4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING

4HECOLLECTIONANDDISPERSIONOF
)BN!RABSPOETRY

Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

INTRODUCTION
4HEREASONWHICHHASLEDMETOUTTERPOETRYSHIR ISTHAT)SAWIN
ADREAMWQIA ANANGELWHOBROUGHTMEAPIECEOFWHITELIGHT
LIKEAFRAGMENTOFTHESUNSLIGHTh7HATISTHATv)ASKEDh)TISTHE
3RATAL 3HUARTHE0OETS vWASTHEREPLY)SWALLOWEDITANDFELT
AHAIRSHARA ARISINGFROMMYCHESTTOMYTHROATANDTHENINTO
MYMOUTH)TWASANANIMALWITHAHEADATONGUEEYESANDLIPS
)TGREWOUTOFMYMOUTHUNTILITSHEADSTRUCKTHETWOHORIZONS
THE %AST AND THE 7EST !FTER THAT IT CONTRACTED AND RETURNED
INTO MY CHEST SO ) KNEW THAT MY WORDS WOULD REACH THE %AST
AND THE 7EST 4HEN ) CAME BACK TO MYSELF AND ) UTTERED POETRY
WITHOUT ANY PROCESS OF REmECTION OR THOUGHT 3INCE THAT TIME
THISINSPIRATIONHASNEVERCEASEDANDITISBECAUSEOFTHISSUBLIME
CONTEMPLATIONTHAT)HAVECOLLECTEDTOGETHERALLTHEPOEMSTHAT)
CANREMEMBERINTHIS$WN"UTTHEREISMUCHMORETHAT)HAVE
FORGOTTEN
%VERYTHINGTHATTHISCOLLECTIONCONTAINSISTHUSPRAISE
BETO'ODNOTHINGOTHERTHAN;THEFRUITOF=ADIVINEPROJECTIONA
HOLYSPIRITUALINSPIRATIONANDASPLENDIDCELESTIALHERITAGE1

)N THESE LINES FROM THE 0ROLOGUE TO THE WORK HE CALLS $WN

AL MARIFAL ILHIYYAWA L LAIFAL RIYYA@THE$WNOFDIVINE
KNOWLEDGES AND SPIRITUAL SUBTLETIES OR AL $WN AL KABR @THE
'REAT$WN )BN!RABCLEARLYOUTLINESTHEVISIONTHATINITIATED
ANUNFETTEREDOUTPOURINGOFPOETICINSPIRATIONANDCAUSEDHIM
1. Ms. Paris BN 2348, fol. 37a. See C. Addas, The Ship of Stone, in
The Journey of the Heart, J. Mercer (ed.) (Oxford, 1996), pp. 524, and
D. McAuley, )BN !RABS -YSTICAL 0OETICS (Oxford, 2012), pp. 478, for
alternative translations.

34

Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

TOLATERCOLLECTTOGETHERALLOFTHEPOEMSTHATHECOULDREMEMBER
4HIS DESCRIPTION HOWEVER DOES NOT TELL US THE FORM TAKEN BY
THIS 'REAT $WN UNLESS WE ARE TO SOMEHOW IDENTIFY IT WITH
THEPHANTASMAGORICALCREATURETHATHEFOUNDEMERGINGFROMHIS
CHEST OR THE DATE WHEN HE BEGAN THIS HUGE UNDERTAKING NOR
DOES IT TELL US THE RELATIONSHIP THAT IT BEARS TO ANY NUMBER OF
@POETRY COLLECTIONS $AWWN PL OF $WN  WHICH ARE TO BE
FOUNDINTHEMANUSCRIPTSASSOCIATEDWITHHISNAME
!S REGARDS DATING WE KNOW FROM ITS CONTENTS THAT IN ITS
CURRENTFORMITMUSTHAVEBEENBEGUNAFTERTHECOMPOSITIONOF
the &UAL IKAM2'COMPOSED ANDAL &UTT
AL -AKKIYYA2'lRSTRECENSIONCOMPLETED AND
PERHAPSAROUNDTHETIMETHATHEEXTRACTEDTHEPOETRYFROMTHE
&UTTINASEPARATETREATISENAMED.AMAL FUTAL -AKK2'
 WHICHMAYHAVEBEENAPRECURSORTOTHE$WNITSELF The
TITLE$WNAL MARIFISMENTIONEDINHISAUTO BIBLIOGRAPHIES
the Fihris2'NO ANDTHE)JZA2'NOWHICH
EQUATESITTOAL $WNAL KABR 4HE'REAT$WNWASCERTAINLY
INITSlNALFORMBYPOSSIBLYEVENTHREEYEARSEARLIER3
"UILDING ON THE WORK OF OTHERS SPANNING MANY DECADES
WE REPORT HERE ON PROGRESS IN A NEW STUDY ONE BASED UPON
CATALOGUING AND CROSS MATCHING EVERY INDIVIDUAL POEM IN THE
OLDESTANDBESTMANUSCRIPTSCURRENTLYAVAILABLETOUS
)N HIS MONUMENTAL AND PIONEERING STUDY OF )BN !RABS
MANUSCRIPTS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS /SMAN 9AHIA GATHERED
TOGETHERTHEMAIN$WNMANUSCRIPTSUNDER2'NUMBERSn
 4HISWORK!MADIYYEFOLSn CARRIESASAMCERTIlCATEIN
THEHANDOF)BN!RABDATEDIN!LEPPOANDMENTIONSHISWIFE
-ARYAMBINT)BN!BDNASONEOFTHOSEPRESENT4HATINDICATESTHATHEPUT
ITTOGETHERSOMETIMEPRIORTOTHIS
 4HE PRECISE DATE IS A MATTER OF SOME OBSCURITY THE &IHRIS, dated
MENTIONSAPROTOTYPEFORTHEWORKCALLED+AL MARIFAL ILHIYYA
WA AL LAIF AL RABBNIYYA PRESUMABLY WITHOUT THE &U and &UTT
POEMS  WHILE THE )JZA WRITTEN IN -UARRAM 3EPTEMBER 
records it as $WN AL MARIF /NE MANUSCRIPT +HALILI  GIVES THE
DATE$HL IJJA!UGUSTFORAREADINGOFTHEWHOLE$WN
WITHOUTSPECIFYINGEXACTLYWHENITWASCOMPOSED)TISWORTHNOTINGTHAT
THE$WNWASCOMPILEDONTHEBASISOFTHElRSTRECENSION

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



4 3UBSEQUENT WORK BY OTHER SCHOLARS CAN BE CONVENIENTLY

DIVIDED BETWEEN STUDIES THAT CONCENTRATE PRIMARILY UPON THE
LITERARYCONTENTOFCERTAINPOEMSANDTHOSETHATFOCUSONTHE
STRUCTUREOFTHEVARIOUS$AWWN
4HE@LITERARYCONTENTSTUDIESRANGEFROM2.ICHOLSONS
EDITIONANDTRANSLATIONOFTHE4ARJUMNAL ASHWQWITHEXTRACTS
FROMTHE+AL $HAKHIRWA L ALQ)TOASERIESOFSTUDIESBY0
"ACHMANNANDBY2!USTIN4RANSLATIONSOFMANYINDIVIDUAL
POEMS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE 3OCIETYS *OURNAL -OST
RECENTLY $ -C!ULEYS 0H$ THESIS AND  BOOK REPRESENT
THE MOST EXTENSIVE STUDY TO DATE AT LEAST IN %NGLISH OF THE
LITERARYCONTENTOF)BN!RABSPOETRY4HISWORKREPRESENTSA
TRULYEXCITINGDEVELOPMENTANDISSURETOINSPIRESPECIALISTSAND
GENERALREADERSALIKETOFURTHERSTUDY
4. O. Yahia, (ISTOIRE ET #LASSIlCATION DE LUVRE D)BN !RABI $AMASCUS
 /THER$AWWNARELISTEDSEPARATELYFROM2'nASFOLLOWS2'
116 (+AL $HAKHIRWA L ALQ)BN!RABSCOMMENTARYONTHE4ARJUMN,
partly reproduced in the $WNAL -ARIF2' 2')NZLAL GHUYB
ALMARTIBAL QULBMENTIONEDIN)BN!RABS&IHRISBUTAPPARENTLYLOST 
2'+AL -ABDWA L GHAYTACOLLECTIONOFLETTERPOEMSTHATAPPEAR
in ch. 2 of the &UTT 2'AAL -ANMTASMALLCOLLECTIONOFPOEMS
EXTRACTEDFROMTHE&UTT 2'AL -UASHSHART = AL $WNAL AGHAR,
THE@ LINERSREPRODUCEDINTHE"LQ$WN 2'AL -UWASHSHAT
AL ILHIYYAWA L AZJAL@STROPHICPOEMSWHICHAREDISTRIBUTEDACROSSTHElRST
half of the "LQ$WN 2'.AMAL FUTAL -AKKPOEMSFROMTHE
&UTT FROM THE 0ROLOGUE UP TO CH   2'  4ARJUMN AL ASHWQ
reproduced in the $WNAL MAARIF 2'+AL :AYNABIYYT, a section
of the $WNAL MARIFnSEEBELOW !FTERLISTINGWELLOVERMANUSCRIPTS
UNDER 2'  9AHIA STATES h,ES COPIES CI DESSUS MENTIONES SONT TOUTES
INCOMPLTESx 5NE DITION CRITIQUE DE CETTE OEUVRE EXIGERAIT DONC LA
consultation de toutes les copies. We continue to add to Yahias list, and
MANYMANUSCRIPTSREMAINWHICHWEHAVEYETTOEXAMINEANDCATALOGUE
 2 .ICHOLSON ED  4HE 4ARJUMN AL ASHWQ ! COLLECTION OF MYSTICAL
ODES,ONDON 
 2EFERENCES TO THE PAPERS BY 0 "ACHMANN Sn CAN BE
found in McAuley, -YSTICAL 0OETICS 2 !USTINS STUDY WAS @)BN AL !RAB n
0OETOF$IVINE2EALITIESIN-UYIDDN)BN!RAB!#OMMEMORATIVE6OLUME,
S. Hirtenstein and M. Tiernan (eds.) (Sherborne, 1993), pp. 1819.
7. D. McAuley, !N !NALYSIS OF 3ELECTED 0OEMS FROM )BN !RABS $WN
(Ph.D. 2007), and -YSTICAL0OETICS the latter has an excellent bibliography.



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

/UROWNSTUDYSTANDSINTHETRADITIONOFTHEMORESTRUCTURE
BASEDSTUDIESOF)BN!RABSPOETICOUTPUTWHICHCANBESAIDTO
HAVEBEGUNWITHTHEINITIALEDITORIALWORKTHATLAYBEHINDTHE
"LQ PRINT EDITION $WN )BN !RAB #AIRO   )N 
THE"LQEDITIONWASSHOWNBY2$ELADRIRETOBEBASEDUPON
A TEXT ESTABLISHED BY -UAMMAD B )SML 3HIHB AL $N
AND$ELADRIREWASABLETOIDENTIFYTHESOURCEFORQUITEALARGE
NUMBER OF POEMS )N A FOLLOW UP STUDY IN  THE OVERALL
OUTLINE OF THE "LQ WAS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED BY ' %LMORE
!LTHOUGH %LMORE COMMENTED UPON THE INITIAL STUDIES OF THE
$WN AL MARIF BY # !DDAS HIS FOCUS REMAINED UPON THE
CONTENT OF THE "LQ EDITION WHICH TO THIS DAY REMAINS THE
ONLY$WNINPRINT
(OWEVERTHESCOPEFORSTRUCTURALASWELLASLITERARY STUDIES
OF )BN !RABS $AWWN EXPANDED ENORMOUSLY WITH THREE
STUDIES BY !DDAS 3HE PROVIDED THE lRST DETAILED DESCRIPTION
OFTHECONTENTOFTHEONLYCOMPLETEMANUSCRIPTOFTHE$WN
AL MARIF0ARIS".HER$- AWORKLISTEDBY)BN!RAB
INBOTHHISAUTO BIBLIOGRAPHIES4HIS0ARISMANUSCRIPTISHUGE
MORETHANTWICETHELENGTHOFTHE"LQEDITION
!LTHOUGH !DDAS WAS UNABLE TO TRACE THE MAJORITY OF THE
POEMSTOKNOWNWORKSnANDTHUSAVASTCHUNKOF)BN!RABS
POETICOUTPUTREMAINSANALLBUTHIDDENTREASUREnSHEDIDNOTE
that the $WN AL MARIF HAD VERY LITTLE OVERLAP WITH "LQ
3HEPROPOSEDTHAT"LQWASINFACTTHElRSTCONTINUATIONOFTHE
$WNAL MARIFWITHIN)BN!RABS@'REAT$WN)TREMAINED
FOR SCHOLARS TO LOOK IN GREATER DETAIL AT THE LARGE NUMBER OF
$WN MANUSCRIPTS LISTED BY 9AHIA UNDER 2' n THE
MAJORITY OF WHICH 9AHIA HIMSELF REGARDED AS @INCOMPLETE !S
PARTOFTHE3OCIETYS!RCHIVE0ROJECT3(IRTENSTEINDESCRIBEDTHE
STRUCTUREOFSOMEPARTICULARLYIMPORTANTHISTORICMANUSCRIPTS11
 2$ELADRIRE@4HE$WNOF)BN!RABI*-)!3 15 (1994), pp. 506.
 '%LMORE@4HE"LQ$WNOF)BNAL !RAB!DDENDATOA4ENTATIVE
Description, *OURNALOF!RABIC,ITERATUREn PPn
10. propos du $WN AL MARIF D)BN !RABI 3TUDIA )SLAMICA, 81
 PPn@3HIPOF3TONE@,UVREPOTIQUED)BN!RABETSA
RCEPTION3TUDIA)SLAMICA 91 (2000), pp. 2338.
 3 (IRTENSTEIN @3OME 0RELIMINARY .OTES ON AL $WN AL KABR,

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



"UTQUESTIONSREMAINEDASTOHOWTHESERELATETOEACHOTHERAND
TOTHE$WNAL MARIFAND"LQ4HEREAREINDICATIONSOFlVE
OR SIX @PARTS BUT WHICH PART DID EACH MANUSCRIPT REPRESENT
#OULD ONE EVEN EXPECT THEM TO BE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE WITH
REGARDTOTHEIRPOETICCONTENT
4HE NEXT LOGICAL STEP SEEMED INEVITABLE ALBEIT A VAST
UNDERTAKING CATALOGUING AND CROSS MATCHING EACH INDIVIDUAL
POEMIN)BN!RABSKNOWNWORKSANDINTHEBESTMANUSCRIPTS
OFTHEVARIOUS$AWWN4HISWASNOTATASKTOBEUNDERTAKEN
LIGHTLYTHE&UTTALONECONTAINSAROUNDPIECESOFVERSE
AND THE 0ARIS MANUSCRIPT CONTAINS OVER 
4HIS ARTICLE IS
THE lRST FRUIT OF OUR USE OF MODERN COMPUTER TECHNIQUES TO
CATALOGUE AND CROSS REFERENCE MULTIPLE $AWWN MANUSCRIPTS
ASWELLASTHEPOEMSFOUNDIN)BN!RABSPRINTEDWORKS
4HERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF KEYS TO BRINGING THIS WORK
INTO THE REALMS OF THE FEASIBLE &IRSTLY AND MOST OBVIOUSLY
WAS THE BASIC CATALOGUING TASK OF INVENTING A @NAMING
CONVENTION WHEREBY INDIVIDUAL POEMS COULD BE IDENTIlED
IN MEANINGFUL WAYS AND QUICKLY LOCATED IN SOURCE TEXTS &OR
REASONS OF PRACTICALITY WE CHOSE TO RECORD THE FOLLOWING DATA
INOURDATABASEASAMINIMUMFOREVERYPOEMITSIDENTIlERA
UNIQUE SHORTHAND INDICATOR OF WHERE IT OCCURS IN A WORK OR A
MANUSCRIPT THElRSTVERSEIN!RABICTHETOTALNUMBEROFVERSES
ANDTHERHYMELETTER3ECONDLYWEDEVELOPEDSOFTWAREFOR@FUZZY
MATCHING !RABIC STRINGS USING THE DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING
CONCEPTOF@MINIMUMEDITDISTANCEWHICHPROVIDESAMEASURE
OFCLOSENESSORVARIATIONBETWEENANYTWO!RABICVERSESINOUR
DATABASE 7ITH THIS WE HAVE MANAGED TO DISCOVER AND RECORD
CROSS MATCHES BETWEEN POEMS ACROSS WORKS AND MANUSCRIPTS
7ITH FUZZY MATCHING WE COULD ALSO DEAL WITH ERRORS IN DATA
INPUTSCRIBALOREDITORIALERRORSANDEVENVARIATIONS)BN!RAB
MIGHTHAVEALLOWEDHIMSELF

*-)!3 39 (2006), pp. 11120.

 -C!ULEY NOTES THE WIDE VARIATION THAT CAN SOMETIMES OCCUR IN A
PARTICULAR POEM THAT IS FOUND IN DIFFERENT FORMS IN THE MANUSCRIPTS 3EE
-YSTICAL0OETICS, p. 127, n.45.



