Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur and Arabic Writerly Culture: A Ninth Century Bookman in Baghdad (Routledgecurzon Studies in Arabic and Middle Eastern Literatures)

233 Pages·2005·1.4 MB·English

by  Shawkat Toorawa

¯ ¯ ¯
IBN ABI TAHIR TAYFUR AND ARABIC
˙ ˙
WRITERLY CULTURE
In spite of the considerable attention devoted to the third/ninth century by
scholarsofArabicliterature,creditfortheelaborationofthenotionofadabinits
wider meaningofwriterlyculturehasbeenconcentratedupononlyahandfulof
writers. The disproportionate emphasis, within and outside the Arabic literary-
historicalandcriticaltraditions,hasbeenattheexpenseofcertaincrucialaspects
of that tradition.
With a particular focus on a central but neglected figure, Ibn Ab¯ı Ta¯hir
˙
Tayfu¯r (d. 280/893), poet and prose writer, schoolmaster and copyist,
˙
“independent” scholar, member of important literary circles, and a significant
anthologist and chronicler, this study re-evaluates the literary history and
landscape of the third/ninth century. The author demonstrates and emphasises
thesignificanceofanimportantandirrevocabletransformation,namelytheone
signalled by the transition from a predominantly oral-aural culture to an
increasingly writerly-based and book one.
This transformation had a profound influence in the production of learned
andliteraryculture;onthemodesoftransmissionoflearning;onthenatureand
types of literary production; on the nature of scholarly and professional
occupations and alliances; and on the implications of such phenomena as
patronageandplagiarism.Thisbookwillappeal,therefore,toanyoneinterested
in deepening their understanding of classical and medieval Arabic literary
culture and history, and also to those with an interest in books, writing and
authorship.
Shawkat M. Toorawa is Assistant Professor of Arabic Literature in the
departmentofNearEasternStudiesatCornellUniversity.Heistheco-authorof
Interpreting the Self: Autobiography in the Arabic Literary Tradition (2001), translator of
Adonis’s A Time Between Ashes and Roses (2004) and co-editor of Arabic Literary
Culture, 500–925 (2005).
ROUTLEDGECURZON STUDIES IN ARABIC AND
MIDDLE-EASTERN LITERATURES
Edited by James E. Montgomery, University of Cambridge,
Roger Allen, University of Pennsylvania, and
Philip F. Kennedy, New York University
RoutledgeCurzon Studies in Arabic and Middle-Eastern Literatures is a monograph series
devotedtoaspectsoftheliteraturesoftheNearandMiddleEastandNorthAfrica
bothmodernandpre-modern.Itishopedthattheprovisionofsuchaforumwill
leadtoagreateremphasisonthecomparativestudyoftheliteraturesofthisarea,
although studies devoted to one literary or linguistic region are warmly
encouraged. It is the editors’ objective to foster the comparative and multi-
disciplinary investigation of the written and oral literary products of this area.
1. SHEHERAZADE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Eva Sallis
2. THE PALESTINIAN NOVEL
Ibrahim Taha
3. OF DISHES AND DISCOURSE
Geert Jan van Gelder
4. MEDIEVAL ARABIC PRAISE POETRY
Beatrice Gruendler
5. MAKING THE GREAT BOOK OF SONGS
Hilary Kilpatrick
6. THE NOVEL AND THE RURAL IMAGINARY IN
EGYPT, 1880–1985
Samah Selim
7. IBN ABI¯ TA¯HIR TAYFU¯R AND ARABIC WRITERLY CULTURE
˙ ˙
A ninth-century bookman in Baghdad
Shawkat M. Toorawa
8. RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES IN MODERN MUSLIM AND
JEWISH LITERATURES
Edited by Glenda Abramson and Hilary Kilpatrick
¯ ¯ ¯
IBN ABI TAHIR TAYFUR
˙ ˙
AND ARABIC WRITERLY
CULTURE
A ninth-century bookman in Baghdad
Shawkat M. Toorawa
Firstpublished2005
byRoutledgeCurzon
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786
for
Zubeida Mahmood
Asiya Maryam
and
Parvine
Mens humilis, studium quaerendi, vita quieta,
Scrutinium tacitum, paupertas, terra aliena ...
Bernard of Chartres (d. c. 1130)
CONTENTS
Preface viii
Acknowledgments ix
Note on transliteration and dating xi
Glossary xii
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction: Ibn Ab¯ı Ta¯hir Tayfu¯r and Arabic writerly
˙ ˙
culture 1
1 From memory to written record 7
2 The presence and insistence of books 18
3 Reciting poetry, telling tales 35
4 Being a bookman 51
5 Navigating partisan shoals 71
6 Precedence and contest 87
7 The “Bad Boys” of Baghdad 102
Envoi: Revisiting Arabic literary historyof the third/ninth
century 123
Notes 130
Bibliography 180
Index 208
