§ The following is part of what has been transmitted to us about IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« by YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« ibn YaḥyÄ al-Munajjim,1 from ḤammÄd, who heard it from his own father, IsḥÄq â and also what Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿ transmitted to me from WaswÄsa (that is, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l, the great-grandson of IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«), from his father and his grandfather, as well as from his uncle ḤammÄd, from his father:
He was IbrÄhÄ«m, son of MaymÅ«n â or MÄhÄn â son of Bahman, son of Nasak. The reason he came to use the name MaymÅ«n in his genealogy is this: He once wrote to a friend of his and signed the letter: âFrom IbrÄhÄ«m, son of MÄhÄn.â But a Kufan fellow said to him: âArenât you ashamed of this name?â âBut thatâs my fatherâs name,â IbrÄhÄ«m protested. âChange it,â the fellow said. âHow can I?â he asked. The young man grabbed the letter, rubbed out MÄhÄn, and wrote MaymÅ«n instead. After that he was known as IbrÄhÄ«m, son of MaymÅ«n.2
§ IsḥÄq reported about his father:
Ours was a noble Persian family originally from the province of Fars.3 My grandfather MaymÅ«n fled the oppression of an Umayyad official there and settled in the city of Kufa with the Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn DÄrim clan. My father, IbrÄhÄ«m, and the son of Naá¸la ibn NuÊ¿aym were foster brothers.4 IbrÄhÄ«mâs mother was the daughter of one of the landowners who fled Persia at the same time as his father, MaymÅ«n, and they all settled together in Kufa with the Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn DÄrim clan. MÄhÄn married her in Kufa and she gave birth to IbrÄhÄ«m. MÄhÄn later died during an epidemic when IbrÄhÄ«m was still a child.5 IbrÄhÄ«m was born in the year 125 [= 742/43 CE] in Kufa, and died in Baghdad in the year 188 [803/04] at the age of 63.
§ In his account, Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l WaswÄsa reported:
MÄhÄn died when IbrÄhÄ«m was still a child, so the family of Khuzayma ibn KhÄzim took charge of him.6
§ In his account, YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« reported:
IbrÄhÄ«m was two or three years old when his father died. His father also left behind two other older sons from a different mother, so IbrÄhÄ«m lived with his mother and his maternal uncles until he reached adulthood. He went to Qurʾan school with Khuzayma ibn KhÄzim, which is why he was closely connected to the tribe of TamÄ«m.7 The caliph HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d once asked him: âWhatâs this close relationship you have with the TamÄ«m tribe?â IbrÄhÄ«m told him the story, saying: âThey raised me, Sire, and they raised me well. I grew up among them and had a foster relationship with them, which is why I am loyal to them.â8 Whereupon al-RashÄ«d retorted: âCareful! In my opinion, your loyalty is owed to me alone!â âI swear by God, Sire, this is my story,â IbrÄhÄ«m replied.
§ YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« reported in his account:
The reason they called him al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« [âthe man from Mosulâ] is that when he grew up to be a young man, he befriended some local âswells,â and in their company he developed a passion for singing and wanted to study it. But his uncles put pressure on him to give it up and punished him severely. So he fled to Mosul and stayed there for about a year. When he returned to Kufa, his former companions jokingly called out: âWelcome to the fellow from Mosul!â and he became known as al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«.9
§ However, Aḥmadâs account differs:
The reason he wanted to learn to sing was that he went to Mosul and befriended a group of neâer-do-wells there.10 They used to work the roads and he would tag along. Once they had gathered together everything they had snagged, they would carouse and drink and sing together. He learned a bit of singing from them and started singing himself, but as it turned out, he was the best and most talented singer among them. When he realized this, he developed a real passion for singing, wanted to study it, and traveled far and wide to do so.11
§ Ibn KhurradÄdhbih reported the following â though he had little evidence for what he writes and includes in his books:12
The reason he was associated with Mosul is that when he was in his cups, he would often sing this ditty in his drunken state:
I have only heard this story from Ibn KhurradÄdhbih, however, and I mention it here, despite its unreliability, because it is well-known and people believe it is the true account of the connection between IbrÄhÄ«mâs name and Mosul. I cite it here to dispel it as false.
§ Al-Ḥusayn ibn YaḥyÄ al-MirdÄsÄ« and Ibn AbÄ« al-Azhar13 informed me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IṣḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
My father IbrÄhÄ«m was sent to Qurʾan school, but didnât learn a thing; he was beaten and locked up at home, but it did no good. So he fled to Mosul where he learned to sing. He then traveled on to Rayy and studied singing there as well, and became very proficient. In Rayy he married his first wife DÅshÄr, whose name means âTwo Lions.â14 He lived there for a quite a while and studied both Persian and Arabic singing. In Rayy, he also married ShÄhak, the mother of IsḥÄq and the rest of his children.15
IsḥÄq continued:
IbrÄhÄ«m composed the following verses about his wife DÅshÄr, and composed a melody for them in the hazaj rhythm:
§ IsḥÄq said â My father told me:
The first time that I was ever paid for singing was when I was living in Rayy. I used to socialize with the people of Rayy as an equal, and didnât take any payment when I sang. I lived off what remained of the money I had brought with me from Mosul. One day a servant, whom the caliph AbÅ« JaÊ¿far al-Manṣūr16 had sent to one of his governors with a letter, happened to pass by. He heard me performing in the home of a man in Rayy, admired my singing, and gave me a sable cloak of some value. He went on to deliver the letter and returned with seven thousand silver dirhams and a large amount of clothing the governor had given him. He came to the house where I was living and stayed with me as my guest for three days. He gave me half of the clothing he had received as well as two thousand dirhams and that was the first thing I ever earned from singing. âBy God,â I said to myself, âI wonât spend this money on anything other than mastering the craft that brought it to me.â I was told about a man in the town of al-Ubulla17 named JuwÄnuwayh18 who was supposed to be a skilled singer, so I went to him and ending up befriending some of the young men of al-Ubulla. I learned a bit from them and sang to them in turn, and they loved my singing.
§ Al-Ḥusayn ibn YaḥyÄ told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father, citing his grandfather, who said:
When I first went to JuwÄnuwayh he wasnât at home, so I waited until he returned. When he saw me, he was at first reserved because he was a Zoroastrian. But I told him that I was a singer and that was the reason I had come to him, and eventually he welcomed me and made room for me in his home. He had his sister take care of me, and she brought me everything I needed. That evening he returned home with a group of Persian singers, so I went down and joined them. Wine had been prepared and fruit and aromatic plants had been laid out. We all took our places and they began to play and sing, but I didnât learn anything useful from them. When it was my turn, I played and sang, and afterwards all of them stood up, came over to me, and kissed me on the head, saying: âYou were making fun of us! Itâs you who should be teaching us, not the other way around!â
I stayed with them for a few days, until word of my presence reached Muḥammad ibn SulaymÄn ibn Ê¿AlÄ«.19 He sent a message asking me to come to him, and then ordered me to accompany him as a member of his entourage. âSir,â I replied, âI am not interested in earning money from singing. I simply enjoy it, which is why I learned to sing. Iâd rather return to my home in Kufa.â But my objections were to no avail, and he conscripted me into his retinue. He asked me where I was from, and I told him Mosul, and it stuck â ever since, I have been known as Ê¿al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«.ʾ
I remained favored and honored in his household until a servant of the caliph al-MahdÄ«20 arrived. When he noticed me there in Muḥammadâs household, the servant said to him: âThe Commander of the Faithful needs this fellow more than you do.â But Muḥammad dissuaded the servant from taking me with him. When the messenger returned to al-MahdÄ«, however, the caliph asked him what he had seen on his travels and at his destination. He gave his account and when he got to the point in his journey where he met me, he described me to him. Al-MahdÄ« ordered him to return to Muḥammad and have me sent to him, which he did. The servant arrived with the caliphâs orders and Muḥammad dutifully sent me off to al-MahdÄ«, where I enjoyed the caliphâs good graces and soon became his favorite.
§ However, WaswÄsa said in his account, citing IsḥÄq, who said â My father told me:
The first Hashemite I attended was Ê¿AlÄ« ibn SulaymÄn ibn Ê¿AlÄ«, the brother of JaÊ¿far and Muḥammad21 â he surpassed his siblings in elegance, the love of pleasure, and generosity. JuwÄnuwayh told him about me and introduced me to him, and he grew very fond of me. The first caliph who heard me sing was al-MahdÄ«. He found out about me and commandeered me from Ê¿AlÄ« ibn SulaymÄn. The caliph had not previously heard any singers except for Fulayḥ ibn AbÄ« al-Ê¿AwrÄʾ22 and SiyyÄá¹,23 who had been introduced to him by al-Faá¸l ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿.24
§ IsḥÄq said â My father told me:
The caliph al-MahdÄ« did not drink and he wanted me to abstain from drinking whenever I was accompanying him as well, but I refused. I used to absent myself for a few days at a time, and when I returned I was often tipsy. My behavior angered him, so he had me beaten and imprisoned, and it was there in prison that I learned to read and write. Then one day he summoned me and reproached me for drinking in other peopleâs houses and wasting my time with them. âSire,â I said, âI learned the craft of music for my own enjoyment and out of love of the companionship of my friends. If I were able to abandon drinking along with all the other things I do, I would do so, for the sake of God most Glorious and Mighty!â He became very angry and said, âDonât ever go near [my sons] MÅ«sÄ and HÄrÅ«n, for by God, if you do, Iâll have you seized and dealt with severely!â âUnderstood,â I replied. Later he found out that I had indeed spent time with them and got drunk with them, for the two of them were behaving recklessly under the influence of the wine. He ordered that I be given 300 strokes of the lash and had me fettered and thrown in prison.
§ However, Aḥmad ibn IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l said in his account â my uncle IsḥÄq said:
My father, IbrÄhÄ«m, told me that he was with MÅ«sÄ and HÄrÅ«n on an excursion along with a servant named AbÄn: This servant informed on us to al-MahdÄ« and told him what weâd been up to. The caliph summoned me and asked me about this, but I denied it. Then he ordered that I be punished â I was stripped and given 360 strokes of the lash, and I cried out to al-MahdÄ« while SallÄm was beating me, âMy crime is not a capital offense â you canât beat me to death for this! â out of loyalty to your sons I kept their secret â otherwise Iâd be as despicable as that tell-tale slave of yours, Aban!â When I said that, he struck me with his sword in its scabbard and fractured my skull.25 I fell to the ground unconscious for a while. When I opened my eyes and saw the eyes of al-MahdÄ«, I could tell they were the eyes of someone who regrets what he has done. He said to Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik: âTake him to your house.â
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
But before he did so, Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik took the whip from the hand of SallÄm al-Abrash and beat me again. That beating at that hands of Ê¿Abd AllÄh was a blessing compared to the beating that SallÄm had given me. Then Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik took me to his house while I was still dizzy and seeing stars from the searing pain of the whip. He ordered that I be taken to something like a tomb and placed in it. Then Ê¿Abd AllÄh called for a ram and had it slaughtered and skinned. I was wrapped in the skin so that the pain of the beating would abate. He turned me over to a servant of his named AbÅ« Ê¿UthmÄn SaÊ¿Ä«d al-TurkÄ« who placed me in that tomb, and charged a servant-girl of his named Jashsha with taking care of me. I was in sheer agony due to the water seeping into that tomb and the vermin, but there were also a privy there where I found some relief.26 I told Jashsha: âGo ask for a baked brick with coal and frankincense on it to rid me of these bugs,â and she brought it to me. When I fumigated the tomb, everything grew dark from the smoke, and my soul almost departed due to my distress. But I was able to find some relief from my suffering where the water was trickling in â I held my nose close to it until the smoke lessened, and then, just when I thought that I was to be saved from this terrible situation, two snakes slithered out from a crack in the tomb and circled round me hissing fiercely! I was just about to grab one in my right hand and the other in my left â it was a do or die moment! â when I was inexplicably delivered from them, and they slithered back into the hole from which they had emerged.
I remained in that tomb quite a while until finally I was released. I sent a message to AbÅ« Ê¿UthmÄn the servant and I asked him to sell me Jashsha so that I might compensate her for everything she had done for me, and he did. I later married her to my chamberlain, and she remains a member of our household.
IsḥÄq added:
She stayed with us until she died, and I married a daughter of hers, called Jumʿa, to a servant of mine in the year 234 [848/49].
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
I composed these verses when I was in prison:
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
Then al-MahdÄ« had me released and made me swear to divorce my wife and emancipate my slaves, and by every ironclad oath imaginable â without a single loophole â that I would never again visit his sons MÅ«sÄ and HÄrÅ«n and never again sing for them, whereupon he freed me.
IbrÄhÄ«m added:
While I was in prison, I composed a melody to some verses by the poet AbÅ« l-Ê¿AtÄhiya that he had composed when al-MahdÄ« had imprisoned him because of Ê¿Utba:27
The poetry is by AbÅ« l-Ê¿AtÄhiya, though ḤammÄd said that it was by his grandfather, IbrÄhÄ«m; the music is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âramalâ rhythm, with the middle finger for the first three verses, and in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm with the middle finger for the final two.
§ ḤammÄd said:
When MÅ«sÄ al-HÄdÄ« became caliph,28 my grandfather hid from him and did not appear at court, because of the oaths that al-MahdÄ« had made him swear. Our residences were besieged at all hours and our family was terrified by the caliphâs requests for him, until they finally found him and dragged him off to the caliph. When the caliph caught sight of him, IbrÄhÄ«m said, [thinking that he would be forced to carry out his oath to divorce his wife], âMy lord, by coming to you I have been separated from the mother of my sons, and she is the dearest to me of all Godâs creation.â Then he sang a melodic setting to his own poetry:
The poetry and the music are by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âlight ramalâ rhythm with the middle finger.
IsḥÄq continued:
Then, by God, al-HÄdÄ« gave him money and property â suffice it to say that IbrÄhÄ«m received from him that day 150,000 dinars, and if al-HÄdÄ« had lived, we would have built the walls of our houses with gold and silver.
§ ḤammÄd said â my father, IshÄq, said to me:
I once examined your grandfather IbrÄhÄ«mâs wealth including his cash on hand, revenue, and the income from the singing-girls he sold, and I found that it totaled 24,000,000 dirhams. And that was without counting his regular income from the caliph, which was 10,000 dirhams every month, and also excluding the revenues from his estates and the trivial gifts that he did not keep track of. Yet, by God, I never saw anyone more generous than he was. He had food prepared at all hours. I [ḤammÄd] asked my father, IsḥÄq: âHow was he able to do that?â My father replied that my grandfather IbrÄhÄ«m had three ewes ready every day â one cut up simmering in the stew pots, another skinned and hanging in storage, and another still alive. If a group of guests came to him, they ate what was in the stew pots, and when that was eaten up, the kitchen staff would cut up the ewe that was hanging and distribute it among the stew pots, the live one would be slaughtered and hung up, and another one would be brought in and kept alive in the kitchen. His budget for food, scents,29 and everything connected to cooking came to 30,000 dirhams every month, not counting what he would spend on other things, and not counting his clothing. At one point we had 80 singing-girls entrusted into our custody by his friends, and he spent on every single one of them for food, clothing, and perfumes as much as he did for the most prized of his own singing-girls. When a singing-girl was returned to her master, he gave her presents of money and clothing. Yet when he died, he had only 3,000 dinars on hand and had debts of 700 dinars that had to be settled against that.
§ Muḥammad ibn Khalaf WakÄ«Ê¿,30 YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿Ali ibn YaḥyÄ, and Ibn al-MarzubÄn31 all told me, citing ḤammÄd, son of IsḥÄq, who said:
My father used to say that the caliph HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d32 once bought a singing-girl from my grandfather for 36,000 dinars, but she only spent a single night with him. Then he sent for al-Faá¸l ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿ and said: âWe bought this singing-girl from IbrÄhÄ«m, thinking she would suit us, but she was not quite what I expected, and therefore I did not approach her [i.e. have sex with her], so now the price is weighing on me. Since you two are such close friends, go to him and ask him to lower her price by 6,000 dinars.â
ḤammÄd continued:
Al-Faá¸l went to Ibrahimâs home and asked permission to enter, but my grandfather instead came out to meet him. Then al-Faá¸l said: âLetâs drop this unnecessary formality since there is no reason for it between the two us â allow me to speak frankly. Iâm not easily fooled, so Iâll give it to you straight.â Then his told him the whole story. IbrÄhÄ«m replied, âSo al-RashÄ«d is testing how much pull you have with me?â âThat is exactly what heâs up to!â he replied. âMay all of my wealth be given away as alms for the poor if I donât double what he asked of you,â IbrÄhÄ«m quipped. âI hereby lower the price by 12,000 gold dinars!â Al-Faá¸l returned to al-RashÄ«d with this news, but the caliph responded, âBlast it, go ahead and pay him the full amount. Iâve never seen a more generous subject than he is!â
My father, IsḥÄq, said:
I went to your grandfather and asked: âWhat was the purpose of lowering the price, and by such a large amount?â Your grandfather paid me no heed and said: âYouâre being foolish. I, on the other hand, understand him better than anyone. If I had taken the full amount, I would only have obtained it by angering the caliph. He would have resented it and my status in his eyes would have been lowered. Instead, I was generous with him and with al-Faá¸l, and he was pleased, so my status with him has now been raised and strengthened. I bought the singing-girl for 40,000 dirhams and I received 24,000 dinars for her.â When the money was brought to him without any reduction [i.e, the full 36,000 dinars], he called to me and said, âWhat do you think now, IsḥÄq? Who is wiser, me or you?â33 âIndeed, by my life, you are!â I replied.34
§ WakÄ«Ê¿ told me that ḤammÄd said to him â my father, IsḥÄq, once told me:
Al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ al-BarmakÄ«, son of the former vizier, once chanced upon my father as he was leaving the home of al-Faá¸l ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿, for the two of them were neighbors in the ShammÄsiyya quarter.35 Al-BarmakÄ« called out to him, âWhere are you coming from, AbÅ« IsḥÄq? From the home of al-Faá¸l ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿?â âYes,â I said, without any apologies. âLeaving the home of al-Faá¸l ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿ and meeting al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ!â he replied, âI can imagine doing one or the other, but not both!â But I replied, âBy God, if I am not a big enough person to be able to be a loyal friend to both of you, together or separately, then Iâm not worth much at all. Truly, I would not abandon either of you for the other. Whoever accepts me on that basis, accepts me, and whoever does not, well, let him do as he chooses!â âYouâre not to be blamed as far as Iâm concerned,â al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ replied, âItâs just as you say, and I accept you as you are.â
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba,36 citing IsḥÄq, who said:
My father told me that HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d was angry with him once and had him shackled and thrown in prison in Raqqa. Then al-RashÄ«d sat down to drink one day in a sitting-room that had been decorated and ornamented for him, and he said to Ê¿IsÄ ibn JaÊ¿far: âIs there anything amiss in our gathering?â He replied: âYes, IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« is not here!â So al-RashÄ«d ordered that I be brought to him and I was hauled out in shackles. I was unshackled there in front of him and he ordered his servants to bring me a lute, and said: âSing for me, IbrÄhÄ«m!â So I sang the following song to him:
Al-RashÄ«d asked him to repeat it, and he drank and was delighted. Then he said: âYou have made my day joyful, so I will make you joyful with gifts. I bestow upon you the two estates of al-Hanīʾ and al-Marīʾ.â After that I left and the following morning I was given 200,000 dirhams in exchange for them.37
The poetry is by al-NumayrÄ« al-ThaqafÄ«,41 and the music by Ibn Surayj42 in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm, on the fourth finger as tonic by way of the middle finger, according to IsḥÄq, and YaḥyÄ al-MakkÄ«,43 and Ê¿Amr ibn BÄna.44 But Ḥabash45 reported that there is another melody to it by Ê¿Azza al-MaylÄʾ46 in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm.
§ Muḥammad ibn Mazyad and Aḥmad ibn JaÊ¿far Jaḥáºa47 told me that ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq had said to them â and al-ṢūlÄ«48 also reported this to me from Ê¿Awn ibn Muḥammad â all of them transmitting from IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
I saw YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid49 coming out of his palace which was near the ShammÄsiyya Gate, heading towards his palace at the BaradÄn Gate, reciting the following verse:
My father said:
I then added this verse to it:
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
I composed a melody for this â al-ṢūlÄ« said in his report that it was in the âlight heavyâ rhythm â then went to YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid and sang it to him. He gave me 1,000 dinars and also the mount that he had been riding that day, along with its saddle and harness. I said to him, âMay God bless you for this, Sir! You come to unsettled souls and calm them, and to spirits that are sickly and cure them.â So he ordered that I be given another thousand dinars for my elegant response.