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

&INALLY WITH THESE TOOLS IN PLACE MANY MAN MONTHS WERE

DEDICATED TO THE LABORIOUS TASK OF DATA ENTRY 4HAT WE CAN
OFFER THE CURRENT PROGRESS REPORT AFTER LESS THAN A YEAR IS IN
NO SMALL PART DUE TO OUR DISCOVERY OF EXTRAORDINARY STRUCTURAL
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MANUSCRIPTS IN WHICH THE SAME POETIC
CONTENTISPRESENTEDUNDERVERYDIFFERENTORGANISATIONS4HERE
HAS ALSO BEEN A SIGNIlCANT SNOWBALL EFFECT AS OUR DATABASE
APPROACHEDTHESTATEOFCONTAINING@ALLOF)BN!RABSPOETRY
)NCREASINGLY WE KNOW BOTH WHAT TO LOOK FOR AND WHERE IT IS
LIKELYTOOCCUR7ECANTHUSRECOGNISEANDINDIRECTLYDECIPHER
ALL BUT ILLEGIBLE MANUSCRIPTS AND CAN EVEN PREDICT IN SOME
DETAILTHECONTENTOFMANUSCRIPTSWEHAVEYETTOEXAMINE

!.%7#,!33)&)#!4)/.
!FTER ENTERING ALL THE DATA AND INITIATING A POEM BY POEM
STRUCTURALANALYSISOFOVERFOURTEEN$WNMANUSCRIPTSITHAS
BECOME CLEAR TO US THAT 9AHIAS TENTATIVE CLASSIlCATION SYSTEM
IS IN NEED OF SERIOUS REVISION /UR REASONS FOR COMING TO THIS
CONCLUSIONARESETOUTBELOWBUTFORSIMPLICITYWESHALLSTRUCTURE
THISREPORTAROUNDTHEEND POINTAPROPOSEDRECLASSIlCATIONOF
THE$AWWNANDASSOCIATEDFAMILIESOFMANUSCRIPTS
4HEPRIMARYFEATUREOFTHISNEWCLASSIlCATIONISTHATTHEREARE
THREEMAIN$AWWNWHICHWEMAYCALL@'REAT@7ESTERNAND
@%ASTERN ALLOFTHEMPROBABLYCOMPILEDBYTHEAUTHORHIMSELF
PLUS A MISCELLANY OF @OTHER $AWWN13 4O HELP ORIENTATE
 /URLISTOF$AWWNCORRESPONDSMOREORLESSTOTHEMANUSCRIPTS
CLASSIlEDUNDER2'n7EEXCLUDEFROMTHELISTDISTINCTCOLLECTIONS
such as 4ARJUMNAL ASHWQ and +AL $HAKHIRWA L ALQ2'AND
2'   + AL -UASHSHART 2'   AND AL -UWASHSHAT 2'  
EVEN THOUGH THE POEMS FROM THESE OTHER COLLECTIONS DO APPEAR IN THE
'REAT$WN)TCANPROVECONFUSINGTHATSOMELIBRARYCATALOGUESLISTUNDER
THETITLE@$WNMANUSCRIPTSTHATCONTAINTHESEOTHERDISTINCTCOLLECTIONS
FOREXAMPLELISTEDUNDER2'AMANUSCRIPTWHICHWEHAVEEXAMINED
9AHYA %F   (ACI -AHMUD  IS NO OTHER THAN THE 4ARJUMN.
4ODATENOMANUSCRIPTSHAVEAPPEAREDFORA$WNIDENTIlABLEAS)NZL
AL GHUYBALMARTIBAL QULB2' WHICHISMENTIONEDINTHE&IHRIS,
)JZAand 2AL 1UDSALTHOUGHTHREEOFTHEPOEMSINTHELATTERARESAID

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



THE READER WE OFFER A SCHEMATIC DEPICTION OF THE THREE MAIN

$AWWN WHICH IS LOOSELY RELATED TO THE SECOND AND THIRD OF
THE THREE VISIONS THAT )BN !RAB DESCRIBED IN THE 0ROLOGUE TO
the $WNAL MARIF
it was a melody in double or triple time, depending on
whether they were adding or taking away

@7ESTERN$WN

@%ASTERN$WN

ALIFHAMZA
R

ALIFHAMZA
GHAYN

ZAYNN

FWW
LM ALIFY

SDWW
LM ALIFY

@0ROTO "LQ'$
$WNAL MARIF'$
'REAT$WN

It was an animal with a head, a tongue, eyes, and lips.

It grew out of my mouth until its head struck the two horizons,
the East and the West

!S CAN BE SEEN THESE THREE MAIN $AWWN HAVE A TOTAL OF 

MANUSCRIPTPARTSTHE'REAT$WNPARTS WHICHCONTAINSALL
OF)BN!RABSPOETICOUTPUTFROMWHOSECONTENTSTWOSELECTIVE
REORGANISATIONS WERE MADE ONE @7ESTERN  PARTS AND ONE
TOHAVECOMEFROMTHERE!SARESULTTHAT$WNDOESNOTAPPEARINOUR
CLASSIlCATION ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT ITS CONTENT MAY HAVE BEEN
INCLUDEDINSOMEWAY

Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein



@%ASTERNPARTS 4HE'REAT$WN'$ EXISTSINTWOSURVIVING

MANUSCRIPT PARTS ONE ENTITLED $WN AL MARIF '$ AND
THEOTHERWHICHWEHAVENAMED@PROTO "LQ'$ AFULLER
ANDMORECOMPLETEANCESTOROFTHEPRINTED"LQ$WN4HE
@7ESTERN $WN 7$ OUR TITLE HAS A THEMATICnALPHABETIC
STRUCTUREBASEDONA-AGHRIBIALPHABETICALORDERREORGANISING
OFTHECONTENTOF'$FROMTHETWOSURVIVINGMANUSCRIPTS
WE HAVE SEEN WE BELIEVE IT TO HAVE EXISTED IN AT LEAST THREE
MANUSCRIPTPARTSOFUNEQUALSIZES4HE@%ASTERN$WN%$OUR
TITLE ISAFULLYALPHABETICALREORGANISATIONOFOFTHECONTENT
OF '$ USING A -ASHRIQI ALPHABETICAL ORDER IT SEEMS TO HAVE
EXISTED IN TWO MANUSCRIPT PARTS OF ROUGHLY EQUAL SIZE14 AND
WHILEINDIVIDUALPOEMSAREMOSTLYALSOTOBEFOUNDINTHE7$
THEORDERINGOFTHOSEPOEMSATALLSTRUCTURALLEVELSISGENERALLY
QUITEDIFFERENT
4HERELATIVESIZESINTERMSOFAPPROXIMATENUMBEROFPOEMS
ARE

'$

 

7$

 

%$

 

)T IS TEMPTING HERE TO SPECULATE UPON THE OVERALL RATIO  OF

THE 7$ AND %$ SELECTIONS WHETHER THIS WAS ACCIDENTAL OR
DELIBERATE )F DELIBERATE THE  PROPORTION MIGHT RECALL )BN
!RABSDESCRIPTIONMENTIONEDABOVE OFTHESCREECHINGOFTHE
STYLUSES OR hTHE GRINDING OF THE PENSv AS -C!ULEY TRANSLATES
IT THATRECORDHUMANACTIONSAShAMELODYINDOUBLEORtriple
TIMEvIEAMELODYTHATDIVIDESEVERYTHINGINTOEVENANDODD
MEASURESADESCRIPTOROFNOTHINGLESSTHANTHEPOETICRHYTHMS
OFALLHUMANLIFE
/FTHESEVENMANUSCRIPTPARTSOFALLTHESE$AWWNWEHAVE
SOFARONLYEXAMINEDANDFULLYCATALOGUEDMANUSCRIPTEXAMPLES
 7HILE WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO CONlRM THIS FROM THE ACTUAL
MANUSCRIPTSWHICHARESADLYLOSTTHEVOLUMESOF)BN!RABS$WN9!
AND FROMTHE9USUF!A,IBRARYIN+ONYAINA-AGHRIBIHAND
WERE SUMMARILY DESCRIBED BY !HMED !TE IN @+ONYA KTPHANELERINDE
BULUNANBZIMHIMYAZMALAR"ELLETEN 16 (1952), p. 54.
15. See -YSTICAL0OETICS, p. 47.

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING

41

OFTHOSEDEPICTEDINBLACK!PPENDIXGIVESDETAILSOFEACHOF
THESEMANUSCRIPTS4HOSECIRCLESDEPICTEDINGREYAREPREDICTEDOR
STRONGLYSUSPECTEDTOEXISTELSEWHEREINTHEMANUSCRIPTBASEBUT
WEHAVENOTCOMEACROSSANYCOPIESYET4HEPART GREYPART BLACK
CIRCLE IN THE 7$ REmECTS THE FACT THAT ONE OF THE MANUSCRIPTS
WHICH WE HAVE CATALOGUED 6ELIYUDDIN  ;6%,=  CONTAINS
THEENDOFTHE@DBLOCKPOEMSRHYMINGINDL ANDALLOFTHE@R
BLOCK POEMSRHYMINGINR AFTERWHICHITOVERLAPSWITHTHE
BEGINNINGOFTHEHOLOGRAPH+HALILI;+(,= )TTHUSSTRADDLES
TWOOFTHETHREEPARTSINDICATEDBYOURCIRCLES
&OR A MORE DETAILED SCHEMA WE REFER THE READER TO THE
TABLESIN!PPENDIX@0ROPOSEDRECLASSIlCATIONOF)BN!RABS
$AWWN  IN WHICH WE INDICATE THE BREAKDOWN OF EACH
$WNITSAPPROXIMATESIZETHE2'NUMBERANDTHECODEFOR
THEMANUSCRIPTS FORWHICHWEHAVECATALOGUEDTHEPOETRY

4(%47/ 0!24'2%!4$7.'$
!T THE ROOT OF OUR CLASSIlCATION IS )BN !RABS @'REAT $WN
AL $WN AL KABR  4HIS SEEMS TO HAVE EXISTED IN TWO
MANUSCRIPT PARTS THE $WN AL MARIF AND WHAT WE TERM THE
@PROTO "LQ
4HE lRST PART IS REPRESENTED BY THE UNIQUE AND SUPREMELY
IMPORTANTMANUSCRIPT0ARIS".;0".=WHICHHASBEENTHE
SUBJECT OF DETAILED STUDY BY !DDAS )N THE 0ROLOGUE )BN !RAB
GIVES TWO LONGER TITLES TO THE WORK + 4ANAZZUL AL ARW BI L
RAW WA L RAYN WA L IRW WA MARIF AL ANWR MIN SUBUTIHI
WA LAIF AL ASRR WA L ARW JAT BIH AL AMLK MIN MALAKTIHI
INDA TAARRUF AL ARW A TITLE THAT PLAYS ON THE ABUNDANT
MEANINGS OF THE ROOT R W  FOLLOWED DIRECTLY BY A SHORTER TITLE
FOLB $WNAL MARIFAL ILHIYYAWA L LAIFAL RABBNIYYA)N
HIS)JZANO )BN!RABIDENTIlESTHE$WNAL MARIFWITH
HIS@'REAT$WNAL $WNAL KABR 7EPROPOSETOUSETHETITLE
@'REAT$WNTOCOVERNOTONLYTHECONTENTSOF;0".='$
BUTALSOITSCONTINUATIONORSECONDMANUSCRIPT PART'$ &OR
 7E MIGHT SUPPOSE THAT THE 7$ BEGINS WITH AN ALIF SEQUENCE AS
DOESTHE%$ nOTHERWISEWHEREWOULDSUCHPOEMSBEPLACED



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

THEREISASPECIlCSENSEAS!DDASSUGGESTEDINWHICHTHESETWO

PARTS BETWEEN THEM CAN BE SAID TO CONTAIN @ALL OF )BN !RABS
POETRYnTHEPROJECTHEHIMSELFANNOUNCEDINTHE0ROLOGUE
4HESECONDPARTISREPRESENTEDBYTHE"LQPRINTEDEDITION
BUTWITHONESIGNIlCANTADDITIONWHICHISDRAWNFROMTHESINGLE
PROTO "LQMANUSCRIPTWEHAVEBEENABLETOCATALOGUE9USUF
!A;9!"=)TISTHUSNECESSARYTODISTINGUISHBETWEENTHE
ORIGINALCOMPLETE'$ANDTHE"LQEDITIONITSELFAND"LQ
ALIKEMANUSCRIPTS 4HEDIFFERENCECONSISTSOFWHATWEREFERTO
AS THE @"LQ HOLE WHICH CAN BE FOUND AT P OF THE "LQ
PRINTINGAMISSINGSECTIONOFNEARLYPOEMSANDABLOCKOF
PROSEONINITIATIONFROMTHE+.ASABAL KHIRQA2' 4HAT
THERE WAS NO SUCH @HOLE IN THE ORIGINAL '$ IS CORROBORATED
BY THE @MAPPING TO THE 7$ SEE BELOW  &URTHERMORE MUCH
OF THE ORIGINAL CONTENT IN THIS @HOLE CAN BE FOUND SCATTERED
AROUND OTHER $AWWN ! RECENTLY REDISCOVERED EARLY "LQ
ALIKE MANUSCRIPT ,EIDEN /R  ;,$.= ONE FEATURING OR
CONTAININGTHE@"LQHOLEIEWITHTHEGAPMIGHTWELLMARK
THE BRANCHING AWAY OF THE "LQ FAMILY OF MANUSCRIPTS FROM
THE PROTO "LQ SINCE THE HOLE OCCURS PRECISELY AT A BREAK
BETWEEN FOLIOS INDICATING THAT ITS EXEMPLAR THE MANUSCRIPT
IT WAS COPIED FROM MAY HAVE BEEN THE DEFECTIVE MANUSCRIPT
WHICHHADLOSTANUMBEROFFOLIOS
!DDASSUGGESTEDTHAT"LQHER$ nTHEONLY$WNINOUR
LISTOFTHOSEBASEDON2'n THATHASEVERBEENPRINTED
nWASTHECONTINUATIONORONEOFTHECONTINUATIONSTO'$
7ECANNOWSAYWITHSOMECERTAINTYANDWITHSPECIlCMEANING
THATANANCESTOROFTHE"LQEDITIONTHEPROTO "LQWASTHE
ONLYCONTINUATION4HEREASONWEAREABLETODOTHISISTHATTHE
'REAT $WNS OFFSPRING THE 7$ AND %$ PROVIDE PARTICULAR
ANDDELIBERATECLUESTOTHEIRPARENTAGEASWESHALLSEETHE7$
WAS DERIVED QUASI FORMULAICALLY FROM THE  PART 'REAT $WN
17. It is debatable whether the title $WN AL MARIF should be
EXTENDEDTOINCLUDE'$ANDTHEREFORECOVERTHEWHOLE'REAT$WNBUT
THATMIGHTPROVECONFUSINGTOREADERSOF!DDASSPAPERS7ITHTHEMINOR
MODIlCATIONWEAREABOUTTOMENTIONHER$-AND$CORRESPONDTO'$
AND'$
18. Propos, p. 194.

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING

43

A PROCESS WE KNOW WAS INSTIGATED BY THE AUTHOR HIMSELF SINCE

;+(,= IS IN HIS OWN HANDWRITING /NE CONSEQUENCE OF THAT
@MAPPING IS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO CONCLUDE THAT THERE WAS NO
SIGNIlCANTNUMBEROFPOEMSBEYONDTHOSEFOUNDIN'$AND
'$ n WERE ONE TO POSIT THE EXISTENCE OF SOME OTHER AS YET
UNKNOWNSIZEABLECONTINUATIONOFTHE'REAT$WNTHENONE
WOULD HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHY SO FEW OF ITS POEMS APPEAR IN THE
REORGANISATIONTHATISFOUNDINTHE7$OR%$ !SECONDARYEFFECT
ISTHATMANYPOEMSINTHE'REAT$WNCANBEREAD@BACKWARDS
ANDTHUSAUTHENTICATED THROUGH@MATCHINGPOEMSINTHE7$
ALLEVIATING THE PROBLEMS OF OCCASIONAL ILLEGIBILITY IN THE 0ARIS
MANUSCRIPT4OALESSEREXTENTTHISISTRUEOF@MATCHINGPOEMSIN
OTHER$AWWNOFWHICHTHE%$ISTHEMOSTIMPORTANT
)N SUMMARY WE CAN SEE THE FULL SCOPE OF THE 'REAT $WN
A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY  POEMS MADE UP OF  IN
'$ANDIN'$/FTHISENORMOUSPOETICOUTPUTTHEN
AMEREHASSOFARBEENPRINTEDASTHE"LQ$WNWITH
AFURTHERORSOPUBLISHEDINTHEFORMOFOTHERWORKSSUCH
ASTHE&UTT4HISMEANSTHATAPPROXIMATELYONE THIRDOF)BN
!RABSPOETICOUTPUTHASSOFARNOTBEENPRINTEDATALL
3TRUCTUREANDCONTENTOF'$
!SMENTIONEDABOVE!DDASDESCRIBEDINDETAILTHElRSTPARTOF
THE'REAT$WNINHERSERIESOFTHREEARTICLESINPARTICULAR@
0ROPOS/URCATALOGUINGOFEVERYPOEMIN;0".=HASPROVIDED
SOME FURTHER INSIGHTS 7E WILL PROVIDE A DESCRIPTION OF THE
STRUCTUREANDCONTENTHEREANDASUMMARISINGTABLEOFTHEWAY
ITRELATESTOTHE7ESTERN$WNCANBEFOUNDIN!PPENDIX
Parts and sections

'$ASREPRESENTEDBY;0".=ISVASTANDCOMPLEX)TCONSISTSOF
A0ROLOGUEPLUSFURTHERSECTIONS%ACHSECTIONJUZ ISWELL
MARKEDBEGINNINGWITHABASMALAHANDFOLLOWEDBYTHEWORDS
WA QLA AYAN @!ND HE ALSO SAIDx WHICH INTRODUCE EACH
POEMANDENDINGWITHTHEWORDSINTIHAL JUZ@HEREENDSTHE
SECTION 4HESEBASMALAH SECTIONSASINTHE&UTTANDSOME
OTHERWORKSSUCHAS+AL )SRDETERMINETHEOVERALLSHAPEOF

44

Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

THEBOOKINASIMILARWAYTOCHAPTERS4HEINITIALSECTIONSARE
NUMBERED THE lRST  OF WHICH ARE SAID TO COMPLETE THE lRST
@PART ALSO SOMEWHAT CONFUSINGLY NAMED JUZ OF THE $WN
FOLB 
'$SEEMSTOHAVEORIGINALLYBEENCONCEIVEDOFINFOURMAJOR
THEMEDPARTSOFCOLLECTEDPOEMSORPOSSIBLYlVEIFTHE0ROLOGUE
ISVIEWEDASSEPARATE !LTHOUGHINTERNALNOTESONLYREFERTOTHE
ENDOFTHElRSTANDTHIRDPARTSANDTHEREISNOSPECIlCMARKER
FORTHEENDOFTHESECONDORFOURTHPARTTHEFOURTHCOMESATTHE
ENDOFTHEMANUSCRIPT WESUGGESTTHATASWITH)BN!RABS
OTHER WORKS THERE IS A HIGHLY DETAILED ORGANISING PRINCIPLE AT
WORKINTHEWAYTHEWHOLEPROJECTWASCONCEIVED4HISSHOULD
BE IN NO WAY SURPRISING OR CONSIDERED ARBITRARY TO ANYONE
FAMILIARWITHHISWORKSINCEFOR)BN!RABNUMBERSANDLETTERS
EXHIBIT A SPECIAL HARMONY AND BEAUTY IN A MANNER WHICH IS
BEYONDTHEREACHOFTHEORDINARYINTELLECT4HUSTHESTRUCTURE
OFMANYWORKSINCLUDINGHIS&UAND&UTTISASNUMERICAL
AS IT IS METAPHYSICAL WHERE THE NUMBERS INVOLVED DIRECTLY
LINK TO THE SUBJECT MATTER UNDER DISCUSSION 3UCH A NUMERICAL
CONSTRUCTIONISMOSTEVIDENTIN'$THENUMBEROFBASMALAH
SECTIONSISBASEDUPONMULTIPLESOFx ANDIS
THENUMBEROFTHE3RATAL 3HUARTHE1URANICCHAPTEROFTHE
0OETSWHICH)BN!RABSTATESTHATHE@SWALLOWEDINHISVISION
)F WE ALSO INCLUDE THE  SECTIONS  x  FOUND IN '$ WE
HAVE A TOTAL OF   x  FOR THE WHOLE $WN 4HESE SIX
SECTIONSARESTRONGLYREMINISCENTOFTHEORGANISINGPRINCIPLEOF
the &UTTWHICHISALSODIVIDEDINTOSIXSECTIONSFAL EACH
WITH A PREFACE KHUBA AND AN INTRODUCTION MUQADDIMA 
7HETHER THERE IS ANY MORE SPECIlC CORRELATION BETWEEN THE
INDIVIDUALSECTIONSINTHE$WNANDTHE&UTTISAPOSSIBLE
AVENUEOFFUTURERESEARCHBUTWEMAYALSONOTEARESEMBLANCE
MORETHANJUSTPASSING TOTHEANIMALWITHITSSIXBODY PARTS
19. Addas suggested that the note referring to the end of the third part
was actually a slip of the pen and should have said the end of the second
INWHICHCASETHEMANUSCRIPTCONTAINSORANDABITPARTSRATHERTHAN
20. See M. Chodkiewiczs analysis in 4HE-ECCAN2EVELATIONS (New York,
2004), pp. 7ff.

