Twenty-first-century readers of al-Sh膩busht墨鈥檚 The Book of Monasteries will be suprised to learn that monasteries in the tenth century were more than just religious sites. Politically, they were important places of interaction between Abbasid elites and Christian communities. Practically, monasteries were sites for enjoying nature, mingling, partying, and sometimes having some not-so-innocent fun.聽
The poetry and stories in this work, excerpted below, cover court life, love affairs, gruesome murders, miracles, debauched parties, and much more. Through these accounts, al-Sh膩busht墨 offers readers a glimpse into the splendor of Abbasid culture, and meditates on the ephemerality of power, the virtues of generosity and tolerance, and the fleeting nature of pleasure and beauty.
Another story of Ja岣メ簱ah鈥檚: I was in love with a singing girl called Sharw墨n. One
night she got drunk at my house and shat in my dipper and spittoon before she
left. Al-Hud膩hid墨 wrote to me:
I had a visitor, a dear friend,
a fine character wise in his ways.
Now you owe it to Sharw墨n, who shat
in the dipper, the bowl, and the jug.
Hurry and visit, dropping excuses and delays,
and I鈥檒l see you as drunk as she,
Making a mess on the rug.
Ja岣メ簱ah sent an invitation to Ibn Tarkh膩n:
My friend, we鈥檝e food aplenty
and a pot bubbling away,
As much good talk as you like,
and an endless supply of jokes.
The wine, when poured, is like
a lightning flash on a rainy night.
Our singer鈥檚 a mistress of modes;
the flute player is superb.
I don鈥檛 know where my heart鈥檚 gone; it鈥檚 not in its place.
My bosom has driven it out; it鈥檚 caught fire and now is ablaze.
The Foxes鈥� Monastery is the home of the errant,
a place to meet gazelle-like boys and girls.
Oft have I spent there a night with my friend,
pouring wine into cups, skillfully watered,
Yielding its spirit freely till the last drop ran out.
I forgave it then and paid more than I owed.
For a sweet young follower of Mary鈥檚 Son,
flirtatious, wanton, yet at times coy,
I poured wine, then sipped the dregs of his glass,
and had in my mouth the taste of nectar.
Ibn Dihq膩nah was a descendant of Ibr膩h墨m ibn Mu岣mmad ibn 士Al墨 ibn
士Abdall膩h ibn 士Abb膩s. His given name was Ab奴 Ja士far Mu岣mmad ibn 士Umar.
He is the author of fine poetry, such as these verses, which Ja岣メ簱ah recalled him reciting to him:
Ha! When I came between you and your friends
and showered you with gifts, ever generous,
You played me false and treated me harshly,
acting the tyrant, doing me wrong.
Why should I want the conclusion of your love
when you showed no respect for its beginning?
Here am I, eager to please you, long-suffering,
as if grasping a bright double-edged sword,
Eschewing what you loathe, and
willing to give up my eyes just to satisfy you.
What joy I knew, and what sorrow
when suspicion of you entered my mind.
If the heart reveals one thing and conceals another,
its true feelings the eyes will betray.
He heaves the deepest of sighs,
Stays awake when others are nodding,
Utters moans when drowsy or dozing,
Feeds his mind with longing,
Gives himself hope with 鈥淧erhaps鈥濃��
A lover who鈥檚 turned his plaint
Into friendship with his fellows.
Bring on the wine, for the cup flows over,
brimming with pangs of nostalgia.
I delight to hear Jerusalem鈥檚 monks
answering each other after night鈥檚 silence.
They鈥檝e roused grief and sorrow in me as I remember
Karkh of Iraq, and my good friends there.
As the tears well up in my eyes and longing
strikes fire in my heart and burns,
I cry, 鈥淒ayr Mudy膩n, as long as you rouse lovesickness,
may you always be peopled, Dayr Mudy膩n.鈥�
Does your priest know鈥攁nd can he tell me鈥�
how acceptance can bring joy to one who鈥檚 left you?
