Hassan Al Matroushi
The Omani genius contributed to building human civilization throughout the ages. It played a prominent role in various knowledge and sciences, such as medicine, navigation, marine sciences, trade, language, literature, genealogy, religious sciences, and others. Throughout its long history, Oman has produced a large elite of distinguished scholars, writers, thinkers and leaders, who have enriched human thought with their fertile generosity and qualitative contribution in various fields.
Among the sciences in which the Omanis excelled in establishing, establishing, and classifying, and which they expanded with research, care, and simplification, is the science of prosody, which was devised and laid down by the Omani scholar Al-Khalil bin Ahmed Al-Farahidi, one of the imams of language, poetry, and literature in his time, the author of the “Al-Ayn” dictionary, which is considered the first dictionary in the Arabic language. He is the founder of the science of prosody in poetry, from which Arab poetry still draws and follows its solid foundations, despite the fundamental transformations that Arab poetry has witnessed in its openness to the global creative scene. In appreciation of the contribution of this Omani scholar and recognition of his leadership, he was the first Omani figure included in the UNESCO list of globally influential Omani figures, since 2005 AD.
Al-Khasibi says in (Al-Shaqa’iq): “Among the people of Oman who wrote poetry in the second century of the Hijra was Al-Khalil bin Ahmad bin Amr bin Tamim Al-Farahidi Al-Azdi Al-Yahmadi. It was said: He was from the people of Widdam from Al-Batinah and moved to Basra. Ibn Khallikan said in Wifayat Al-U'yan: He was an imam in the science of grammar, and he was the one who devised the science of prosody, brought it into existence, and limited its divisions to five circles. Then Al-Akhfash added another sea, which he called Al-Khabab. (1)
All Arab poetry owes its debt to the Omani genius as the founding pioneer in the science of prosody. This science has played a decisive role in the course of Arabic poetry for centuries, and scholars, researchers, and poets have devoted themselves to studying and caring for it. Omani poetry, in its creative aspect, remained faithful to Al-Khalil’s performances. The Omanis also contributed to classifying, writing, and organizing the arajis in the science of prosody in order to simplify it and facilitate its issues for students and scholars.
One of the important works in this field is the book (Mazhar al-Khafi bi Nazm al-Kafi fi ‘Ilmi al-Awrud wa al-Qafi) by Sheikh Saeed bin Khalfan al-Khalili (1811 - 1871), which was originally a manuscript, then it was verified and printed by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture. The manuscript’s examiner, Dr. Muhammad Jamal Saqr, says in his introduction: “It became clear to me, upon investigation, that (Mazhar al-Khafi) is a poem of fourteen hundred lines, with simple metres, adequate verses with hidden vowels and vowels, and illiterate broken, abstract rhymes connected to the yā’ - answered by Al-Khalili, his sheikh, Hammad bin Muhammad Al-Sibt, to compose the text of (Al-Kafi fi ‘Ilmi al-Arud wa’l-Rawaf) by Al-Khawwas” (2).
As the investigator confirms, Al-Khalili was not satisfied with the role of compiler and summary of Al-Khawās, despite the importance of the effort he made, but he also had essential scientific additions, according to what the investigator proves in his introduction: “It is no secret that Al-Khalili reduced the text of Al-Khawās to less than half of it. Had he wished, he could have shortened it to a third or less, had he not been careful to add it, saying: (I compiled it for him in a brief manner, and I was limited to the important parts of it, and I added to it the mention of places that the author did not rely on, and jokes that he did not stop at, so he was honored with the interest returns, and he added the tables).” (3).
Dr. Ahmed Mustafa Afifi says about the book: “The author began the manuscript with a sermon, then followed it with some epistemologies, especially the sciences of prosody and rhyme, each in a separate part. Then he followed that with an introduction to the first science, which is the science of prosody, and in it he explained some of the opinions that he thought needed to be known. The titles of the poetic verse, then the prosodic units, and he had a special opinion in canceling some of them, and then he went back to the levels of poetic structure, so he took the reader slowly and gently, as if he was starting with him from the beginning of the path” (4).
Sheikh Nour al-Din Abdullah bin Humaid al-Salimi (1867 - 1914 AD) also wrote an important book in this field entitled (Al-Manhal Al-Safi on the Conqueror of Offerings and Rhymes), which was a manuscript and then printed by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, edited by researcher Ibrahim bin Hamad Al-Shabibi. The book contains in its text a system by Sheikh Al-Salmi in the sciences of prosody and rhymes, and he explained it in order to achieve greater simplification, and this is what the investigator explains by tracing the motives for writing the book, as stated in his introduction that: “Whoever meditates on the title of the book realizes that the author was aiming to This writing of his was for a goal he sought, as the word (Fatih) in the title indicates that the performances and even this system were closed and impossible for anyone who wanted them, and that is because the books written in this art did not meet or satisfy the desire of the student of this art, and this system is like a key to him.
The phrase (the pure source) indicates that the sources (previous works) before this book had some impurities, but this book was pure and pure, so it is pure for whoever wrote it”(5).
There is no doubt that this book represents a qualitative addition to its field, and has features that set it apart from others. The investigator says, highlighting some of the features of this book: “Despite this manuscript being relatively new compared to some books in this field, it is characterized by several features and characteristics, including: It is a book that contains the sciences of prosody and rhyme, in structure and prose. It is a book that presents most of the opinions on a single issue, discussing them, and then adopting one of them, or preferring one opinion over another, and sometimes he is unique in his opinion. It is a book that contains verses of martyrdom in the system, which makes it easy to memorize and remember them. It is a book that presents information in an easy, simple and accessible way. It is a book that is not limited to prosody and rhyme only, but extends to other sciences. It is an encyclopedia in a book, and among these sciences are grammar, dictionaries, and rhetoric. It is a book that relied on many books written before it, by quoting a statement, opinion, or text from them” (6).
