Zeynab Al-murabiyyah, and Hamdah, whom others call Hamdúnah, were the daughters of Zeyád, a native of Guadix. They are mentioned by several authors, as Al-maláhí, Abú-l-kásim, Al-barák, and others. Ibnu Sa'id says that they were born at Granada, but agrees with the former writers in fixing the city of Guadix as their residence. Both were famous for their wit, their literary accomplishments, and their talents for poetry. The former, especially, was deeply versed in various branches of literature; she wrote and copied many works, which, in the opinion of Ibnu Sa'id, who says he saw some of them, were written in a masterly style. Zeynab died in the year four hundred of the Hijra; she never would consent to be married, although she had numerous proposals. She lived for some time at Cordova, where she used to frequent the house of Al-mudhfer, son of Al-mansúr Ibn Abí 'A'mir, in whose praise she composed several verses. Mariam,112 daughter of Abú Ya'kúb Al-ansárí, inhabited Seville, of which place she was a native, although other writers say that the city of Silves was the place of her birth. Ibn Dih'yah, who mentions her in his Al-muttreb, says that she was a learned and very accomplished woman, and that she taught rhetoric, poetry, and literature, which, united to her piety, her good morals, her virtues, and amiable disposition, gained her the affection of her sex, and gave her many pupils; she lived to an old age, and died after the year four hundred of the Hijra. Al-homaydí has likewise given an account of this poetess, and quoted some of her verses. Asmá Al-'ámeriyyah was also a native of Seville, where she resided and made herself conspicuous among the learned by her talents. She addressed to 'Abdu-lmúmen Ibn 'Alí a risaleh, in which, after stating minutely her genealogy, and her claims to a descent from Ibn Abí 'A'mir, she proceeded to beg the favour of being exempt from the payment of taxes, and having soldiers quartered upon her. There was at the end of the risáleh an ode which began thus : "O Prince of the believers! O our magnificent Lord! we wish thee "prosperity. May the Almighty give victory to thy arms! "When we rise to the superior regions of tradition, thy name and thy acts "are the surest path to them." 113 Ummu-l-hiná, daughter of the Kádí Abú Mohammed 'Abdu-l-hakk Ibn 'Attiyyah,114 learnt divinity from her father, and was, besides, an excellent poetess. She lived at Almeria, and wrote several works on the mode of worshipping the Almighty. Hind, a slave girl of Abú Mohammed 'Abdullah Ibn Moslemah Ash-shátebí (a native of Xátiva), is said to have excelled in poetry, music, and the lighter branches of literature. It is related of Abú 'A'mir Ibn Yank,115 that wishing once to hear Hind perform on the lute he addressed her in the following two verses, begging her to come to his house : "O Hind, dost thou feel any impediment in coming to me? palm wine is forbidden, 'tis true, but not the drinking of limpid waters. "The nightingale, after hearing thy performance, envies thee, and wishes to "hear again the deep intonations of thy lute." 116 To which Hind replied, on the back of the letter, "O my Lord! may the Almighty prosper thee, and increase thy power " and importance! "It is my intention to hasten to thy presence, and to be in my own person "the bearer of my answer. 99 117 Ash-shelbiyyah is mentioned by Ibnu-l-abbár, who says, "I do not recollect now “what her name was, Ash-shelbiyyah 118 being only her patronymic. All I know is "that she was a very good poetess, as may be gathered from her writings, and especially from an epistle in verse which she addressed to the Sultán Ya'kúb Al-mansúr, complaining of a certain governor and collector of taxes in the city "where she resided." Nazhún 119 the Granadian is described by Ibnu Sa'íd, who places her among the illustrious characters of the fifth century. She is likewise mentioned by Al-hijárí, who portrays her in his Al-mas'hab as a female endowed with great tenderness of soul, and a very mild disposition; extraordinary talents for poetry, and a most wonderful memory. She wrote several poems, and made herself famous by the beauty and happiness of her similes. Bahjah, a native of Cordova, and a friend of the famous Waládah, was equally renowned for her beauty and for her verses. She lived in great intimacy with Waládah,120 the daughter of Al-mustakfi, King of Cordova, and profited by her lessons. But of this Waládah, who was herself the most eminent poetess of her time, as well as of Ramíkiyyah, 'Imád, Al-'abbádiyyah, and Buthínah, the three former wives, and the latter a daughter, of Al-mu'atamed Ibn 'Abbád, King of Seville, more will be said in the course of our narrative. Having clearly shown the aptitude and talents of the inhabitants of Andalus, we shall now proceed in the next chapter to give, in the words of the historian Ibnu Sa'íd, as faithful a sketch as we can of the productions of Andalusian genius in every department of science. Ibnu-r-rabib's epistle. CHAPTER IV. State of literature in Andalus-Epistle on the subject from Ibnu-r-rabíb At-temímí to Abú-l-mugheyrah "I deem it oppor WHAT follows is transcribed word for word from Ibnu Sa'íd. "O our Lord! O thou most beloved among our intimate friends! may the Almighty God write down for thee prosperity and happiness! may He continue thee in power and command! may He help and assist thee, put thee in the right I path whenever thou askest for direction, and enlighten thee whenever thou wishest "to be instructed! "The object of this our letter is that we some time ago began to think about thy country, and to consider how it was the abode of every excellence, the store of every good thing, the resort of every novelty, and the meeting-place of every advantage; the end of the hopes of the desirous, and the scope of the wishes of "the inquiring; the great emporium of trade, where every merchandize found a purchaser, and every buyer the object of his wishes. All this we knew to be the "case with thy country; we knew also that the above-mentioned were not the "only