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
Some time passed and I was out riding with YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid, when we suddenly chanced upon al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf51 who was annoyed with him about some piece of gossip he had heard. YaḥyÄ dismounted and declaimed:
Al-Ê¿AbbÄs replied: âIndeed I remember them, AbÅ« al-Faá¸l [= YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid]â; and then I chimed in with another verse:
I composed music for it â al-ṢūlÄ« said in his report that it was in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm â and IbrÄhÄ«m said: I sang it to YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid with that melody. He ordered that I be given 2,000 dinars and laughed. I asked him, âWhy are you laughing, sir? May you continue to laugh in happiness!â âI remember what happened with the first song,â he replied, âand that along with the money you received a mount, along with its saddle and harness. Youâll not leave tonight without a similar reward.â I rose and I kissed his hand, and with that he ordered that I be given 2,000 more dinars. He said: âThe last time you thanked me for my gift with words, so I added to it. But now you have thanked me with actions [i.e., by kissing my hand] and something more is required. Were I not at this time in difficulties, I would double it for you! But there will be other opportunities.â
§ Jaḥáºa told me, citing Hibat AllÄh ibn IbrÄhÄ«m ibn al-MahdÄ«, citing his father,52 who said:
Once when the caliph HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d halted at ShibdÄz on his way to Ṭūs, he sat and drank with IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«. IbrÄhÄ«m was the first to sing for him and he began with this song. The poetry is his own:
Al-RashÄ«d ordered that he be given a thousand dinars, but he did not like the poetry. âIbrÄhÄ«m,â he said, âyour music is better than your poetry.â IbrÄhÄ«m was embarrassed and replied: âMy Lord, my mind was occupied with composing the melody, so I said whatever popped into my head at the moment.â Then al-Rashid laughed at what he had said and replied: âYou got that right!â
§ YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« ibn YaḥyÄ told us, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father, IsḥÄq, who said:
Your grandfather IbrÄhÄ«m loved the nobles53 and had many friends among them, so many that al-RashÄ«d often used to say, âI donât know anyone who has more friends than IbrÄhÄ«m!â
§ IsḥÄq said:
âThe four best singers I ever heard were my father [IbrÄhÄ«m], Ḥakam al-WÄdÄ«,54 Fulayḥ ibn AbÄ« al-Ê¿AwrÄʾ, and SiyyÄá¹.â I [ḤammÄd] asked my father, IsḥÄq: âHow accomplished were they?â He said: âThey all composed music, which they did well, and they all performed the songs of others, which they also did well.â I then asked: âWhich of them was the best?â He replied: âThey were like a preacher or writer or poet who has mastered his craft, but who, when he tries to acquire another craft, never attains in the new one the level of mastery that he possessed in his original craft. Your grandfather, however, was like an eloquent man who, when he preached, he excelled; when he wrote, he wrote beautifully; and when he composed poetry, he did so beautifully. None of them was as versatile as he was.â
§ Al-Ḥusayn ibn YaḥyÄ told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father â and Ê¿AlÄ« ibn Ê¿Abd al-Ê¿AzÄ«z told me citing Ibn KhurradÄdhbih, and IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, all of them citing IsḥÄq, who said:
People did not use to teach beautiful slave-girls to sing, but instead only taught light brown and dark-skinned slave-girls to sing. The first person to teach expensive slave-girls to sing was my father.55 He achieved the highest level in the training of female singers, and thereby increased their value. AbÅ« Ê¿Uyayna ibn Muḥammad ibn AbÄ« Ê¿Uyayna al-MuhallabÄ«56 composed a poem about this because he had fallen in love with a singing-girl called AmÄn, but her owner kept raising her price. The owner used to send her to IbrÄhÄ«m and his son, IsḥÄq, for training in music; the better she got at singing, the higher he raised the price. So AbÅ« Ê¿Uyayna composed this poem:
About this matter Ibn al-SayÄba57 composed the following song:
IbrÄhÄ«m composed two different melodies for this poem, one in the âlight heavyâ rhythm with the ring finger, and one in the âlight ramalâ rhythm with the middle finger, according to both Ê¿Amr and al-HishÄmÄ«.
§ My uncle told me, citing Aḥmad ibn AbÄ« ṬÄhir,59 citing AbÅ« DiÊ¿Äma:60
While visiting AbÅ« l-Ê¿AtÄhiya, Salm al-KhÄsir informed him that al-RashÄ«d had just imprisoned IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« in a dungeon. So AbÅ« l-Ê¿AtÄhiya responded with the following poem:
§ One of our companions, transmitting from Ibn al-MarzubÄn, from Aḥmad ibn AbÄ« ṬÄhir, from Ibn AbÄ« Fanan,61 recited these verses by AbÅ« l-Ê¿AtÄhiya, addressing IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« when he was imprisoned:
§ Al-Ḥasan ibn Ê¿AlÄ« al-KhaffÄf told me, citing Muḥammad ibn al-QÄsim al-Mahruwayh, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn Ê¿Umar, citing AbÅ« Tawba á¹¢Äliḥ ibn Muḥammad, citing the singer al-Qaá¹rÄnÄ«, citing Muḥammad ibn Jabr, whom al-MahdÄ« had raised, citing IbrÄhÄ«m ibn al-MahdÄ« who said:
I went out one night from the ShammÄsiyya quarter and passed by the home of IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« while he was sitting on his balcony and had just composed a melody to the verse:
He was repeating it and playing the melody over and over again to smooth out the musical setting, and his singing-girls were accompanying him. I stood beneath the balcony until I had learned the song, and then went off home, and repeating it to myself till I had learned it perfectly. I woke up the next day and went in the morning to ShammÄsiyya, where we both attended al-RashÄ«d. IbrÄhÄ«m went first and sang this song to him right at the outset. When al-RashÄ«d heard it, he was delighted. He thought it quite beautiful and drank while listening to it. Then he asked him: âWho composed this, IbrÄhÄ«m?â He replied: âI did. I composed it yesterday.â Then I said: âSire, heâs lying! This is an old song which I also sing.â He said to me, âThen sing it, friend.â I sang it exactly as IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« had just sung it. IbrÄhÄ«m was astonished and al-RashÄ«d got angry and said to him: âSon of a whore! Dare you lie to me and claim that which is not yours!?â
Ibn al-Mahdī said:
IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« was in terrible distress. Then, after I had prayed the afternoon prayers, I told al-RashÄ«d: âSire, that song really is his â he did not lie. I was passing by his house yesterday while he was rehearsing it with one of his singing-girls, and I stood there until I mastered it thoroughly â I learned it from him.â So al-RashÄ«d called for him, reconciled with him, and ordered that he be given 5,000 dinars.
The music is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the rhythm of âramal,â on the index finger as tonic by way of the middle finger, according to IsḥÄq.
§ YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« ibn YaḥyÄ told me: My father told me, citing ṬayyÄb ibn IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, citing IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, who said:
Ibn al-MahdÄ« used to regard Ibn JÄmiÊ¿62 as a great master and preferred him over all other singers.
Ibn al-Mahdī told me:
We were once at a gathering with al-RashÄ«d and the wine got the better of Ibn JÄmiÊ¿, so much so that he sang a song and made mistakes in the phrasing. IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« turned to me and said, âWhat a shitty performance your teacher has just given!â63 And I understood that what he said was true.
Ibn al-Mahdī continued:
So I said to Ibn JÄmiÊ¿, âPay attention, Sheikh, and sing it again.â He caught my meaning and repeated it. This time he was more careful and got it right. But IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« grew angry and he turned toward me and recited the following verses:
After which he snubbed me and swore never to speak with me again. After a few days I said to al-RashÄ«d, âGrant me a favor!â âWhat favor is that?â he replied. I said, âOrder IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« to reconcile with me and be friends with me as before.â But the caliph retorted: âAnd who is IbrÄhÄ«m that you should beg for his forgiveness?â âSire, what I want from him can only be obtained with his forgiveness.â So he said to IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, âGo to him, IbrÄhÄ«m, and kiss his head.â When he bent over me he said, âYou wonât do it again, will you?â I said, âNo.â He said, âThen I forgive you truly,â and we were friends again.
§ AbÅ« l-Ḥasan Aḥmad ibn YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« ibn YaḥyÄ told me: I heard my grandfather, Ê¿AlÄ«, citing IsḥÄq, who said â My father [IbrÄhÄ«m] said:
I once went out with HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d to the city of al-Ḥīra, and when he halted there he called for lunch. He ate his lunch and then fell asleep. I took advantage of his nap and went out and rode around the outskirts of al-Ḥīra. I saw a garden and headed toward it. At its entrance was a handsome youth, so I asked permission to enter, and he let me in. I went in and it turned out to be a garden with very good soil and abundant water. As I left I asked him, âWho does this garden belong to?â He replied, âTo one of the al-AshÄÊ¿itha family.â I asked him, âIs it for sale?â He replied âYes, and there is an asking price.â I asked, âHow much?â He replied, â14,000 gold dinars.â I asked, âWhat is the name of this place?â He replied, âShumÄrÄ.â Whereupon I composed the following verses:
IbrÄhÄ«m said:
A beautiful melody for these verses came to me, so when I sat with al-RashÄ«d and he ordered me to sing, I sang it to him, the very first thing. He replied, âBlast you! Where is this ShumÄrÄ?â I told him the story and he ordered that I be given 14,000 dinars. JaÊ¿far ibn YaḥyÄ signaled to me saying: âBring me his signature for this amount.â Al-RashÄ«dâs attention turned to other things, so I repeated the song. Then he said, âBlast all of you! Give him his dinars!â So I jumped up and said, âMy lord, sign them over to me in writing for JaÊ¿far ibn YaḥyÄ.â âI will do so,â he replied. He signed them over to me for JaÊ¿farâs sake. When JaÊ¿far received the signature, he released the money and an additional 5,000 from his own funds. Dearer to me and fairer than ShumÄrÄ by far was the cash, once I got hold of it!
§ JaÊ¿far ibn QudÄma64 told me, citing AbÅ« l-Ê¿AynÄʾ:65
Al-Faá¸l ibn RabÄ«Ê¿ left the presence of al-RashÄ«d one day with a scrap of paper on which there were four verses. He said, âThe Commander of the Faithful wants all those present who composes poetry to cap these verses.â66 The verses were:
There was no one present who could cap them, so he ordered IbrÄhÄ«m to compose a melody for these verses, and he sang them to a melody in the âlight heavyâ rhythm.
§ Muḥammad ibn Khalaf WakÄ«Ê¿ told me, citing AbÅ« l-Ê¿AbbÄs al-Baá¹£rÄ«, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn al-Faá¸l ibn al-RabÄ«â, who quoted his father as saying:
Once when al-RashÄ«d traveled to Raqqa he took IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« along because he was extremely fond of him. At one of the way-stations, he lost track of IbrÄhÄ«m for a few days. The caliph asked after him, but no one knew what had happened to him. When IbrÄhÄ«m reappeared al-RashÄ«d said, âBlast you! What happened to you? Where have you been?â âSire,â he replied, âMy tale is a strange one. We stopped at such-and-such a place, and someone told me about a wine-merchant whose elegance and immaculate premises were said to be remarkable. So I went on ahead of my baggage, traveling light. I arrived at a beautiful house, a spacious resting place, with delicious food, served by a handsome and charming young man, so I decided to stay for a while. When I wanted to rejoin you, Sire, he begged me to stay longer and brought out the finest wine I have ever tasted â so I stayed another three days. I gave him a few dinars I had on me and a suit of clothes, and composed these verses about him:
The poetry and the melody are by IbrÄhÄ«m, in the âlight ramalâ rhythm with the third finger. The words âIzal bishÄ«nâ are Syriac and mean: âGo in peace,â which is what the cup-bearer wished IbrÄhÄ«m when he said farewell.
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
Al-RashÄ«d said, âSing it for me!â So I did, with BarṣūmÄ68 accompanying me on the flute. Al-RashÄ«d gave me 100,000 dirhams and signed over an estate to me. Then he sent for the wine-merchant who was ushered in and gave al-RashÄ«d some of that wine. Al-RashÄ«d rewarded him, and IbrÄhÄ«m gave him 10,000 dirhams, as well.
§ Al-Ḥusayn ibn YaḥyÄ, Muḥammad ibn Mazyad and WakÄ«Ê¿ all told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, who said, my father IsḥÄq told me:
One day Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ said to my father, IbrÄhÄ«m: âI had a vision while I slept that you and I were riding in a litter. You were below, almost touching the ground, and I was in the upper half above. This means that I will be a greater singer than you.â IbrÄhÄ«m responded, âThe vision is true, but your interpretation is wrong: You and I were on a scale. I weighed more than you, so your side of the scale was raised, lifting you upwards, whereas I sank down till I touched the ground, meaning that I will outlive you and you will surely die before me.â IsḥÄq said, âAnd it happened as my father predicted â he became the more famous singer and transmitted more songs.69 Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ did die first, and my father outlived him.â
§ Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿ al-RabÄ«Ê¿Ä« told me, citing KhadÄ«ja, the daughter of HÄrÅ«n ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿, citing KhammÄr,70 my fatherâs singing-girl from Kandahar. My grandfather Ê¿Abd AllÄh purchased her from the family of YaḥyÄ ibn MuÊ¿Ädh for 200,000 dirhams when she was a newly trained girl. KhammÄr said:
IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« taught me his tune for this couplet:
The poetry is by AbÅ« Ḥafá¹£ the Chessplayer71 and the melody by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret.
One day Ibn JÄmiʾ heard me singing it and asked, âWho taught you that song?â I told him, and he said, âSing it again.â So I repeated it several times while Ibn JÄmiʾ hummed it softly along with me until I thought he had learned it. After that, whenever he visited us heâd say, âYoung girl, sing that song!â and heâd sing along with me.
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus said, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing MukhÄriq:72
The caliph al-Rashīd once gave us permission to stay home for three days. We learned that he would be busy with his womenfolk, so all his courtiers returned to their homes.
WaswÄsa, that is, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, told me this same anecdote citing his father Muḥammad, citing his grandfather IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l, who heard it from MukhÄriq:
One day al-Rashīd was occupied drinking his morning draught with his womenfolk, so when the weather turned foul, we headed home.
WaswÄsa did not mention everything that Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba did in his account (which I mentioned above), even though their narratives usually agree. So the following words are for the most part from the version of al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«âs son, [IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l].
MukhÄriq continued:
The sky turned grey and it began to drizzle, so I said, âIâm going to go visit my teacher IbrÄhÄ«m, and see how heâs doing â I wonât be gone long.â I ordered my household staff to prepare a gathering for us when I returned. When I arrived at IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«âs house, the door was open, the entryway newly swept, and the doorman was sitting at his post. âHowâs my teacher?â I asked, and he said, âGo on in.â I went in and found IbrÄhÄ«m sitting on a veranda with bubbling pots and shiny pitchers all about. The curtain was drawn and the singing-girls were behind it. In front of him was a tub, and it in there were a cup,73 an earthen mug, and a drinking glass.74
I entered singing and asked, âWhy is the curtain set up? I donât hear any voices behind it.â75 âSit down, blast you!â he replied. âI got up this morning as usual, and found out that the estate next to mine â which I tried to acquire quite a while ago, and have been wanting but still donât own â has been put up for sale for 100,000 dirhams.â âWhy donât you buy it? God has given you that amount many times over.â âYouâre right,â he replied, âbut I donât want to spend any of the money I have saved up.â âWell, who can give you 100,000 dirhams all at one go?â I asked, âOnly al-RashÄ«d could put up that much. No one else surely?â âSit down,â he said, âand learn this song.â He tapped the rhythm with a stick on an inkwell76 and performed the following for me:
The poetry is by AbÅ« al-Naá¸Ä«r77 and the melody by IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« in the âheavy firstâ rhythm on the ring finger.
MukhÄriq continued:
I learned the song perfectly. âNow go to the home of the vizier YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid,â he said. âYouâll find people waiting around and even though the door has been opened, he will not yet have started receiving people. Beg his pardon and enter before anyone else reaches him. Heâll rebuke you for approaching him that way and will ask, âWhere are you coming from at this hour?â Tell him that you youâve been to see me and tell him everything I told you about this estate. Let him know that I composed this song, which Iâm very pleased with, but that I think the only one who can sing it properly is his singing-girl so-and-so, and that I have rehearsed it with you until you mastered it so that you can teach it to her. Heâll call for her and order that the curtain be set up, a chair will be brought out for him, and heâll say, âTeach it to her here in my presence.â Do as he says, and then come back to me with an account of what happened.â
MukhÄriq continued:
I arrived at YaḥyÄâs door and found everything as IbrÄhÄ«m said I would. He asked me my business and I told him what IbrÄhÄ«m had ordered me to say, and he did everything exactly as IbrÄhÄ«m had said he would. He brought out the singing-girl and I taught her the song. Afterwards he said to me, âAbÅ« al-Muhannaʾ, would you like to stay here with us for a while or leave?â âIâd prefer to leave, may God grant you long lifeâ I replied, âYouâve already heard what I was charged with telling you.â YaḥyÄ called out to one of his servants, âGo with AbÅ« l-Muhannaʾ and take 10,000 dirhams for him and 100,000 dirhams for IbrÄhÄ«m AbÅ« IsḥÄq along with you, the price of that estate.â So the 10,000 dirhams were delivered to my house and when I arrived home, I said, âMy day has been a joyful one so Iâll make the members of my household rejoice!â The messenger then went on to IbrÄhÄ«mâs house with the rest of the money. âWhen I entered my house, I shared dirhams from the bag of ten thousand among my singing-girls. I used the bag with the remaining coins as a headrest and then ate, drank, listened to music, and was content the whole day long.â
When I woke up the next day I said, âIâm going to go see my teacher and find out how heâs doing.â When I arrived, I found the door as it had been the day before, so I entered and found IbrÄhÄ«m as he had been the previous day. I hummed and sang, but he did not respond as he should have. So I asked, âWhatâs the matter? Didnât the money arrive?â âIndeed it did, but tell me, what happened to you yesterday?â he asked. I told him about what I had been given. âWhatâs behind the curtain?â I asked. âLift the drapery and youâll see.â I raised it and there were ten bags of 10,000 dirhams. âWhatâs left to be done then regarding the estate?â I asked. âBlast you! No sooner did the money enter my house than I grew as possessive of it as I was with what I had hoarded before!â âGood God Almighty!â I said, âSo what are you going to do?â âGet up,â he said, âso that I can sing a song for you that Iâve composed, which far surpasses the other one.â I stood up and then sat down in front of him, and he sang the following:
The poetry is by AbÅ« al-Naá¸Ä«r and according to al-HishÄmÄ« the melody is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âheavy firstâ rhythm on the ring finger fret, but Ê¿Amr ibn BÄna said that the melody is by IsḥÄq, and that is correct. There is another version in the âlight heavyâ rhythm which I think is the melody composed by IbrÄhÄ«m. IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing IsḥÄq, who said that his father composed this song in the âlight heavyâ rhythm and presented it to al-Faá¸l. He liked it and ordered MukhÄriq to sing it to his singing-girls, so he sang it to M-rÄq-sh78 (âAdornedâ?) and Qaá¸Ä«b (âWandâ) and they learned it from him.
MukhÄriq continued:
When IbrÄhÄ«m sang that song to me, I had never heard anything like it. The first song seemed much diminished in comparison, so I learned the new one. Then IbrÄhÄ«m said, âNow get up immediately and go to al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ. You will find that he hasnât given permission for anyone to see him yet because he prefers to spend the day alone with his singing-girls. Ask permission to enter and tell him about our conversation yesterday and what his father gave the two of us. Tell him that I have composed this new song and that in my opinion itâs much better than the one I composed yesterday. Let him know that I rehearsed it with you until you learned it perfectly, and sent it with you so that you can sing it to his singing-girl so-and so.â
I went to the home of al-Faá¸l and I found things as IbrÄhÄ«m had predicted. I asked permission to enter and was allowed to see him. âWhatâs the matter?â he asked. I told him what had happened the day before and about the money that had been bestowed upon IbrÄhÄ«m and myself. âShame on IbrÄhÄ«m! He has become miserly even with himself!â Then he called for a servant and said, âStrike the curtain!â so he struck it.79 Then he said, âSing it.â Before I had even finished singing, he approached, tearing his shawl with delight,80 sat on a cushion in front of the curtain and said, âYour teacher has done well, by God, and so have you, MukhÄriq!â I did not leave until the singing-girl had learned the song perfectly, and al-Faá¸l was greatly pleased. He said, âSpend the day with us,â but I replied, âWe courtiers only have one more free day, and were it not that I love to see you happy, I would not have left my home today at all.â So he said, âServant, go with AbÅ« al-Muhannaʾ and take along 20,000 dirhams for him and 200,000 for IbrÄhÄ«m.â I left and went home with the money. I opened one of the bags and shared the money among my singing-girls. I drank and all of the members of my household and I were content that whole day.
The next day I woke up and went first thing to IbrÄhÄ«m to hear his news and to give him mine, and I found him in exactly the same state as he had been before! I entered singing and clapping my hands, but he said, âCome here, close to me.â âWhatâs the matter?â I asked. âSit down and lift the curtain over by that door â there are twenty new bags along with the original ten.â âWhat are you waiting for now?â I asked. âBlast you!â he replied, âThe same thing has happened as happened before!â âBy God, I donât think anyone in this land has ever earned as much as you have earned!â I responded. âWhy do you begrudge yourself something that you have wanted for ages when God has just granted you several times its cost?!â Then he said, âSit down and learn this song,â and he sang for me a song so beautiful that it caused me, by God, to forget the other two!
The poetry is by MarwÄn ibn AbÄ« Ḥafá¹£a81 and in it he praises JaÊ¿far ibn YaḥyÄ. The melody is by IbrÄhÄ«m, but the mode/rhythm82 has not come down to us.
MukhÄriq continued:
Then IbrÄhÄ«m asked me, âHave you ever heard anything to equal that?â I responded, âI have never heard its like.â He repeated it to me over and over until I had learned it, and then said to me, âGo to JaÊ¿far, and do with him as you did with his brother and his father.â
MukhÄriq continued:
I went and did exactly as before. I told JaÊ¿far what we had received from his brother and his father, and then I performed the song for him, which pleased him. He called for a servant and ordered him to draw the curtain, then he brought out the singing-girl and sat on a chair. âMukhÄriq, letâs hear it,â he said, so I rehearsed the song with her until she had learned it. JaÊ¿far said, âWell done, by God, MukhÄriq! And your teacher has done well, too. Would you like to spend the day here?â âSir, this is the last of our free days; I only came to deliver the song in person so I could teach it to your singing-girl.â He called out to his servant, âAccompany him with 30,000 dirhams and 300,000 for IbrÄhÄ«m.â I returned to my home with the money, and my household and I spent the rest of the day drinking and singing.