But what is striking about the matter is that Al-Salmi, the polymath who wrote this book, was blind. He lost his sight at the age of twelve, and the book contains precise drawings of the prosodic circles and their symbols, drawn with perfection and high craftsmanship, which raises the question about how they came to him. ?
The investigator answers this issue by explaining that: “It can be said that whoever used to read to the Sheikh in the presentations was familiar with this knowledge, and would describe to him these shapes and images, and how to place them, and then the Sheikh would dictate them to his student, the copyist of Al-Manhal Al-Safi” (7).
If this indicates anything, it indicates the high determination and solid will that Sheikh Al-Salmi - may God have mercy on him - enjoyed, driven by his love of knowledge and his desire to benefit and spread useful knowledge.
When we turn to the modern writers of Oman, we find that there are also those who were interested in the science of prosody, wrote about it, and invented new methods to simplify the ways of teaching it to scholars. One of the most prominent authors in this field is the poet Dr. Hilal Al-Hajri, who wrote a book entitled (Singed Prosody: A New Project for Teaching Prosodic Meters).
As is clear from the title, the book represents an educational project that aims to present a new vision for teaching performances, a vision that exploits the lyrical output of poets’ poems that echoed in the throats of singers, in a step that harmonizes singing music with performance music. Dr. Hilal Al-Hajri’s project is based on three basic pillars: “The first pillar, which is a theoretical framework in which I addressed some theoretical issues related to performances, its importance, its origin, the reasons for its difficulty, attempts to facilitate and renew it, the relationship between it and the branches of the Arabic language, the relationship between it and music, and the reality of teaching it.” In the Arab world, the basic skills for teaching it, and finally the proposed new method for teaching it.
The second pillar is an extrapolation of the common meters of Arabic poetry through Arabic poems sung in the modern era. In it, I tried to represent the sixteen seas and their parts with the most eloquent poetic texts possible, sung by the giants of Arab art... This is an idea that I won through the theoretical framework of this project, and it aims to return this art to its musical origins that were lost in the midst of grammar and abstraction. I was guided to it through the famous book “Al-Aghani” by Abu Al-Faraj Al-Asbahani, with the certainty that there was a difference in approach and purpose.
The third pillar, on which this project is based, is various skill experiments. I have come to the conclusion that the skill of poetic cutting, which has dominated prosody books for a long time, is not alone sufficient to acquire this art. Developing the feeling for the music of poetry cannot be achieved through cutting alone. There are various skills that were discussed in the first chapter of this book, and they are also discussed in the rest of the chapters following each of the poetic seas” (8).
Close to this educational goal comes the book (How to Write Poetry) by the late poet and researcher Yahya bin Muhammad Al-Bahlani, whose methodology is based on a dialogue between the professor and the student. The book expresses the vision of the poet Yahya Al-Bahlani towards poetry. He is one of those who reject any poetry outside of meter, no matter how amazing and sweet the text is. Because the condition of poetry according to Al-Bahlani is limited to its adherence to meter. Al-Bahlani says, explaining his motives for writing this book: “I wrote this book of mine - my dear reader - for two main reasons: First: to adhere to the rules of poetry - Al-Ahrad Al-Khalili - because the property of meter only exists in poetry, and anything other than it is prose, which under no circumstances can be called prose.” Poetry, even if its authors claim poetry and a delicate, winged language... Secondly: to break the rule of those who say that poetry cannot be learned, but rather it is a talent created for some, and withheld from others, and this is talk that has been on the tongues until recently” (9).
Through our wanderings in the Omani Literature Blog, the profound Omani contribution and importance to the science of prosody becomes clear to us, since its founding by Al-Khalil bin Ahmed Al-Farahidi, in the second century AH, all the way to the twenty-first century AD.
We firmly affirm that this article has missed much of what the Omanis have categorized in this field, and we do not claim to cover all of that, but we only provide examples of what we were able to obtain, and in our view it is important and sufficient to highlight the Omani contribution in this field of knowledge, even if we only had Khalil bin Ahmed Al-Farahidi, that would have been enough.
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Footnotes:
1- Muhammad bin Rashid bin Aziz Al-Khasibi, (Anemones on the Samut Al-Juman in the Names of Oman’s Poets), Ministry of Heritage and Culture, second edition 2016 AD, p. 61.
2- Saeed bin Khalfan Al-Khalili (Mahr Al-Khafi bi Nazm Al-Kafi fi Al-Alam Al-Aroud wa Al-Rhyme), edited by Dr. Muhammad Jamal Saqr, Ministry of Heritage and Culture, first edition, 2016 AD, p. 33.
3- Ibid., p. 36.
4- Dr. Ahmed Mustafa Afifi, research entitled (The Scientific Method in the Book of Mazhar Al-Khafi in the Science of Prosody and Rhymes with an Applied Study on Poetry), within the book (Readings in Al-Khalili’s Thought), issued by the Literary Forum, second edition, 2006, p. 55.
5- Nour al-Din Abdullah bin Humaid al-Salmi, (Al-Manhal al-Safi on the Conqueror of Presentations and Rhymes), edited by Ibrahim bin Hamad al-Shabibi, first edition 2013 AD. Ministry of Heritage and Culture, p. 34.
6- Ibid., p. 39.
7- Ibid., p. 43.
8- Dr. Hilal Al-Hajri (Singed Prosody: A New Project for Teaching Prosody), Arab Diffusion Foundation, Beirut, second edition, 2015, pp. 16-17.
9- Yahya bin Muhammad Al-Bahlani, (How to Write Poetry), first edition, 2002 AD, Abu Muslim Library, pp. 9-10
Source: Oman Daily
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