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



HEADTONGUETWOLIPSANDTWOEYES (OWEVERTHATMAYBEIN

ONEREALSENSEWECANSPEAKOFTHE'REAT$WNASHAVINGSIX
OVERALL PARTS WHICH HAVE SURVIVED IN TWO MANUSCRIPT BLOCKS
;0".='$ AND;9!"='$ 
(OWEVER THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF '$ IS NOT SIMPLY FOUR
EQUAL PARTS OF  SECTIONS AS ONE MIGHT AT lRST IMAGINE )T IS
MUCHMORECOMPLEXANDSEEMSDIRECTLYRELATEDTOTHECONTENT
OF THE POEMS THEMSELVES &IRST OF ALL THE TEXT BEGINS WITH A
PROLOGUE WHICH IS A STANDARD FEATURE OF )BN !RABS WRITINGS
HEREITISNOTCALLEDMUQADDIMAINTRODUCTION ORKHUBAPREFACE
BUT IS SPECIlCALLY NAMED ADR AL $WN LITERALLY @THE CHEST OF
THE #OLLECTION AN IMAGE THAT AGAIN CANNOT FAIL TO RECALL THE
VISIONOFTHEANIMALWHICHEMERGESPRECISELYFROMTHE@CHEST
OFTHEAUTHOR
Prologue (chest)


!S-C!ULEYHASNOTED )BN!RABDESCRIBESHISINTENTIONSIN
THE0ROLOGUEINSOMEDETAILINCLUDINGACLEAREXPOSITIONOFHOW
HE VIEWS POETRY LIKENING IT TO THE VERY FABRIC OF EXISTENCE IN
TERMS OF STRUCTURE AND ORDER (AVING DELINEATED THE TECHNICAL
TERMINOLOGY HE AND OTHER SPIRITUAL MASTERS USE A LISTING
WHICHISTAKENFROMHIS)ILT HERECOUNTSTHREEIMPORTANT
VISIONSEACHOFWHICHHASASPECIALSIGNIlCANCEINTERMSOFHIS
POETRY THE lRST RECORDS THE DREAM IN WHICH )BN !RAB MEETS
THE THREE PROPHETS OF THE !BRAHAMIC RELIGIONS *ESUS -OSES
AND-UAMMADTHESECONDDESCRIBESHISSPIRITUALMARRIAGETO
EACHOFTHESTARSINTHESKYANDLETTERSOFTHEALPHABETANDTHE
FUNCTIONOFPOETRYASREmECTINGUNIVERSALORDERANDSYMMETRY
ANDTHETHIRDWEQUOTEDINFULLATTHEBEGINNINGOFTHISPAPER
4HENUMBERTHREESEEMSPARTICULARLYSIGNIlCANTINTHE0ROLOGUE
PERHAPSECHOINGTHE3URAOFTHE0OETSWHICHBEGINSWITHTHREE
ISOLATEDLETTERS S M FORTHEREARETHREEPOEMSABOUTPOETRY
 )F THE 0ROLOGUE REPRESENTS THE @CHEST PERHAPS THE REMAINDER OF
'$COULDBECONSIDEREDTHE@THROATAND'$THE@MOUTH
22. -YSTICAL0OETICS, pp. 46ff.
 3EE@3HIPOF3TONEFORMOREDETAILSOFTHESEVISIONS
 3EE!DDAS@3HIPOF3TONEPWHERESHENOTESTHAT)BN!RAB
SPEAKSOFhTHEKNOWLEDGEOFTHREESECRETLIGHTSvATTHEBEGINNINGOFTHE



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

ITSELFPROVIDINGALLUSIVEKEYSTOHISPROJECT4HElRSTA LINE

POEM BEGINNING h7HENEVER ) MENTION TRACES OF ABANDONED
ENCAMPMENTSOR;DESERTED=DWELLINGSOR;FORLORN=LODGINGSxv 
IS ONE THAT APPEARS IN THE PROLOGUE TO + AL $HAKHIR WA L
ALQ THE COMMENTARY ON 4ARJUMN AL ASHWQ 4HE SECOND
A LINEPOEMBEGINNINGh)HAVEALOVEWHOHASTHENAMEOF
ALL WHO HAVE A NAMEv IS REPEATED LATER WITH VARIATIONS AT
THEBEGINNINGOFTHETHIRDPARTTRANSLATEDINFULLBELOW 4HE
0ROLOGUECLOSESWITHAN LINEPOEMWHICHWEHAVENOTFOUND
ELSEWHERE
)NOURPOETRYTHEREISNOPADDING
NORARETHEREANYREDUNDANTWORDS
5NDEREVERYWORDTHATITCONTAINS
ISABUNDANTMEANING
.OTMANYPEOPLEKNOWIT
ANDTHOSEWHOKNOWITAREFEW
4HEONEWHOISINSPIRED
WILLUNDERSTANDWHAT)SAY
0HRASESOFITAREFORONEGROUP
ANDSECTIONSAREFOROTHERGROUPS
)TSROOTSARELOFTY
ANDITSBRANCHESARELONG
)TCAMEDOWNFROMITSLEVEL
ANDWHEREWEAREITISLIKETREES
)TSDESCENTISANASCENT
ITSASCENTISADESCENT
)TSROOTSAREBRANCHES
ITSBRANCHESAREROOTS
7HENITSSUNRISES
ITNEVERSETSFROMUS
7HEREIS!BRAHAMTHATHEMIGHTSUPPORT
WHAT)SAYnTHE)NTIMATE&RIEND

chapter in the &UTT which corresponds to the 3RATAL 3HUAR, ch. 358
(Fut.I.22 and III.262).
 &ORAPARTIALTRANSLATIONBY!+NYSHFROMTHE$HAKHIR), see The
,ITERATUREOF!L !NDALUS-ARA2OSA-ENOCAL2AYMOND03CHEINDLINAND
-ICHAEL3ELLSEDS #AMBRIDGE P
26. With thanks to Denis McAuley for providing the translation. We

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



Part 1 (45 sections, #145)

0ART  IS DOMINATED BY POEMS FROM THE &US AND &UTT

4HElRSTSECTIONCONTAINSALMOSTPOEMSMOSTOFWHICHARE
UNTRACED 3ECTION  CONTAINS  POEMS FROM THE &U HERE
ITSEEMSTHATNUMBERMUSTHAVEPLAYEDANIMPORTANTROLENOT
ONLY AS  IS THE SECOND PERFECT NUMBER AND THE NUMBER OF
CHAPTERSINTHEBOOK0ROLOGUE BUTALSOSINCETHE&U
CONTAINS  POEMS BY )BN !RAB OVERALL AS WELL AS FOUR BY
OTHERAUTHORSMAKINGINTOTAL ANDTHEREFORESOMEHADTO
BE OMITTED IN ORDER TO @lT INTO THIS SECTION !N EXAMINATION
OF THE OMISSION STRATEGY IS REVEALING THE POEMS FROM THE
CHAPTERSOF.OAHANDLIARELEFTOUTCOMPLETELYWEHAVESO
FARFOUNDNORECORDOFTHEMINTHE'REAT$WNATALL WHILE
THE  LINE POEM IN THE CHAPTER OF -UAMMAD IS TO BE FOUND
LATERINSECTIONPART 4WOONE LINEPOEMSMUFRAD FROM
THECHAPTERSOF!ARONAND-OSESALSOAPPEARELSEWHEREINTHE
'REAT$WNTHElRSTAPPEARSINTHE&UTTBLOCKSECTION
FOLA SEE BELOW  AS THE SECOND POEM OF CHAP  Fut
))) ANDISALSOREPEATEDIN"LQPASPARTOFASERIES
OF MUFRADS THE SECOND OCCURS AS THE second VERSE OF A POEM
AT THE HEART OF THE @:AYNABIYYT SECTION SEE 0ART  BELOW  A
LINE WHICH IS EXPLICITLY DESCRIBED BY )BN !RAB IN CHAP 
Fut))) AS BEING PART OF AN ODE IN THE :AYNABIYYT 4HIS
PROBABLYINDICATESTHATTHESETWOMUFRADSORIGINALLYCAMEFROM
ELSEWHEREWEREIMPORTEDINTOTHE&UWHENITWASCOMPOSED
ANDTHENWERElNALLYBROUGHTINTOTHE'REAT$WN/NEOTHER
FEATUREOFTHESEPOEMSFROMTHE&UISWORTHMENTIONING
HERE A MUFRAD FROM THE CHAPTER OF (D h4HOSE FROM WHOM
YOUSEEKTHEACCOMPLISHMENTOFYOURDESIRESCOMETOLIGHTBY
YOURBRINGINGTHEDEGREESTOLIGHTv ISINCLUDEDAPOEMTHATIS
NOTSIGNALLEDIN!llS!RABICEDITION
MAYNOTEHERE)BN!RABSALLUSIONTOTHE1URANICPASSAGEn WHERE
!BRAHAM GOES BEYOND THE WORSHIP OF THE STAR THE MOON AND THE SUN
SAYINGh)LOVENOTTHATWHICHSETSvTOTHEADORATIONOFTHE4RUE$IVINITY
)NADDITIONTHEREMAYALSOBEAREFERENCEHERETO!BRAHAMASTHEFATHER
OFTHETHREEWESTERNRELIGIONSANDHENCEOFTHETHREEPROPHETSMENTIONED
earlier.



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

4HEENDOFTHISSECONDSECTIONANDTHEFOLLOWINGSECTIONS
CONTAIN AROUND  POEMS MOST OF WHICH ARE UNTRACED
OVER  FROM THE -UARAT  )NTERESTINGLY ALTHOUGH THE
OVERALL ORDER OF THE POEMS IS NOT STRICTLY ALPHABETICAL BY
RHYME LETTER IN THE lRST  SECTIONS THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER
 SEQUENCES OF  OR MORE POEMS THAT FOLLOW THE -AGHRIBI
ORDERINGOFTHELETTERSSEEBELOW 4HISPARTISCOMPLETEDWITH
AVAST SECTIONBLOCKOFPOEMSFROMTHE&UTTSOME
 OF THE ENTIRE MANUSCRIPT  (OWEVER YET AGAIN THIS DOES
NOT REPRESENT ALL THE POETIC CONTENT OF THE &UTT WE COUNT
AROUNDPOEMSALTHOUGHNOTALLTHESEAREBY)BN!RAB
AND  ARE MUFRADS WHICH APPEAR ONLY RARELY IN THE '$ ca
  )N ADDITION THERE ARE NEARLY  POEMS WHICH APPEAR
MORETHANONCEINTHE&UTT(ENCETHIS SECTIONBLOCKOF
POEMS MIGHT REPRESENT PERHAPS n OF THE TOTAL AVAILABLE
TO HIM 4HIS IS PARTLY EXPLAINED BY WHAT )BN !RAB HIMSELF
TELLSUSTHATHEMOVEDSOMEPOEMSTOOTHERLATERSECTIONSBUT
WE HAVE MANAGED TO LOCATE ONLY AROUND  OF THOSE WITH A
COMPARABLE NUMBER APPEARING IN "LQ  &OR EXAMPLE AFTER
LISTING A FEW MUFRAD POEMS FROM CHAP  OF THE &UTT HE
STATESTHATHEHAShMENTIONEDALLOFTHESEINTHETASHBBSECTION
OFTHIS$WNINTHE*UZAL :AYNABIYYTANDTHE'HAZALIYYTv
FOLA 4HESELECTIVITYOF&UTTPOEMSFORINCLUSIONWOULD
BEANINTERESTINGANDIMPORTANTAREAOFFUTURERESEARCH!ND
 7E SHOULD BEAR IN MIND THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THE '$ WAS BASED
UPON THE lRST RECENSION OF THE &UTT AT PRESENT WE HAVE CATALOGUED
ONLY THE SECOND PRINTED RECENSION AND THAT THIS MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR AT
LEASTPARTOFTHEVARIATION4HATSAIDCHONLOVE WOULDMAKEAGOOD
STARTING POINT BEING RICH IN POETRY 4HERE ARE  POEMS IN THE &UTT
ITSELFEXCLUDINGTHENOTBY)BN!RABWEHAVEMUFRADANDMULTI
LINEPOEMSAVAILABLE/FTHOSEWElNDIN;0".=WHILEAREABSENT
.ONE ARE FOUND IN '$ )N '$ WE lND ONLY  OF THE  IN THE MAIN
&UTTSECTIONFORCH4HEOTHERWElNDELSEWHEREMAINLYINTHE
@:AYNABIYYT"UTONETHINCH APPEARSAMONGSTTHECHPOEMS
OF;0".=FOLB BUTINTHE LINEFORMOFCHASOPPOSEDTOTHEFULL
VERSESONEMIGHTHAVEEXPECTEDFROMTHESECONDRECENSIONOFTHECH
POEM /FTHEPOEMSABSENTFROM;0".=AREMUFRAD (apparently
SHOWING HIS PREFERENCE FOR OMITTING ONE LINERS  4HIS LEAVES  MULTI LINE
POEMS ABSENT FROM ;0".=  OF WHICH HE EVEN MENTIONS FOLA AS

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



THESENSEINWHICH'$AND'$CONTAIN@ALLOF)BN!RABS
POETRYNEEDSFURTHERCLARIlCATIONINTHISAREA
/VERALL THIS DESIGNATED @PART  AL JUZ AL AWWAL OF '$
FOLSAnB HAS  INNER SECTIONS SURELY NOT A NUMERICAL
ACCIDENT  BEING THE NUMBER OF THE NAME !DAM ALIF 
DL  MM AND OF THE SUPRA INTELLECTUAL SCIENCES WHICH
CONSTITUTE THE TRUE HUMAN HERITAGE hTHE MOTHERS OF THE
KNOWLEDGEOF'ODINSOFARAS(EISINDEPENDENTOFTHEWORLDSv
AS)BN!RABEXPRESSESITINHIS+AL )FDA2' 
Part 2 (27 sections, #4672)

0ART  OPENS WITH SEVERAL UNTRACED POEMS FOLB AND AT

THE END OF SECTION  HAS A @SIGN OF THE 3EAL POEM WHERE
)BN !RAB EXPLAINS ABOUT HIS BEING INVESTED AS THE 3EAL OF
-UHAMMADIAN 3AINTHOOD )N SECTIONS n THERE ARE 
POEMSFROMTHE4ANAZZULTMOSTOFTHEM ANDFROMTHE)SR
3ECTION  MARKS A TRANSITION WHERE THE SECTION NUMBERING
CEASESANDTHE-OSAICPRAYERFROM1ISUSEDh,ORDOPENUP
MYCHESTxv4HESECONDTOLASTSECTION BEGINSWITHASET
OF FOUR POEMS WHICH REAPPEAR IN '$ A RARE BREAK WITH THE
MUTUALEXCLUSIONPRINCIPLEWHICHHOLDSBETWEENTHETWOPARTS
OFTHE'REAT$WN ANDALSOCONTAINSTWELVEPOEMSFROMFut.
CHAPSn31!NOTHERPOEMFROMTHE&UTTNDPOEMIN
CHAP APPEARSINTHElNALSECTION AMIDSTPOEMSTHAT
EMPHASISE THE EITHERORnBOTHAND NATURE OF REALITY !LTHOUGH
NOT MARKED IN THE MANUSCRIPT PART  WOULD MOST NATURALLY
APPEARINGELSEWHERE)TMAYBETHATSOMEOFTHESEMISSINGPOEMSREMAIN
TOBEDISCOVEREDASPARTSOFPOEMSELSEWHEREIN'$ASWASTHECASEWITH
the MUFRADFROMTHE&U chapter of Moses).
28. Manisa 1183, fol. 114a.
29. Fol. 141b. For translation of the prose passage that follows,
see Addas, Ship of Stone, p. 23. Cf. Addas, 1UEST FOR THE 2ED 3ULPHUR
#AMBRIDGE PPn
 /NE MAY NOTE THE REPETITION OF THE WORD ADR (chest, breast),
ECHOINGTHE@CHESTOFTHEAUTHORFROMWHICHEMERGEDTHEPOETICANIMAL
 4HERE ARE INDICATIONS THAT THE START OF THIS SECTION ALSO MARKS A
SIGNIlCANTTRANSITIONPOINTFORTHESELECTIONOFPOEMSFORINCLUSIONINTHE
%$



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

ENDATFOLBABREAKNOTEDBY!DDASMAKINGATOTALOF

SECTIONS
Part 3 (14 sections, #7386)