I went to IbrÄhÄ«m early the following day and he received me standing and said, âWell done, MukhÄriq!â âWhat news?â I asked. âHave a seat,â he said, so I sat down. He said to whoever was behind the curtain, âContinue with what you were doing,â then he raised the drapery and there was the money. âWhat about the estate?â I asked. He stuck his hand underneath the leather cushion he was resting on and said, âHere is the deed to the estate. They asked around about the owner and it turns out he is here in Baghdad, and YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid bought it from him. YaḥyÄ wrote me a note saying: âI figured that you would begrudge yourself the purchase of this estate with the money youâve earned even if you were given the whole world, so I bought it for you with my own money and have sent you the deed.â He sent me the deed and this money, as you can see.â Then IbrÄhÄ«m wept. âMukhÄriq,â he said, âIf you keep company with people, then keep company with the likes of these men, and if you regale listeners, then regale their likes as well.83 Here are 600,000 dirhams, the estate was 100,000, and 60,000 is for you. We earned all of this while I sat here in my sitting room without moving an inch. Will there ever again be men as generous as these!?â
§ YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« ibn YaḥyÄ told me, citing his father, citing IsḥÄq, who said:
MÅ«sÄ al-HÄdÄ« was malicious and ill-tempered. Whoever was attentive and familiar with MÅ«sÄâs moods, gave him whatever he wanted, but whoever dared to open his mouth and chanced to say something that displeased him, was dismissed and banished from the court. MÅ«sÄ never concealed himself behind a curtain84 in front of his companions and singers, and he constantly bestowed prizes and gifts on them. My father sang for him one day and MÅ«sÄ said, âIbrÄhÄ«m, sing me a song that will delight and charm me, I leave the choice up to you.â âSire,â he replied, âIf it should please your Highness,85 I hope to reach what is in your soul.â
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
I had noticed that when MÅ«sÄ listened to songs, he listened most closely to the amatory and delicate sections, and also that he appreciated the style of Ibn Surayj much more than the style of MaÊ¿bad, so I sang the following for him:
He was so moved that he reached for the opening of his caftan, tore it one armâs length,86 and said, âWell done, by God, give us more!â So I sang:
He reached up and tore his caftan another armâs length or thereabouts. He said, âGive me more, blast it, you have done well, by God. Once again, your choice, IbrÄhÄ«m.â So I sang:
Then MÅ«sÄ raised his voice and said, âWell done! May God preserve your father. Ask for whatever you want.â âMy lord, I want the spring of MarwÄn in Medina.â87 His eyes turned in his head till they resembled two burning embers, and he shouted: âYou son of an uncircumcised woman! Are you trying to make this session of ours infamous, so that people will say, Ê¿IbrÄhÄ«m first enchanted him and then subjugated him,â and turn me into the butt of jokes and subject of gossip? IbrÄhÄ«m al-ḤarrÄnÄ«, when I rise, take this ignoramus by the hand and show him into my private treasury, and if he takes everything in it, let him!â I was led into his treasury and took 50,000 dinars.
The poetry is by AbÅ« Sakhr al-HudhalÄ« and the melody is by MaÊ¿bad. The first part of the melody is the verse âWa-yÄ hajr LaylÄâ [O LaylÄâs departure] and after that, the second and then the first verses are in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the ring finger fret according to Ê¿Amr. Ibn Surayj composed a song using the sixth and seventh, then the fourth and fifth verses of this poem, in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm according to al-HishÄmÄ«. Ê¿ArÄ«b also composed a setting of the sixth, seventh, fourth, and fifth verses, in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm. Al-WÄthiq composed a setting in the âramalâ rhythm which he composed earlier, and Ê¿ArÄ«b later imitated him with her own melody. Some people attribute the melody of MaÊ¿bad to Ibn Surayj and that of Ibn Surayj to MaÊ¿bad.88
§ Al-Ḥusayn ibn YaḥyÄ told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing IsḥÄq, citing his father:
My grandfather IbrÄhÄ«m bought a singing-girl for JaÊ¿far ibn YaḥyÄ for a huge sum. So JaÊ¿far asked him, âWhat can this singing-girl do so well that youâve spent so much money on her?â He replied, âIf she can do nothing more than imitate my verse
The melody is by MaÊ¿bad according to al-HishÄmÄ« and Aḥmad ibn al-MakkÄ«, in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the middle finger fret. Some have attributed it to Ḥunayn, and others say that it was composed by al-GharÄ«á¸;89 Ḥabash attributed it to YazÄ«d ḤawrÄʾ. There is also a setting by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âlight ramalâ rhythm on the ring-finger fret.
§ Al-Ḥusayn told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father IsḥÄq, who said:
Your grandfather, IbrÄhÄ«m, composed 900 songs â some were gold [dÄ«nÄriyya], some were silver [dirhamiyya], and some were copper [filsiyya]. Those are the only compositions of his I have heard. Three hundred were superior to those of anyone else, three hundred were equal to the songs of other singers, and the last three hundred were just light entertainment.
[ḤammÄd added] Later my father, IsḥÄq, dropped the last three hundred from his fatherâs repertory and when he was asked about IbrÄhÄ«mâs compositions, he would say, âHe composed six hundred songs.â
§ Aḥmad ibn ḤamdÅ«n said that IsḥÄq had told him:
One composition of my fatherâs that I really dislike is the setting he composed for some verses by al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf:
I weep and others like me have wept over the love of a singing-girl
I donât know why he set this to music except that he liked the poetry, and this poem by al-Ê¿AbbÄs is indeed excellent.
The poetry is by al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf and the melody is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âlight ramalâ rhythm, on the middle finger fret.
§ Jaḥáºa told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq:
A man once said to my father, IsḥÄq, âSo tell me, why do you malign your fatherâs songâ:
IsḥÄq replied:
Because it brings to mind Ibn Ê¿Äʾisha90 who composed a song to those same verses, and Ibn Ê¿Äʾisha is not someone who can be imitated â my fatherâs song was not nearly as good as his. My fatherâs composition would have been excellent if he had composed it to different lyrics, but compared to Ibn Ê¿Aʾishaâs song, itâs not nearly as good, so Iâve dropped it from my repertory.
The poetry is by Ê¿Umar ibn AbÄ« RabÄ«Ê¿a91 and the melody according to Ê¿Amr is by MaÊ¿bad in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret. It is also said to be by Ibn Ê¿Äʾisha. There is another version in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm attributed to al-HudhalÄ«, and yet another in âlight heavyâ attributed to Ibn Ê¿Äʾisha and to IbrÄhÄ«m.
§ Al-Ḥasan ibn Ê¿AlÄ« told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik, citing IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
I arrived in Rayy and began socializing with some young men from the leisured class, but they did not know who I was. This went on for quite a while until one day one of them invited me to spend the night at his home, which I did. He brought out a singing-girl and drew the curtain, and she sang while sitting behind it. I could hear that she was an excellent performer and had an extensive repertory. She made me homesick for Iraq and I remembered the time I had spent there, so I called for a lute and when it was brought to me, I sang this composition of mine set to my own verses:
I had composed the melody in Rayy long ago. The singing-girl came out from behind the curtain, suddenly appearing before me, leaned down over my head and said, âMy teacher, by God!â Her owner asked her, âWho is this teacher of yours?â âIbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«!â It turned out that she was one of the singing-girls who had studied with me years earlier. So her owner welcomed me, honored me, and gave me gifts. I stayed on in Rayy for a while after that and news of my presence spread, but then a message arrived ordering that I be taken to the governor of the region, so off I went.
§ Al-Ḥasan told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing AbÅ« Tawba á¹¢Äliḥ ibn Muḥammad, citing al-Qaá¹rÄnÄ«, citing Muḥammad ibn Jabr, citing YaḥyÄ al-MakkÄ«, who said:
One day we were with al-MahdÄ« who had imprisoned IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« and ordered that he be beaten and then clothed in a rough woolen cloak. He was brought out in that state to teach the singing-girls. As we were enjoying our morning draught amidst early blooming flowers, the heavens opened up with a heavy summer rain, and he wrote to us saying:
YaḥyÄ continued:
Al-MahdÄ« looked over at the piece of paper and read it. Taking pity on IbrÄhÄ«m, he ordered that he be sent for at once, and a few days later he set him free.
§ Al-Ḥasan told me, citing HÄrÅ«n ibn Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd al-Malik, citing Ibn al-MakkÄ«, citing his father, who said:
Ê¿AlÄ« al-YamÄnÄ« had a singing slave-girl with whom IbrÄhÄ«m fell in love and was infatuated for quite a while. He composed the following verses about her:
According to Ê¿Amr, IbrÄhÄ«mâs melody for these two verses are in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the ring-finger fret, but some have claimed that the poetry is by al-Ḥusayn ibn al-á¸aḥḥÄk.93
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing IsḥÄq, who said:
A member of the NahÄ«k family had taken up singing, and when he thought that heâd become a rather good singer, he consulted me in the presence of my father, IbrÄhÄ«m. âIf you take my advice,â I said to him, âyouâll give up singing, because you donât have enough talent to satisfy me.â âHow dare you, boy!â my father shouted at me furiously. Then he turned to the man and said, âYou, my dear friend, are quite the opposite of what he just said. If you keep working at this craft, youâll excel in it.â When we were alone he said, âYou fool! Do you think it shameful to earn 100,000 like this!? These folk are wealthy as kings, and they reproach us for singing. Let them be dishonored for it, reproached, and compromised, so that they come to need us and we can turn them to our advantage. Our superiority in the art singing will become clear to all by comparison with them.â
IsḥÄq continued:
This NahÄ«kÄ« fellow spent time with my father, learned from him, treated him respectfully, and he rewarded my father generously. Whenever he sang well, my father would say to him, âGod blessings be with you!â and when he did poorly, heâd say to him, âGodâs blessings be upon you.â He did this so often that al-NahÄ«kÄ« figured out what he meant. One day he sang and my father wasnât paying attention and remained silent, without saying anything. So al-NahÄ«kÄ« turned to my father and asked, âBy my life, teacher, was that song a âwith youâ or an âupon youâ song?â My father burst out laughing for he hadnât realized that al-NahÄ«kÄ« had picked up on his hints. Then my father said, âBy God, Iâll stick with you as long as you want, for you are both quick-witted and refined!â My father worked with him until his singing improved, and he also composed these verses about him:
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba citing IsḥÄq; and al-ṢūlÄ« reported to me the same incident citing Ê¿Awn ibn Muḥammad, who cited IsḥÄq:
MukhÄriq once sang a song in front of al-RashÄ«d and made a mistake in the phrasing.94 So I said to him, âSing it again,â and he repeated it, but the mistake was scarcely noticeable. I said to al-RashÄ«d, âMy lord, he made a mistake.â Then he said to Ibn al-MahdÄ«, âWhatâs your response to what IsḥÄq says?â âHeâs wrong, there was no mistake,â he replied. âWould you accept my fatherâs opinion?â I asked. âYes, of course.â My father was recovering from an illness, but al-RashÄ«d ordered that he be brought, even if they had to carry him, so they transported him in a litter. Al-RashÄ«d said, âMukhÄriq, sing the song again,â which he did. âWhat do you think of this song, IbrÄhÄ«m?â he asked. âHe made a mistake,â my father replied. âThatâs what your son, IsḥÄq, said, but my brother Ibn al-MahdÄ« here claims that itâs correct.â My father looked at me and said, âBring me an inkwell,â and it was brought to him. He wrote something down that no one could see, then folded it and placed it in the hand of al-RashÄ«d. Then he said to me, âWrite down where he made the phrasing mistake.â I wrote it down and gave it to him. He read it and was pleased. He stood up and placed it in the hand of al-RashÄ«d, and it turns out that we were in agreement. Al-RashÄ«d laughed and was amazed, and everyone in the gathering praised, lauded, and extolled us. Those who had disagreed with us were disgraced and humiliated and were forced to concede. My father composed these verses about this incident:
§ Jaḥáºa told me, citing Hibat AllÄh, and Muḥammad ibn Mazyad told me, citing ḤammÄd son of IsḥÄq, citing his father:
One day my father sang the following verse for al-Rashīd:
Al-RashÄ«d was delighted and asked him to sing it again and then ordered that he be given 20,000 dirhams. A few years later that song popped into my head and I remembered the story, so I sang it to al-RashÄ«d. He was delighted and drank and then said to me, âIsḥÄq, itâs as if you yourself were speaking your fatherâs words. I gave him 1,000 dinars for that song and you are no doubt hoping for a similar reward.â I laughed and said, âMy lord, in that, you wouldnât be mistaken.â âYour father already received a reward for this one, so donât be greedy!â I was surprised at that and replied, âMy lord, my father received more than 200,000 dinars from you, but the only sum Iâve ever heard you mention is this thousand, to my good fortune.â âBlast you,â he replied, âmore than 200,000 dinars?!â âYes, truly,â I responded, and he fell silent. âI ask Godâs forgiveness for that. Blast you! How much of that did he leave you?â âHe left me debts amounting to 5,000 dinars and Iâve paid them off.â âI donât know which of us squandered more,â al-RashÄ«d replied, âGod help us both!â
The poetry is attributed to Muá¸arris ibn Qurá¹ al-HilÄlÄ« and to Qays ibn Dharīḥ,96 and there is one verse in it that is said to be by JarÄ«r.97 The melody
is divided among the poems of the three aforementioned poets; the background of this poem is mentioned in the section of Qays ibn Dharīḥ, but the melody for these three verses is by MaÊ¿bad in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm with the fourth finger as tonic on the third-finger fret, according to IsḥÄq.
§ My uncle told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Nashwa al-AshnÄniyya, citing AbÅ« Ê¿UthmÄn al-MakkÄ« who said:
One day IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« was longing for the subterranean chamber [under his home] where there was a pool fed by water that entered at one end and then flowed out into the garden. âIâm in the mood to drink all day,â he said, âand spend the night in this chamber,â which he did. In the middle of the night, while he was sleeping, two cats, one white and one black, came down the steps into the chamber. The white one asked the other, âIs he sleeping?â The black one replied, âYes, heâs asleep.â Then the black one began to sing in a beautiful voice:
Al-Makkī continued:
IbrÄhÄ«m was ecstatic and said to himself, âIf only theyâd sing it again!â They sang it several times until he had learned it, but then he moved and the two cats got up. He heard one of them say to the other, âBeware, anyone he sings this song to will be driven insane.â The very next day IbrÄhÄ«m sang it to a singing-girl, and she went mad!
The Background of this Song99
The melody is by MÄlik in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret, according to YaḥyÄ al-MakkÄ« and Ê¿Amr ibn BÄna.
§ Al-Ḥasan ibn Ê¿AlÄ« and my uncle told me, both of them citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik, citing AbÅ« Muḥammad IsḥÄq ibn IbrÄhÄ«m, citing his father [IbrÄhÄ«m] who said:
One day I went to visit al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ and said, âAbÅ« l-Ê¿AbbÄs, by my life, give me some money, for the caliph has been tight-fisted of late.â âBlast you,â he replied, âAbÅ« IsḥÄq, I donât have any money that Iâm willing to give you.â Then he added, âHah! But hereâs one possibility: a messenger from the ruler of Yemen is visiting us and we have been taking care of his needs. The ruler sent 50,000 dinars with his emissary to buy whatever I want as a gift. How is that singing-girl of yours, á¸iyÄʾ [âLightâ] doing?â âSheâs at my house,â I replied, âby my life.â âThatâs it then. Iâll tell them to buy her from you, but donât sell her for one dinar less than 50,000.â I kissed him on the head and left.
The following day the emissary from the ruler of Yemen arrived early accompanied by a friend of mine. âIs your singing-girl so-and-so here?â he asked. âYes, she is,â I replied. âShow her to me.â So I brought her out. âHow much?â he asked. â50,000 dinars and not one dinar less! Al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ made me an offer for her for that amount just yesterday.â âI want to buy her for him,â he said. âAs you wish. If you buy her, you can send her to whomever you want.â He asked, âWhat would you say to 30,000 in cash handed over to you right now?â
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
I had originally purchased the singing-girl for 400 dinars, and when I heard him mention 30,000 dinars and thought of the profit I would gain, a shudder of apprehension ran through me. My friend who was with him signaled to me to go ahead with the deal. Truly, I was afraid that something might happen to the singing-girl or to me or to al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ, so I turned her over to him and took the money on the spot.
The next morning, I went to visit al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ early and found him sitting alone. When he saw me, he burst out laughing and said, âWhat a greedy fellow you are! Youâve cheated yourself out of 20,000 dinars!â But I replied, âBy my life, forget about that. I had a sort of premonition that I cannot describe. I was suddenly afraid that something would happen to the singing-girl or to the buyer or to you â may God protect you from evil! â so I jumped at the chance to take the 30,000 dinars.â âNo offense taken. Servant boy, go fetch the singing-girl.â The servant came back with the very same singing-girl. âTake her and may she be a blessing for you! I was just trying to do something to help you out â I didnât really want the singing-girl.â When I rose to leave he said, âStay where you are. [An emissary from]100 the ruler of Armenia has come to visit and I have been taking care of all his needs and carrying out all of the requests in his messages. He mentioned that he brought with him 30,000 dinars with which I should buy whatever I wish. So show him this singing-girl of yours and donât take one dinar less than 30,000.â Then I left with the singing-girl.
Soon the emissary from the ruler of Armenia and another friend of mine came to see me. We haggled over the singing-girl. âI wonât take anything less than 30,000 dinars,â I said. He replied, âI have 20,000 in cash waiting at your front door â will you take that as full payment, and may God bless this deal?â Suddenly I experienced the same sensation I had felt before and I was seized by fear like the previous time. So I immediately turned her over to him and took the money.
The next day I went to visit al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ early and found him sitting alone. When he saw me, he burst out laughing and stamped his foot on the ground, saying, âBlast you! Youâve cheated yourself out of 10,000 dinars.â I replied, âMay God keep you safe! To tell the truth, I was seized by the same fear as the first time.â âNo offence taken. Servant boy, go fetch the singing-girl,â and he came back with the very same singing-girl. âTake her â I never wanted her or anything other than to help you out.â When the singing-girl was turned over to me I shouted at her, âStep back!â She stepped back. Then I said, âI testify â by my life! â that she is free before the face of God and I will marry her off with a dowry of 10,000 dinars. In two days, she has earned me 50,000 dinars, so the only proper reward for her is her freedom.â Al-Faá¸l replied, âMay God continue to grant you success.â
§ Al-Husayn ibn Ê¿AlÄ« told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik, citing IsḥÄq, citing his father [IbrÄhÄ«m] who said:
In my youth, I spent time with the residents of Quá¹rubbul, BÄrÄ«, BinnÄ«,101 and other places. In each locale, I struck up a friendship with a pleasant wine-merchant who would provide me with good wine and even set it aside secretly for me. One day I arrived in BÄrÄ« and my wine-merchant received me and said, âAbÅ« IsḥÄq, I have something for you that is right up your alley!â I had earlier composed the following tune:
The poetry and the melody are by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âlight heavyâ rhythm with the first finger as tonic by way of the third-finger fret, and there is another setting by Manṣūr Zalzal the lute-player in the âlight ramalâ rhythm according to Ḥabash.
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
I entered his house, broke open the seal on the wine-jug, and began to sing that song in a quavering voice.102 The wine-merchant was flabbergasted and watched me as I poured the wine until it had filled the pitcher and overflowed. I said, âBlast you! Your wine has overflowed.â He replied, âAllow me to fill it with my own wine. Has someone you know recently died?â âNo,â I replied. âThen why is your throat in mourning?â103
§ Al-Ḥasan ibn Ê¿AlÄ« told me, citing HÄrÅ«n ibn Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd al-Malik al-ZayyÄt, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq citing his uncle ṬayyÄb ibn IbrÄhÄ«m, who said:
I went in to see my father once when MukhÄriq was with him. My father was teaching him this song:
The poetry is by al-Aḥwaá¹£104 and the melody is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the mÄkhÅ«rÄ« rhythm on the fourth-finger fret according to Ê¿Amr.
ṬayyÄb continued:
When MukhÄriq had finished learning it, my father burst into tears and said to him, âMukhÄriq, how wondrous are the ways of the Devil, that you are here on earth. For, by God, when I am gone, you will be the standard-bearer of this art!â
§ Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ê¿AlÄ« and my uncle both told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik, citing IsḥÄq, who said:
When my father composed the tune for:
I quarreled with him and found fault with his composition. I said to him, âArenât you aware of the rivals who criticize your style and belittle your talents? You compose a song to a text that Ibn Surayj long ago used in a song and you set it to a tune that is not nearly as good? The poetry is worthy of better than that! Leave the well-known compositions of the old masters alone and take up something else.â He grew angry and I went on to boast about my own compositions and to find fault with whatever I could in his. When he put up with me things were fine, but when he grew angry I had to flatter him to calm him down. He said to me, âGod only knows why I stand for this â either stop it or sing me the best song you have ever composed in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm, the rhythm of this song!â When I saw how serious he was, I selected this composition of mine:
We continued to disagree as we headed out into the desert to walk off the remains of our hangovers. âSo who would you have judge between us?â my father asked. âWho in the world would you have judge between us out here in the desert?â I replied. âThe first person we come across: Iâll sing my song to him, then you sing your song.â I had my dander up, so I agreed. A Nabatean sheikh transporting thorn brush on his donkey suddenly appeared and my father approached him saying, âMy friend and I would like to ask a favor of you.â âAnd what would that be?â We replied, âEach of us claims that he is better than the other in singing, so we want you to listen to us both, and then be the judge.â âGo ahead,â he said. My father started and sang his tune, then I followed him and sang mine. When I finished, the man turned to me and said, âI judge against you, may God forgive you,â and left. Then my father slapped me harder than he had ever slapped me in my life. I fell silent and did not utter a single word, nor did I bring up the topic again until we separated.
The poetry is by Ê¿Umar ibn AbÄ« RabÄ«Ê¿a and the melody is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret. There is another version by Ibn Surayj in the âramalâ rhythm on the fourth-finger tonic with the ring finger, and yet another version by Malik in the âlight heavyâ on the fourth finger and the ring finger,105 according to YaḥyÄ al-MakkÄ«. IsḥÄq, however, mentions it in that mode, but without attributing it to anyone. Al-HishÄmÄ« said, âIâll offer proof that it is by MÄlik, and that is that it closely resembles his song: Surrender, O house of Hind.â
There is also a version by Mutayyim in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm. As for the song that IsḥÄq boasted was better than his fatherâs, he composed both the poetry and the music for it. The melody is in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret according to Ê¿Amr. I have included it in the section on IsḥÄq.
§ Aḥmad ibn AbÄ« ṬÄhir reported, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
Al-RashÄ«d had been greatly angered by something he had heard about Manṣūr Zalzal, so he imprisoned him for ten years, or thereabouts. One day when al-RashÄ«d excused himself and left to answer natureâs call, IbrÄhÄ«m began to sing a song he had composed to verses heâd written about Zalzalâs imprisonment.