vii
PREFACE
TheninthcenturyoftheCommonEra(thirdcenturyHijrah)wasanactiveone
˙
indeedfortheArabichumanities,notleastbecauseofthefar-reachingeffectsthe
appearanceofpaperandtheproliferationofwritingandbooksweretohaveon
Arab-Islamiccultureingeneral.Iamcertainlynotfirsttosignaltheimportance
ofthephenomenaassociated withthechangesbroughtand wroughtbywriting.
Thisstudyis,however,thefirstattempttolookatapractitionerofwriterlyculture
fortracesofthosechanges–whatBrianStockmightstyletheimplicationsofliteracy,
thoughIprefertospeakaboutwriterlyculturethantospeakaboutliteracy.Writerly
cultureisalsooneusefulway(amongmany)ofthinkingaboutthemeaningofa
term that has long eluded precise translation (or comprehension), namely adab.
Like Stock,I provide no palliatives for those in searchof oversimplified pictures
of literary history and historical growth; unlike Stock, mine is not a magisterial
study of the implications of literacy, especially as they can be plumbed through
closereadingsofculturalproductsandpractices,butanattempt,rather,fruitfully
to nuance the general understanding of Arabic literary history in a significant
century. The illustrative practitioner of writerly culture on whom I focus is Ibn
Ab¯ı Ta¯hir Tayfu¯r (d. 280/893), a bookman of Persian origin who lived in
˙ ˙
Baghdad.
NotwithstandingtheFrenchadage‘quis’excuse,s’accuse,’Ioughttopointout
that this study is neither a monograph on Ibn Ab¯ı Ta¯hir, nor a comprehensive
˙
studyofwhatsurvivesofhisworks,namelythreevolumesoftheKit¯abal-Manth¯ur
wa-al-manz¯um (Book of prose and poetry), one volume of Kit¯ab Baghd¯ad (Book of
˙
Baghdad),scatteredquotationsfromothersofhisworks,andaboutfourhundred
verses of his poetry. Both – a monograph and an analysis of his works – are
desideratatobesure,butmyfocushereisonprovidingageneralviewofwriterly
cultureinninth-centuryBaghdadbyusingtheexampleofIbnAb¯ıTa¯hir(andhis
˙
peers).Whatismore,thisbookisaimednotonlyatspecialistsofArabicliterature
oftheAbbasidperiod,butalsoinparticularatallwhoareinterestedinclassical
or medieval writerly culture in general. Indeed, I have attempted to write with
both specialists and non-specialists in mind.
viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ThisistherevisedversionofadoctoraldissertationIcompletedattheUniversity
of Pennsylvania where I received tremendous moral, intellectual and financial
supportovertheyearsfromtheDepartmentofOrientalStudies,laterAsianand
Middle Eastern Studies. I began the dissertation under the sage and gentle
guidance of the late George Makdisi, my debt to whom will be apparent.
I completed it under the guidance of Everett Rowson, who supervised with
expertise, care, and friendship a work he could have done far better himself;
Roger Allen, my teacher and mentor for 25 years now, who provided advice,
affection, and support; and Barbara von Schlegell, a wonderful source of
encouragement and kindness. At Pennsylvania, I am grateful also to Edward
Petersforhavingtaughtmemuch;andtoPeggyGuinanandDianeModerskifor
years of indulgence and affection.
MyRRAALLcolleagues–KristenBrustad,MichaelCooperson,JamalElias,
Nuha Khoury, Joe Lowry, Eve Troutt-Powell, Dwight Reynolds,Devin Stewart,
and Nasser Rabbat – continue to provide rare intellectual and affectionate
support. Over the years, Aisha and Ahmad Dewangree, Marc Ostfield and
Michael Savino, Aditya Agarwal and Diana Kunze, Satti and Rita Khanna,
Salim and Hoor and Ashraff, and especially Joe Lowry and Vanessa Albert
opened their homes and hearts in ways I can never repay.
Mythanksgoalsoto:AnthonyAppiah,MiriamCookeandBruceLawrence,
Skip Gates, William Hanaway, Michael Hopper, Sherman Jackson, Philip
Kennedy, Ruqayya Khan, John Ledoux, Abdul Rashid Mahaboob, Iliass Patel,
IvonnePrieto,Yasin Safadi, Abdul Rashid Toorawa,ShabbirAhmad Toorawa,
Herb Wolfson, and Areff and Chotane Bahemia.
At Cornell, I am grateful to the wonderful staff of the department of Near
Eastern Studies – Chris Capalongo, Denise Huff and Julie Graham – and my
exceptional colleagues, in particular mychair, Ross Brann. I should also like to
thank Iftikhar Dadi, Ed Gunn, Ellen Gainor, Ali Houissa, Shelly Marino, and
Chris Minkowski.
I am deeply grateful to Wolfhart Heinrichs, Hilary Kilpatrick, James
Montgomery, and Devin Stewart for reading an early draft of this book and
for makingcountlesssuggestionsmanyofwhichIhaveignoredatmyownperil.
ix