0ARTUNDEROURPROPOSAL BEGINSWITHWHATFOLLOWING!DDAS

WE REFER TO AS THE @R TRANSITION WHERE THERE IS A MARKED
CHANGEINTHEWAYINWHICHPOEMSAREINTRODUCEDWITHABRIEF
LINEOFPROSEBEGINNINGWA RUHxORWA L Rx@ANDITSTHE
SPIRIT;OFTHEPOEM=ISx 4HElRSTTWOPOEMSPREFACETHISNEW
FORMOFPROSEINTRODUCTIONTHElRSTISAVARIANTOFTHESECOND
POEMINTHE0ROLOGUESEEBELOW REFERRINGTOTHEMANYNAMES
OF THE SAME BELOVED WHILE THE SECOND IS ALSO A GENERAL POEM
ON THE SAME THEME 4HE INITIAL  SECTIONS CONSIST OF ALMOST
 POEMS MOSTLY UNTRACED 3ECTION  APPEARS TO BE WHAT
)BN!RABEARLIERCALLSTHE@'HAZALIYYTSECTIONWHICHCONTAINS
 MOSTLY UNTRACED POEMS ONE IS FROM &UTT CHAP  
4HElNALTWOSECTIONSn WEBELIEVETOMAKEUPWHAT)BN
!RAB EARLIER REFERS TO AS THE @:AYNABIYYT SECTION IN WHICH
THERE ARE  POEMS AGAIN MOSTLY UNTRACED NINE ARE FROM
&UTTCHAPTHREEOFWHICHARECONCATENATEDINTOONE 
0ARTENDSONFOLAMAKINGATOTALOFSECTIONSnTHEWELL
KNOWNTROPEOF@THEMAIDOFFOURTEENTHEEPITOMEOFBEAUTYIN
FEMALE FORM AND HERE EXEMPLIlED BY LOVE POEMS GHAZALS IN
PRAISEOF:AYNAB:AYNABIYYT 33
Part 4 (17 sections, #87103)

4HE THEME OF CELEBRATING FEMALE BEAUTY IN VERSE TASHBB IS

CONTINUED IN THE FOURTH AND lNAL PART WHERE VARIOUS FEMALE
lGURES EG .IM (IND AND -ARYAM APPEAR )T OPENS WITH
32. Propos, pp. 189 and 192.
 4HIS SECTIONPARTSEEMSTOHAVEBEENVIEWEDASAWORKINITSOWN
RIGHT9AHIACLASSIlES+AL :AYNABIYYTUNDER2'BUTNOINDEPENDENT
MANUSCRIPTSOFITAREKNOWN)BN!RABREFERSTOA*UZAL :AYNABIYYT in
Fut.III.119, and it is reported in &IHRIS, #154 and in )JZA!L 1NAW
CITESTHISSAME*UZAL :AYNABIYYTINTHELISTOFWORKS)BN!RABTRANSMITTED
TO HIM AS A @PART OF THE $WN 3EE %LMORE @ADR AL $N AL 1NAWS
personal study list, *OURNALOF.EAR%ASTERN3TUDIES, 56 (1997), pp. 16181,
ANDALSOHIS@"LQ$WNARTICLEP

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



EIGHT SECTIONS CONTAINING ALMOST  POEMS MOST OF WHICH

AREUNTRACED!MONGTHEMISANEXTENSIVE@.IMIYYTBLOCK
WHICH APPEARS TO SPAN MUCH OF SECTIONS n FOLLOWING
WHICH THERE ARE INDICATIONS OF SHORT SECTIONS WHICH COULD BE
CALLED @(INDIYYT AND @-ARYAMIYYT34 .EAR THE END OF THE
EIGHTH SECTION  WE lND A SECOND SET OF  POEMS FROM
4ANAZZULTAND)SR4HElNALNINESECTIONSnCONTAIN
THE4ARJUMNPOEMS,ETUSNOTEINPASSINGANUMERICASPECT
OFTHATWORKTHESETTING THE SCENEPOEMTHATISCOMMENTED
UPONBY)BN!RABHIMSELFINTHEPROLOGUETOTHECOMMENTARY
IEARATIOAGAIN (EREWElNDYETANOTHER
UNEXPLAINEDDIVISIONTHElRSTPOEMSPOSSIBLYEMPHASISING
THE @MAID OF FOURTEEN MOTIF  ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THE VERSE
BY VERSECOMMENTARYFROM$HAKIRWHICHTHUSEXTENDSINTO
SECTION   AFTER WHICH THE REMAINING  POEMS n
APPEARALONEASINTHE4ARJUMNITSELF)TISWORTHNOTINGHERE
THAT AS A WHOLE '$ BEGINS AND ENDS WITH POEMS FROM THE
4ARJUMNSUGGESTINGTHATITCANBESEENPRIMARILYASACOLLECTION
OFLOVEPOETRY4HESECTIONSOFTHISFOURTHPARTMAYPOSSIBLY
BE CONNECTED TO THE COMBINED NUMBER OF THE THREE !RABIC
VOWELSTHESO CALLEDURFAL ILLATHESO CALLED@SICKLETTERSOR
@THELETTERSTHATCAUSE;THEMOVEMENTOFARTICULATION= ALIF
WWY
4HE TALLY OF BLOCKS OF POEMS WHICH ARE CURRENTLY @MOSTLY
UNTRACEDINALLFOURPARTSCOMESTOJUSTOVERHALFOFTHETOTALOF
POEMSIN'$ASAWHOLE%VENAFTERWEHAVEACCOUNTED
FOR THE POEMS THAT CAN BE FOUND IN OTHER WORKS SUCH AS
-UARAT  WELL OVER  POEMS IN '$ REMAIN ENTIRELY
UNTRACEDTOCURRENTLYKNOWNWORKSBY)BN!RAB(ENCEONE
THIRDOFTHE'REAT$WNCANBESAIDTOBESTILLUNPUBLISHED

34. See Addas, Propos, p. 192.

 7EMAYNOTEHERETHATISANUMBERTHATSUGGESTSMANYOTHER
CONNECTIONS IT IS DESCRIBED IN THE $HAKHIR AS DERIVING FROM @THE MOST
PERFECT NUMBER SEE 4ARJUMN AL ASHWQ 8, ED .ICHOLSON PPn
  THERE ARE ALSO  SOLAR LETTERS THOSE THAT ASSIMILATE TO THE ARTICLE IN
PRONUNCIATION ANDLUNARTHOSETHATDONOTASSIMILATE ANDSOON



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

Structure and content of GD.2

4HE STRUCTURE OF THE "LQ EDITION HAS BEEN WELL DESCRIBED BY

BOTH'%LMOREAND2$ELADRIRE/URDISCOVERYOFTHE@"LQ
HOLE AND OUR CATALOGUING OF A PROTO "LQ MANUSCRIPT ;9!"=
AS WELL AS THREE "LQ ALIKE MANUSCRIPTS HAS PROVIDED FURTHER
INSIGHTS7EWILLCONCENTRATEMAINLYONTHE@"LQHOLEINTHE
CONTEXTOFTHEOVERALL STRUCTURE
'$APPEARSTOBEINTWOMAJORPARTSEACHWITHBASMALAH
SECTIONS 4HERE IS CERTAINLY A CASE FOR MORE STUDY OF THE EXACT
BREAKDOWN OF THESE  SECTIONS AS THERE ARE CLEAR GROUPINGS
WITHINTHEM)NTHElRSTSECTIONSPPn WElNDPOEMS
FROMWORKSTHATAREGENERALLYCONSIDEREDTODATEFROMTHEEARLY
-AGHRIBI PERIOD OF )BN !RABS LIFE FOR EXAMPLE + AL )SR
-AWQI AL NUJM !NQ MUGHRIB AL )TTID AL KAWN AS WELL
ASAPPARENTLYLATERPOEMSTHATAPPEARINTHE&UTT(OWEVER
AS%LMOREHASPOINTEDOUTTHESEMIGHTALSODATETOANEARLIER
PERIODINTERMSOFCOMPOSITION
!TPAGEOCCURSWHATWENAMETHE@"LQHOLETWO AND
A HALF BASMALAH SECTIONS CONTAINING ALMOST  POEMS AND A
SECTIONOFPROSE!LLOFTHESEAREMISSINGFROMTHE"LQPRINT
EDITIONAND"LQ ALIKEMANUSCRIPTSBUTAREFOUNDINTHEPROTO
"LQMANUSCRIPT9USUF!A;9!"=
4HECONTENTSOFTHEHOLEAREINTRIGUINGWHILEWEHAVEBEEN
UNABLE TO TRACE ANY OF THE lRST THREE POEMS WHICH CAN THUS
JOIN THE GROUP OF @MISCELLANEOUS POEMS RECORDED BY %LMORE
P  THE SEVENTH POEM COMES FROM AL 4ADBRT AL ILHIYYA
2' ANDTHElNALSIXPOEMSOFTHESIXTHBASMALAH SECTION
;9!"= PPn COME FROM + AL -UQNI 2'   ENDING
WITHAPOEMOFVERSESINALIF HAMZAONTHEREGULATIONOFTHE
SOULTADBRAL NAFS 
 4HElRSTLINEOFTHISPOEMISRECORDEDBY)SML0SHINHIS
AL MAKNN)) ASBEINGPARTOF)BN!RABS+ASHFAL ASTRANKHAW
AL ASRR2'A .3OMEWHATCONFUSINGLYTHISSAMEALCHEMICALPOEMIS
RECORDEDIN"RITISH,IBRARY!DDREFERREDTOAS$WNFAL KMY,
AFEWFOLIOSAFTERAWORKATTRIBUTEDTO)BNAL ALWITHEXACTLYTHESAME
title, +ASHFAL ASTRANKHAWAL ASRR.

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



-ORE SIGNIlCANTLY THE TH  POEMS AND TH  POEMS
SECTIONSEXPLICITLYSTATETHATTHEYAREDEVOTEDTOTHEADVICEAND
COUNSELWHICHKINGSANDRULERSAL MULKWA L SALN ASKEDFOR
FROM)BN!RABnINOTHERWORDSTHISMUSTBETHEVERYPARTHE
DESIGNATEDIN'$ASTHE@3ULNIYYTANDHENCEPROOFTHAT
'$AND'$WERECONCEIVEDOFASONEUNIT )TISCOMPOSED
OF A TOTAL OF  POEMS THE lRST  OF WHICH ARE IN -AGHRIBI
ALPHABETICAL ORDER IN  DISTINCT LETTERS  AND EACH POEM
EXPLICITLYMENTIONSTHEWORDMALIKORSULN
4HE TH SECTION BEGINS WITH A LONG SECTION OF PROSE FROM
.ASAB AL KHIRQA WHICH GIVES DETAILS OF )BN !RABS INVESTI
TURESBY*AMLAL $N9SUFB9AYIN-ECCABY4AQAL $N
-UAMMAD AL 4AMM IN &EZ AND BY !B AL ASAN !L IN
-OSULANDTHUSTHEENDOFTHE@HOLEINITIATESANOTHERSETOF
POEMSTHATRELATETOINITIATIONDRAWNFROMTHE.ASABAL KHIRQA
AND INCLUDING  SHORTER POEMS DESCRIBING THE CONFERRING OF
INITIATIONILBSAL KHIRAQ 
4HETHSECTIONCOMPRISES&UTTPOEMSFROMTHESECTION
ON RITUAL PURITY AND PRAYER CHAPS  AND   POEMS WHICH
APPEAR IN FULL IN ;0".= !FTER SEVEN SECTIONS OF @MISCELLANE
OUSPOEMSTHEREFOLLOWlVESECTIONSONTHEMEDITATIVEPOEMS
DEDICATEDTOTHESPIRITSOFTHE1URANICSURASANDANOTHER
ORSOMISCELLANEOUSPOEMS
4HE lNAL POEM OF THE TH BASMALAH SECTION MARKING
A HALFWAY POINT IN '$ IS THE UNIQUE @STROPHIC POEM IN
the ZAJAL FORM ADDRESSED TO THE @VERIFYING SEEKER Y LIB
AL MUAQQIQ  4HIS COMPLETES THE CYCLE OF  !NDALUSIAN STYLE

 ;9!"=P

 &ORAN%NGLISHTRANSLATIONANDSTUDYOFTHE.ASABAL KHIRQASEE'
%LMORE @)BN AL !RABS 4ESTAMENT ON THE -ANTLE OF )NITIATION *-)!3 26
(1999), pp. 133.
39. A variant of these verses occurs in the opening 84 verses of the
@%ASTERN $WN ;5.)= (OWEVER THERE ARE SIGNIlCANT DIFFERENCES IN THE
ORDERINGOFVERSESWITHOMISSIONSANDINSERTIONS&URTHERMORETHESAME
POEMISGIVENITSOWNENTRYBY9AHIAUNDER2'AWITHTHETITLEQADA
FAQQAL MAHD
40. See McAuley, -YSTICAL0OETICS, ch. 3, pp. 5992.



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

LYRICAL POEMS OR SONGS THAT APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN THE ORIGINAL

WORKOFAL -UWASHSHAT2' 41
4HE ONLY IDENTIlABLE TEXT IN THE SECOND HALF OF '$ IS
AL -UASHSHARTTEN LINEPOEMS@TENSOMESAS%LMORECALLS
THEM EACHTAKINGONEOFTHELETTERSINCLUDINGLM ALIF ASBOTH
ANEND RHYMEANDTHEINITIALLETTEROFEVERYVERSE)NADDITION
AS-C!ULEYHASNOTED43THEREISAN LINECAP POEMTHATSERVES
TOCOMMENTONTHECYCLEOFMUASHSHART4HElNALSECTIONS
WITHOVERPOEMSCONTAINVERYFEWFOUNDELSEWHERE
7ORKSSUPPLYINGPOEMSTOTHE'REAT$WNASAWHOLE
)NTHEFOLLOWINGLISTSWEONLYTREATTHEWORKSWEHAVECATALOGUED
IN WHICH THERE ARE ONE OR MORE POEMS 4HESE ARE THE WORKS
WE WOULD EXPECT TO lND REPRESENTED IN THE 'REAT $WN IF IT
TRULYCONTAINEDALLOF)BN!RABSPOETRYANDIFTHEWORKWERE
AUTHENTICALLY HIS !T PRESENT IN THE DATABASE HOWEVER WE DO
NOTDISTINGUISHPOEMSBY)BN!RABFROMTHOSEQUOTEDBYHIM
BUTACTUALLYWRITTENBYSOMEONEELSETHISISADRAWBACKSINCE
THEREAREMANYEXAMPLESWHERE)BN!RABQUOTESSINGLELINES
FROMEARLIERPOETSSUCHASALLJOR)MRAL 1AYSOFTENWITHOUT
ATTRIBUTING THEM AND THIS IS AN AREA FOR FUTURE RElNEMENT OF
THE CATALOGUE !NOTHER POTENTIAL PROBLEM WOULD OCCUR IF ALL
@UNIQUEMULTI VERSEPOEMSINAWORKWEREINFACTQUOTEDFROM
ANOTHERAUTHOR)NTHATCASEWEWOULDNOTEXPECTTOlNDTHE
WORKREPRESENTEDINTHE'$ASACOLLECTIONOFALLOF)BN!RABS
41. See Shehit Ali 1389, fols. 60a65b, for these 22, reportedly copied
FROMACOPYOFONEINTHEHANDOF)BN!RABnPOSSIBLYTHEYWERECOPIED
FROMTHELOST9USUF!A4HEREARESONGSOR@STROPHICPOEMSIN
TOTALSCATTEREDACROSS"LQTHElRSTATPPnnn
nnTHEHALFWAYPOINTIN"LQ ANDTHENTHE
REMAININGSETOFSEVENNOTFOUNDIN3HEHIT!LI ATPPn
446, 448, 452.
42. See -YSTICAL0OETICSCHSANDFORAMOREDETAILEDDISCUSSIONOF
THESEPOEMS
43. -YSTICAL 0OETICS, pp. 19499, which includes a translation of the
POEM AND A COMPARISON WITH ONE BY !BD AL 'HAN AL .BULUS 4HE
POEMCANBEFOUNDIN"LQP

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



OWN POEMS AND SO WOULD HAVE NO REASON TO QUESTION THE

AUTHENTICITYOFTHEWORK4HEREISEQUALLYTHECOMPLICATIONTHAT
POEMSFOUNDINONEWORKCANALSOBEFOUNDINOTHERWORKSFOR
EXAMPLETHETWOMUFRADSDISCUSSEDEARLIERWHICHAREFOUNDIN
the &UCHAPTERSOF!ARONAND-OSESBUTACCORDINGTOTHE'$
ORDERINGPROBABLYDIDNOTORIGINATETHEREORATWO LINEPOEM
QUOTEDIN+AL *ALLAWHICHACTUALLYDERIVESFROMTHEMIDDLEOF
APOEMINAL 4ANAZZULTAL -AWILIYYA
7ECANDIVIDETHEWORKSTHATPROVIDEPOEMSTOTHE'$INTO
TWOGROUPSTHOSETHATPROVIDESIGNIlCANTBLOCKSOFPOEMSTOTHE
'$ANDTHOSETHATHAVEONLYONEORTWOPOEMSTOCONTRIBUTE
Major contributors:
s ;MAINLY OR ONLY IN '$= &U &UTT 4ANAZZULT
$HAKIR4ARJUMN
s ;MAINLY OR ONLY IN '$= -AWQI !NQ )TTID
-UASHSHART-UWASHSHAT
s ;INBOTH'$AND'$= )SR-UARAT
4HERE ARE ALSO OTHER SHORTER WORKS THAT CONTRIBUTE ONE OR
MOREPOEMSFOREXAMPLE+AL !BDILA+AL !AMA+AL "
ILYATAL ABDLAL +AWKABAL DURR+AL +UTUB+AL -UQNI+
.ASABAL KHIRQA2AL QUDSAL 4ADBRTAL ILHIYYAINTHE@"LQ
HOLE 4JAL RASILAL 4AJALLIYTAL ILHIYYA5QLATAL MUSTAWlZ
AND+AL 9
7E ARE CURRENTLY UNCLEAR WHETHER THE @:AYNABIYYT '$
OR THE 1URANIC POEMS '$ EVER EXISTED AS AN INDEPENDENT
WORK4HESAMEGOESFORTHE@3ULTNIYYT'$ THEEXCLUSION
OFITSPOEMSFROMTHE7$STRONGLYSUGGESTSTHATTHESEPOEMS
ORIGINALLYAPPEAREDINANINDEPENDENTWORK
/NEOFTHEMOSTUSEFULDIAGNOSTICTOOLSTHATTHEDATABASECAN
OFFERISTOCHECKTHEAUTHENTICITYOFAWORKTHATHASPOETRYIN
IT AND IS ATTRIBUTED TO )BN !RAB )F THE POEMS ARE NOT TO BE
FOUNDANYWHEREINTHE'$THENEVIDENTLYITSCLAIMSTOBEING
AGENUINEWORKBY)BN!RABMUSTBECALLEDINTOQUESTION&OR
EXAMPLE NONE OF THE  POEMS IN 3HUJN AL MASJN 2' 
ARETOBEFOUNDINTHE'$ALTHOUGHTHEYCANBEFOUNDIN;"/$=
AND;(-%=SEE!PPENDIXFORDETAILSOFTHESEMANUSCRIPTS 