The poetry and the melody are by IbrÄhÄ«m, in the âlight heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret, according to Ê¿Amr.
IsḥÄq continued:
Al-RashÄ«d came back during the song and took his place. Then he said, âIbrÄhÄ«m, what were you saying?â âOnly good things, my lord.â âSing it again,â he ordered, but Ibrahim hesitated. Al-RashÄ«d got angry and said, âSing it again, and no harm will come to you.â So he repeated the song. âWould you like to see him?â al-RashÄ«d asked. âCan people be resurrected from the grave?â IbrÄhÄ«m responded. âGo fetch Zalzal!â he ordered. They brought him out and the hair of his head and beard had turned white, but IbrÄhÄ«m was overjoyed to see him. Al-RashÄ«d ordered him to sit and he did. Then he ordered IbrÄhÄ«m to sing and Zalzal to play, and the two of them âshookâ the world.106 Al-RashÄ«d drank a whole raá¹l of wine while they performed. Then he ordered that Zalzal be freed and gave them both splendid rewards. He reconciled with Zalzal, and allowed him to return to his home.
IsḥÄq added:
Zalzal was the first to revive the shabbÅ«á¹ (fish-shaped) lute â in ancient times they were the lutes played in Persia â and when he introduced them, they caused quite a stir.
He added:
Zalzalâs sister was married to IbrÄhÄ«m and bore him children.
§ Muḥammad ibn Mayzad told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
The first person I learned singing from was a mad man â whenever someone would call out to him, âO Muá¸ar,â heâd get furious and curse them.107 But I had heard that he sang brilliantly certain songs that he had learned from the great singers of the Hejaz. I used to have him brought to my house, Iâd ply him with food and drink, and humor him until I had learned something from him. He was a very accomplished singer and the first song I learned from him was:
Then I would wait for a while before trying to learn anything else from him. When he was in his right mind, he was a skillful and impeccable singer. Then he disappeared and I never found out what happened to him.
The poetry is by al-WalÄ«d ibn YazÄ«d108 and the melody by YÅ«nus, in the âlight ramalâ rhythm on the open string with the ring-finger fret, according to IsḥÄq. But others have said that is by Ê¿Umar al-WÄdÄ«, and there is another setting by Wajh al-QarÊ¿a in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret, according to Ḥabash.
§ Muḥammad bin Mazyad told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, citing his grandfather, who said:
I once accompanied al-RashÄ«d to Syria when he went out on a military expedition. He called for me one day and I went to him in a sitting-room furbished with different types of marble such as I had never seen before. He ate and ordered me to eat with him, and I remained in attendance on him until the late afternoon. Then he called for wine and drank, and gave me wine to drink as well. Then he bestowed on me an embroidered robe from among his own garments, and gave me 1,000 dinars. âNote, IbrÄhÄ«m,â he said, âhow many favors I have given you this day! You have kept me company, just the two of us, you have eaten with me, I have bestowed on you apparel from off my own person, I have given you money, and I have allowed you to sit here in the veranda of Maslama ibn Ê¿Abd al-Malik109 and drink with me.â âMy lord,â I responded, âNot one iota of your favor has escaped my notice! Your benefaction towards me is beyond reckoning.â At that point I kissed his feet and the ground in front of him.
§ Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī told me, citing Aḥmad ibn Zubayr, citing Diʿbil ibn ʿAlī, who said:
When al-RashÄ«d ascended to the throne and, having finished with the affairs of state, sat down to have a drink, singers were ushered in and the first to sing was IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, who sang the following verses of his:
A servant called out from behind the curtain, âWell done, IbrÄhÄ«m, both the poetry and your singing!â and he ordered that IbrÄhÄ«m be given 1,000 dirhams.
IbrÄhÄ«mâs tune for this song is in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm, on the index finger by way of the middle-finger fret, according to Aḥmad al-MakkÄ«.
§ Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī told me, citing Yazīd ibn Muḥammad al-Muhallabī, citing his father, who said:
One day AbÅ« SaÊ¿Ä«d al-NahdÄ«, HÄshim ibn SulaymÄn the singer and I met in a garden and sat drinking while HÄshim sang for us. We were enjoying ourselves when suddenly a well-dressed, handsome man entered the garden and approached us. When we were still looking at him from a distance, HÄshim jumped up and ran over to meet him. He kissed his hands and embraced him, though none of us recognized him, but he greeted his friend warmly. Then the man said, âDonât let me disturb you! I was passing by and heard HÄshimâs singing, and I was beside myself with joy. I entered certain that he could only be socializing with a refined young man who appreciates and takes pleasure in singing. In doing so I follow the example of Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn JaÊ¿far ibn AbÄ« ṬÄlib111 â upon him be peace! â because he once heard someone singing in a group of people and entered without permission, saying: âYour singer gave me permission to enter when he sangâ:
I know that you would like to know who I am. He who has recognized me is content and for those of you who do not know me, I am IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«.â We stood up and I kissed him on the head and rejoiced at our good fortune, and that day was the beginning of a deep friendship among us. IbrÄhÄ«m was away for quite a while after that, but then HÄshim sent us a piece of paper from him on which was written:
§ Muḥammad ibn Mazyad told me, citing Ḥammad ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
When I was a boy, I had a pet magpie I had raised that used to imitate everything it heard. Once it stole a ruby ring that belonged to my father, who had placed it on a cushion when he went in to the toilet. When he came out, he couldnât find it. He looked for it and beat his servant who had been standing nearby, but he wasnât able to find out what had happened to it. At one point I was in our house and saw the magpie digging in the dirt and then it pulled out the ring. It played with it for quite a while, and then put the ring back in its place and buried it again! I dug it up and took it to my father, which greatly pleased him, and he composed the following verses mocking the magpie:
§ Al-Ḥasan ibn Ê¿AlÄ« gave me a report, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Aḥmad ibn al-MakkÄ«; and I consulted AbÅ« Aḥmad ibn JaÊ¿far Jaḥáºa about this anecdote and he said that Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn YaḥyÄ al-MakkÄ« al-Murtajil113 had narrated it to him, citing his father, citing his grandfather; and I also found this anecdote in books citing Ê¿AlÄ« ibn Muḥammad ibn Naá¹£r, citing his grandfather ḤamdÅ«n ibn IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l â so I have combined all of their different accounts into one:
Al-RashÄ«d said to JaÊ¿far ibn YaḥyÄ one day, âWeâve been listening to these singers of ours for a long time without making any distinction among them. Letâs you and I divide them up and put them to the test.â They divided up the singers and set each one against his peer. Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ was on the side of al-RashÄ«d, and IbrÄhÄ«m was on JaÊ¿far ibn YaḥyÄâs side. The courtiers all attended to watch this championship of the singers. Al-RashÄ«d ordered Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ to start, so he sang a song, which he performed extremely well, and al-RashÄ«d was beside himself with pleasure. When he finished it, al-RashÄ«d turned to IbrÄhÄ«m and said, âIbrÄhÄ«m, now you sing it!â âSire, I cannot, for I donât know it,â IbrÄhÄ«m replied, with a dejected expression. Al-RashÄ«d said to JaÊ¿far, âThatâs one.â
Then he said to IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn JÄmiÊ¿, âIsmÄÊ¿Ä«l, sing another.â He sang another song, better than the first, and more pleasing in every way. When he brought it to a close, al-RashÄ«d said to IbrÄhÄ«m, âIbrÄhÄ«m, now you sing it.â âI donât know it,â he said. âThatâs two,â said al-RashÄ«d. âIsmÄÊ¿Ä«l, sing another.â He sang a third song that was exquisite and surpassed the other two. When Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ reached the end of the song, al-RashÄ«d said, âIbrÄhÄ«m, sing it.â âI donât know this one either.â Then JaÊ¿far said to him, âYou have disgraced us, may God dishonor you!â So Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ finished the day in triumph. Al-RashÄ«d was greatly pleased with him, gave him lavish gifts, and bestowed upon him a luxurious robe of honor, whereas IbrÄhÄ«m appeared defeated and dejected until he finally left.
He continued:
IbrÄhÄ«m headed home, but no sooner had he arrived than he sent for Muḥammad, known as Ê¿al-Zaffʾ [the Quick]. Muḥammad was one of the very best singers, and in his day he was known for being able to learn any song he wished faster than anyone else. Al-RashÄ«d had grown angry with him for one of those things that make kings angry, had placed him under house arrest, and then forgotten about him. IbrÄhÄ«m said to al-Zaff, âIâm turning to you for help rather than to someone closer to me because this is a scheme only you can pull off: This is what weâre going to do.â Al-Zaff replied, âI shall repay your friendship, if Almighty God so wills!â So IbrÄhÄ«m laid out his plan. âI want you to go immediately to Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ and tell him that you have come to congratulate him on how he bested me. You should find fault with me, criticize me, and insult me. Dupe him into letting you hear the songs he sang today and learn them, and in return you will receive from me whatever intervention you desire in order to help return you to the caliphâs good favor, God willing.â
He continued:
Al-Zaff left IbrÄhÄ«mâs house, asked permission to enter Ibn JÄmiâs house, and was ushered in. He entered, greeted him, and said, âI have come to congratulate you on what I heard happened today! Thank God you have been able to humiliate that son of a jurmuq woman114 and that your superiority in this art has finally been revealed to all.â âYouâve heard the news?â âIt is already too well-known not to have reached someone like me!â He said, âBlast you! Only those who witnessed it know about this.â Al-Zaff replied, âSir, I would love to hear your version of what happened, so that I can transmit it directly from you, rather than second- or third-hand.â âSpend the day here with me and Iâll tell you the whole story.â âAs you wish,â al-Zaff replied. Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ offered him food and they ate together, then he offered him wine. He began to tell the story until he got to the first song. âAnd which song was it, Sir?â So Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ sang it for him. Muḥammad began to applaud and guffaw and drank some more, while Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ kept on singing until al-Zaff had learned it. Then he asked about the second song, so Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ sang it to him, and he did as he had done with the first one, and did likewise with the third. When he had learned all three songs and mastered them, he said, âSir, Iâve got what I came for, so with your permission Iâll take my leave.â âAs you wish.â So Muḥammad left, and headed directly to IbrÄhÄ«m. When he reached the door IbrÄhÄ«m cried out, âWhatâve you got?â âEverything you wanted! Bring me a lute.â IbrÄhÄ«m called for a lute and al-Zaff played and sang the songs for him. IbrÄhÄ«m said to him, âBy your fatherâs life, you have them exactly right! Now sing them again for me.â He sang them again and again until IbrÄhÄ«m had learned them correctly, and then al-Zaff left and went home.
The next day IbrÄhÄ«m went to al-RashÄ«dâs residence and when he called for his singers, IbrÄhÄ«m entered with them. When al-RashÄ«d saw him he said, âYou dare to appear here!? It would have been better for you to stay at home for a month after the drubbing Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ gave you!â He replied, âWhy is that, Sire? By my life, if you would permit me to speak freely, I will explain.â âWhat is it youâd like to say?â he asked, âSpeak!â âIt would not be proper for me or anyone else to oppose you in anything you do,â IbrÄhÄ«m said, âor to defeat you when you are rooting for your side in a competition. In any case, there is not a song in the world that I do not know.â Al-RashÄ«d retorted, âEnough of that! Yesterday you confessed ignorance of the songs we heard from our friend here. If you knew them yesterday, but chose not to sing them, then [prove it and] sing them today. There is no bias or favoritism here.â So IbrÄhÄ«m began and sang all of the songs straight through.
Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ was listening and paid careful attention until IbrÄhÄ«m reached the end. Then he burst out with embarrassing oaths swearing that IbrÄhÄ«m could not possibly have known those songs or heard them because they were his own compositions and had never been performed for anyone else. Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ said, âBlast you! What plot did you concoct after I sang?â âI didnât concoct any plots,â responded IbrÄhÄ«m. Al-RashÄ«d said, âIbrÄhÄ«m, by my life, tell me the truth!â âBy your life,â he replied, âI am telling you the truth â turn about is fair play!115 I sent Muḥammad al-Zaff to him with assurances from me, the most important of which is that you would reconcile with him. On my behalf he duped Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ until he had learned the songs and then taught them to me. But now all blame has been removed from me by Ibn JÄmiâs confession, for I am not obligated to know songs he has composed and never performed publicly. Thatâs foul play! It goes without saying that he should never know a song of the great masters that I do not also know. But if I am compelled to learn all of his compositions, then he must also learn all of mine, and likewise every single of one of us would be compelled to learn the compositions of all of our colleagues and peers.â Those who had derided him now appeared disgraced and contemptible. Al-RashÄ«d responded, âYou are right, IbrÄhÄ«m, you have cleared your name with convincing arguments.â Then he turned to Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ and said, âIsmÄÊ¿Ä«l, for shame! For shame! What a disgrace! What a disgrace!116 Al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« has not only undone what you did to him yesterday, but heâs taken his revenge on you today!â Then he called for al-Zaff and was reconciled with him.
Ê¿AlÄ« ibn Muḥammad said: I asked my maternal uncle, AbÅ« Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn ḤamdÅ«n, once when we were discussing this anecdote, âDo you know these songs by Ibn JÄmiÊ¿?â He told me that he had heard IsḥÄq tell this story and had said that the first song was:
The poetry is by Qays ibn Dharīḥ and the music by Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret. There is another setting by YaḥyÄ al-MakkÄ«118 in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the fourth-finger and ring finger according to his book. According to al-HishÄmÄ« there is another setting by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm.
He continued:
The second song was:
The poetry is by ḤammÄd al-RÄwiya120 and the music is by Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the third finger fret â this is what al-Ḥazanbal transmitted, citing Ê¿Amr ibn AbÄ« Ê¿Amr.
Ibn ḤamdÅ«n said, âThis song is an amazing composition with many notes, well-constructed, and is among the best of Ibn JÄmiâs songs. The caliph al-MuÊ¿taá¹£im was quite taken with it and would often order other singers to be silent when it was sung in his presence and would not listen to anything else for the rest of the day.â
He continued:
The third song was:
The poetry is by al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf and the music by Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret. Ibn ḤamdÅ«n continued: IbrÄhÄ«m modeled121 a later song on this using these same verses set to a melody he composed in the âramalâ rhythm on the third-finger fret, but his song was not nearly as good. Al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ« added: Another setting has been composed for these verses which is feeble, poorly constructed, in the modern style, and is not worth mentioning here.
§ A propos these verses, Muḥammad ibn YaḥyÄ al-ṢūlÄ« told me, citing AbÅ« Ê¿Abd AllÄh al-Ḥazanbal, citing Aḥmad ibn IbrÄhÄ«m ibn IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l, citing his father, who said:
This verse by al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf was once recited to the poet BashshÄr [ibn Burd]:122
Whereupon BashshÄr declared: âTruly, this young fellow has joined the ranks of the best poets; he kept pushing himself on us, but we rejected him until he composed this poem.â
Muḥammad ibn YaḥyÄ told me, citing MaymÅ«n ibn HÄrÅ«n, citing IsḥÄq, who said:
This verse by al-Ê¿AbbÄs was once recited to the caliph al-RashÄ«d:
And he responded, âOnly someone who is neither protected nor guarded by God would lend an eye.â
§ Other songs have been composed to words drawn from this same ode rhyming on the letter âRâ123 by al-Ê¿AbbÄs, such as this one:
Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ sang it in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the ring-finger fret. According to al-HishÄmÄ« there is another version by ShÄá¹ira, the wife of Manṣūr Zalzal in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret.
§ Ibn al-MakkÄ« al-Murtajil claimed that the three songs that were stolen [by Muḥammad al-Zaff] from Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ [in addition to âSalmÄâs encampmentâ] were:
O tomb among the dwellings of the people of Muḥarriq124 â¦
and:
The edge of al-Qurayya125 and the sand dune have been effaced â¦
In his account, Ibn al-Makkī does not mention the two songs cited above but rather:
Weeping has drained the tears of your eye so borrow â¦
and:
The poetry is by a man from the BanÅ« Asad who was lamenting KhÄlid ibn Naá¸la and another man from the BanÅ« Asad. The two of them were boon companions of the Lakhmid king al-Mundhir ibn MÄʾ al-SamÄʾ, who killed them in an outburst of anger. This is a famous story and is found in the section on Ibn JÄmiÊ¿.126 The music is by Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ and he composed two melodies for it: one in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret and the second in the âramalâ rhythm on the ring-finger fret. But it is also said that the setting in âramalâ is by Ibn Surayj. Ḥabash mentioned that Muḥammad á¹¢Äḥib al-birÄm127 composed a setting in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret.
From it is:
The poetry is by Ibn Harma129 and the music by Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the open string with the middle finger, according to IsḥÄq. There is another setting by al-GharīḠin the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the ring-finger fret according to Ê¿Amr. Ê¿Amr said, âThere is a setting by al-HudhalÄ«,â but he did not cite a rhythm or mode for it.130
§ Muḥammad ibn Khalaf WakÄ«Ê¿ told me, citing HÄrÅ«n ibn Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd al-Malik al-ZayyÄt, citing Ê¿IsÄ ibn AyyÅ«b al-QurashÄ«, citing Ghayth ibn Ê¿Abd al-KarÄ«m, citing Fulayḥ ibn IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn JaÊ¿far the religious scholar, the owner of [Ḥarb],131 citing his father, who said:
One day I passed by Ibn Harma sitting on a bench in the neighborhood of BanÄ« Zurayq, so I said to him, âAbÅ« IsḥÄq, what are you doing sitting here?â âI was remembering a time I composed a verse, but was stumped by the rhyme and couldnât find a way to continue it, so I got fed up and stopped working on the poem.â I asked, âWhat was the verse?â And he said:
He continued:
I composed that verse and could get no further with it, but then a beautiful young fair-skinned slave girl walked by. I used to find her very attractive and would talk to her whenever she passed. She walked by me that day and I saw that her face was swollen and her appearance had changed, so I asked her how she was doing. She replied, âThere was a wedding among the BanÅ« so-and-so that I wanted to attend, and my family lent me some earrings and pierced my ears so that I could wear them, but my face swelled up and my ears are as you see them now, so they took back the jewelry and I didnât go to the wedding after all.â On hearing this, the verses poured forth and I exclaimed:
§ Al-Ḥusayn ibn al-QÄsim told me, citing al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Faá¸l, citing his father, who said:
Al-RashÄ«d said to Ibn al-MahdÄ«, IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, Ibn JÄmiÊ¿, and Ibn AbÄ« al-KannÄt, âCome to me early tomorrow, each of you with some poetry you have composed, if you are able to compose poetry, and sing it set to music â any of you who is not able to compose poetry can sing someone elseâs verses.â Ibn al-MahdÄ« said, âI got up in the early hours of the morning and did my best to compose something I could set to music, but nothing came to me. When I feared that dawn was approaching, I called to my servants, who used to spend the night at the door of my home, and said to them, âI want to go somewhere without anyone knowing where I am going.â I mounted and rode to the home of IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«. He had once told me that whenever he wanted to compose a song, he wouldnât sleep until he had come with what he needed, and that if he had to get up to answer natureâs call in the early hours, he would lean on a plank of wood in the restroom and beat the rhythm on it until he had finished the song and knew it by heart. So I went and stood outside underneath the restroom of his house and he was repeating this songâ:
Ibn al-Mahdī continued:
I stood there listening to the song until I had learned it. The next morning, we went to al-RashÄ«d and when we sat down to drink, the servant came out to me saying, âThe Commander of the Faithful says to you, âO son of a mother,132 sing for meâ.â So I went first and sang that song, and al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« sat pale as death itself until I finished. Al-RashÄ«d drank to it and ordered that I be given 300,000 dirhams. IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« leapt up and swore to divorce his wife and swore on the life of al-RashÄ«d that the poem was his and that he had composed the lyrics and the music the day before and that no one before had ever sung it. Ibn al-MahdÄ« replied, âMy lord, this claim that âit is mineâ is nothing but lying and falsehood.â IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« grew agitated and started shouting. When I had had enough of teasing him, I said to al-RashÄ«d, âThe truth must out!â and I told him what had happened. Al-RashÄ«d said to al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, âMy brother here has already taken the money, and there is no way for it me to take it back, so Iâm ordering that you be given 100,000 dirhams as compensation for what happened. If you had been the one to start with that song, it would have been your good fortune.â Then he ordered that the money be given to al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« and delivered to his home.
§ Al-Ḥusayn ibn YaḥyÄ told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing MukhÄriq, who said:
IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« visited Muḥammad ibn YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid on the day of MihrajÄn133 and Muḥammad asked him to spend the day with him. âI canât,â he replied, âbecause a messenger has just arrived from the Caliph.â âIf you stop by after you leave the palace, Iâll give you all the gifts I receive today.â âIn that case, I will,â IbrÄhÄ«m replied, and left a friend of his there to keep track of all the gifts that were delivered to Muḥammad.
MukhÄriq said:
Amazing gifts of all sorts arrived.
He continued:
Among the gifts was a golden statue of an elephant with ruby eyes. Muḥammad said to IbrÄhÄ«mâs friend, âDonât tell him about this gift so that I can send it to the singing-girl so-and-so,â which is what he did. IbrÄhÄ«m left the palace and returned to Muḥammad and said, âBring me all the gifts you were given.â They brought him all of the gifts except for the statue. Muḥammad said, âI have to tell you the truth â this is what happened [and he told him about the statue].â âUnacceptable,â IbrÄhÄ«m said, âyou were the one who set the condition!â So the statue was brought out. âThis gift belongs to me and Iâm free to do with it as I wish, isnât that so?â asked IbrÄhÄ«m. âYes, indeed,â he replied. âThen take the statue back to the singing-girl.â After which he began to distribute the gifts among those who were sitting with Muḥammad, piece by piece, among all of the friends and male servants who were there, and even among the female slaves in the womenâs quarters, until nothing remained. Then, when he wished to leave, he took two apples from the sitting room and said, âThese are for me,â and left. Muḥammad was left stunned by his generosity and graciousness.