advantages which thy native land could boast of, for it possessed many others, "such as the vast number of its learned men, the multitude of its authors, the shining "virtues of its Kings, and their laudable practices in the encouragement of science; "their esteem for those who cultivated it, their honouring those whom science "honoured, and their extolling those whom learning extolled: nor was this confined only to science, for the same conduct was observed by them towards military men, distinguishing and raising in command those whom their valour and military knowledge placed above others, and honouring those whom their intrepidity in " battle made honourable. By these means the coward became brave, the timid was made bold,—the obscure, conspicuous, the ignorant, learned,—the stammerer, eloquent,―the inarticulate crier, a poet. The Bogáth1 strove to imitate the eagle "in his flight, bats were enabled to see2 by daylight, men gave their entire attention "to the cultivation of science, and the arts flourished through the general efforts 'employed in them. All this we know to be true, but at the same time it must be "owned that your literary men are guilty of unpardonable negligence, and unaccountable indolence, in perpetuating the records of their country; since, instead of collecting the excellences and advantages of their respective towns,-instead of "perpetuating in their books the memory of their cities, and transmitting to posterity the actions of their Kings and Princes, Kátibs and Wizírs, Kádís and Ulemas," instead of leaving behind them accounts which might preserve for ever afterwards "the fame of their deeds, and eternize and renew their names through the lapse of ages, and the course of nights and days,-instead of composing books which, like "the tongue of truth, might herald their virtues to future generations through the "succession of time, they leave every merit and virtue in the most complete state "of oblivion. Yes, truth must be told; although we admit that your learned men "shine like so many bright stars in the sciences, thou must own that every thing belonging to them remains in the shade, does not come before the public, stands "firm on its pivot, and never goes astray. If they write a book, they are afraid of 'being criticised or impugned; and if they compile a work, they dare not show it, "lest people should be of a contrary opinion to their own; so that they never do write, or, if they do, it is as if they were carried off by the birds, or blown away 'by the winds to an enormous distance. Not one among them pays the least "attention, or employs himself for one moment, in collecting the merits of his coun 66 3 trymen, or suffers his attention to rest on the brilliant qualities of former Sultáns. "None will dip his pen to commemorate the actions of their Kátibs and Wizírs, or "blot a sheet of paper with the virtuous deeds of their Kádís and Ulemas; and yet, "were they to let loose the padlocks of their mouths, and untie the bonds that 66 5 "restrain their eloquence, we have no doubt but that they would find an open space for their speech, and that the roads of literature would be thrown free for their passage, although their performances might not be equally approved of by every school, and their opinions not followed by every lover of literature. One of them, " for instance, will think of devoting himself to a given department of science, and "of studying the works of the masters who preceded him in it; but it is vain for him "to collect all the spears of preferment, and to excel in his profession,-he may carry away the vase of Ibn Mokbil, or take possession of the pen of Ibn Moklah, or of the feather-notch of the arrow of Dagfal, or become a quinsy in "the throat of Abú-l-'ameythal,7-the very moment he reaches the end of his exist"ence, the moment fate cuts the thread of his life, all memory of his actions and "writings ceases, and his learning and science are buried along with him. Such is "not the case with learned people of other countries, for by perpetuating their records they give to each author that share of celebrity to which he is justly entitled, and they write books by which they raise everlasting monuments to their fame. And if thou pretend to say that the same negligence of which we accuse the authors of thy country is to be found among those of ours, and that they also produce works "which never reach the notice of the public, we will answer thee that the assertion " is not a true one; for this country being only separated from thine by an evening's sail, or as it were by a short march, if the wind were to blow to our shores the "fame of your authors, or to carry hither the name of their writings, there is no "doubt but that the voice would be listened to by the dead in their tombs, not to "speak of those who are living in houses and palaces; and they would graciously "admit their performance, in the same manner as they received the collection of poems by Ahmed Ibn 'Abdi-r-rabbihi which he entitled Al-'ikd, although, if truth "be told, he is somewhat to be blamed for not having made the excellences of his country the chief topic of his book, and the noble actions of Kings the principal jewel in his necklace, for not having redoubled his efforts, and given all his diligence to the inquiry, but having, on the contrary, strained every nerve, and put in motion every joint, to produce-what ?—a sword without edge; and to do “ —what ?—what his friends and companions had done before him: that is, to pass "over in silence that which might concern them, and neglect to mention that which 66 8 was most important, and might make them appear greater in the eyes of the world. "This is all we have to say; now, if thou shouldst have any thing to reply, if thou "shouldst have any good reasons to state in return, or have in thy hands the means " of solving this difficulty, pray acquaint us with it. Guide thy brother, and may "God guide thee! Direct thy brother, and may God direct thee! We salute thee, the Almighty's mercy and benediction be with thee!' -may |