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

@7%34%2.!.$@%!34%2.$!77.
"EFORE WE TURN TO DESCRIBING THE TWO MAIN $AWWN DERIVED
BY )BN !RAB HIMSELF FROM THE 'REAT $WN WE SHOULD
EMPHASISETHATTHESETWOWORKINGTITLESAREENTIRELYOFOUROWN
INVENTION 7E HAVE CHOSEN THEM PRIMARILY TO REmECT THE TWO
DIFFERENTALPHABETICALORDERINGSAROUNDWHICHTHE$AWWNARE
ORGANISED ONE -AGHRIBI AND ONE -ASHRIQI (OWEVER WE ALSO
INTENDTOCALLTOMINDTHEVISIONDESCRIBEDINTHE0ROLOGUETO
'$INWHICHTHEPOETICANIMALSPREADITSHEADTOTHE%ASTERN
AND7ESTERNHORIZONSBEFORERETURNINGINTO)BN!RABSCHEST
SEETHElGUREANDACCOMPANYINGQUOTATIONONP 

!-5,4) 0!24@7%34%2.$7.7$
4HE@7ESTERN$WN7$ ISREPRESENTEDBYTWOMANUSCRIPTS
WHICHPARTIALLYOVERLAP;6%,=AND;+(,=445NLIKETHESITUATION
WITHTHE'$THE7$ISNOTASFARASWEKNOW REFERREDTOBY
)BN!RABHIMSELFASANINDEPENDENTWORK9ETHEMUSTHAVE
BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS COMPONENT OF HIS
$WN SINCE A KEY MANUSCRIPT ;+(,= IS IN HIS OWN HAND AND
THEMANUSCRIPTWASREADINFRONTOFHIMANDAPPROVEDBYHIM
(EHIMSELFTELLSUSTHAT;+(,=IShTHEFOURTHPARTOFTHE$WNv
THEREBEINGlVEOTHER PARTS;6%,=ANOTHEREARLYMANUSCRIPT
DESCRIBESITSELFASTHETHIRDPARTEVENTHOUGHITACTUALLYOVERLAPS
WITH;+(,=!TPRESENTITISSOMEWHATUNCLEARWHATISMEANTBY
THE FOURTH PART ALTHOUGH WE MIGHT SURMISE THAT IF '$ AND
'$ARECONSIDEREDTHElRSTANDSECONDTHEN;+(,=WOULDBE
THEFOURTHAFTERTHEPREDICTEDVOLUMETHATOVERLAPSWITH;6%,=
%QUALLYIFWECOUNTlRSTFROMTHETWOVOLUMESOFTHE%ASTERN
$WN%$ THENAGAIN;+(,=ISTHEFOURTH)NBOTHCASESTHERE
WOULDBElVEVOLUMESTOCONSIDER
4HE 7$ HAS A STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT ORGANISATION TO THAT OF
THE'REAT$WNITISMADEUPOFBLOCKSOFPOEMSTHATSHARE
ARHYMELETTERALTERNATINGWITHBLOCKSOFMIXEDRHYME@LETTER
BLOCKSAND@THEMATICBLOCKSASWECALLTHEM ;+(,=CONTAINS
 "OTHAREDESCRIBEDBY(IRTENSTEININ@3OME0RELIMINARY.OTES

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



LETTERBLOCKSFORTHEFOLLOWINGLETTERS[ZKLMN];6%,=
CONTAINS LETTER BLOCKS FOR THE FOLLOWING [D DH R Z   K
L] THE LAST lVE BEING WHERE THE CONTENT COINCIDES WITH THAT
OF ;+(,=  4HIS SEQUENCE OF LETTERS IS PART OF AN ALPHABETICAL
SEQUENCEPECULIARTOTHE-AGHRIB;6%,=AND+(,=INBOLD 
ALIFBTTHJKH[DDHRZKLMN]
GHFQSSHHWLM ALIFY
7E KNOW THAT )BN !RAB FOUND THIS  LETTER -AGHRIBI
SEQUENCETOBESIGNIlCANTFORITISALSOFOUNDINFULLASTHElRST
LETTER OF VERSES n OF A SPECIAL  VERSE POEM ON THE LETTERS
IN "LQ 7E ARE UNCERTAIN AS TO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN UNDER
THISSCHEMETOPOEMSRHYMINGINALIFWHICH)BN!RABTREATS
AS A DISTINCT RHYME LETTER IT COULD BE THAT THEY WOULD APPEAR
PRIORTOTHEHAMZAPOEMSASINTHE%$ORTHEYMAYHAVEBEEN
OMITTED !LTHOUGH AS YET WE HAVE NO MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE TO
PROVE THIS IT SEEMS TO US HIGHLY LIKELY THAT THERE WERE OTHER
@PARTS TO THE 7$ CORRESPONDING TO THOSE LETTERS NOT COVERED
BY ;+(,= AND ;6%,= AND ORDERED ACCORDING TO THE -AGHRIBI
ALPHABETICALSEQUENCE
/N THE BASIS OF THE @MAPPING WHICH WE DESCRIBE BELOW
AND ASSUMING THAT THE '$ IS THE FULL COMPLEMENT OF POEMS
AVAILABLEWEAREABLETORECONSTRUCTMUCHOFTHECONTENTOFTHE
WHOLEHYPOTHETICAL7$7EESTIMATETHAT;+(,=WOULDCONTAIN
AROUND  OF THE TOTAL POEMS  OUT OF   WHILE THE
EARLIER PART ALIF HAMZA x R WOULD COVER SOME  
POEMS  AND THE LATER PART D x LM ALIF AROUND  
POEMS 3INCEWEHAVENOTFOUNDANYMANUSCRIPTSFORTHElRST
 !CCORDINGTOOURRECONSTRUCTINGTHE@DBLOCKUNDERTHEMAPPING
FROM'$TO7$WEBELIEVEITONLYCONTAINSAROUNDTHElNALOFPOEMS
RHYMINGIN@D
 3EEEG!-(ONEYMAN@4HELETTER ORDEROFTHE3EMITICALPHABETS
IN !FRICA AND THE .EAR %AST !FRICA *OURNAL OF THE )NTERNATIONAL !FRICAN
)NSTITUTE88)) PPn)TSEEMSTOHAVEBEENMOSTCOMMONTO
PLACELM ALIFPRIORTOYSEE-YSTICAL0OETICS, p. 62, n.17 for references on
various kinds of alphabetical ordering.
 "LQ P )N THE ,EIDEN MS ;,$.= FOLB WE lND THIS
SEQUENCEOFLETTERSINVERSESnHIGHLIGHTEDINTHEMARGIN



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

PUTATIVE PART WE DO NOT KNOW WHETHER IT ALSO CONTAINED ITS

OWNPROLOGUE
/VER  OF THE POEMS IN THE 7$ ARE ALSO FOUND IN THE
'$BUTTHEREARESIGNIlCANTDElNABLE@IGNOREDSECTIONSOFTHE
'$WHOSEPOEMSDONOTlGUREINTHE7$INPARTICULARMOST
POEMSFROMTHE&UTTANDOTHERRECOGNISABLEWORKSDETAILS
BELOW )NSHORTTHE7$ISASELECTIVEREORGANISATIONOF'$
PART THEMATIC PART ALPHABETIC ORDERED OVERALL ACCORDING TO A
-AGHRIBIALPHABETICALSEQUENCE
4HE@MAPPINGFROMTHE'REAT$WN
TOTHE7ESTERN$WN
)NTHEPROCESSOFCATALOGUINGANDCROSS MATCHINGPOEMSINTHE
'REAT$WNANDTHE7ESTERN$WNWEUNCOVEREDAFOUR STAGE
@MAPPINGPROCESSBYWHICHTHELATTERWASDERIVEDINLARGEPART
FORMULAICALLYFROMTHEFORMER
&IRST OF ALL POEMS SHARING A RHYME LETTER ARE @COMBED OUT
FROMDElNEDSECTIONSOFTHE'$INTOSEPARATE@STRANDS4HESE
STRANDS ARE THEN WOVEN TOGETHER OR @PLAITED IE REORDERED
ACCORDING TO A WEAVE PATTERN WHICH IS lXED ACROSS ALL RHYME
LETTERSTHATISTOSAYTHESEQUENCEINWHICHPOEMSARESOURCED
FROMTHE'$ISSTANDARDISEDFORALLLETTERSSEE!PPENDIX )N
THIS WAY ALPHABETIC BLOCKS OR @PLAITS ARE CONSTRUCTED )N THE
THIRDSTEPTHESEALPHABETICPLAITSARELAIDOUTONEAFTERANOTHER
INTHE-AGHRIBIALPHABETICALORDER
4HERE IS ONE FURTHER @RULE TO THIS MAPPING PROCESS CERTAIN
SECTIONS OF THE '$ ARE TO BE IGNORED AND DO NOT FORM PART OF
THESTRANDS4HESEARETHEPOEMSDRAWNFROMKNOWNWORKSAS
FOLLOWS
 4HE7$CONTAINSAPPROXIMATELYOFTHEPOEMSINTHE'$
OFTHE'$TOTALMADEUPOFAROUNDFROM'$ANDFROM
'$4HEVALUESAREAROUNDLOWERTHANTHE@CANDIDATEVALUESUNDER
THE@MAPPING ANADJUSTMENTWEMAKETOREmECTTHE@ACTUALVALUESWE
lNDIN;+(,=)NOTHERWORDSAROUNDOFPOEMSPREDICTEDUNDERTHE
MAPPINGTOOCCURINTHE7$AREINACTUALFACTNOTFOUNDTHERE)BN!RAB
FORSOMEREASONTENDEDTODROPASMALLNUMBEROFPOEMSBEYONDTHOSEIN
THE@IGNOREDBLOCKSOFPOEMSFROMKNOWNWORKS

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



'$
s 0".FOLAnB n&UPOEMS
s 0".FOLSBnB n&UTTPOEMS
s 0".FOLSBnA n4ANAZZULTAND)SRPOEMS
The 4ARJUMN IS THE EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE ITS POEMS do
REAPPEAR IN THE 7$ FROM WHICH WE MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT
THE 7$ RETAINS THE EMPHASIS ON LOVE POETRY WHICH IS SO
CHARACTERISTICOF'$
GD.2:
s
s

THEEARLYWORKS)SR-AWQI!NQ)TTID)

THREELATEWORKSTHE-UASHSHARTANDALLPOEMSFROMK.
AL -UQNIFOLLOWEDBYADOUBLE SECTIONOFPOEMSWITHINTHE
@"LQHOLE;9!"=PPn WHICHHASBEENIDENTIlED
ASTHE@3ULNIYYTnTHELATTERMUSTDERIVEFROMANASYET
UNIDENTIlEDWORKTHAT)BN!RABWROTEDURINGHISTIMEIN
THE-ASHRIQ
s the -UWASHSHAT STROPHIC POEMS  WHICH ARE A SPECIAL
CASESINCETHEYDONOTAPPEARASACOHERENTBLOCKIN'$
BUTARESCATTEREDACROSSIT
.ONE OF THESE POEMS APPEAR IN THE 7$ WHICH PROBABLY
SUGGESTSTHAT)BN!RABCONSIDEREDTHEMWELLENOUGHKNOWN
INTHEIROWNRIGHTASINDEPENDENTBOOKSNOTTOBEINVOLVEDIN
THIS ALPHABETICAL REORGANISATION PROCESS "Y SUMMING UP THE
NUMBERS OF POEMS IN THE @IGNORED BLOCKS WE CAN ESTIMATE A
TOTALNUMBEROFPOEMSFORTHE7$APPROXIMATELY
OFTHEPOEMSINTHE'$4HUS)BN!RABCANBESAIDTO
HAVECOMPOSEDOVERSELF STANDINGPOEMSWHICHARENOT
PARTOFANYSPECIlCCOLLECTIONORPROSEWORK
&INALLYTHEFOURTHANDLASTELEMENTOFTHE7$CONSTRUCTION
IS THAT THE ALPHABETIC PLAITS ARE SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER BY
NON ALPHABETIC MIXED RHYME OR @THEMATIC BLOCKS OF POEMS
4HESE THEMATIC BLOCKS DO NOT APPEAR AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL AT
THEBEGINNINGORENDOFEACHPARTOFTHE7$&OREXAMPLETHE
@DBLOCKISSEPARATEDFROMTHE@DHBLOCKBYWHATWELABELTHE
;D DH=THEMATICBLOCK4HEMATICBLOCKSHAVEASIMPLERSTRUCTURE
THAN ALPHABETIC BLOCKS THEY ARE GENERALLY LIFTED in toto FROM
PARTICULAR REGIONS OF THE '$ WITHOUT SELECTION OR REORDERING



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

OF THE POEMS WITHIN THEM  !S A RESULT THE THEMATIC RELATION

BINDING THOSE POEMS TOGETHER IS CARRIED OVER FROM THE '$ TO
THE 7$ BY CONTRAST NEARBY POEMS IN ALPHABETIC BLOCKS ARE
DISPERSEDINTHEMOVETOTHE7$UNLESSTHEYHAPPENTOSHARE
THESAMERHYMELETTER 
4WO MAIN REGIONS OF '$ PROVIDE POEMS TO THE 7$
@THEMATICBLOCKS
s &IRSTTHEMATICSECTION0".FOLSBnB
s 3ECONDTHEMATICSECTION0".FOLSAnA
3EE!PPENDIXFORADEPICTIONOFTHEWAYTHEMAPPINGWORKS
4HEDIRECTIONOFTHE@MAPPINGWHICHCAMElRST
THE'REAT$WNORTHE7ESTERN$WN
)F ONE CONSIDERS INVERTING THE MAPPING AND THEN ATTEMPTS TO
DERIVETHE'REAT$WNFROMTHE7ESTERN$WNONESOONRUNS
INTOAPROBLEM4OGENERATEANALPHA BLOCKIN'$POEMSFROM
CORRESPONDINGSUB BLOCKSOFEACHLETTERBLOCKINTHE7$WOULD
NEEDTOBE@SHUFmEDTOGETHERINSUCHAWAYTHATTHEPOEMSIN
EACHLETTERMAINTAINEDTHEIRORDERMUCHASWHENONESPLITSA
DECKOFCARDSINTWOAND@COMBINESTHOSETWO )TISDIFlCULTTO
CONCEIVEOFWHYTHATWOULDBEAMEANINGFULTHINGTODOIFTHE
ONLY THING ALL THESE POEMS HAVE IN COMMON IS SOME THEME
WHY SCATTER AROUND THAT BLOCK POEMS WHICH SHARE A RHYME
LETTER AND WHY PRESERVE THEIR ORDER WHILE DOING SO 7E CAN
ONLYCONCLUDETHATTHE'REAT$WNWASTHElRSTCOMPILATION
THAT)BN!RABCONSTRUCTEDANDITSSIGNIlCANTLYLARGEROVERALL
SIZEISSIMPLYDUETOTHEINCLUSIONOFPOEMSFROMTHE&UTT
ANDOTHERMAJORWORKSWHICHDONOTOCCURINTHE7$4HUSTHE
7$MUSTHAVECOMELATERASASELECTIVEREORGANISATIONOFTHE
'$FORMULAICALLYDERIVEDACCORDINGTOTHISMAPPING
Reconstruction of the letter blocks and
MISSINGPREDICTED MANUSCRIPTS
3INCE THE '$ TO 7$ MAPPING CORRESPONDS TO A DElNED
ALGORITHMWECANUSEITTORECONSTRUCTALLOFTHELETTERBLOCKS
BOTH THOSE FOR WHICH WE HAVE MANUSCRIPT EXAMPLES ;+(,=

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



AND;6%,= ANDTHOSEFORWHICHWEDONOT)NTHEFORMERCASE
WE CAN COMPARE THE RECONSTRUCTED LETTER BLOCK TO THE ACTUAL
LETTERBLOCKANDGAUGETHEEXTENTTOWHICH)BN!RABOMITTED
OR ADDED POEMS OR REORDERED THEM IN A WAY not PREDICTED
BY THE MAPPING )N THE LATTER CASE WE CAN BUILD A DETAILED
PICTURE OF THE LIKELY CONTENTS OF @MISSING IE PREDICTED
MANUSCRIPTS OF THE 7$ AS AN AID TO THE ONGOING SEARCH FOR
$WNMANUSCRIPTS
!S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE RECONSTRUCTED BLOCKS COMPARE
WITHACTUALBLOCKSLETUSTAKETHE@NBLOCKOFTHE7$ASFOUND
IN ;+(,= 4HE MAPPING PREDICTS THAT THIS SHOULD CONTAIN 
POEMS)NFACTWElNDTHATONLYELEVENOFTHESEJUSTOVER
DONOTAPPEARINTHE7$@NBLOCKWEALSOlNDlVENEWPOEMS
IE POEMS NOT FOUND IN THE '$ AND FOUR THAT APPEAR OUT OF
THE EXPECTED ORDER 4HESE NUMBERS ARE NOT ATYPICAL AND WE
CANSEETHATTHEMAPPINGPREDICTSTHESTRUCTUREOFLETTERBLOCKS
REMARKABLY WELL )N OTHER WORDS )BN !RAB USED A PROCESS
EQUIVALENTTOTHEMAPPINGTOCONSTRUCTTHE7$FROMTHE'$
ANDHEDIDNOTOFTENDIVERGEFROMIT
7E CAN ALSO USE THE MAPPING TO REVISIT THE STRUCTURE OF THE
'REAT$WNALLOWINGUSTO EFFECTIVELYRECONSTRUCTA@TABLEOF
CONTENTSFORTHE'$SEE!PPENDICESn 4HEMAPPINGFROM
THE'$TOTHE7$DELIMITSIMPLICIT@SECTIONSWHICHOTHERWISE
WOULDNOTBEOBVIOUSTHEREBEINGNOSECTIONHEADINGSINTHE
MANUSCRIPTS WE HAVE STUDIED  "Y IDENTIlABLE @SECTIONS WE
MEANTHATACONTIGUOUSSETOFPOEMSISTREATEDASAGROUPUNDER
THEMAPPINGANDINTHISWAYISDISTINGUISHEDFROMSURROUNDING
SECTIONS )T SEEMS VERY LIKELY THAT )BN !RAB REGARDED SUCH
@SECTIONSASMADEUPOFTHEMATICALLYRELATEDPOEMS
#LEAR EXAMPLES OF IDENTIlABLE MAPPING DElNED SECTIONS
ARE THE @:AYNABIYYT AND @'HAZALIYYT SECTIONS )N THE '$
THESE TWO SECTIONS ARE SURROUNDED BY SECTIONS SUPPLYING
THEMATICBLOCKSTOTHE7$3INCETHESELOVE POEMSARETREATED
AS ALPHABETIC BLOCKS UNDER THE MAPPING THE POEMS IN THESE
SECTIONS ARE SCATTERED ACROSS LETTER BLOCKS ACCORDING TO THEIR
RHYMELETTER INTHE7$(OWEVERASTHEMAPPINGPRODUCESTHE
SAMEWEAVE SEQUENCEFOREVERYLETTERBLOCKTHESEAPPEARINTHE
SAMERELATIVELOCATIONWITHINEACHLETTERBLOCKOFTHE7$-ORE