§ Aḥmad ibn al-MarzubÄn said that one of the Sultanâs secretaries told him:
One night al-RashÄ«d woke up and called for the black, short-legged donkey that he used to ride inside the palace grounds and mounted it. He set off wearing an embroidered cloak, covering his face with an embroidered turban wrapped in an embroidered shawl, accompanied by 400 white servants, not counting his personal attendants. MasrÅ«r al-FarghÄnÄ« was rather bold given his close connection to the caliph, and as al-RashÄ«d passed through the gate of the palace he asked, âSire, where are you going at this hour?â âTo the home of al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«,â he replied.
Masrūr recounted:
So all of us went with him, surrounding him on all sides, until he arrived at the home of IbrÄhÄ«m. IbrÄhÄ«m came out to receive him and kissed the hoof of his donkey and said, âSire, what an honor that you should arrive at such an hour!â âYes,â replied, âA strong desire to see you seized me in the middle of the night.â Then he dismounted and sat at the edge of the portico and had IbrÄhÄ«m sit with him. IbrÄhÄ«m said to him, âSire, would you care for something to eat?â âYes,â he replied, âkhÄmÄ«z of gazelle,â134 and it was brought to him immediately, as if it had been prepared especially for him. He partook of a small amount and then called for some of the wine he had brought with him. Then IbrÄhÄ«m asked, âWould you like me to sing for you or your singing girls?â âThe singing girls,â he replied. IbrÄhÄ«mâs singing girls came out and together they took up the center and both sides of the portico. âShould all of them play together or just one?â IbrÄhÄ«m asked. âHave them play two by two, but sing one by one.â135 This they did, taking turns, until they had gone around the center of the portico and along one of its sides. Al-RashÄ«d listened without reacting at all to their singing, until one young girl from his own entourage sang:
He was delighted, asked her to sing the song again several times, and drank several raá¹ls of wine. Then he asked the singing girl about the composer of the song, but she remained silent. He reached out towards her, but she recoiled. Then he ordered her to approach him, and she rose and moved nearer till she was standing directly in front of him. Then she whispered something to him. Suddenly he called for his donkey, mounted, and departed. As he left, he turned to IbrÄhÄ«m and said, âYouâre lucky that you are not caliph!â IbrÄhÄ«m was scared out of his wits until al-RashÄ«d called for him some time later and once again welcomed him into his company.
Masrūr continued:
The secret she told him was that the song was composed by his sister, Ê¿Ulayya bint al-MahdÄ«, and that the singing-girl belonged to her and had been sent to IbrÄhÄ«m so that he could train her. Al-RashÄ«d left because he was jealous!
The tune of the song was in the âlight ramalâ rhythm.
§ Muḥammad ibn Mazyad told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
My father used to be friends with a female tavern-keeper in Raqqa known as Bishra who used to visit al-Hanīʾ and al-Marīʾ.136 She had a beautiful daughter whom my father rather fancied. When al-Rashīd left Raqqa and traveled toward Byzantium on one of his military forays, my father composed these verses about her [as they were leaving]:
He added:
He also composed other verses about her and composed a song in the âfirst ramalâ rhythm:
ḤammÄd said in connection to this anecdote that his grandfatherâs melody was in the âramalâ rhythm, but I found in Aḥmad ibn al-MakkÄ«âs book that he composed two melodies for it, one in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm and the other in the âsecond heavy.â
§ ʿĪsÄ ibn al-Ḥusayn the Paper-vendor137 told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik al-KhuzÄÊ¿Ä«, who said:
Al-RashÄ«d had IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« imprisoned by the chief of police, AbÅ« Ê¿AbbÄs (that is, his father, Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik).138 IbrÄhÄ«m composed this tune [in prison] and one night we heard him repeating it over and over, in order to even out the setting:
He continued: He also sang in prison the following:
§ ʿĪsÄ told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik, citing Ê¿AllÅ«ya al-AÊ¿sar,141 who said:
I visited IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« when he was stricken with his final illness and had been placed in a medicinal bath142 for he was suffering from the colic from which he eventually died, and he was crooning this song:
Muḥammad said:
I spoke to IsḥÄq al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« about this and he said, âThat son of a bitch lied! He scarcely dared enter my father IbrÄhÄ«mâs presence when he was sitting receiving people, so how could he have visited my father while he was sitting in a medicinal bath?!â
The Background of this Song
The poetry and the music are by IbrÄhÄ«m and he composed two tunes for it, both in the mÄkhÅ«rÄ« rhythm on the middle-finger fret according to Ê¿Amr, and in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm according to Ibn al-MakkÄ«.
§ A propos this song, Jaḥáºa told me:
The caliph al-Muqtadir143 would summon us from time to time and have the singers IbrÄhÄ«m ibn AbÄ« al-Ê¿Ubays, Kunayz, IbrÄhim ibn QÄsim, as well as myself and Waṣīf the flute-player brought to him. Most of the time it was because his singing-girls had asked that we be summoned so that they could listen to us and learn the songs they heard us perform. We would sing and they learned whatever they chose. When we left he would order that each of them â IbrÄhÄ«m, Kunayz Dubba, and IbrÄhÄ«m â be given three hundred dinars, and that Waṣīf and I be given two hundred dinars.144 To whomever else he had summoned along with us he would give anything from 100 or 200 dinars to 1,000 dirhams. When we arrived, he would be sitting behind a curtain with his singing-girls, and if he wished to suggest something, the servants would come out and order us to sing it. In front of each of us was a bottle with five raá¹ls of wine, along with a cup, a fingerbowl, and mug of water. One day, á¹¢alifa [âShow Offâ], the singing-girl of ZiryÄb,145 sang that composition by IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«:
I drank to her and al-Muqtadir asked that she sing it again over and over, and I drank a glass to it each time. IbrÄhÄ«m ibn AbÄ« al-Ê¿Ubays grabbed my shoulder and whispered, âAre you crazy? You were brought here to sing, not to be sung to, enjoy yourself, and drink! Watch out or youâre going to get drunk.â I held in check my desire for her to repeat the song after that and she didnât. We never ended up meeting again, but I never heard anyone before or after that sing that song better than she sang it.
He continued:
Later al-Muqtadir bought her from ZiryÄb.
§ My uncle told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Aḥmad ibn al-QÄsim ibn JaÊ¿far ibn SulaymÄn ibn Ê¿AlÄ«, citing IsḥÄq, citing his father IbrÄhÄ«m, who said:
Once when I was in Mecca wandering through its alleyways, I chanced upon a black woman standing there crying, heedless of everything around her. I didnât know anything about her, but I couldnât help staring at her. She wept and said:
I asked her, âLady,146 who is this Ê¿Amr?â âMy husband,â she replied. âWhat is the matter with him?â I asked. âHe told me that he loved me and kept asking for me until I married him. He stayed with me but a short while and then traveled to Judda and left me.â âWhat does he look like?â I asked. âMore handsome than any dark-skinned man you have ever seen, and the most pleasing of men in nature and build.â
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
I mounted, along my servants, and traveled to Judda. I stood in the area around the port looking at who was on board the ships, and I ordered my servants to shout, âÊ¿Amr! O Ê¿Amr!â Suddenly I spotted him coming off a ship with a tray of food around his neck. I recognized him from her description, so I called out to him:
He responded, âAh, have you seen her and heard from her?â âYes,â I answered. He bowed his head a moment silently weeping. Then he started to sing those words in the most beautiful manner I had ever heard, and he repeated the song to me until I learned it. He was an extraordinary singer. âWonât you go back to her?â I asked. âThe only thing that prevents me is the need to earn a living,â he replied. âHow much do you need each year to survive with her?â â300 silver dirhams,â he said.
IsḥÄq said â My father told me:
âBy God, my son, if he had said 300 gold dinars, I would gladly have given them to him.â I called him over and gave him 3,000 dirhams and said to him, âThis is so you can live with her for the next ten years, and itâd be best if you only took work that is close to where the two of you live.â After that I took him back to her.
§ ḤabÄ«b ibn Naá¹£r al-MuhallabÄ« told me, citing Ê¿AlÄ« ibn Muḥammad al-NawfalÄ«, citing á¹¢Äliḥ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« (that is, al-Aá¸jam), a neighbor of IbrÄhÄ«mâs, citing IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ili, who said:
One evening I was home around nightfall when a servant from al-RashÄ«d came and beseeched me urgently to ride to him, so I left the house almost at a run. But as I was heading toward his residence, I was turned away from the entrance and led down streets that I did not know until I arrived at a newly built house. I entered a spacious courtyard â al-RashÄ«d used to love spacious courtyards â and there he was, sitting on a chair in the middle of this courtyard, with no one attending him other than one servant who was pouring his wine. He was wearing his usual summer attire â a light gown belted with a wide red rashÄ«dÄ«147 shawl. When he saw me, he smiled and was pleased. âMawá¹£ilÄ«,â he said, âI have been wanting to sit in this courtyard and have not been able to until today, and I wanted it to be just the two of us.â Then he shouted to the servants and one hundred pages appeared. They had been in the arcade, but hidden from IbrÄhÄ«m by the columns, and when al-RashÄ«d called out to them they all stepped forward. âA cutting [of carpet] for IbrÄhÄ«m,â and he was the first to cut up prayer rugs [as a gift?].148 A chair was brought for me and was placed in front of him, very close to him. Al-RashÄ«d called for a lute and said, âBy my life, entertain me to the very best of your ability.â
He continued:
So I did. I poured my heart into it, gave it everything I had, and was eagerly awaiting a reward for that evening. But while I was doing this, MasrÅ«r the Elder arrived and stood where he would stand whenever he had a message for al-RashÄ«d that needed to be kept secret. Al-RashÄ«d glanced over at him, signaled for him to approach, which he did, and then MasrÅ«r whispered something in his ear and withdrew. Al-RashÄ«d flew into a rage, his eyes turned red, and his jugular veins swelled up. He cried out, âHow long am I going to put up with the family of the BanÄ« AbÄ« ṬÄlib!?!149 By God I am going to kill all of them, and kill their supporters â Iâll do it this time! Iâll do it!â I said, âWe all belong to God!â When al-RashÄ«d was in that state, no one could escape his rage, and I figured that it could well be directed at me, so I began to sing:
Al-RashÄ«d called out, âBlast it! Fill three cups for me so I donât die from exasperation.â Then he drank the three, one after the other and said, âSing!â So I sang and when I reached:
Filled again after the first three have been drunk
He called out, âPour me another three, blast it!â Then he said to me, âSing!â and when I sang the next verse he said, âHurry up and bring me four more to complete the ten!â which was done. By God, he had no sooner finished the last of them than he was drunk, and rose to go inside. âGet up, Mawá¹£ilÄ«,â he said, âand go home. MasrÅ«r, I swear by my life that you will pay for it if you do not deliver 100,000 dirhams to his house before he arrives.â I was not party to what they said, so I left [deeply disappointed]. But, by God, my fears were allayed and I obtained what I had hoped for, for when I reached my house the 100,000 dirhams had already arrived!
§ My uncle told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ib AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing YaḥyÄ ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Ê¿Abd al-KhÄliq, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Faá¸l ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿, who said:
One night a messenger from al-RashÄ«d came out from behind the curtain to the singers with the order, âEach of you, sing this poemâ:
He continued:
Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ sang first, and when he finished al-RashÄ«d was greatly pleased and drank. Then IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« said, âMy lord, listen to it now from your little Nabatean,â151 and he sang it. Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ began to squirm from the first verse to the last. HÄrÅ«n was greatly pleased and said, âRaise the curtain!â Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ said to him, âSire, he learned it from me, by God!â Al-RashÄ«d turned to IbrÄhÄ«m and asked, âBy my life, is he telling the truth?â âYes, Sire, by your life, he is telling the truth,â he replied. âBut how did you manage to learn it from him when he is the most miserly of people when asked for anything?â âI got him to sing it once when he was drunk. He let himself go and sang it impeccably without taking any notice of me, and I learned it from him perfectly.â
§ Muḥammad ibn Mazyad told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
BarṣūmÄ152 the flute-player and Zalzal the lutenist were from the lower classes of the people of Kufa, rough, slovenly, and uncouth folks. One year my father took them with him on the pilgrimage. He instructed them in Arabic singing, showed them the placement of the notes, and taught them about etiquette and culture until they had reached the level of refinement required of anyone in the service of the caliph. They were each the most talented of that era in their craft.
My father told me:
Zalzal had a singing-girl whom he had raised and taught to play lute, and he asked me to teach her to sing, so I did. She was quite talented and skillful.
He continued:
But he made sure that nobody heard her. When he died, I heard that she was to be put up for sale at his funeral, so I went to put a stop to that. She sang the following verses:
He said: This poem is an elegy composed by a friend of his in Raqqa.
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
By God, I wept and my heart ached. So I went to al-RashÄ«d and I told him about her and he ordered that she be brought to him. He said to her, âSing the song that IbrÄhÄ«m told me you sang,â so she sang it and wept. Al-RashÄ«d took pity on her and his eyes welled up with tears. He said to her, âWould you like me to buy you?â âSire,â she replied, âYou are proposing what I would never have dared hope for, but it would be disloyal of me to allow anyone after my late master to own and enjoy me.â The caliphâs sympathy for her increased. âSing another song,â he said, and she sang:
Al-Rashīd ordered that she be purchased and set free, and he paid her a stipend until she died.
§ Muḥammad told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father, citing his grandfather, who said:
Al-RashÄ«d said to me one day, âIbrÄhÄ«m, come to me early tomorrow so that we can drink a morning draught together.â I replied, âWild horses could not keep me away.â153 So I went to him early the next day and we were alone except for a singing-girl as supple as a fresh bough of the ban tree154 or the plaits of a horseâs reins, beautiful to look at, with gentle features, holding a lute in her hands. He said to her, âSing!â and she sang verses by AbÅ« NuwÄs:155
IbrÄhÄ«m said:
I fell head over heels for her, so much so that I nearly lost control of myself. âWho is this, Sire?â I asked. He replied, âShe is the one about whom the poet has said:
Then he said to her, âSing!â so she sang:
The poetry is by AbÅ« al-Shayá¹£ and the music by Ê¿Amr ibn BÄna, in the âlight ramalâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret according to his book. There is another setting by al-Mutayyam in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm and another in âlight ramal.â
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
Al-RashÄ«d drank and filled first my glass then hers. Then he said, âSing, IbrÄhÄ«m!â so I sang what was in my heart without holding back:
He continued:
Al-Rashīd caught on to my allusions, but she paid me no attention.
He continued:
He ordered me to leave and did not send for me for a month, nor did I attend his gatherings. After a month, a servant slipped me a piece of paper on which was written:
The servant came to me with this piece of paper, and I asked him, âWhat is this?â âA message from the singing-girl so-and-so, who sang to you before the caliph.â I figured out what was up, so I cursed the servant, jumped on him, and beat him till my fury and rage were spent. I rode to al-RashÄ«d immediately and told him the story of what had happened, handing him the message. He laughed so hard he was nearly rolling on the floor. Then he said, âI did this to you intentionally to find out what you were up to.â Then he called for the servant. When he came out and saw me, he said, âMay God cut off your arms and legs! Blast you! You almost killed me!â I replied, âKilling is what you deserved after what you tried to do to me, but I had mercy on you and let you live. Iâve told the caliph to give you the punishment you deserve!â Al-RashÄ«d ordered that I be given an annual gift, but God knows that I did what I did, not out of virtue, but out of raw fear!
§ Muḥammad ibn Khalaf ibn al-MarzubÄn told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, who said:
My father told me that he heard al-RashÄ«d ask my grandfather IbrÄhÄ«m what he did when he wanted to compose melodies. He replied, âSire, I empty my mind of all other concerns, and then I picture ecstasy [á¹arab] before my eyes.156 The paths of the melodies I seek open up for me, and I follow them guided by the rhythm, and then I return having acquired and obtained what I sought.â âIbrÄhÄ«m, you deserve to acquire and obtain [whatever you desire], for the beauty of your description matches the beauty of your compositions and singing.â
§ Ibn al-MarzubÄn told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father, citing his grandfather, who said:
I once met YÅ«nus the Secretary157 when he was an old man. I sang for him and he said, âIf you live, youâll be the greatest singer of your era.â
§ ḤammÄd said that Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan said to him:
Each of the singers had their own preference when it came to light versus heavy songs. MaÊ¿bad had no peer when it came to the heavy repertory, whereas Ibn Surayj was the master of the âramalâ rhythms, and Ḥakam of the âhazajâ rhythm.158 No musicians were completely competent in all of the different types of songs except for Ibn Surayj, your grandfather IbrÄhÄ«m, and your father IsḥÄq.
§ My uncle told me, citing Aḥmad ibn al-Ṭayyib al-SarakhsÄ«, citing Aḥmad ibn ThÄbit al-Ê¿AbdÄ«, citing al-Hudhayl al-Ê¿AllÄf (the first of the MuÊ¿tazilite philosophers), citing ThumÄma ibn Ashras, who said:
I passed by IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« and YazÄ«d ḤawrÄʾ while they were sharing a morning draught and were singing a song together, taking turns, each singing one verse:
ThumÄma continued:
By God, it was so beautiful I could not imagine there were any pleasures left to experience in this world after hearing the two of them sing this!
§ Muḥammad ibn Mazyad told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, citing his grandfather IbrÄhÄ«m, who said:
I asked al-RashÄ«d to grant me one day a week when he would not send for me for any reason or pretext, so that I could spend it with my singing-girls and friends. He replied that I could have Saturdays free. âItâs a day I care little for, so do what you wish with it,â he said. I stayed home that Saturday, saw to the preparation of the food and the drink that I would need, and ordered the doorman to lock the doors and not allow anyone in to see me. While I was in my sitting room, with my servants around me and my singing-girls rehearsing nearby, there suddenly appeared a dignified, handsome, elderly gentleman wearing short boots of yellow leather, two fine tunics, a tight-fitting cap on his head, and a walking stick topped with silver in his hand. The scent of musk emanated from him and filled the room and house. When he entered despite my orders to be left alone, I was overcome with a rage the likes of which I had never felt before, and I contemplated firing my doorman and the other guards for letting him in. But he greeted me courteously, so I responded in kind and bade him sit, which he did. He then began to talk to me of family histories, the battle days of the ancient Arabs,159 of their historical accounts and poems until he made me forget my anger. I thought to myself that my servants must have intended to please me by admitting someone as cultured and elegant as this man into my presence.
âWould you like something to eat?â I asked. But he replied, âI have no need of it.â âWould you like some wine?â âAs you wish,â he responded. I drank a raá¹l of wine and poured the same for him. Then he asked me, âAbÅ« IsḥÄq, would you like to sing for me one of those compositions of yours that you have made so popular among nobles and commoners alike?â His words infuriated me, but I decided to go along with his request, so I picked up the lute, tested it, played a little, and then sang. âWell done, IbrÄhÄ«m!â he said. But my rage only increased, and I said to myself, âHe is not satisfied with what he has done, entering without permission, suggesting that I sing to him, but even goes so far as to call me by my given name rather than AbÅ« IsḥÄq, without addressing me respectfully!â Then he said, âWould you like to sing us a bit more?â To avoid being rude, I picked up the lute again and sang. âExcellent, AbÅ« IsḥÄq! Now finish off the set so that I can reward you, and then I will sing for you.â
I picked up the lute once again and sang, but this time took great care and performed what I sang exquisitely. I have never taken more care, nor performed more skillfully, even in front of a caliph or others, all because of his phrase, âSo that I can reward you.â He was delighted and said, âSir, you have done well!â Then he said, âWould you permit your humble servant to sing for you?â âAs you wish,â I replied, and thought that he must be weak-minded to sing to me after having heard me sing. He picked up the lute, concentrated, and then played it.160 By God, his playing was so beautiful it was as if he were making the lute speak pure Arabic! After which he sang:
Truly, from the beauty of his singing, I imagined that the very walls and doors and everything in my house were responding and singing along with him. I even imagined I could hear my limbs and clothes replying to him. I sat stunned, unable to speak, or answer, or move, from the intensity of what I felt in my heart. Then he sang:
I donât know a melody attributed to IbrÄhÄ«m for these verses, the only melody I know is by Muḥammad ibn al-ḤÄrith ibn Buskhunnar in the âlight ramalâ rhythm.
As God is my witness, I nearly went mad with ecstasy and delight when I heard this, and then he sang:
Then he said, âIbrÄhÄ«m, this is mÄkhÅ«rÄ« singing.162 Learn this and model your singing on it, and teach it to your singing-girls.â âRepeat the songs for me!â I replied. But he said, âYou donât need me to do that. Youâve already learned them perfectly.â Then he disappeared before my very eyes. I was frightened, so I got up, reached for my sword, and unsheathed it. I rushed over to check the doors of the womenâs quarters, but found all of them locked. I asked the singing-girls, âHave you heard anything from my side?â âWe heard the most beautiful singing that has ever been heard,â they replied. Confused, I went out to the main door of the house and found it locked as well. I asked the doorman about the old man. âWhat old man?â he asked. âBy God, no one has been allowed in to see you today.â I went back inside to think this over and suddenly I heard his voice speaking to me from a corner of the room. âDonât worry, AbÅ« IsḥÄq! I am IblÄ«s, the devil, and it was I who was your companion sitting with you today, so donât be frightened.â
I rode to al-RashÄ«dâs residence and said to myself, âIâve never told him anything as extraordinary as this!â I was ushered into his presence and told him the story. âBlast you,â he said, âConcentrate on those songs â can you still remember them?â I picked up the lute and tried out the songs, and found they were so deeply lodged in my heart that I could never forget them. Al-RashÄ«d was delighted and sat drinking, though he had not intended to do so. He ordered that I be given a reward and two loads of gifts, and he said, âThat old gentleman knew what he was saying when he told you that you had learned the songs perfectly. I hope someday he will come entertain me the same way he entertained you!â
The Origin of this Song
The version I know of the first song is in the âlight ramalâ rhythm and is by Muḥammad ibn al-ḤÄrith ibn Buskhunnar, and I have never heard a setting for these verses by IbrÄhÄ«m. As for the second song, the first line of which is:
O East wind from the Najd, when did you emerge from the Najd?
the poetry is by YazÄ«d ibn al-Ṭathriyya and the music is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âlight heavyâ rhythm on the ring-finger fret, according to Ê¿Amr. There is also a setting by Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Muṣʿab in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret according to al-HishÄmÄ« and Ê¿Amr. IbrÄhÄ«m mentioned that there is a melody by DaḥmÄn and one by Ibn al-Zubayr, but he did not mention their modes.
