The Poetics of Islamic Legitimacy: Myth, Gender, and Ceremony in the Classical Arabic Ode

Throughout the classical Arabic literary tradition, from its roots in pre-Islamic Arabia until the end of the Golden Age in the 10th century, the courtly ode, or qasida, dominated other poetic forms. In The Poetics of Islamic Legitimacy, Suzanne Stetkevych explores how this poetry relates to ceremony and political authority and how the classical Arabic ode encoded and promoted a myth and ideology of legitimate Arabo-Islamic rule. Beginning with praise poems to pre-Islamic Arab kings, Stetkevych takes up poetry in praise of the Prophet Mohammed and odes addressed to Arabo-Islamic rulers. She explores the rich tradition of Arabic praise poems in light of ancient Near Eastern rites and ceremonies, gender, and political culture. Stetkevych's superb English translations capture the immediacy and vitality of classical Arabic poetry while opening up a multifaceted literary tradition for readers everywhere.

Preface and Acknowledgments

1. Transgression and Redemption: Cuckolding the King

Al-N~bighah al-Dhuby~n§ and the Pre-Islamic Royal Ode

2. Transmission and Submission: Praising the Prophet

KaÄb ibn Zuhayr and the Islamic Ode

3. Celebration and Restoration: Praising the Caliph

Al-Akhal and the Umayyad Victory Ode

4. Supplication and Negotiation: The Client Outraged

Al-Akhal and the Supplicatory Ode

5. Political Dominion as Sexual Domination

Abã al-ÄAt~hiyah, Abã Tamm~m and the Poetics of Power

6. The Poetics of Political Allegiance

Praise and Blame in Three Odes by al-Mutanabb§

7. The Poetics of Ceremony and the Competition for Legitimacy

Al-Muhannad al-Baghd~d§, Muammad ibn Shukhhay, Ibn Darr~j al-Qasall§ and the Andalusian Ode

Appendix of Arabic Texts

Notes

Works Cited

Index