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

PRECISELY POEMS FROM THE '$ @'HAZALIYYT SECTION APPEAR AT

THE VERY END OF LETTER BLOCKS IN THE 7$ WHILE @:AYNABIYYT
POEMSAPPEARJUSTBEFORETHEM
!NOTHER MAPPING IMPLIED @BLOCK IS THE SEQUENCE OF FOUR
BASMALAH SECTIONS LABELLED ;-B= IN OUR SCHEMA IN !PPENDIX
 WHICHISDISTINGUISHEDFROMTHEBLOCKSBEFOREANDAFTERITIN
THE '$ ;-A= AND ;-C= 7E EXPECT THAT DETAILED ANALYSIS OF
THECONTENTOFTHEPOEMSTHEMSELVESWILLINDICATEA@THEMATIC
REASONWHYTHESEPOEMSSHOULDBELONGTOGETHERINTHE'$AND
WHY THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLACED AFTER THE 4ARJUMN POEMS
AND BEFORE THE )NITIATION POEMS IN THE ALPHABETICAL BLOCKS OF
THE7$
)BN!RABHIMSELFREFERSTOANUMBEROFSECTIONSWITHINTHE
'$NOTALLOFWHICHWEHAVEYETBEENABLETOIDENTIFY!FTER
THEVASTMAINBLOCKOFPOEMSFROMTHE&UTTHESTATES
INTHISANDOTHERCHAPTERSOFTHE$WNWEHAVESOMETIMESLEFT
OUTVERSESTHATARETOBEFOUNDTHERE;IEINTHE&UTT=7EHAVE
NOTPUTTHEMINHEREBECAUSETHEYARERECORDEDINTHIS$WNIN
THE;SECTIONS=ONTASHBBSULNIYYTMAWIANDOTHERSUBJECTS
;0".=FOLB

7ECANBEREASONABLYCERTAINTHATASTASHBBMEANS@THEMAKING
OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF POETRY ELEGANT OR ORNATE BY THE
MENTIONOFWOMENEXAMPLESOFITWOULDBETHE@:AYNABIYYT
AND@'HAZALIYYT!DDASALSOSUGGESTEDANUMBEROFOTHERSUCH
SECTIONSA@.IMIYYT@(INDIYYTAND@-ARYAMIYYTBASED
ONTHEOCCURRENCEOFTHESENAMESINTHElRSTLINESOFPOEMS
(OWEVERASFARASWECANSEETHESESECTIONSARENOTTREATEDIN
ANYSPECIALWAYBYTHEMAPPINGTOTHE7$4HE@.IMIYYT
THEONLYLARGE SCALEONEOFTHETHREEOCCURSINA@THEMATICBLOCK
INTHE'$ANDMIGHTSUPPLYSEQUENCESOFPOEMSTOONEORMORE
MIXED RHYME BLOCKS BUT IF SO THIS WOULD BE IN A PART OF THE
7$FORWHICHWEDONOTYETPOSSESSMANUSCRIPTS)NADDITION
THE@3ULNIYYTSECTIONHASBEENIDENTIlEDASPARTOF'$IN
THE"LQHOLE 
 ,ANE,EXICON, p. 1493.
50. Propos, p. 192.

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



Recension markers
7HILECOMPARINGINDETAILTHETEXTOFPOEMSAPPEARINGINBOTH
THE'$ESPECIALLY'$ ANDTHE7$WEDISCOVEREDANUMBER
OF@RECENSIONMARKERS"YTHISWEMEANAWORDORPHRASEUSED
WITH GREAT REGULARITY AND PROMINENCE BUT WITH A CONSISTENT
DIFFERENCE WHENEVER SUCH A POEM APPEARS IN ONE OR OTHER OF
THETWO@RECENSIONSTHE'$OR7$&OREXAMPLEWElNDTHE
STRANGE WORD M H B L N D USED IN A LARGE NUMBER OF POEMS IN
THE7$INPLACEOFASMALLNUMBEROFALTERNATIVEPHRASESINTHE
'$MOSTOFTENMANALIMTUM@THEONEWHOMYOUALLKNOW OR
OCCASIONALLY AYNDHT@ESSENCEOFMYOWNSELF .
4HE RECENSION MARKERS ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE PUTATIVE
THIRD PART OF '$ IN POEMS WHICH FOLLOW THE R TRANSITION
AND IN THE OPENING SIX SECTIONS OF THE FOURTH PART n IN OTHER
WORDSATTHEBEGINNINGANDHEARTOFTHELOVE POEMSTASHBB)
SECTION 4HIS AREA OF '$ IS GENERALLY THE SUPPLIER OF POEMS
TO THEMATIC BLOCKS TO THE 7$ ALTHOUGH IT ALSO INCLUDES THE
@'HAZALIYYTAND@:AYNABIYYTSECTIONSWHICHSUPPLYPOEMS
TO THE TAIL END OF ALPHABETIC BLOCKS IN THE 7$  )N THE LATTER
CASEARECENSIONMARKERWOULDSERVETOmAGFORTHEREADERTHE
THEMATIC CONNECTIONS BETWEEN POEMS DISPERSED AROUND THE
7$ &OR EXAMPLE NEAR THE END OF A TYPICAL ALPHABETIC BLOCK
THEREADEROFTHE7$WILLCOMEACROSSPOEMSUSINGTHENAME
:AYNAB (OWEVER ALTHOUGH )BN !RAB SPECIlCALLY MENTIONS
THE@:AYNABIYYTSECTIONEARLYINTHE'$THEPOEMSINTHAT
SECTIONGENERALLYDONOTUSETHENAME:AYNABOPTINGASINTHE
CASE OF M H B L N D FOR AN EPITHET SUCH AS RAT @MY REPOSE
INSTEAD
(ERELETUSRECALLTHE LINEPOEMWHICHHEADSTHISSECTION
;0".=FOLB ANDHADALREADYAPPEAREDINASLIGHTLYDIFFERENT
FORMINTHE0ROLOGUE



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

)HAVEALOVEWHOHASTHENAME
OFALLWHOHAVEANAME
4HATISWHAT)ALLUDETO
IN;BOTH=CLEARANDOBSCURE;SPEECH=
"Y;REFERRINGTO=2UBAB
TO(INDANDTO3ALMA)MEAN
/NLY(IMSOCONSIDER(IM
FOR(EISTHENAMETHATISNAMED
!NDTHEONEWHODOESNOTKNOWWHAT)AMSAYING
ISBLINDTOTHEWAYOF4RUTH'OD

(AVINGTHUSSTATEDTHATWHATHELOVEShHASTHENAMEOFALLWHO
HAVEANAMEv)BN!RABIMMEDIATELYPROVIDESUSWITHANOTHER
POEMTHATDESCRIBESWHYHEISMENTIONINGSOMANYAPPARENTLY
DIFFERENT BELOVEDS SUCH AS &IRDAWS IN THIS SECTION !S THE LAST
LINESTATES
!LLOFTHEIRNAMESARETRULYDISTINGUISHEDn
ANDIN(IMARETHEYUNITED

(ETHENBEGINSTOUSETHEPARTICULARRECENSIONMARKERSnTHUS
FOREXAMPLETHElRSTEIGHTPOEMSALLHAVETHEPHRASEDHTNAFS
@ESSENCEOFMYOWNSELF WHICHWESTRONGLYSUSPECTISACIPHER
FOR THE NAME -AH BULAND OR -AH BALAND  !S THIS RECENSION
MARKERISOUTSIDETHEKNOWNMANUSCRIPTSOFTHE7$WECANNOT
CONlRMTHISBUTITISHIGHLYREMINISCENTOFOTHERMARKERSTHAT
DENOTE-AH BULANDSUCHASAYNDHT
!S WE DO NOT POSSESS MANUSCRIPTS FOR ALL OF THE 7$ WE
ARE UNABLE TO PUT AN EXACT NUMBER TO THE NUMBER OF POEMS
INWHICHRECENSIONMARKERSOCCUR/URESTIMATESAREBASEDON
KNOWINGTHELISTOFALTERNATIVESINTHE'$FOREACHMARKERAND
IDENTIFYINGTHOSEPHRASESINNEARBYPOEMS(EREISALISTOFTHE
MAINRECENSIONMARKERSWEHAVEDISCOVEREDSOFAR

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING

7$FORM



'$ALTERNATIVES

,OCATIONIN
GD

-AH BULAND

0ARTPRIORTO
@'HAZALIYYT



MOSTCOMMON
 LESS
COMMON AND
THEREAREEVEN
RARERALTERNATIVES
SUCHAS

Firdaws

!GREATVARIETY
NONEOFWHICH
CANBESAIDTOBE
COMMONEG
OROR

0ARTPRIORTO
@'HAZALIYYT



ALWAYS

@'HAZALIYYT

OF

:AYNAB

MOST

@:AYNABIYYT

OF

COMMON

AlYA

MOST
COMMON

0ARTAFTER
@:AYNABIYYT

13

'HAZALT

%STIMATED
NUMBEROF
POEMSUSING
@MARKER

)N THE CASE OF THE MARKER AlYA  F Y H  WE EVEN lND AN

ACROSTIC POEM FOR THIS WORD IN ;0".= FOLB lVE VERSES
RHYMINGIN@Q WHERETHEFOURLETTERS F Y HOCCURASTHElRST
LETTER TO EACH OF THE lRST FOUR VERSES IN TURN WITH THE lFTH
MISSINGINTHE7$ ADDINGANEXPLANATIONOFHOWTHESELETTERS
EVOKE THE BELOVED )N THE 7$ MANUSCRIPTS ;+(,= AND ;6%,=
THISACROSTICISmAGGEDBYTHESCRIBESREPEATINGTHELETTERSINTHE
MARGIN



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

)TISNOTEWORTHYTHATTHE@lNAL7$FORMTENDSTOEXPLICITLY
MENTION THE NAME OF THE PARTICULAR BELOVED RATHER THAN AN
ALLUSIVECIPHERAlYA:AYNABAND&IRDAWSWHICHARESTILLUSED
TODAY AS GIRLS NAMES 4HE lRST NAME -AH BULAND OR -AH
BALAND AS VOWELLED IN ;6%,= IS A COMBINATION OF TWO 0ERSIAN
WORDS MEANING @HIGH MOON OR @EXALTED BEAUTY 7E CAN ONLY
ASSUME THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN USED AS A GIRLS NAME IN )BN
!RABSTIMEOREARLIER
4HUSTHISMETHODSERVEDBOTHALOVERSPURPOSEOFVEILINGOR
MASKINGTHEREALITYOFHISBELOVEDFROMTHEEYESOFOTHERSASWELL
ASAPRACTICALONEOFLINKINGPOEMSACROSSDIFFERENTRECENSIONS
)NTRIGUINGLYWEHAVEEVENFOUNDTWOCASESINWHICHRECENSION
MARKERVARIATIONSOCCURINPOEMSFROMTHE&UTTWHERETHE
ORIGINAL &UTT FORM IS DIFFERENT YET AGAIN FROM BOTH THE '$
AND 7$ FORMS )N A POEM FROM CHAP  WHICH )BN !RAB
PLACED WITHIN THE @'HAZALIYYT SECTION Fut)) FOLA 
THE ORIGINAL FORM IS AQQT  AQQAT AND NOT AYT '$
OR 'HAZALT 7$  !GAIN IN ANOTHER POEM FROM CHAP 
WHICHHEPLACEDINTHE@:AYNABIYYTFut))FOLB THE
ORIGINALFORMISHDHIHANDNOTRAT'$ OR:AYNABUN7$
AND%$ 
7E CONCLUDE THAT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING )BN !RAB WAS
INSERTINGRECENSIONMARKERSASPARTOFHIS$WNCONSTRUCTION
PROCESS PRESUMABLY SO AS TO EMPHASISE THEMATIC RELATIONS
AMONGNEIGHBOURINGPOEMS"UTRATHERDISTURBINGLYTHISALSO
MEANSTHEREISNOa prioriREASONTOREGARDEITHERA'$ORA7$
POEM AS REPRESENTING THE @ORIGINAL POEM
! DETAILED STUDY OF
THESE RECENSION MARKERS WHICH WOULD BE MOST VALUABLE WILL
HAVETOBELEFTFOROTHERSASHERETHEREISONLYSPACETOSUGGEST
ANOUTLINEOFWHATISAMOSTFASCINATINGAREA
&INALLYRECENSIONMARKERSAREUSEFULTOUSINASSESSINGWHAT
 "ULANDlNDSITSWAYINTO4URKISHASTHEBOYSNAME"LENT!SFOR
THENAME'HAZALT@MYGAZELLE THISISADIALECTFORMWHICHSEEMSTOBE
an epithet (akin to ABBT for ABBAT), still used today in various regions
TODENOTEAFEMALEBELOVED
 4HEABBREVIATEDFORMAQQT as per ABBT) of this &UTTPOEM
WASNOTEDBY3ULAYMN!RINAL +HAYLWA L SHIRFTAAWWUFAL !NDALUS
(Cairo, 1981), p. 304.

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



SOURCES WERE USED BY $AWWN BEYOND THE '$ AND 7$ &OR
RECENSIONMARKERSSEEMTOBECONSISTENTLY@INHERITEDINOTHER
$AWWN&OREXAMPLEWHENPARALLELPOEMSAPPEARIN;"/$=
$WNISHRQAL BAH/$ ITISTHE7$FORMTHATISALWAYS
USED"YCONTRASTWHENPARALLELPOEMSAPPEARIN;5.)=%$ 
THE '$ FORM IS ALWAYS USED 7E CAN THUS CONCLUDE THAT /$
HADTHE7$ASITSULTIMATESOURCEWHILETHE%$WASBASEDUPON
THE'$

!47/ 0!24@%!34%2.$7.%$
7ENOWTURNTOYETANOTHERLARGE SCALE$WNWHICHSEEMSTO
HAVEBEENCONSTRUCTEDBY)BN!RABHIMSELF4HE%$ISAFULLY
ALPHABETICAL $WN WITH POEMS GROUPED ENTIRELY BY RHYME
LETTER AND LETTER BLOCKS ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE %ASTERN
STANDARD ALPHABETICAL ORDER ALIF HAMZA THROUGH TO LM ALIF
ANDlNALLYY
4HEONLYMANUSCRIPTWEHAVEBEENABLETOCATALOGUEINDETAIL
IS ;5.)= SEE !PPENDIX   WHICH COVERS THE lRST  LETTERS
ALIF TO GHAYN 4HIS MANUSCRIPT CALLS ITSELF THE @lRST PART AND
CONTAINS APPROXIMATELY  POEMS 7E BELIEVE THIS TO HAVE
BEENCOPIEDFROMTHE@LOSTVOLUMEINAL 1NAWSWAQF9USUF
!AWHICHWASBRIEmYDESCRIBEDBY!HMED!TEIN
!CCORDING TO !TE 9USUF !A  HAD  FOLIOS AND WAS
WRITTEN IN A -AGHRIBI NASKH WITH NO DATE 4HE BEGINNING
STATEShQLAAL SHAYKHAL IMMx-UAMMADB!L)BNAL !RAB
AL TIM AL  RAIYA !LLHU ANHUv AND THEN THE POEMS
FROMALIFTOGHAYNFOLLOW&ROMTHISNOTICEITSEEMSTHAT9AHIA
ANDFOLLOWINGHIM%LMORE DECLAREDTHISTOBEAN@AUTOGRAPH
PERHAPSASSUMINGTHATTHEHANDWRITINGWAS)BN!RABSOWN
'IVENTHATTHISANDTHESECONDVOLUMEWEREPARTOFADRAL $N
AL 1NAWS WAQF WE MIGHT DEDUCE THAT THIS COPY WAS NOT
 !NOTHERDIRECTPARALLELFOR5NIVERSITY!AND9USUF!AIS
:AHIRIYAH  4AS :AHIRIYAH  BASED ON PERSONAL COMMUNICATION
FROM"AKRI!LADDINWHOEXAMINEDTHEMS 4HEINITIALPOEMWHICHTHUS
begins the alif letter block) is also found on its own in Zahiriyah 6824,
WHICH9AHIACATALOGUESAS2'AWITHTHETITLEQADAFAQQAL MAHD.
54. "ELLETEN 16 (1952), p. 54.