§ This is how Ibn AbÄ« al-Azhar told me the following anecdote, and I donât know what to say about it. Perhaps IbrÄhÄ«m concocted this story and told it as a fib, or perhaps it was concocted and told about him by others. The most reasonable origin of the anecdote is how Aḥmad ibn Ê¿Abd Al-Ê¿AzÄ«z al-JawharÄ« and Aḥmad ibn Ê¿Ubayd AllÄh ibn Ê¿AmmÄr both told it to me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing IsḥÄq ibn IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, citing his father, who said:
I had composed a melody that pleased me, but was having difficulty finding words for it. In a dream, I saw a man who came to me and said, âIbrÄhÄ«m, is the search for words for your song frustrating you?â âYes,â I replied. Then he said, âHow about the verses of DhÅ« al-Rumma163 where he saysâ:
I woke up and was pleased with the poetry, so I called to an accompanist and sang it. The words and the melody fit together better than anything God has ever created. When I realized that, having made that first song for those verses of DhÅ« al-Rumma, I took more notice of him and his poetry. I went on to compose other melodies in the mÄkhÅ«rÄ« rhythm for his poetry, including the following:
IbrÄhÄ«mâs compositions for these two poems are both in the mÄkhÅ«rÄ« rhythm on the middle-finger fret, which is the âsecond light heavyâ rhythm. All of the information about this subject are explained in the section on anecdotes about DhÅ« al-Rumma.164
§ Muḥammad ibn Mazyad told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father, who said â My father said to me:
JaÊ¿far ibn YaḥyÄ said to me one day, having found out that al-RashÄ«d had granted me and his other singers permission to leave the court, âCome visit me so that I can give you something nice.â I went to visit him and he said, âWhich would you rather â that I give you the nice thing that I promised you, or that I guide you to something that will earn you a thousand thousand dirhams?â âI prefer that the vizier â May God sustain him â guide me in that direction and let this guidance take the place of the nice thing he was going to give me.â He said, âThe caliph memorized the poetry of DhÅ« al-Rumma when he was young. He loves it and is deeply moved by it, and when he hears it sung, it delights him more than hearing the poetry of other poets whose poetry he has not memorized. So if you should sing for him at some point, and it pleases him and he orders that you be given a reward, stand up and kiss the ground before him and say, âI desire something other than this reward, something I would like to request from the caliph that would be of great benefit to me, but would not harm you or cause you to incur any loss.â He will say to you, âWhat is this request of yours?â âA request that would be easy for you, but is of no value or use to anyone else.â If he reacts positively to this, tell him, âGrant me the poetry of DhÅ« al-Rumma. Allow me to sing whatever I wish from his poetry, but forbid all other singers from infringing on this domain. For I love the poetry of DhÅ« al-Rumma so much, and find it so beautiful, that it spoils my pleasure to hear anyone else sing it!â But be sure to get a guarantee!â I acted on this advice from the vizier JaÊ¿far and after that, I never left al-RashÄ«d without a reward.
I held off breaching this topic with the caliph until the right moment arrived, then I stood up and asked al-RashÄ«d (as JaÊ¿far had told me to do) and I could see the gratification in his face. Al-RashÄ«d said, âWhat you have requested is not excessive; I hereby grant you what you have asked for.â The others in the court began to laugh at what I had requested and said, âYou thought you were asking for something magnificent!?â but IbrÄhÄ«m sat quietly without saying a word. âSire, would you permit me to ask for a guarantee?â I said. âAsk for whatever guarantee you like,â he replied. I said, âBy God, and by the Prophet, and the tomb of [your father] the caliph al-MahdÄ«, attest that you have granted me this in good faith, and swear to me that you will not give any other singer a reward for anything he sings to the words of DhÅ« al-Rumma â that will be my guarantee.â He swore earnestly before the other singers that if any of them should sing the poetry of DhÅ« al-Rumma, he would not reward them in any way, nor honor them, nor listen to their singing. Then I thanked him for this and kissed the ground before him, and we all left.
After that I sang a hundred songs and more to the poetry of Dhū al-Rumma and whenever al-Rashīd heard his verses in song he was delighted, even ecstatic, and he gave me generous rewards. No other singer benefited from this, and I earned a thousand thousand dirhams, and again a thousand thousand!
§ However, a different version of this anecdote is reported by JaÊ¿far ibn QudÄma ibn ZiyÄd the Secretary who said, HÄrÅ«n ibn Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd al-Malik al-ZayyÄt told me, citing AbÅ« KhÄlid al-AslamÄ«, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Umar al-JurjÄnÄ«, who said:
IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« said: I was once at a loss and couldnât find verses to set to music to sing for al-RashÄ«d, so I went into one of the rooms of my house depressed, lowered the curtains around me and started to cry. Suddenly there appeared in the room a disfigured old man who said to me, âHey, Mawá¹£ilÄ«, why do I see you sitting here depressed?â âI canât find verses for a song to sing to al-RashÄ«d tonight.â I replied. âWhat about the words of DhÅ« al-Rumma?â
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
He sang these verses to me to a tune, and repeated it until I learned it by heart, then I came to, feeling dazed. I called to one of my singing-girls and ordered her to bring a lute, and I kept on singing the song while she played in order to smooth out the setting. Then I went to HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d and sang it for him. He told the other singers to be quiet. Then he said, âSing it again!â which I did. He spent the rest of that night asking me to repeat it over and over. At dawn he ordered that I be given 30,000 dirhams and all of the furnishings of the room we were in. He said, âYou have been granted the poetry of DhÅ« al-Rumma, so sing it!â I composed many songs to his poetry and sang them. They pleased al-RashÄ«d and he rewarded me generously.
§ My uncle and Ibn al-MarzubÄn and al-Ḥasan ibn Ê¿AlÄ« all told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh al-SulmÄ«, citing AbÅ« GhÄnim, the client of Jabala ibn YazÄ«d al-SulmÄ«, who said:
IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, Zalzal, and BarṣūmÄ gathered to perform before al-RashÄ«d. Zalzal played lute, BarṣūmÄ played flute, and IbrÄhÄ«m sang the following:
HÄrÅ«n was ecstatic, leapt to his feet and shouted, âO Adam,165 if you could see who among your children are here with me now, you would be pleased!â Then he sat and said, âI ask Godâs forgiveness.â
The poetry that IbrÄhÄ«m was singing was by AbÅ« al-Ê¿AtÄhiya and the melody is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âlight heavyâ rhythm and on ring-finger fret.
§ Jaḥáºa told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
Al-RashÄ«d was deeply enamored of a concubine named MÄrida, but one time she grew angry with him, and he with her, and their falling out lasted for several days. JaÊ¿far ibn YaḥyÄ al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf was ordered [to compose a poem] and he composed the following verses:
Then al-Ê¿AbbÄs ordered IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« to set this to music and sing these verses for al-RashÄ«d. When al-RashÄ«d heard the song, he hastened to MÄrida and patched things up with her. She asked the reason for this and when she found out, she ordered that both al-Ê¿AbbÄs and IbrÄhÄ«m be given 10,000 dirhams. She then asked al-RashÄ«d to reward them on her behalf, so he ordered that they each be given an additional 40,000 dirhams.
§ JaÊ¿far ibn QudÄma told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father, who said:
The first prize given to a poet by al-RashÄ«d when he became caliph was the one he gave to IbrÄhÄ«m, who composed the following verses praising him on his ascension to the throne:
IbrÄhÄ«m sang these verses and al-RashÄ«d ordered that he be given 100,000 dirhams and YaḥyÄ gave him 50,000 more.
§ Al-Ḥasan ibn Ê¿AlÄ« told me, citing Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik, citing IsḥÄq al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«:
One day his father was playing backgammon with al-RashÄ«d and each had wagered the clothing he was wearing. He gambled with al-RashÄ«d and when al-RashÄ«d won, IbrÄhÄ«m stood up and began to remove his clothes, saying, âA wager over backgammon must be honored! You beat me fair and square and I am making good on my wager, so put on what I was wearing.â âWhat!?â al-RashÄ«d replied. âYou want me to wear your clothes?!â âYes, at least if you want to play fair. If you donât want to play fair, thatâs your prerogative, and Iâll let it pass.â âBlast you!â he said. âAnd otherwise I have to forfeit some penalty to get out of this?â âYes,â he replied. âAnd what would the penalty be?â âThatâs up to you so say, Sire, for no one is more entitled to do so than you are.â âIâll give you everything Iâm wearing.â âSo be it, Sire, with Godâs blessings.â Al-RashÄ«d called for another set of clothes, put them on, then took the clothes heâd been wearing and gave them to IbrÄhÄ«m.
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing Ê¿AlÄ« ibn Ê¿Abd al-KarÄ«m, who said:
Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ once visited IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, so IbrÄhÄ«m brought out thirty singing-girls who all played and sang together in unison. Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ said, âThere is one string thatâs out of tune.â Then IbrÄhÄ«m called out, âSo-and-so, tighten your second string.â She did and then it was in tune. I was amazed first of all that Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ was able to detect that one string out of 120 was out of tune, and even more amazed that IbrÄhÄ«m could pick out which one it was!
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus and ḤabÄ«b ibn Naá¹£r al-MuhallabÄ« both told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing IsḥÄq ibn IbrÄhÄ«m, who said, My father said:
We were with al-RashÄ«d in Raqqa where there was a wine-merchant from whom I used to buy high-quality, good-tasting wine and occasionally drink in his tavern. One day when I arrived, he pierced the seal of a wine-jug, and as he began pouring it into a glass pitcher, I saw that the wineâs color was bright and clear, so I began to sing:
The melody for these verses is by IbrÄhÄ«m in the âhazajâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret according to Ê¿Amr. There is another setting by SiyyÄá¹ in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm with the little finger as tonic with the third finger, according to IsḥÄq.
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
The wine-merchant was astonished at hearing my song, and I said to him, âWatch out! The wine in the pitcher is overflowing!â âDonât worry about the wine, AbÅ« IsḥÄq. Why is your voice so sad and raspy, has someone close to you died?â When I went back to al-RashÄ«d and told him this, he burst out laughing.166
§ Aḥmad ibn AbÄ« ṬÄhir mentioned that al-MadÄʾinÄ« had told him that IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« had said:
Al-RashÄ«d said to me one day, âIbrÄhÄ«m, I have set aside tomorrow to spend with my womenfolk and I will spend the evening drinking with my companions. You are the only singer I am inviting tomorrow, so donât get caught up with anything else or drink any wine â be here in the late evening.â âAs you wish, Sire.â âBy my fatherâs life, if you come late or make some sort of excuse, Iâll have your head cut off, understood?â âYes,â I replied. I left and hid from all the friends who came to visit, didnât read messages from anyone until I had prayed the sunset prayers, and then I rode off heading toward al-RashÄ«dâs residence. As I approached the open area in front of his home, I passed by the entrance of a palace where a large basket secured by ropes and four leather handles was dangling. A slave girl was standing there waiting for someone who, it had obviously been arranged, would come and sit in it. I wrestled with myself about the idea of getting into the basket, then I said to myself, âThis is a mistake â it might lead to something that would keep me from the caliph, and that would be my undoing!â I went back and forth, but I finally gave in and sat in the basket. It was hoisted upwards until it reached the upper floor of the palace.
I clambered out and stood up, and found a group of slave girls graceful as gazelles sitting there. They laughed and were delighted and said, âBy God, the one we wanted has arrived!â But when they saw me up close, they quickly hid themselves from view behind a curtain and said, âEnemy of God, what has brought you here?â âEnemies of God,â I replied, âWho is it that you hoped would be brought? And why should he be more worthy than I am?â We continued thus, with them laughing, and me laughing with them, until one of them said, âAs for the one we were hoping for, thatâs over and done with, but what an elegant man we have instead! Letâs go ahead and enjoy ourselves!â Food was brought out and I was invited to eat. I did not really have any desire to eat, but I hated to spoil the mood, so I partook of some food out of politeness. Then wine was brought out and we began to drink. Then they brought out three of their singing-girls who sang beautifully. One of them sang a song by MaÊ¿bad and one of the slave girls behind the curtain called out, âBravo, IbrÄhÄ«m! Thatâs one of his songs.â I replied, âNo, youâre wrong, thatâs not one of IbrÄhÄ«mâs songs, itâs by MaÊ¿bad.â âTrespasser, what would you know about singing?! Itâs by IbrÄhÄ«m!â The next girl sang a song by al-GharÄ«á¸, and the same voice said, âBravo, IbrÄhÄ«m! That is one of his songs, as well.â I replied, âNo, you are lying, wicked one, that oneâs by al-GharÄ«á¸.â âMay God disgrace him! Blast you, what do you know?!â Then the singing-girl sang a song of mine and the same voice called out, âWell done, Ibn Surayj! For that is one of his.â âYou are wrong,â I replied, âthat one is by IbrÄhÄ«m. You attribute the songs of others to him, and his to others!â âBlast you, what makes you think you know?â âBecause I am IbrÄhÄ«m!â They were all thrilled and delighted, and came out from behind the curtain, and said, âYou concealed your identity, but youâve delighted us.â I said, âNow I must bid you farewell.â âWhy?â they asked. So I told them about my arrangement with al-RashÄ«d. They laughed and said, âBut having you imprisoned here is so pleasant for us! Let the blame be ours if we only release you after a week!â âBut I will be executed,â I protested, but their only response was, âWho gives a damn!â And so, by God, I stayed with them for a whole week without leaving. At the end of the week they bade me farewell and said, âIf God keeps you safe, then come back to us in three days.â âI will,â I said. Then they sat me in the basket and I was set free.
I went on my way until I came to al-RashÄ«dâs residence. It turns out that the call had gone out throughout Baghdad to find me and that whoever brought me to the caliph was to be awarded my property and given all my wealth. I asked for permission to enter and the servants hastened to usher me in to al-RashÄ«d. When he saw me he cursed me, and said, âFetch the sword and the execution mat! So, IbrÄhÄ«m, you ignored my orders and busied yourself with common people despite the fact that I ordered you not to, and you spent time with other fools like yourself and spoiled my pleasure!â I said, âSire, I am here before you, and there is no escape from whatever you command. But I have an amazing story, the likes of which has never been heard, and it kept me from you by necessity, not by choice. Listen to it, and if it excuses me, please accept it, and if not, then you know what to do.â He said, âTell it, but it will not save you!â
So I told him what happened and he was silent for a moment and then said, âThat is indeed amazing. Can you take me to this place?â âYes,â I replied, âand I will arrange for you to sit with them if you wish before I go, so that you can be with them, or I can make an appointment and take you with me.â âMake an appointment,â he said. âI will do so,â I replied. Then he said, âIâll be waiting.â âIt will happen whenever you wish.â His mood changed and he bade me sit, then he drank and grew merry. When I woke up the next morning, he ordered me to leave and to return to him after visiting those slave-girls.
I went to them at the appointed time [three days later] and when I arrived at the place where the basket was hanging, I sat in it, and the slave-girls pulled me up. When they saw me, they were overjoyed and thanked God for my safety. I spent the night with them and when I wanted to leave, I said to them, âI have a brother at home who is just like me. He would like to spend time with you and I promised him I would arrange this.â âIf that is what you wish, then we will welcome him!â I made an appointment with them for the next night and left, then I went to al-RashÄ«d and told him about the arrangements.
When it was time, he came out in disguise and accompanied me until we arrived at the spot. I went up first, then he came up after me, and we entered together. God granted me success, for I had told the slave-girls that if my friend came, they should remain behind the curtain and that he should not hear them speaking. Everything about the choosing of songs or other communication should be exchanged in written messages. They did not disobey my orders in any way and remained fully concealed in utmost modesty. We drank a great deal. Al-RashÄ«d had ordered me not to address him as Commander of the Faithful, but when the wine began to have its effect, I inadvertently said, âO Commander of the Faithful.â The women instantly scurried away from behind the curtain and we could no longer discern any movement. Al-RashÄ«d said to me, âIbrÄhÄ«m, you have managed to escape a dire fate! By God, if a single one of those women had shown herself to you, I would have cut off your head. Letâs get going.â Then we left. It turns out that these slave girls belonged to him. He had grown angry with them and locked them up in that palace. The next day he sent servants and had them brought them back to his palace. He gave me 100,000 dirhams, and other gifts and favors were sent to me from the slave-girls after that as well.
§ JaÊ¿far ibn QudÄma told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, citing his father, who said:
I visited al-RashÄ«d one day and he said to me, âIâm feeling lazy and sluggish today. If you sing me a song that invigorates me, Iâll reward you well.â So I sang the following:
He was delighted and called for food, then he ate and drank, and ordered that I be given 1,000 dirhams.
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing IsḥÄq, who said, My father said to me:
YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid once said to me, âYour daughter DanÄnÄ«r [âDinarsâ] composed a song that I like and she is pleased with as well, but I said to her, âDonât be satisfied with it until I have you perform it for your father, AbÅ« IsḥÄq.ââ167
I [IbrÄhÄ«m] said to him, âTruly there is no blemish in the vizierâs knowledge â May God strengthen him â about this or any other song, for you are discerning and have the most discriminating taste and the most penetrating acumen. No song could please you, except one which is fine and true.â He replied, âEven if I am as you say, nevertheless, the people who practice a craft have more understanding of it than those who merely observe it without practicing it. So even if the two of us possessed equal knowledge of this craft, seeking out your opinion [as a practitioner] would still be more valuable, for my feelings for the composer of this particular song might cause me to consider something good when it is not. However, my pleasure in it would be greatly increased if, after hearing it, you too were to judge it truly beautiful.â I was shown to another room and found that a curtain had been set up, and that everything had been arranged before my arrival. I sat down, greeted the singing-girl, and said to her, âSing the song that the vizier â May God strengthen him â mentioned to me.â She replied, âThe vizier said to me, âIf IbrÄhÄ«m deems it good, let me know, for that will increase my own appreciation of it. And if not, then donât tell me, so that your standing with me will not be lowered.ââ I said, âSing it and let me listen to it.â She sang the following:
IbrÄhÄ«m continued:
She sang very well, without any mistakes. I asked to hear it again thinking to improve some portion of the song so that I would have some part in it, but I found nothing to fix. I said, âTruly you have done well, daughter, as well as you possibly could have.â Then I returned to YaḥyÄ and I swore oaths that satisfied him that many of the most skillful singers could not do as well or compose a song equal to it. I told him that I had asked to hear it again to find some spot in it that I could improve, but found none. He said, âYour evaluation of her based on this song is due to the quality of the instruction you have given her. Truly she has made me happy, so I will make you happy!â When I left, he sent 50,000 dirhams along after me.
§ My uncle and Ibn al-MarzubÄn both told me, citing Ibn AbÄ« SaÊ¿d, citing Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh al-SulmÄ«, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing IsḥÄq (though he did not say that he was citing his father), he said:
I was at home one day, at times thinking I would go out riding and at other times that I would just stay at home, when my servant entered with a messenger from al-RashÄ«d who ordered me to come to him immediately. So I mounted up and went to him. He said to me, âHave a seat, IbrÄhÄ«m, so that I can show you something amazing,â so I sat down. âI have a Bedouin woman here and her daughter.â The Bedouin woman was brought out along with her daughter, who was around ten years old. âIbrÄhÄ«m,â al-RashÄ«d said, âThis young girl composes poetry.â I asked her mother, âIs what the Commander of the Faithful says true?â She replied, âThe girl is right here in front of you â go ahead and ask her.â So I asked, âDear little one, do you compose poetry?â âYes,â she replied. âRecite for me something you have composed,â I said, and she recited the following verses:
In his account, al-ShabbÄ« [= Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba] said, IsḥÄq said:
My father was present and said, âSire, donât move and we shall compose a melody for these verses.â I created one for it, my father, and I, and all those who were present.â
But others said [in their accounts]:
IbrÄhÄ«m said, âI will not move until I compose a melody for this poem and sing it to her.â
Ibn al-MarzubÄn said in his account the following, which my uncle did not mention:
Then the girl said, âSire, if you thought what I recited was good, would you permit me to match it by reciting a poem in praise of IbrÄhÄ«m?â âDo so!â he replied, and she recited the following verses:
Al-Rashīd ordered that she be given a reward and ordered that I be given 10,000 dirhams, half of which I gave to her.
The melody that IbrÄhÄ«m composed for the poetry of the Bedouin girl is in the âfirst heavyâ rhythm on the middle-finger fret. Ê¿AllÅ«ya has a version in the âsecond heavyâ rhythm. As for the second poem, it is without doubt by Ibn SayÄba. IbrÄhÄ«m composed a setting for it in the âlight heavyâ rhythm.
§ Muḥammad ibn al-Mazyad told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
I learned this song from a madman in Medina169 and sang it for al-Rashīd:
He was delighted and gave me a bag he had with him filled with 1,000 unminted170 silver dirhams. Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ was there and said, âSire, listen to the singing of intelligent men and leave off the singing of madmen.â He was the most jealous person alive! Then he sang:
Al-Rashīd was delighted and drank and ordered that he be given 500 gold dinars. Muḥammad ibn Ḥamza Wajh al-Qarʿa was next and sang:
Al-Rashīd liked this as well and drank to it, and awarded him 500 gold dinars. Then ʿAllūya sang:
Al-RashÄ«d called for him and said to him, âYou who bite your motherâs clitoris! Dare you sing in praise of beardless youths and reproach grey-haired men while my womenfolk are behind the curtain and I have grown grey. Itâs as if you were alluding to me directly!â Then he called for MasrÅ«r and ordered him to seize Ê¿AllÅ«ya by the hand and give him thirty lashes and remove him from the gathering, all of which he did. We did not enjoy the rest of the day, nor did al-RashÄ«d. He shunned Ê¿AllÅ«ya for a month then asked us about him and forgave him.
