^ Reuven Snir (ed.), Baghdad: The City in Verse (Harvard University Press, 2013), p. 139. The love poem "Moon over Baghdad" is on pp. 137–138.

[1] Kennedy, Hugh N. (1986). The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century. Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-49313-1.

[2] Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary Translated from the Arabic by Bn. Mac Guckin De Slane: Paris Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1843. 1843.

[3] Aziz, Aqil. "History of the Arabs From the Earliest Times to the Present by Philip K. Hitti". Philip K Hitti.

[4] Sells, Michael Anthony (1996). Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qurʼan, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings. Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0-8091-3619-3.

[5] Florian Sobieroj, Variance in Arabic Manuscripts: Arabic Didactic Poems from the Eleventh to the Seventeenth Centuries—Analysis of Textual Variance and Its Control in the Manuscripts (De Gruyter, 2016), pp. 107–125, contains a full analysis of this poem.

[6] Reuven Snir (ed.), Baghdad: The City in Verse (Harvard University Press, 2013), p. 139. The love poem "Moon over Baghdad" is on pp. 137–138.

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References