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

ONLY AL 1NAWS OWN BUT FORMED SOME KIND OF PRESENT FROM

THEAUTHORTOHISSTEPSONKNOWINGTHATHEWOULDALREADYHAVE
COPIES OF THE POEMS IN WORKS WHICH ARE OMITTED (ENCE WE
MIGHTEVENDESCRIBETHISASTHE+ONYA$WN(OWEVERWHILE
POSSIBLEWECANNOTDETERMINEWITHANYCERTAINTYWHETHERTHIS
WASTHECASEASTHEREISNOKNOWNCOPYMICROlLMORDIGITAL
THATWEHAVEBEENABLETOACCESS
!TE ALSO MENTIONS A SECOND COMPANION VOLUME OF THIS
$WN9USUF!A EQUALLYFROMAL 1NAWSWAQFWHICH
HADPOEMSCOVERINGTHEREMAININGLETTERSOFTHE%ASTERNORDER
FTHROUGHYINFOLIOS)NADDITIONITCONTAINEDAlNAL
SECTION OF -UWASHSHAT IN  FOLIOS 7E ASSUME THAT THIS
WOULDHAVEBEENTHESECONDPART%$ WHICHWECANESTIMATE
ASCONTAININGASIMILARNUMBEROFPOEMSTO%$APPROXIMATELY
 )TMAYSEEMSURPRISINGTHATTHEGHAYN FDIVIDESHOULD
MARKANAPPROXIMATEHALFWAYPOINTINTHEALPHABETINRESPECT
OFTOTALNUMBERSOFPOEMS7ECOMPUTETHATTHE AYNDIVIDE
WOULDBECLOSERSTILLBUTTHEDIFFERENCEISONLYASMALLFRACTION
OF THE WHOLE 0ERHAPS THERE ARE OTHER FACTORS IN THIS DIVISION
WHICH ARE MORE CONNECTED TO HIDDEN MEANINGS OF LETTERS OR
NUMBERS FOR EXAMPLE THE LETTER GHAYN SUGGESTS @OTHERNESS
OR @DISTANCE GHAYR GHARB  AND IS THUS A NATURAL END POINT TO
ASERIESBEGINNINGINALIFORTHEREMAYBEANUMERICALASPECT
SINCETHISDIVISIONPRODUCESTWOALPHABETICALSECTIONSOFAND
LETTERS)NADDITIONWESHOULDCONSIDERTHELARGENUMBERSOF
POEMSRHYMINGINQLMNANDHIN)BN!RABSPOETICCORPUS
7HATEVER THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT )BN
!RAB HIMSELF mAGGED @GH F AS A QUANTITATIVE HALFWAY POINT
SINCE IN HIS SEQUENCE OF @ LINERS REPRODUCED IN THE "LQ
HE CHOSE THE POEM IN @F TO BE THE ONLY ONE TO CARRY AN ODD
NUMBEROFVERSESRATHERTHAN"LQP 
! QUESTION REMAINS AS TO WHETHER %$ CONTAINED A LM
ALIFSECTIONPRIORTOTHEYSECTIONWHICHWASAPPARENTLYTHE
LAST 3UCH AN ORDERING OF THE  LETTERS OCCURS IN )BN !RABS
@ LINERSIN"LQWHICHTURNOUTTOPLAYASPECIALROLEINTHE
STRUCTUREOFTHE%$INTHEMINORLETTERBLOCKSTHESEMUASHSHART
ARE ALWAYS PLACED lRST )T IS ALSO QUITE STRIKING THAT )BN !RAB
GAVESUCHPROMINENCETOANAPPARENTLY-AGHRIBISTYLEOFPOEM

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



MUASHSHARA INA-ASHRIQI ORDERED$WN5NFORTUNATELYAS

WE HAVE NOT YET COME ACROSS ANY SURVIVING COPY OF %$ WE
HAVEBEENUNABLETOCONlRMTHEPRECISECONTOURSOFTHEVOLUME
WHICH!TEDESCRIBED
!SWEMENTIONEDEARLIERPARALLELPOEMSINTHE'$AND7$
SOMETIMES CONTAIN VARIATIONS VARIATIONS WHICH ARE CONSISTENT
ACROSS GROUPS OF POEMS IN EACH RECENSION IE IN '$ AND IN
7$  ! NUMBER OF THOSE POEMS WHICH CARRY SUCH RECENSION
MARKERSALSOHAVEPARALLELSIN;5.)=IE%$)NALLTHECASES
WEHAVEEXAMINEDnCLOSETOnTHE;5.)=READINGAGREESWITH
THE '$ READING AND DIFFERS FROM THE 7$ READING 4HUS WE
HAVE GOOD EVIDENCE THAT THE ALPHABETIC %$ WAS CONSTRUCTED
FROM THE NON ALPHABETIC '$ AND not FROM THE THEMATICn
ALPHABETIC 7$
(AVINGANALYSEDTHESELECTIONOFPOEMSFROMTHE'$ANDTHE
WAYINWHICHTHEYAREREORDEREDTOFORMTHEALPHABETICBLOCKS
INTHE%$WElNDNOTHINGEQUIVALENTTOTHEMAPPINGBYWHICH
THECONTENTOFTHE'$WASSELECTIVELYREORGANISEDTOFORMTHE
7$
7E CONSIDERED EVERY POEM IN THE '$ WHICH RHYMES IN
A LETTER BETWEEN ALIF AND GHAYN IN THE %ASTERN ALPHABETICAL
SEQUENCE ANDRECORDEDWHETHERORNOTITAPPEARSIN%$7E
THEN COMPUTED A @RE USAGE PERCENTAGE FOR VARIOUS SECTIONS OF
THE 'REAT $WN AND FOUND SOME SIGNIlCANT DIFFERENCES )N
THElRSTSECTIONUPTOFOLA POEMSFROMTHEMAJORWORKS
&U &UTT 4ANAZZULT WERE HARDLY USED AT ALL IN ;5.)=
THESAMEWASTRUEOFTHE7$ -EANWHILETHEPERCENTAGEOF
REPEATEDPOEMSFROMALLTHEONESINTHISlRSTSECTIONISCLOSETO
MEDIUMRE USAGE )NTHESECONDSECTIONFOLSAnB
WE lND HEAVY RE USAGE   )N THE THIRD SECTION FROM THE
REPEATED"LQPOEMSONWARDSINCLUDINGTHE4ARJUMNPOEMS
WElNDLOWRE USAGE 
55. We have so far found only one exception to this, where the
RECENSIONMARKER:AYNABUN USEDINTHE%$;5.)=FOLB DERIVESFROM
THE7$MARKER;6%,=FOLB NOTFROMTHE'$;0".=FOLBRAT).
 5NLIKE THE OTHER MAJOR WORKS NOTED EARLIER WE NOTE THAT lVE
4ARJUMN POEMS BUT ONLY lVE OUT OF A POTENTIAL  DO APPEAR IN ALIF
GHAYN )N THREE CASES THESE ARE EMBEDDED IN THE COMMENTARY FROM



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

7ECARRIEDOUTASIMILARRE USAGEANALYSISOFPOEMSIN'$
(EREWElNDTHATTHELEVELOFRE USAGEDIVIDES'$INTOFOUR
SECTIONSWITHBREAKSAT"LQPPAND7ElNDLIMITED
USAGE INTHE@EARLYWORKS"LQPPnBYCONTRASTIN
THE7$THESEWEREENTIRELYEXCLUDED MEDIUMUSAGE IN
"LQPPnINCLUDINGTHE"LQHOLE 4HEREISLIGHTUSAGE
 IN THE POEMS ON INITIATION "LQ PPn AFTER THE
"LQHOLEINCONTRASTTOTHE7$WHERETHESEWEREINCLUDEDIN
APROMINENTPLACEPRIORTOTHE@:AYNABIYYTAND@'HAZALIYYT
AT THE END OF THE ALPHABETIC BLOCKS  &INALLY WE lND HEAVY
RE USAGE INTHEREMAINDEROF"LQPPn 
/VERALLUSAGEOFTHE'$IN%$INDICATESTHATAPPROXIMATELY
OFALLPOEMSINTHE'$APPEARINTHE%$COMPAREDTO
FOR THE 7$  %VEN IN REGIONS OF HEAVY RE USAGE WE lND ONLY
nOFPOEMSINTHE'$REAPPEARINGIN%$7EALSOlND
@NEWPOEMSIN%$ nPOEMSWITHNOPARALLELINTHE'$
ALTHOUGHMANYOFTHESEOCCURINOTHERMANUSCRIPTSAFEWEVEN
INTHE7$ 4HISSTRONGLYSUGGESTSTHATTHE%$WASCONSTRUCTED
AFTERTHE'$BUTFURTHERRESEARCHISNEEDEDTOCLARIFYTHISAND
MANYOTHERQUESTIONSESPECIALLYASCURRENTLYWEONLYHAVEONE
PARTOFTHEWHOLETOANALYSE
4HERE IS NO ROOM HERE TO GO INTO THE DETAILED STRUCTURE OF
LETTERBLOCKSIN%$7HATISCLEARISTHATALTHOUGHTHEREISNO
EQUIVALENT TO THE '$ TO 7$ MAPPING WHEREBY EVERY LETTER
BLOCK WOULD HAVE A SIMILAR STRUCTURE  THERE ARE CLEAR SIGNS OF
SYSTEMATISATION -INOR LETTER BLOCKS THOSE LETTERS THAT ONLY
GIVERISETOAFEWPOEMS ALLBEGINWITHTHECORRESPONDINGLETTER
POEMFROMTHE@ LINERS-UASHSHART NONEOFWHICHAPPEAR
ATALLINTHE7$(OWEVERTHESTRUCTUREOFMAJORLETTERBLOCKS
$HAKIREVENTHOUGHTHATDOESNOTOCCURWITHTHEEQUIVALENTPOEMINTHE
'$OR7$3OMEWHATASWITHTHE7$POEMSINTHE4ARJUMN are treated
DIFFERENTLY7ENOTETHATTHEBREAKATFOLBFOURPOEMSREPEATEDFROM
"LQPPnWASNOTSIGNIlCANTINTHEMAPPINGBYWHICHTHE7$WAS
PRODUCED)TISONLYRE USAGEANALYSISINTHE%$WHICHINDICATESTHATTHIS
MARKSASIGNIlCANTTRANSITIONINTHE0ARISMANUSCRIPT
 4HE  @ LINERS HAVE BEEN STUDIED IN DETAIL BY $ENIS -C!ULEY
(-YSTICAL 0OETICS PPFF  WHO ALSO IDENTIlES AN  VERSE @CAP POEM
ASSOCIATED WITH THEM AND FOUND A LITTLE LATER IN "LQ P  4HEY TOO

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



POEMSINHAMZA@B@DAND@R DONOTEVENHAVETHISFEATURE

IN COMMON 2ATHER THE GROUPING OF POEMS BY SOURCE REGION
IN THE %$ IS EXTREMELY COMPLEX AND MAY NOT ITSELF PROVIDE A
MEANINGFULWAYTOVIEWTHEPOEMS/URIMPRESSIONISTHATTHE
REARRANGEMENTOFPOEMSWITHINLETTERBLOCKSWASSIGNIlCANTON
A lNER SCALE IN THE %$ THAN IN THE 7$ WHERE THE @MAPPING
WAS MUCH MORE FORMULAIC n POEMS WERE KEPT IN MEANINGFUL
SUBGROUPSVERYFEWWEREDROPPEDANDTHEREWASRELATIVELYLITTLE
REARRANGEMENT OF POEMS WITHIN THOSE SUBGROUPS  %XPLAINING
THECOMPLEXITYOFTHEREARRANGEMENTINTHE%$WOULDDEMAND
A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE POEMS THEMSELVES WHICH LIES WELL
OUTSIDETHESCOPEOFTHECURRENTSTUDY

/4(%2$!77./$
7E HAVE NOW DESCRIBED THE THREE LARGE SCALE $AWWN WHICH
WE KNOW OR STRONGLY SUSPECT TO HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED BY
)BN !RAB HIMSELF THE 'REAT $WN AND THE TWO SELECTIVE
REORGANISATIONS WHICH WE HAVE LABELLED THE @7ESTERN $WN
AND THE @%ASTERN $WN 7E HAVE ALSO STUDIED MANUSCRIPTS
WHICH REPRESENT SMALLER SCALE COLLECTIONS WHICH RANGE FROM
AROUNDTOAMEREPOEMS/$n 7EDONOTPROPOSETO
DESCRIBETHESEOTHER$AWWNINDETAILHEREBUTREFERTHEREADER
TO !PPENDIX  IN WHICH WE LIST THESE @OTHER DAWWN ALONG
WITHASSOCIATED2'NUMBERSANDCODESFORTHEMANUSCRIPTSWE
HAVE STUDIED 7E HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT ANY OF THESE
WEREKNOWNTO)BN!RABHIMSELFALTHOUGHMUCHOFTHEPOETIC
CONTENTSEEMSTOBEAUTHENTICALLYHIS
/$ $WN ISHRQ AL BAH CORRESPONDS TO 9AHIAS 2'
 WHICH WE HAVE STUDIED THROUGH A PREVIOUSLY NEGLECTED
MANUSCRIPTINTHE"ODLEIAN,IBRARYAT/XFORDTHEOLDESTDATED
COPYWEHAVEFOUND !LTHOUGHQUITELARGEAROUNDPOEMS 
A NOTE WITHIN THE TEXT ITSELF FOLA INDICATES THAT IT WAS
COMPILEDBYACERTAINALAL $N)NTERESTINGLYTHE@RECENSION
MARKEREVIDENCEOFSEVENPARALLELPOEMSIN;"/$=ISTHAT/$
FOLLOWA-ASHRIQIORDERIN"LQWITHALM ALIFPOEMPLACEDPRE lNALLY
between w and y.



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

WASCOMPILEDONTHEBASISOFTHE7$ANDNOTTHE'$
/$^POEMS ISANOTHERINDEPENDENT$WNTOWHICH
9AHIA GAVE A SEPARATE 2' NUMBER 2'   $ESCRIBED BY
!DDAS AS A mORILEGIUM COMPILED BY AN ADMIRER OF THE 3HAYKH
@,UVRE P  THIS COLLECTION DRAWS POEMS FROM VARIOUS
WORKS INCLUDING 4ARJUMN &U AND -AWQI AL NUJM
(OWEVERTHEREAREINDICATIONSTHATNEARLYOFTHEPOEMSIN
THEEARLYPARTOFTHISCOMPENDIUMARENOTBY)BN!RABATALL
SEE!PPENDIX;","= 
!S FOR THE REMAINING FOUR $AWWN /$ /$n IT IS
DIFlCULTTOSEEHOWANYOFTHESECOULDBEASSIGNEDMEANINGFULLY
TO EXISTING 2' NUMBERS 0ERHAPS OF MOST INTEREST ARE THE
MANUSCRIPTS FOR /$ AND /$ "ERLIN  ;",.= AND &ATIH
;&4-=RESPECTIVELY4HESEWEREBOTHLISTEDBY9AHIAUNDER
2'THE$WNAL MARIFALONGWITHTHE0ARISMANUSCRIPT
;0".= WHICH WE HAVE RECLASSIlED AS '$  THE MAIN REASON
SEEMINGLY BEING THE FACT THAT THEY ALL PROVIDE THE TEXT OF THE
0ROLOGUEALTHOUGHINTHECASEOF;",.=ONLYPARTIALLY 
4HE "ERLIN MANUSCRIPT ;",.= DESCRIBED BY !DDAS AS AN
@ANTHOLOGYAPPARENTLYCOMESFROMA3IRJAL $NAL 4ABRZ
WHOWASTHEKHDIMCARETAKER OF)BN!RABSZWIYAIN-ECCA
)T IS ENTITLED $WN MURTAJALT AL SHAYKHx AL MAWSM BIL
MARIFAL ILHIYYAWA L LAIFAL RABBNIYYATHATISTOSAYPOEMS
@EXTEMPORISEDBY)BN!RABBUTBEARINGTHESAMEGENERALTITLE
AS THAT GIVEN BY THE AUTHOR IN '$ (AVING CATALOGUED AND
CROSS MATCHED THE POEMS WE CAN ALSO ADD A MORE DESCRIPTIVE
WORKING TITLE NAMELY THE @EARLY POEMS $WN IT CONSISTS
ALMOSTENTIRELYOFPOEMSFROMEARLYWORKSANDEARLYCHAPTERSOF
the &UTTIEEARLYSECTIONSOF'$UPTOFOLA AND'$
UPTOTHElRSTSIXPOEMSOFTHE@"LQHOLE 
&INALLY WE TURN TO /$ REPRESENTED BY &ATIH  ;&4-=
4HIS IS NOT SIMPLY A SEVERELY TRUNCATED VERSION OF THE 0ARIS
MANUSCRIPTAS!DDASTHOUGHT@0ROPOSP BUTISINFACT
YETANOTHER$WN7HILETHE0ROLOGUEANDTHElRSTSIXPOEMS
DOMIRROR'$THEELEVENPOEMSWHICHFOLLOWDIFFER7EHAVE
FOUNDNOPARALLELSFORANYOFTHEELEVENPOEMSELSEWHEREINTHE
58. Propos, p. 193.