§ There are many anecdotes about IbrÄhÄ«m and a woman named Kunth, known as DhÄt al-KhÄl [âthe girl with the moleâ] whom he loved. But I have placed them in a separate section of this work, for she is worthy of attention in and of herself, beyond her role in the abundant anecdotes about him.171 He composed many poems about this singing-girl, some set to music by him and by others. For I stipulated [in the introduction to this work] that when it came to anecdotes about poets and singers, if this were the case, I would devote a separate section to them, so as not to interrupt the flow of related and relevant anecdotes with ones that would be superfluous and intrusive.172
§ Muḥammad ibn YaḥyÄ al-ṢūlÄ« told me, citing al-Husayn ibn YaḥyÄ, who said:
I heard IsḥÄq say, âAt the beginning of the year 188 [803/04], my fatherâs colic grew worse and persisted, whereas it previously had only afflicted him from time to time. He retired from the service of the caliph and from his regular shift [nawba] at the caliphâs residence, about which he saidâ:
He sang this to a melody in the âramalâ rhythm, and these were the last verses and the last melody he composed.
§ Al-ṢūlÄ« told me, citing Muḥammad ibn MÅ«sÄ, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father:
Al-RashÄ«d mounted his donkey and went to visit IbrÄhÄ«m while he was sitting in the medicinal bath.173 âHow are you, IbrÄhÄ«m?â he asked and IbrÄhÄ«m responded, âTruly, my lord, I am as the poet said:
Al-RashÄ«d said, âWe all belong to God!â and then left, but he had not gone far before he heard IbrÄhÄ«mâs dying gasps.
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, who said:
IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« died in the year 188 [803/04], and on that same day died al-KisÄʾī the grammarian,174 al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf the poet,175 and Hushayma the female tavern-keeper.176 News of this was brought to al-RashÄ«d, and his son al-MaʾmÅ«n ordered that prayers be said over them. He went out and people lined up before him, and he said, âWho is at the head [of the procession]?â âIbrÄhÄ«m,â he was told. âPlace him last and move al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf to the front,â he replied. So his body was brought forward and al-MaʾmÅ«n prayed over him. When it was all over and he had left, HÄshim ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn MÄlik al-KhuzÄÊ¿Ä« caught up with him and asked, âMy lord, why did you think it appropriate to place al-Ê¿AbbÄs in the front over the others?â He replied, âBecause of his verses
âHave you memorized it?â he asked. âYes,â I replied. âThen recite the rest of it for me.â So I recited it:
Al-MaʾmÅ«n said, âIsnât he who composed those words worthy of being at the front.â âIndeed, my lord,â I replied.
§ YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« bin YaḥyÄ told me, citing ḤammÄd ibn IsḥÄq, citing his father, who said:
BarṣūmÄ the flute-player said to me [IsḥÄq], âAfter all my service, my affection, and my thanks to you, do I not have the right and deserve that you should grant me one request? That you give me one day of your life during which I can do whatever I wish and you will not oppose me in the slightest?â âYou have indeed earned this right â I grant you one day,â I replied. He came to me later and said, âGive orders that I be clothed.â I did so, and I included a beautifully ornamented robe, which was quite showy. He said, âNow let us go to the sitting room where I used to visit your father.â So all of us went to that room, which I had ordered be perfumed and scented with incense. When we got to the door of the sitting room, he threw himself on the ground, rolled in the dirt, and wept. He took out his reed flute and began to grieve through his playing, moving around the room and kissing each of the places where AbÅ« IsḥÄq used to sit. He wept and played until he had achieved his aim. Then he grabbed the clothing with his hands and tore it. I tried to calm him down and began to cry with him, and after a while he quieted down. Then he called for his own clothes, put them on, and said, âI asked you to clothe me so that people would not say that BarṣūmÄ destroyed his own clothes so that he might be clothed in better clothing afterwards.â Then he said, âLetâs go back to your house, for I have done what I needed to do.â I returned to my home and he stayed with me that whole day, and left in brand new clothes.
§ IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn YÅ«nus told me, citing Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba, citing al-QÄsim ibn YazÄ«d, who said:
When IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« died, I went to see Ibn al-MahdÄ«. He was drinking and his singing-girls were singing. We reminisced about IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, about his skill and his accomplishments, but while the rest of us were speaking about this, Ibn al-MahdÄ«âs head was bowed in silence. When our conversation had gone on for quite a while, and each of us had said things similar to what our companions had said, Ibn al-MahdÄ« suddenly began to sing the poetry of Ibn SayÄba, eulogizing IbrÄhÄ«m â though some say the verses are by AbÄ« al-Asad:
Al-QÄsim continued:
He made all those present weep, and I said to myself, âDo you suppose that either the prayer niche or the Holy Book will weep over his death?â He said, âMore likely theyâll be gloating over his demise!â
§ YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« told me: âḤammÄd recited these verses to me, saying, âMy father himself recited these verses to me, eulogizing his father, IbrÄhÄ«mââ â and people other than YaḥyÄ have recited it as well, though they made additions, according to his account:
§ Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn IsmÄÊ¿Ä«l ibn IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, known as WaswÄsa, told me: ḤammÄd recited to me verses by his father IsḥÄq, eulogizing his father, IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«:
WaswÄsa continued:
ḤammÄd recited another poem by his father eulogizing his father:
§ YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« told me, citing AbÅ« AyÅ«b al-MadanÄ«, who said, IbrÄhÄ«m ibn Ê¿AlÄ« ibn HishÄm recited verses to me by a man who was eulogizing IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«:
§ Muḥammad ibn Mazyad told me, citing ḤammÄd, citing his father, who said:
I visited al-RashÄ«d a month after my fatherâs death, and when I sat down and saw that the place where my father used to sit was empty, my eyes welled up with tears, but I held them back and persevered. Al-RashÄ«d glanced over at me and then called to me to come close to him. I kissed his hand and his feet and the ground before him. He began to cry, but did so discreetly, so I leapt to my feet and said:
Al-RashÄ«d said, âYes, that, by God, is the truth. You will suffer no loss from your fatherâs death, other than his person, as long as I am alive.â He then ordered that IbrÄhÄ«mâs salary be added to IsḥÄqâs. I said, âSire, would you instead bestow it on my children, for being in service to you is enough reward for me.â Al-RashÄ«d replied, âAssign IbrÄhÄ«mâs salary to IsḥÄqâs children, and double IsḥÄqâs salary!â
YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« ibn YaḥyÄ al-Munajjim (855â912) was the author of several works on music, as well as being a major intellectual figure of his day. He was the fourth generation of his family to serve as courtiers and officials to the Ê¿Abbasid caliphs. The family name derived from YaḥyÄâs great-grandfather, AbÅ« Manṣūr, who served as court astrologer (Ar. munajjim) to the second Abbasid caliph, al-Manṣūr (r. 754â775). His father was a great devotee of music and studied with IsḥÄq, son of IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«. YaḥyÄ al-Munajjim authored one of the most important treatises on music theory to survive into the present and it is through his writings that the musical indications used by al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ« in KitÄb al-AghÄnÄ«, originally created by IsḥÄq al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, have been deciphered by modern scholars. See Owen Wright, âIbn al-Munajjim and the early Arabian Modes.â The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 19 (April 1966): 27â48.
MÄhÄn is a Persian name and MaymÅ«n is Arabic. The âshameâ involved here is that his fatherâs Persian name indicates that he had not converted to Islam even though he lived decades after the Islamic conquest of Iran in 651. By changing his fatherâs name to an Arabic one, IbrÄhÄ«m is effectively erasing part of his familyâs history and substituting a more politically favorable one, a continuation of the process that his father had begun by forging a âclientâ [mawlÄ] relationship with an Arab clan and placing him in a âmilk brotherâ relationship with a scion of that tribe, as described further on, see Cooperson, ââArabsâ and âIraniansâ.â
Located in the south-central region of modern Iran.
The Arabic term raá¸ÄÊ¿ implies that they were âmilk brothers,â that is, having suckled from the same woman as infants. The Qurʾan includes several references to this practice, see for example: Q 2:233, âIf ye decide on a foster-mother for your offspring, there is no blame on you.â Marriage between any children suckled by the same woman was forbidden (Q 4:23), and a âmilk brotherâ was owed nearly the same loyalty as a brother by blood.
Ar. fÄ« l-á¹ÄÊ¿Å«n al-jÄrif: The plague referred to in historical works as the JÄrif plague struck the city of Basra in the year 69 [688â89 CE], so this is probably a reference instead to a plague that struck the city of Kufa, where IbrÄhÄ«m was born, in the year 125 [742â43 CE].
Khuzayma ibn KhÄzim ibn Khuzayma al-TamÄ«mÄ« (d. 818/19), was a powerful figure in the early Ê¿Abbasid caliphate, son of a distinguished military commander. He played a significant role in securing the throne for HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d by supporting his claim over that of the infant son of HÄrÅ«nâs older brother, MÅ«sÄ al-HÄdÄ«. Both al-HÄdÄ« and HÄrÅ«n were patrons of IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«.
Ar. walÄʾ: in the early Islamic centuries walÄʾ was a bond between a non-Arab convert to Islam and an Arab clan or tribe that involved loyalty and even fealty; the term mawlÄ (a person in such a relationship) is often translated as âclient.â
Lit. âthat is why they took us on as clientsâ [fa-tawallawnÄ bi-hÄdhÄ l-sabab].
Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula used names that indicated their clan and/or tribal affiliation. Names derived from geographical origins, known as a nisba in Arabic, were usually generated from the place of oneâs birth or the regional origin of oneâs family, for example, the name of the author of this work, al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ« (from the city of Isfahan). Such geographic names were common among Arabizing converts who did not possess tribal names. Since IbrÄhÄ«m was not born in Mosul, nor was his family from there, his nisba of al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« was unusual and generated conflicting accounts as to why he was known as âthe man from Mosul.â
Ar. á¹£aÊ¿ÄlÄ«k: vagabonds, petty thieves, possibly even brigands.
A different account of how IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« developed a passion for singing is offered in the biography of JamÄ«la, transmitted by IbrÄhÄ«mâs older sister to her nephew, IsḥÄq: âThe reason your father was so persistent in learning to sing was a song by JamÄ«la that he heard in the home of YÅ«nus ibn Muḥammad the Secretary â¦â KA VIII: 220 ff.
Ibn KhurradÄdhbih (c. 820â912), known primarily for his geographical compendium KitÄb al-MasÄlik wa-l-MamÄlik [The Book of Roads and Kingdoms], also composed a significant work on music KitÄb al-lahw wa-l-malÄhÄ« [The Book of Entertainments and Musical Instruments]. Al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ«, however, repeatedly expresses his disdain for Ibn KhurradÄdhbihâs scholarship and rejects many of his statements as false.
Muḥammad ibn Mazyad ibn Abī al-Azhar (d. 937) was a literary figure, secretary to the famous grammarian al-Mubarrad (d. 898/99), and a prolific transmitter of literary and historical information.
The spelling DÅshÄr is Arabized, derived from Persian dÅ shÄr.
DÅshÄr gave birth to one daughter, but no sons, which may explain IbrÄhÄ«mâs second marriage to ShÄhak. The following information is from the biography of IsḥÄq, IbrÄhÄ«mâs son: âIsḥÄqâs mother was a woman from Rayy called ShÄhak. Some say that his mother was DÅshÄr, who used to sing while accompanying herself on the tambourine [daff], whom IbrÄhÄ«m fell in love with and married, but this is false. DÅshÄr only gave birth to a daughter. IsḥÄq and all of IbrÄhÄ«mâs other children were from ShÄhak.â KA V: 271.
Second caliph of the Ê¿Abbasid dynasty, r. 754â775.
Located on the Tigris River in southern Iraq, near the city of Basra.
Arabized spelling, derived from Persian javÄn â Åya âlittle young man.â
A minor member of the royal Ê¿Abbasid-HÄshimÄ« family.
Third Ê¿Abbasid caliph, r. 775â785.
Members of a branch of the Ê¿Abbasid-HÄshimÄ« family, related to the first two Abbasid caliphs, al-SaffÄḥ (r. 750â754) and al-Manṣūr (r. 754â775). This account conflicts with the preceding passage where IbrÄhÄ«m is said to have been a member of the household of Muḥammad ibn SulaymÄn, rather than that of his brother Ê¿AlÄ« ibn SulaymÄn, and to have been âcommandeeredâ by the caliph al-MahdÄ« from Muḥammad rather than from Ê¿AlÄ«.
Fulayḥ ibn AbÄ« al-Ê¿AwrÄʾ (late 8th/early 9th centuries) â singer who performed before the caliph al-MahdÄ« and later HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d, best known as one of the three singers, along with IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« and Ibn JÄmiÊ¿, who were asked to make a list of the hundred best songs for the caliph HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d.
Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn Wahb (c. 739â785), known as SiyyÄá¹ â singer who performed before the caliphs al-MahdÄ« and his son, MÅ«sÄ al-HÄdÄ«.
Al-Faá¸l ibn al-RabÄ«Ê¿ was the son of al-RabÄ«Ê¿ ibn YÅ«nus, who served as vizier under al-MahdÄ« and his father, the caliph al-Manṣūr (r. 754â775 CE). He himself served as vizier to al-MahdÄ«âs grandson, al-AmÄ«n (r. 809â13).
It is unclear whether SallÄm or the caliph himself struck him with the sword scabbard.
Ar. khalÄʾ: see foonote 5, KA V: 161.
AbÅ« l-Ê¿AtÄhiya (748â826 or 828), was a major poet of the early Ê¿Abbasid era. He is said to have first traveled to the capital city of Baghdad with IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, where he did not achieve immediate success. Eventually attending the court of al-MahdÄ«, he angered the caliph by composing indiscreet love poems to one of his concubines, Ê¿Utba, which eventually landed him in prison. IbrÄhÄ«m is therefore quoting the verses of a close friend who had suffered a similar fate in al-MahdÄ«âs dungeon.
In August 785.
Ar. á¹Ä«b: perfumes and scents used for washing hands and fumigation, see Charles Perry, Scents and Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook (NY: New York University Press, 2017): 5â16.
Muḥammad ibn Khalaf WakÄ«Ê¿ al-á¸abbÄ« (d. 918), a Baghdadi scholar, best known for one of his few surviving works, a history of judges, AkhbÄr al-Quá¸Ät [Anecdotes about Judges].
Muḥammad ibn Khalaf ibn al-MarzubÄn (d. 921) was a philologist and historian, and a prolific translator of works from Persian into Arabic.
HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d, the second son of the caliph al-MahdÄ«, ruled after the death of his brother, al-HÄdÄ« in 786 until his own death in 809.
The exchange rate between gold dinars and silver dirhams fluctuated considerably, so it is difficult to make an accurate comparison between the original price of 40,000 dirhams and the final payment of 36,000 dinars. It is clear, however, that IbrÄhÄ«m earned a handsome profit.
Lit. âMay God make me your ransom/sacrificeâ [jaÊ¿alanÄ« AllÄh fidÄʾaka], a common expression indicating that one wouild be willing to sacrifice oneâs own life to save the otherâs.
Al-Faá¸l ibn RabÄ«Ê¿ and al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ al-BarmakÄ« were from powerful rival families who held a variety of high offices under the Ê¿Abbasids, including postings as governors, chamberlains, and viziers.
Ê¿Umar ibn Shabba (789â878), a renowned scholar particularly known as an authoritative transmitter of historical and literary information, quoted frequently by al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ« in KA.
That is, he was given cash rather than the actual properties.
Al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ« includes under the term used here, nisba, the origin and attribution of the lyrics, that is, who composed the poem from which the song lyrics have been drawn, as well as the name of the composer of the melody, and information about the melodic mode and rhythm of the song. He often also offers information about other songs that share the same melody or the same lyrics by other singer-composers.
Fakhkh, a place three miles distant from Mecca.
The Lesser Pilgrimage (Ar. Ê¿umra) can be performed at any time of year, while the full or greater pilgrimage (Ar. ḥajj) can only be performed during the annual month of pilgrimage. The verb labbÄ here refers to saying the phrase labbayka AllÄhumma labbayka (âHere I am, Lord, at your serviceâ) said by pilgrims during the pilgrimage.
Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn Numayr, known primarily for his love poetry, was one of the poets of the Umayyad period, born and raised in al-ṬÄʾif.
Ibn Surayj (fl. late 7th century) was a leading singer under the Umayyad dynasty (661â750); al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ« quotes IsḥÄq al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« as saying: âThe origin of [Arabic] singing lies in four individuals, two from Mecca and two from Medina: the two Meccans were Ibn Surayj and Ibn Muḥriz and the two Medinans were MaÊ¿bad and MÄlik.â KA I: 250.
YaḥyÄ ibn MarzÅ«q al-MakkÄ« (c. 728âc. 833) â a leading singer under the early Ê¿Abbasid caliphs and the author of a book of songs, KitÄb fÄ« l-aghÄnÄ«, which, revised by his son Aḥmad ibn YaḥyÄ al-MakkÄ« (d. 864), is said to have included 3,000 songs (Farmer A History of Arabian Music, p. 114).
Ê¿Amr ibn BÄna (d. 891), a singer and author of two songbooks (Farmer, History, pp. 157â58).
Ḥabash (fl. 9th c), famous primarily as a collector of songs, frequently cited by al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ«.
Ê¿Azza al-MaylÄʾ (fl. late 7th c.) was a famous female singer of the old Arabian school who lived and performed in Medina.
Aḥmad ibn JaÊ¿far Jaḥáºa (c. 839â936), a prominent instrumentalist and player of the á¹unbÅ«r (long-necked lute); he authored a work titled KitÄb al-á¹unbÅ«riyyÄ«n [The Lives of the ṬunbÅ«r-Players] that has not survived, and was one of al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ«âs main informants.
AbÅ« Bakr Muḥammad al-ṢūlÄ« (c. 874âc. 946), historian, prominent literary figure, courtier and legendary chess-player; in the field of literature his greatest contribution was the compilation and publication of the dÄ«wÄns (complete works) of a number of the most famous Ê¿Abbasid-era poets. He studied with YaḥyÄ ibn Ê¿AlÄ« ibn YaḥyÄ al-Munajjim whose father studied music with IsḥÄq ibn IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, hence his authority as a transmitter of information about the latterâs life.
YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid (d. 805), a member of the powerful BarmakÄ« family who served as vizier under HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d for seventeen years, but was imprisoned when the BarmakÄ« fell from grace in 803 â he was beheaded in 805.
The TihÄma is the coastal plain along the Red Sea and the Najd is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.
Al-Ê¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnaf (750â809) â a poet who enjoyed the particular favor of HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d and composed almost exclusively love poems.
IbrÄhÄ«m ibn al-MahdÄ« (779â839), son of the caliph al-MahdÄ«, half-brother of HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d; he was a singer and composer, and IbrÄhÄ«m al-MawṣīlÄ«âs main rival in court. He is portrayed by al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ« as an innovator who promulgated a new Persianized style of music, in contrast to al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«âs older âclassicalâ Arabian style.
Ar. ashrÄf, usually the descendants of the Prophet, but here more likely a reference to nobles in general.
Ḥakam ibn MaymÅ«n (fl. second half of 8th century), his father was the barber of the Umayyad caliph al-WalÄ«d ibn Ê¿Abd al-Malik (r. 705â15) and he himself worked as a cameleer before becoming a singer. He sang accompanying himself only on the tambourine (kÄn yanqur al-daff wa-yughannÄ« murtajilan) and performed before al-WalÄ«d and later for al-RashÄ«d. KA VI: 280â88.
Apparently female slaves who were beautiful [ḥusnÄʾ] did not need to be trained in singing because they could be sold as concubines, whereas those who were á¹£ufr (lit. âyellowâ), an adjective often applied to Byzantine slaves, or sÅ«d (lit. âblackâ), usually indicating African origins, were trained as singers to increase their value. IbrÄhÄ«m is here said to have been the first to train muthammanÄt (lit. âexpensiveâ), i.e. beautiful slave girls, as singers.
AbÅ« Ê¿Unayna ibn Muḥammad al-MuhallabÄ« (fl mid to late 8th c.) â poet known primarily for his love poetry, see Ameur Ghédira, âDeux poètes contemporains de BaÅ¡Å¡ar, les frères Ibn AbÄ« Ê¿Uyayna,â Arabica X, no. 2 (1963): 154â87.
IbrÄhÄ«m Ibn al-SayÄba, a middling poet whose fame at court was due primarily to his close friendship with IbrÄhÄ«m and IsḥÄq al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, who frequently set his verses to music, according to al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ«, KA XII: 88.
A different version of this poem occurs later in this text, see p. 99.
Aḥmad ibn AbÄ« ṬÄhir ibn ṬayfÅ«r (819/820â893), Baghdadi literary figure cited a number of times in KA, and most famous for his history of Baghdad and works on literary criticism.
Ê¿AlÄ« ibn YazÄ«d AbÅ« DiÊ¿Äma, see KA IV: 8.
Aḥmad ibn AbÄ« Fanan á¹¢Äliḥ (fl. 9th c.), poet and secretary who achieved fame under the patronage of Muḥammad ibn Ê¿AbdallÄh ṬÄhir, governor of Baghdad (d. 867).
Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ (fl. late 8th c), the teacher of IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«âs major rival, Ibn al-MahdÄ«.
Ar. qad khariʾa ustÄdhuka fÄ«h in the Cairo edition; an alternative reading, however, is khazÄ ustÄdhuka fÄ«h, âYour teacher has disgraced himself with this performance,â see KA V: 173, note 3.
JaÊ¿far ibn QudÄma ibn ZiyÄd (d. c. 931), secretary and poet close to the Ê¿Abbasid prince, poet, and musician, Ibn al-MuÊ¿tazz (d. 908).
AbÅ« l-Ê¿AynÄʾ, a blind Basran satirical poet known for his wit and eloquence (d. c. 896).
Court poets were regularly expected to demonstrate their skills by composing a continuation (âcapâ) to verses by supplying a second hemistich for a first hemistich, a second verse for a first verse, or, in this case, several verses in the same meter and rhyme to complete the poem.
The final word is a pun â the Syriac word shÄ«n means peace, but the Arabic word shayn means shame or disgrace.