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



PRINTEDWORKSORINANYMANUSCRIPTWEHAVECATALOGUEDSOFAR
SUGGESTINGTHATTHEYWEREEITHERWRITTENBYSOMEOTHERAUTHOR
ORTHEYBELONGTOANASYETUNKNOWNWORKBY)BN!RABWHICH
DOESNOTAPPEARINTHE'$

#/.#,53)/.3
)NTHISPAPERWEHAVEBRIEmYSURVEYEDTHECONTOURSOFWHATWE
BELIEVE TO BE )BN !RABS 'REAT $WN AND ITS OFFSPRING THE
@7ESTERN$WNANDITS@%ASTERNSISTER7EHAVEONANUMBER
OF OCCASIONS RAISED THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE 'REAT $WN
CONTAINED @ALL OF )BN !RABS POETRY 4HE FACT THAT )BN !RAB
SAYS HE WISHED TO INCLUDE ALL THE POETRY HE COULD REMEMBER
ANDALSOSPEAKSOFTHEONGOINGNATUREOFPOETICINSPIRATIONAND
PRODUCTIONSURELYMEANSTHATTHIS@ALLISINEVITABLYOPEN ENDED
)BN!RABSCOLLECTINGTOGETHEROFHISOWNPOETRYWOULDHAVETO
REMAINTHETASKOFADIARY KEEPERASMUCHASTHATOFALIBRARIAN
)NTHE;+(,=MANUSCRIPTWElNDPOEMSWRITTENINTOTHEMARGINS
DOSOMEOFTHESEREPRESENTAUTHENTICPOEMSWRITTENONTHESPUR
OFTHEMOMENTINTHEPROCESSOFCOLLECTINGORORGANISINGHISOWN
POEMS /R ARE THEY ONES THAT SUDDENLY POPPED BACK INTO HIS
MEMORYHAVINGLAINDORMANTFORAWHILE!GAINTHEFEWPOEMS
WHICHAREFOUNDONLYINTHE7$AND%$FREQUENTLYAPPEARIN
SMALLGROUPSORATSECTIONBREAKSCANWECONCLUDETHATTHEYWERE
COMPOSEDASPARTOFTHELIVINGPROCESSOFDWNCONSTRUCTION
7E HAVE SEEN THAT EVEN IN THE CASE OF KNOWN WORKS WHERE
WE ARE CONlDENT OF THE ORIGINAL TEXT EG &U AND &UTT 
)BN !RAB DOES NOT SEEM TO ALWAYS INCLUDE ABSOLUTELY EVERY
POEMINHIS'REAT$WN)NMANYCASESCERTAINLYTHEMISSING
POEMS ARE NOT HIS CREATIONS BUT THIS DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR ALL
THEOMISSIONS9ETTHENUMBERSARENOTLARGEENOUGHFORUSTO
SUSPECTTHATTHEREISANYTHINGLIKEAMISSINGTHIRDPARTBEYOND
THE'$AND'$
!SECONDPROBLEMISTHATOFVARIOUSVERSIONSOFAPOEM4HIS
HAS SIGNIlCANCE BEYOND THE FACT THAT A POEM MIGHT UNDERGO
IMPROVEMENTS BY THE AUTHOR OR SUFFER UNINTENDED MUTATION
UNDER THE HANDS OF A SEQUENCE OF SCRIBES n PROBLEMS WHICH A
CRITICALEDITIONCOULDHOPETOADDRESS4HEREISPLENTYOFEVIDENCE



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

THAT )BN !RAB HIMSELF LIKE ANY GREAT CREATIVE ARTIST DID NOT
REGARDHISPOEMSASBEINGlXEDINSTONEnORPERHAPSWESHOULD
SAYTHATIFONEOFHISPOEMSISlXEDITISlXEDBEYONDTHEWORDS
HEUSEDTOEXPRESSIT
7EHAVEALREADYMENTIONEDTWO&UTT
POEMS WHOSE FORM IS DELIBERATELY ALTERED WHEN IT APPEARS IN
THE'$ANDTHE7$THESEFORMSBEINGRELATEDTOTHERECENSION
MARKERSHEAPPARENTLYINTRODUCEDTOmAGCONNECTIONSBETWEEN
SEQUENCES OF POEMS ! CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IS THAT EVEN IF WE
HADBEFOREUSAMANUSCRIPTOFAPOEMINTHEHOLOGRAPH'REAT
$WN IE THE ONE WRITTEN BY )BN !RAB HIMSELF SURELY THE
BEST POSSIBLE SITUATION  WE COULD NOT NECESSARILY ASSUME THAT
THAT WAS THE FORM IN WHICH THE @SAME POEM APPEARED WHEN
HEHADORIGINALLYPLACEDITINANEARLIERCOMPOSITIONORWHENIT
WASlRSTIMPRINTEDUPONHISMEMORY

(AVING SAID ALL THIS WE CAN SURELY ATTEMPT TO PERFORM THE
MODERNLIBRARIANSVERSIONOFWHAT)BN!RABSETOUTTODOTO
RECORDEVERYPOEMINEVERYAUTHENTICATEDWORKANDMANUSCRIPT
THAT HAS COME DOWN TO US IN A VAST DATABASE OR SUPER DWN
7E ARE NOW SOME WAY UP THAT MOUNTAIN PATH AND CAN TAKE
STOCK7ECANASSESSTHESIZESOFTHEVARIOUS$AWWNINWHICH
WEKNOWORSTRONGLYSUSPECT)BN!RABWASINVOLVED7ECAN
ESTABLISH HOW THESE OVERLAP AND RECORD THE NUMBERS OF @NEW
POEMS 7E CAN CONTINUE THE CATALOGUING OF KNOWN COPIES OF
@)BN!RABS$WNANDSEARCHFORTHOSEOTHER$AWWNWHICH
WEPREDICTSHOULDEXISTBETHEYINSOMEPUBLICLIBRARYORPRIVATE
COLLECTION 7E CAN LOOK AT ANOTHER $WN ATTRIBUTED TO )BN
!RABEVENONEPUTTOGETHERMUCHLATERANDDETERMINEWHICH
MATERIALISAUTHENTICANDWHICHISDOUBTFULANDWHEREMATERIAL
IS AUTHENTIC RECENSION MARKERS ALLOW US TO ASSESS THE LIKELY
SOURCEFORSUCHCOMPILATIONS 7ECANALSOUSETHESAMECRITERIA
TOLOOKATWORKSCONTAININGPOEMSWHICHHAVEBEENATTRIBUTED
TO)BN!RABANDESTABLISHWHETHERHECANBECONSIDEREDTHE
REAL AUTHOR OR NOT 7E HAVE ALREADY GIVEN ONE EXAMPLE WITH
3HUJNAL MASJNWHEREATPRESENTSCHOLARLYOPINIONISDIVIDED
ASTOWHETHERITISANAUTHENTICWORKBY)BN!RABORNOT
!NOTHERINTERESTINGAREAOFSTUDYWOULDBETHEPROSESECTIONS
THAT ACCOMPANY VARIOUS POEMS 7E HAVE MENTIONED VARIOUS
KINDS OF PROSE IN THE $AWWN EG THE 0ROLOGUE THE SECTION

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



ONINITIATIONFROMTHE.ASABAL KHIRQAPARTOFTHE"LQHOLE 
THESIGNOFTHE3EALTEXTCOMMENTARIESATTACHEDTOPOEMSFROM
the 4ARJUMNIETHE$HAKIR OROTHERWORKSEG-UARAT
OR !BDILA  )N GENERAL IT IS NOTICEABLE THAT PROSE TENDS TO
TRAVELWITHTHEPOEMTOWHICHITISATTACHEDWHENTHEPOEM
APPEARSINANOTHER$WN4HEREAREALSOSNIPPETSOFPROSEUSED
at BASMALAH SECTION TRANSITIONS AND PROSE USED TO INTRODUCE
POEMS (OWEVER IN OUR OWN WORK SO FAR WE HAVE NOT BEEN
SYSTEMATIC IN THE CATALOGUING OF PROSE SECTIONS SINCE THE lRST
PRIORITYHASBEENTOBUILDUPTHEPOEMDATABASE
)NCONCLUSIONALTHOUGHWEHAVENOTREACHEDTHESUMMITWE
BELIEVEWEARESUFlCIENTLYABOVETHETREE LINETOHAVEACLEARER
VIEW OF THE LANDSCAPE OF THE VARIOUS $AWWN !ND WHAT WE
HAVE FOUND SEEMS TO RECALL AGAIN AND AGAIN THE REMARKABLE
VISIONWITHWHICHWEBEGANTHISPAPERANDWHICH)BN!RAB
RECORDSATTHEVERYOUTSETOFHISENTERPRISE)NPARTICULARWESEE
THERECURRENTTHEMESINTHEFORMANDSTRUCTUREOFTHEFRUITOF
HISPOETICINSPIRATIONTHEEXTRAORDINARYCREATURETHATEMERGED
FROM HIS CHEST AS A HAIR AS AN AWARENESS AND AS VERSES ALL
MEANINGSIMPLIEDINTHEROOTSH R ANDSTRETCHEDITSHEADTO
BOTHHORIZONSWESTERNANDEASTERN(OWEVERITISONETHINGTO
DESCRIBETHEOVERALLCONTOURSOFSUCHFRUITANDQUITEANOTHERTO
SAVOURTHETASTEINALLTHEVARIOUSPOEMSTHATTHEAUTHORHASSO
CAREFULLYLAIDOUTFORHISREADERSENJOYMENTANDEDUCATION,ET
USTHEREFORElNISHWITHATWO LINEPOEMFROMTHE@'HAZALIYYT
SECTION OF '$ ;0".= FOLB  WHICH ALSO APPEARS WITH A
DIFFERENTMARKERINTHE7$;6%,=FOLB 
4HEONEWHOM)LOVEVISITEDMYPLACEWHILE
)WASOUTnIF)WEREONLYAWAREWHETHERSHE
WOULDCOMEAGAIN

4HATISNOTEQUITYONTHEPARTOFMYGAZELLEn
NOFAIRNESSWOULDBEFORHERTOCOMEBACKx
 7ITH MANY THANKS TO $ENIS -C!ULEY FOR THE TRANSLATION OF THIS
POEM )T IS WORTH NOTING THE PHRASE LAYTA SHIR (if I were only aware)
EXACTLYECHOESTHElRSTWORDSOFTHElRSTPOEMOFTHE4ARJUMN, and the
word SHIRSEEMSTOBEDELIBERATELYUSEDTOCONVEYNOTONLYAWARENESSBUT
also poetry itself.



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

!PPENDIX
,ISTOFMANUSCRIPTSSTUDIED
POEMSCATALOGUEDANDCROSS MATCHED
;","=n"RITISH,IBRARY!DD,ONDON FOLSn
#LASSIlCATION OD3 'IVEN A SEPARATE 2' NUMBER BY /9 2' 
ANDDESCRIBEDBY#!DDASASA@mORILEGIUM@,UVREP "EGINS
WITH  VERSE TIYYA SEE @,UVRE PPn ON THIS FOLLOWED
BY  POEMS WE DO NOT RECOGNISE 4HEN  OF  4ARJUMN POEMS
REORDERED AREFOLLOWEDBYPOEMSFROMTHE&UADIFFERENTSELEC
TIONTO;0".=OMITTINGTHEPOEMFROMTHE0ROLOGUEONEFROM)SAAC
THE(UDMUFRADONEFROM3HUAYBANDONEFROM3OLOMON THEN
ALMOSTALL FROM-AWQITHENTWOPOEMSWEDONOTRECOGNISEAND
ANOUT OF SEQUENCEPOEMFROM4ARJUMNTHElFTH ANDlNALLYOF
 FROMTHE-UASHSHART
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;",.=n"ERLIN3PRENGER"ERLIN FOLSn
#LASSIlCATION OD2 #ONTAINS A VARIANT OF PART OF THE 0ROLOGUE FROM
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ANDFROMEARLYIN0ARISUPTOFOLAIEPRIORTOTHE&UTTBLOCK 
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TIAL ANDAFEWFROMLATERIN0ARISFOLSAnAANDFOLAWHICH
AREINTHESECONDTHEMATICSECTION 3INCEITCONSISTSALMOSTENTIRELYOF
POEMSFROMEARLYWORKSEARLYCHAPTERSOFTHE&UTTORFROMEARLYSEC
TIONSOF0ARISANDPROTO "LQWEREFERTOITASTHE@%ARLYPOEMS$WN
4HESEQUENCEOFLETTERPOEMSINFOLSBnAISASELECTIVEREORDERINGOF
POEMSFROMFutCHAP!LMOSTTHEEXACTSAMESEQUENCEISFOUNDAS
+AL -ABDWA L GHAYT2' ASFOUNDIN)STANBUL5NIVERSITY!
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THECONSTRUCTIONOFTHIS$WN
4OTALAROUNDPOEMS#ONTAINSPOEMSNOTFOUNDELSEWHERE

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



;"/$=n"ODLEIAN0OCOCKE/XFORD FOLSn
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NOTE IN TEXT FOLA  0OEMS ARE GROUPED BY RHYME LETTER ARRANGED
IN%ASTERN ABJADORDERENDINGINLM ALIF!LTHOUGHTHEMAJORITYOF
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;&4(=n&ATIH3ULEYMANIYE)STANBUL FOLSn
#LASSIlCATION'$WITH" HOLE !"LQ ALIKEMANUSCRIPTCONTAIN
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"LQPPnFOLAAPOEMFROM"LQPANDONFOLB
TWOPOEMSFROM"LQP&OLBISBLANKBUTNOPOEMSAPPEAR
TO BE MISSING "LQ P  /N FOLB TWO POEMS FROM "LQ
PPn ARE CONCATENATED /N FOLA TWO POEMS FROM "LQ
PARECONCATENATED
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-IS BINDINGAROUNDPOEMSFROM"LQPPnMIS BOUND
PRIOR TO FOLIO NUMBERING THESE SHOULD APPEAR BEFORE FOLA RATHER
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@"LQ HOLE THE MANUSCRIPT IS FROM THE FAMILY WHICH CONTAINS THE
HOLE ON FOLB CF ;'.,= ;,$.= AND THE "LQ PRINT EDITION ITSELF 
4HUSITISMISSINGALMOSTPOEMSANDPROSE FOUNDINTHEEQUIVALENT
PLACEINPROTO "LQ;9!"=
4OTALAROUNDPOEMS



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

;&4-=n&ATIH3ULEYMANIYE)STANBUL FOLSn

#LASSIlCATIONOD54HISFRAGMENTCONTAINSTHE0ROLOGUETOTHE$WN
AL MARIF '$ IN A SIMILAR FORM TO THAT IN THE 0ARIS MANUSCRIPT
;0".=!LSOCONTAINSTHESAMEINITIALSIXPOEMSAS;0".=AFTERTHE0RO
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ELEVENPOEMSELSEWHERE4HUSWECLASSIFYTHISASADISTINCT$WN
4OTALPOEMS#ONTAINSASEQUENCEOFELEVENPOEMSNOTFOUNDELSE
WHERE
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#LASSIlCATION'$WITH" HOLE !"LQ ALIKEMANUSCRIPTCONTAIN
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/FTHETHREE"LQ ALIKEMANUSCRIPTSWEHAVESTUDIEDTHEREAREAFEW
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x ,$.FOLB&4(FOLBISINPROTO "LQ9!"P BUTNOT
"LQANDNOT;'.,=WHERETWOPOEMSARECOLLAPSEDINTOONEWITH
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x ,$.FOLSAANDBDISTINCTPOEMSIN;,$.=JUSTASIN"LQ
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x ,$. FOLB  &4( FOLA  '., FOLB IS A SINGLE POEM
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IN"LQANDIN;'.,=
x ,$.FOLA&4(FOLBISASINGLEPOEMCORRESPONDINGTOA
CONCATENATION OF TWO POEMS IN PROTO "LQ 9!" P  AND IN
"LQANDIN;'.,=
x ,$.FOLA&4(FOLADOESNOTAPPEARINEITHERPROTO "LQ
OR"LQOR;'.,=

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



$IGITAL REPRODUCTION OUR REPRODUCTION IS MISSING OPENING FOLSBn

AlVEPOEMSFROM"LQPPn ANDALSOOPENINGFOLSBnA
lVE POEMS FROM "LQ PPn AND ALSO OPENING FOLSBnA
ONE POEMS FROM "LQ PPn AND ALSO OPENING FOLSBnA
TWO POEMS FROM "LQ PPn AND FOLSBnA ONE POEMS
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@"LQ HOLE THE MANUSCRIPT IS FROM THE FAMILY WHICH CONTAINS THE
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#LASSIlCATION/$2'-)!3!RCHIVECLASSIlCATION #ONTAINS
 OR  POEMS ALL OF WHICH ARE FOUND ELSEWHERE IN PRINTED WORKS
OF OTHER MANUSCRIPTS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE WHICH MIGHT BE
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/F INTEREST IS A SIX VERSE POEM IN @N ON FOLA 4HIS POEM IS FOUND
IN3HUJNAL MASJNWA FUNNAL MAFTN;2'=nAWORKTHOUGHTBY
SOMENOTTOBEBY)BN!RAB
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;,$.=n,EIDEN/R,EIDEN FOLSn
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TAININGTHE@"LQHOLEOFTHEPRINTED$WN"LQ nTHATBEINGAN
OFFSHOOTOFTHEPROTO "LQFAMILY;9!"= 4HISMANUSCRIPTCONTAINS
THEHOLEATAFOLIOBREAKFOLSBnA SUGGESTINGITCOULDBEDIRECTLY



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

RELATED TO THE MANUSCRIPT WITH WHICH THE "LQ FAMILY BROKE AWAY
FROM THE PROTO "LQ CF ;9!"=  3EE ;'.,= FOR SOME VARIATIONS INDI
CATINGHOWTHETHREE"LQ ALIKEMANUSCRIPTS;,$.=;&4(=AND;'.,=
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THISMSISALMOSTCOMPLETEASAREPRESENTATIVEOFTHE"LQ ALIKESUB
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THE COMMENTARY OF $HAKHIR n SEE TABLE OF CONTENTS ON P 9AHIA
LISTSUNDER2'
4HE MANUSCRIPT SEEMS TO BE A COPY OF A MIS BOUND EXEMPLAR AT
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4OTALPOEMS

4HE'REAT$WNANDITSOFFSPRING



;5.)=n5NIVERSITY!5NIVERSITY)STANBUL FOLSn

#LASSIlCATION%$&ULLYALPHABETICAL$WNSTANDARD%ASTERNALPHA
BET WITH POEMS SELECTED AND REORDERED FROM THE 'REAT $WN #OV
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OURTITLE 
"INDING ERRORS AND OMISSIONS FOLSAnA AnA AnA  OF
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.OS    AND  FOR A TOTAL OF  SKIPPED VERSES 3INCE THIS
OCCURSATAPAGE BREAKTHEMOSTLIKELYEXPLANATIONISTHATASINGLEFOLIO
HASBEENLOSTHEREPRIORTOFOLIONUMBERING 



Julian Cook and Stephen Hirtenstein

4OTALAROUNDPOEMS
3EE(IRTENSTEIN@3OME0RELIMINARY.OTESFORMOREONTHISMS
;9!"=n9USUF!A9USUF!A+ONYA PP n
#LASSIlCATIONGD.20ROTO "LQTHESECONDPARTOFTHE'REAT$WN
#URRENTLYTHEONLYMANUSCRIPTKNOWNTOlLLTHE@"LQHOLEFOUNDIN
ALL OTHER "LQ ALIKE MANUSCRIPTS AND IN THE PRINTED $WN "LQ 
)TISVERYLIKELYTHAT)STANBUL5NIVERSITY!ISAPARTIALCOPYOFTHE
SAMEUPTO9!PPART WAYTHROUGHTHE"LQHOLE )TSlNAL
POEMISONEOFTHE@3ULNIYYTPOEMS
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CANT PROSE FROM .ASAB AL KHIRQA IS MISSING FROM "LQ P AND ALL
"LQ ALIKEMANUSCRIPTS;&4(=;'.,=,$. (ENCETHENAME@PROTO
"LQAPPLIESTO;9!"=ALONE
@9!"HOLEATPPnAPAGEBREAK ASECTIONOFPOEMSIN"LQ
PPn IS MISSING FROM THIS MS n MOST LIKELY DUE TO A LOSS OF
AROUNDTENFOLIOSWHICHWECALLTHE@9!"HOLE 
/THER ANOMALIES AT P THREE "LQ POEMS PPn ARE DIFFER
ENTLYORDEREDAROUNDTHESECTIONBREAKASIN"LQ ALIKEMANUSCRIPTS
;&4(= ;'.,= ;,$.=  !T P WE lND A  VERSE POEM EFFECTIVELY
SKIPPEDIN"LQDUETOJUMP CONCATENATIONP 
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