Bará¹£awmÄ (or BarṣūmÄ) is the most prominent flute player [zÄmir] to appear in the pages of KA. An account of his skill in accompanying singers is given by Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ (KA VI: 302â03): âIf a singer sings to the accompaniment of a [skilled] flute player, most of the work is done by the flute player, because the latter does not [simply] follow the path [of the voice]. When Bará¹£awmÄ plays the flute Iâm at ease while he exerts himself, whereas if someone else accompanies me on the flute, heâs at ease and Iâm the one exerting myself. If you doubt my word, ask Bará¹£awmÄ and Manṣūr Zalzal [the lute-player].â âSo they asked both of them about what Ibn JÄmiÊ¿ had said, and they both responded: âThatâs correct.ââ Adapted from George Sawa, Music Performance Practice in the early Ê¿Abbasid Era 132â320 A.H./750â932 A.D. (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1989) ([rpt. 2004]:153).
Ar. afÄda akthar min fawÄʾidihi in the sense of âhe transmitted/conveyed more.â
Unvoweled in KA, so her name might be KhammÄr (âwine merchantâ), KhimÄr (âface veilâ), or even KhumÄr (âhangoverâ).
Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, a servant who was raised in the household of the caliph al-Mahdī. His skill at playing chess earning him his nickname. When he died, al-Mahdī devoted his attentions to his daughter, ʿUlayya.
MukhÄriq (fl. c. 800â844/45), one of the major singers of the early Ê¿Abbasid period. The son of a butcher, he was first trained as a slave in the household of the female singer Ê¿Ätika bint Shuhda, who later sold him to IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«. After completing his training, IbrÄhÄ«m eventually gave him as a gift to al-Faá¸l ibn YaḥyÄ al-BarmakÄ«, who in turn presented him to HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d, who eventually granted him his freedom.
Ar. raá¹liyya â a cup large enough to hold a raá¹l (of wine, for example).
It is unclear exactly what IbrÄhÄ«m is up to here: the simmering pots suggest that he might be sitting down to eat, but the tub and the three different types of cups may mean that he is preparing wine, which was often served diluted with water.
During musical performances a curtain was sometimes set up to shield female slave-singers and musicians from the view of male visitors, as occurs several times in the remainder of this anecdote.
Ar. dawÄt, see Sawa, Music Performance Practice, pp. 146â7; medieval inkwells from Islamic lands were often made of metal, and since they were usually close at hand, they were frequently used as make-shift percussion instruments.
ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, a poet who sang in Basra with his singing-girls in licentious circles, but later was patronized by the Barmakī family.
Voweling uncertain: MurÄqish? MarÄqish?
Ar. á¸araba can mean to set up the curtain or to strike the curtain as a signal to the singing girls behind it; other verbs used with curtains were to âset upâ (naá¹£aba), to âraiseâ (rafaÊ¿a), to âdrawâ (madda), and to âlowerâ (arhkhÄ), see Neubauer, Musiker am Hof, pp. 82â87. Illustrations of such curtains in sources such as the MaqÄmÄt of al-ḤarÄ«rÄ« show curtains that are suspended from wooden frames or from curtain rods.
Tearing a piece of clothing was a common display of great pleasure or rapture [Ar. á¹arab] in reaction to beautiful singing.
MarwÄn ibn AbÄ« Ḥafá¹£a (fl. 8th c.) was a member of a famous literary family that boasted no less than six distinguished poets in the early Islamic period (see EI2 âMarwÄn al-Akbar ibn AbÄ« Ḥafá¹£aâ).
Ar. á¹arÄ«qa can refer to the melodic mode, rhythm, or both, see Geroge Sawa An Arabic Musical and Socio-cultural Glossary of KitÄb al-AghÄni (Leiden: Brill, 2015): 324.
Ar. khankara: a footnote in KA (KA V: 183, note 3) glosses this as âsang,â but Dozy, Supplément, lists it as a synonym for saḥara and fatana â to dazzle, infatuate, seduce, mesmerize, captivate, hence the translation âregale.â
Some caliphs, including al-Manṣūr, al-HÄdÄ«âs grandfather, regularly separated themselves from male musicians and courtiers by sitting behind a curtain. See Sawa, Musical Performance Practice, pp. 122â23; also, Neubauer, Musiker am Hof, pp. 82â87.
Lit. âIf Saturnâs coldness does not impede meâ: the name of the planet Saturn (Ar. zuḥal) derives from a root meaning âto be distant, removedâ and was at times used in Arabic poetry to portray majesty or exaltedness. The poet al-MutanabbÄ« used the image of Saturn to refer to his ruler and patron Sayf al-Dawla in a famous verse. The phrase here probably refers to the caliph, hence the translation âIf it should please your Highness.â See EI2, âZuḥal.â
Tearing onesâ clothing was a standard display of deeply felt emotion, here of pleasure, but elsewhere of grief.
The Azure Spring (Ar. al-Ê¿ayn al-zarqÄʾ) was the primary source of water for the city of Medina. MarwÄn ibn al-Ḥakam built a structure around it in 662â63, when he was governor there. Some sources claim that it was called the Azure Spring in reference to MarwÄnâs bright blue eyes. In any case, IbrÄhÄ«m is deliberately asking for something the caliph cannot give possibly him.
For a discussion of composers changing the order of verses when assembling a song text, see Kilpatrick, Making, pp. 58â59.
AbÅ« YazÄ«d Ê¿Abd al-Malik (d. c. 716) known as al-GharīḠ(âthe tender-voicedâ), was a student of Ibn Surayj and is often cited as one of the four great singers of the early Islamic period.
Ibn Ê¿Äʾisha (fl early 8th c.), one of the major singers of Medina, a student of MaÊ¿bad, who performed in the court of the Umayyad caliph, al-WalÄ«d ibn YazÄ«d (r. 743â44).
ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabīʿa (d. c. 712), a prominent pleasure-loving poet of the Umayyad era known for his love songs that innovatively featured dialogues with the women he attempted to charm, and were suggestive rather than vulgar or obscene.
The branch and the dune are common motifs in classical Arabic poetry to express the slenderness of a womanâs waist rising from the breadth of her hips; pomegranates are an equally common metaphor for a womanâs breasts.
Al-Ḥusayn ibn al-á¸aḥḥÄk (d. 864), a profligate poet best known for his wine poetry who frequented the Ê¿Abbasid court from the reign of HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d to the brief reign of al-Muntaá¹£ir (r. 862).
Ar. qisma refers to dividing the melodic phrases over the rhythm, parallel to the idea of tajziʾa, dividing syllables into feet and meters, in poetry. Presumably this means either that MukhÄriq made a melodic phrase too long or short at one point, or incorrectly placed the syllables on the melodic setting, perhaps within a melisma. See Sawa, Glossary, p. 412.
The Arabic uses a facile morphological rhyme (-ih), rendered here with the phrase: âof it.â
Qays ibn Dharīḥ (d. c. 689) was an early love poet whose lifelong attachment to his wife LubnÄ, despite being forced to divorce her because she was childless, became renowned along with his poems addressed to her.
JarÄ«r ibn Ê¿Aá¹iyya (d. c. 729), one of the most famous poets of his era, was the master of several genres of poetry, but he is most often remembered for the invective poems (naqÄʾiá¸) he exchanged with his rival, al-Farazdaq (d. 728) over several decades, which are still read today as a masterpieces of early Arabic literature.
Muzj is a body of water at some distance from Medina, Laá¹£aq has not been identified, but may be a corruption of Laá¹£af, a pool of water on the road from Mecca, Hakir is a place near Medina, NaqÄ«r is located between the ḤijÄz and Baá¹£ra, and ḤilÄl is near Yemen. See KA V: 194, notes 2â6.
There is a lacuna in the text. Normally after this heading al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ« gives the poem from which the song lyrics were taken. On the various incomplete passages of KA, see Kilpatrick, Making, pp. 30â33.
The words âAn emissary fromâ do not appear in the text, but it is clear from what follows that it is an emissary, and not the ruler himself, who is visiting.
Villages that were famous for their wine-taverns.
Ar. rajjaʿa, to sing in a quavering voice that expresses intense emotion.
The quavering voice (tarjÄ«Ê¿) was apparently associated with the singing of funeral lamentations, Ar. nawḥ. A different version of this same anecdote, but with a different song, occurs later in the text (KA V: 244): fa-mÄ lÄ« arÄ á¹£awtaka ḥazÄ«nan versus mÄ bÄl ḥalqaka ḥazÄ«nan, see p. 91.
Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn Muḥammad (d. 724), known as al-Aḥwaá¹£ (âthe slit-eyedâ), was a licentious poet who fell in and out of favor in the Umayyad court. He was at one point exiled to the Dahlak Islands in the Red Sea for provocatively alluding to love affairs with well-born ladies of noble families, but was later pardoned.
Ar. bi-l-khiná¹£ir wa-l-biná¹£ir, the phrase fÄ« majrÄ âby way ofâ has been dropped, see Sawa, Anecdotes, p. 14.
A pun on Zalzalâs name, which comes from the verb zalzala âto shake.â
Muá¸ar is one of the broad tribal designations for the northern Arabs in contrast to the southern or Yemeni Arabs; so perhaps the madman was a southern Arab who hated being addressed as Muá¸ar.
al-Walīd ibn Yazīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik (d. 744), was the eleventh Umayyad caliph, a poet, composer and musician, who patronized the famous poets and musicians of his day.
Son of the Umayyad caliph Ê¿Abd al-Malik (r. 685â705), and half-brother to four of the following caliphs who ruled from 705 to 743 (except for a brief hiatus in 717â720 during the rule of Ê¿Abd al-Malikâs nephew, Ê¿Umar II); he was excluded from the line of succession because his mother was a slave. An important military commander, he led the unsuccessful siege of Constantinople in 717.
The Prophet Muḥammad is revered as a model (qudwa) for humankind, and emulation (iqtidÄʾ) of his behavior and acts are a mark of piety, a fitting theme for a poem celebrating the ascension of a new caliph.
Ê¿Abd AllÄh ibn JaÊ¿far ibn AbÄ« ṬÄlib, nephew of the fourth caliph Ê¿AlÄ«, hence the blessing following his name (d. between 700 and 709). He was a major patron of musicians and singers in Medina, which earned him the sobriquet the âOcean of Generosityâ (baḥr al-jÅ«d).
Ar. taá¹£ÄbÄ: âto act in a boyish mannerâ or âmanifesting passionate love or desire.â
murtajil = a singer who sings without accompaniment, i.e. a capella. See Sawa Glossary, pp. 158â59.
The Jurmuqs (Ar. JarÄmiqa/JurmuqÄn) are said to have been a non-Arab people who lived in the region of Mosul in the early days of Islam, and âson of a jurmuq womanâ was apparently an insult directed at the people of that city.
Lit. âI threw his own stone back at him.â
Ar. utÄ«ta utÄ«á¹a duhÄ«ta duhÄ«ta!
Qays ibn Dharīḥ was pressured by his family to divorce his wife LubnÄ because they were childless; although they both remarried, he continued to love her for the rest of his life.
YaḥyÄ ibn MarzÅ«q al-MakkÄ« (d. 833) was a prominent singer in the early Ê¿Abbasid court, but is most often remembered as the author of a major song book, which, however, does not survive.
The last three verses have internal rhymes: bbba ccca ddda.
ḤammÄd ibn AbÄ« LaylÄ (d. 772) was one of the most important collectors and transmitters of early poetry, hence his nickname al-RÄwiya (âthe transmitterâ), but was accused by contemporaries as well as later figures of having fabricated much of what he purported to have collected. Nevertheless, he remains one of the key figures in the transformation of early Arabic oral poetry into a written tradition.
Ar. Ê¿Äraá¸a: in poetry this term refers to a poet âimitatingâ or âresponding toâ an earlier poem by borrowing some structural feature(s) from it, such as its meter and/or rhyme, and at times also the main theme. In music this term refers to contrafactum composition where a singer sets the lyrics from an earlier song to a new melody or sets new lyrics to the melody of an earlier song.
BashhÄr ibn Burd (714â83), a blind poet of the late Umayyad and early Ê¿Abbasid periods who held a prominent place in the court of al-MahdÄ«. He is often cited as one of the earliest figures of the muḥdath (âmodernâ) school of poetry that engaged in the intricate wordplay and rhetorical figures known as badÄ«Ê¿.
Although end-rhymes in classical Arabic poetry normally consist of both a consonant and at least one vowel (preceding and/or following the consonant), the rhyme is traditionally referred to solely by its consonant. Hence this poem is referred to as an ode on the rhyme âR,â though each verse ends in the syllable -Är.
The people of Muḥarriq are the Lakhmid kings of al-Ḥīra, see KA V: 212, n. 1.
A name given to several different places, among which one is on the outskirts of Medina in the Hejaz and the other in the Najd region.
The story is not found in the section on Ibn JÄmiÊ¿, but rather in the section on Ê¿Ubayd ibn al-Abraá¹£, KA XXII: 91â92. They are said to have argued with al-Mundhir when he was drunk, and in a fit of anger, al-Mundhir ordered that they be buried alive. On the following day, when he awoke from his drunken stupor, al-Mundhir asked after his two boon companions, and when told of the events of the preceding evening, regretted his action and ordered that a she-camel be slaughtered over their graves.
Lit. âof the earthware pots,â either a nickname or an indication of his occupation.
This first word, rasm (traces), is different than the first word, á¹araf (edge), in the version cited above.
Ibn Harma al-QurashÄ« (d. 792), a poet of the late Umayyad/early Ê¿Abbasid era, is sometimes referred to as the last of the âclassicalâ (i.e. tribal) poets.
Ar. lam yujannishu. The verb jannasa, lit. âcategorizeâ or âclassify,â in reference to songs is to give the main tetrachord (jins) of the mode, and sometimes also the rhythm. A mujannas songbook was one in which the songs are âcategorized,â that is, cited with their musical indications, such as in KA.
Ar. mawlÄ á¸¥arb (owner of âBattleâ or âWarâ): Ḥarb appears to be the name of a singer here.
Al-Rashīd and Ibn al-Mahdī are half-brothers, of the same father, but different mothers.
MihragÄn/MihrajÄn was an ancient Iranian festival celebrated close to the autumnal equinox, parallel to the Naw RÅ«z festival at the spring equinox. Among the customs associated with MihrajÄn well into the Islamic era was the presenting of gifts to rulers and other powerful figures. See EI2 âMihragÄn.â
A dish made with the meat of a young gazelle in its skin or a sikbÄj (a dish where the trotters are cooked in a broth with lemon juice, then ladled into a bowl with the broth, and left to cool, until the broth solidifies into an aspic).
This presumably means that each girl took a turn singing while her partner accompanied her on the lute or tambourine, or possibly that the singer accompanied herself on the lute while her partner played tambourine.
See earlier reference to these two estates on p. 25.
The term warrÄq referred to paper-makers, paper-vendors, and also to copyists of manuscripts. In many cities of the medieval Islamic world, the book market was referred to as sÅ«q al-warrÄqÄ«n.
Chief of police under the caliphs al-MahdÄ«, al-HÄdÄ«, and al-RashÄ«d, and also a major military leader who took control of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
âA branch of the bÄn treeâ (Ar. ghuá¹£n al-bÄn) is an archetypal image of beauty in ancient Arabic poetry, based on the slenderness and suppleness of its delicate, willow-like branches. Usually identified as Moringa peregrina (though a dozen other species of Moringaceae also grow in the Arabian Peninsula); its tuberous roots can be roasted and eaten like a sweet potato, and its termite-resistant trunk was considered excellent for making charcoal and used for the main posts and beams in the construction of houses.
This verse is cited in an earlier account of his imprisonment, see p. 20.
Ê¿AllÅ«ya Ê¿AlÄ« ibn Ê¿AbdallÄh (d. 850), was a major singer in the Ê¿Abbasid court, and the most prominent student of Ibn al-MahdÄ«, IbrÄḥīm al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«âs main rival.
Ar. abzan â a metal box shaped like a coffin with a hole in the lid for the patientâs head; doctors used it in treatments that called for soaking the patientâs body in hot water infused with herbs or other medicaments.
r. 908â929.
Jaḥáºa, the narrator of this anecdote, and Waṣīf were instrumentalists who played á¹unbÅ«r (long-necked lute) and flute respectively, and therefore earned less than the principal singers.
Not the famous male singer ZiryÄb who traveled to al-Andalus, but a Baghdadi female singer of the same name.
Ar. yÄ hÄdhihi, lit. âO this one.â
In some manuscripts sindī, i.e., from the region of Sind in the southeastern section of modern Pakistan.
This meaning of this phrase is not entirely clear: muqaá¹á¹aÊ¿a li-IbrÄhÄ«m, wa-kÄna huwa awwal man qaá¹aÊ¿a al-muá¹£allayÄt [?].
The descendants of Ê¿AlÄ« ibn AbÄ« ṬÄlib, cousin of the Prophet Muḥammad, who became his son-in-law when he married Muḥammadâs daughter FÄá¹ima, and the fourth caliph. Ê¿Alīʾs two sons, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, and their descendants, were political and spiritual rivals to first the Umayyad and then the Ê¿Abbasid caliphates. They are still revered by modern Shiite Muslims.
Two places in Medina.
Ar. nubayá¹Ä«ka (KA V: 226, voweled nubayá¹iyyika): possibly in the sense of Iraqi, or even a low, base person.
Or Bará¹£awmÄ.
Lit. âThe morning and I are like two horses in a race,â referring to horses of equal ability and strength that are racing towards a single goal.
On the bÄn tree, see footnote 139 above.
Al-Ḥasan ibn HÄniʾ al-ḤakamÄ«, known as AbÅ« NuwÄs [âthe one with the curly locksâ] (c. 756âc. 814) was one of the greatest poets of the early Ê¿Abbasid period. He became infamous for his verses praising male-male love as well as wine and drunkenness, but he was also considered the most accomplished poet of his era. After his death he was transformed into a stock figure of Arab folklore and this fictionalized character features in many comic tales and appears a number of times in the 1001 Nights.
Ar. umaththilu al-á¹arab bayna Ê¿aynayya, more colloquially translated perhaps as, âI get into the mood.â
YÅ«nus ibn SulaymÄn al-KÄtib (fl. mid-8th century) was a singer in the Umayyad court who, according to al-Iá¹£bahÄnÄ«, was the first to compile written collections of songs.
The âramalâ and âhazalâ rhythms were considered lighter and less serious and were often performed by female singers.
The âDays of the Arabsâ (AyyÄm al-Ê¿Arab) are the earliest historical accounts of the ancient Arabs, in prose and verse, that recount heroic deeds, raids, battles, and love affairs among the Arabian tribes from the 5thâ6th centuries.
Ar. ḥabasahu: likely in the sense of ḥabasa nafsahu Ê¿alÄ, âto restrict o.s. / focus on somethingâ.
Lit. âI have a liver which is ulcerous.â
MÄkhÅ«r = Persian, tavern, but here more likely reference to the rhythm known as mÄkhÅ«rÄ« which IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ« is credited with having introduced into Arab music.
AbÅ« al-ḤÄrith GhaylÄn ibn Ê¿Uqba (c. 696âd. 735â36), known as DhÅ« al-Rumma (âhe who wears a piece of cordâ) due to an amulet he wore on a cord, was a Bedouin Arab whose poetry was infused with the ethos of ancient Arabian desert customs as well as rare vocabulary and phrases. One of his major themes was his unrequited love for Mayy.
KA XVIII: 1â47.
The biblical Adam, father of humankind.
This is a version of an anecdote that appears earlier in the text, p. 54 (KA V: 197). The song is different, but the wine-merchant asks âHas someone you know recently died?â âNoâ âThen why is your throat so sad?â
The terms âdaughterâ and âfatherâ are honorifics here, indicating not that he is her biological father, but rather her teacher and mentor. This anecdote is re-told elsewhere in KA nearly verbatim, but the title âyour sheikhâ appears instead of âyour father.â DanÄnÄ«r (fl. early 9th c.) was a fair-haired slave-girl owned by YaḥyÄ ibn KhÄlid al-BarmakÄ« who studied with the female singer, Badhl, as well as with several of the greatest singers of her era including both IbrÄhÄ«m and IsḥÄq al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«. Fulayḥ, Ibn JÄmiÊ¿, and others. As well as being a famous singer, she was the author of a well-known mujarrad (devoid of musical captions and/or of anecdotes) book of songs (KA XVIII: 65).
This poem appears earlier in the text (see p. 30) with these verses in a different order.
A more detailed account of the madman of Medina occurs elsewhere in the text, see p. 59.
Ar. musayyaf.
KA XVI: 342â53; see also Kilpatrick, Making, 125.
In his introduction he wrote (speaking of himself in the third-person as âthe authorâ): In some cases, among the other songs and accounts, he presents a topic about which there are very lengthy anecdotes or a poet about whom there many stories, and it was simply not possible to explain all of this in that location without interrupting the flow of anecdotes. So they have been relegated to more suitable locations, along with related anecdotes, without cutting off the flow or separating materials that should be grouped together, which is more fitting and appropriate (KA I: 3).
Ar. abzan, see footnote 142 above.
AbÅ« l-Ḥasan Ê¿AlÄ« al-KisÄʾī (c. 737â805), a prominent grammarian and philologist, was entrusted by the caliph al-MahdÄ« with the education of his son HÄrÅ«n al-RashÄ«d, who in turn charged him with the education of his own two sons, al-AmÄ«n and al-MaʾmÅ«n. Other sources, however, date his death to the year 189, sometime after the death of IbrÄhÄ«m al-Mawá¹£ilÄ«, rather than on the same day as reported here (see EI2 âal-KisÄʾīâ).
Other sources place the date of Ibn al-Aḥnafâs after the year 193/808 (see EI2 âÊ¿AbbÄs ibn al-Aḥnafâ).
A wine-merchant who was also the neighbor of IbrÄhÄ«mâs son, IsḥÄq.
Ar. mazÄhir (s. mizhar) = ancient Arabian lute, predecessor of the Ê¿Å«d.
Qurʾan LXXXIII: 17 â âWill they not then consider the clouds that bear rain, how they are created?â