May rain and prosperity bless Karkh膩y膩 and its people
who dwell between the mill and the garden.
It is reported that Ab奴 士Al墨 ibn al-Rash墨d would constantly go to this monastery to drink. He
took singing girls there, and would listen to music and carouse for days. He was utterly
shameless, and those who lived in the neighborhood complained of the nuisance he caused.
Is岣ツ乹 ibn Ibr膩h墨m al-峁乭ir墨,who was the representative of the authorities in Baghdad, came to
hear of it. He sent a message to Ab奴 士Al墨, rebuking him for his behavior and forbidding him from committing the same offence again. Ab奴 士Al墨 burst out, 鈥淎nd what authority has Is岣ツ乹 over me? How can he order me about? Will he be able to stop me listening to my singing girls and drinking where I like?鈥�
This is a poem by Ab奴 l-Shibl on a black slave girl he was in love with. This
earned him many rebukes but he was crazy about black girls.
A scold has fired her full stock of rebuke at me,
blaming me about duskiness and ink-black eyes.
Damn it, how can I be consoled for pearls
with pitch-black faces like small shells.
Between their thighs they have mounds
where the hair burns with the fire of hell.
May God torment no other believer with them,
or cause my organ to wither.
For I鈥檓 mad about black; white women leave me cold.
He had a black slave girl he loved who was called Tibr.
You鈥檝e treated me unfairly, namesake of gold,
you鈥檙e killing my soul just for fun.
You鈥檙e the cousin of strong-scented musk,
but for you who鈥檇 gather it鈥攊t would be scentless.
In blackness and perfume, musk鈥檚 your kin!
What a splendid kinship!
Ma峁Ｄ乥墨岣�, the slave of al-A岣ab, the dealer in singing girls, used to sing this
song and many other compositions by 士Abdall膩h. She was the main transmit-
ter of his poetry and most knowledgeable about his settings. She was known
for her beauty and her fine performances, and 士Abdall膩h loved her. One of his
poems that she sang was:
Friends, on Palm Sunday,
pour me old wine from Kark墨n
With someone I love,
though her religion鈥檚 not mine.
Here are verses 士Abdall膩h composed on Ma峁Ｄ乥墨岣� and set to music. He
sang them in her presence and she learned them from him. Mutayyam
al-Hish膩miyyah also sang them.
I鈥檝e fallen in love with a foe. May God shower blessings on my foe.
My kith and kin and my neighbors鈥擨鈥檇 ransom their lives for her.
She鈥檚 firm and upright as cane, but bend her and she鈥檒l yield.
Sure of the love in my heart, now she鈥檚 all flirtation.
Ab奴 l-士Ayn膩示 passed 士Abdall膩h ibn Man峁Ｅ玶鈥檚 house one day. He asked his servant, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the news of Ab奴 Mu岣mmad?鈥� 鈥淗e鈥檚 just as you would wish,鈥� he replied. 鈥淭hen why don鈥檛 I hear the house full of the wails of the bereaved?鈥�
Ab奴 l-士Ayn膩示 related: A woman in Basra fell in love with me without seeing me. She had
simply heard how well I expressed myself. When she saw me, she thought I was ugly and said,
鈥淕od damn! Is this him?鈥� So I wrote to her:
She heard about me but snubbed me on sight,
saying, 鈥淯gly, squinting, with a miserable body!鈥�
Maybe you don鈥檛 like my squint,
but I鈥檓 cultured and clever,
Not a fuddy-duddy or a stuttering dolt.
She wrote on the back of the letter: 鈥淵ou motherfucker, did you think I wanted to give you a job in the chancery?鈥�
鈥淚 said to 士Ubba虅dah once, 鈥楥an a queer exist without debauchery?鈥� 鈥榊es,鈥� he answered, 鈥榖ut he won鈥檛 be any fun. He鈥檒l be like a judge without a vice.鈥欌��
A literary tour of Christian monasteries of the medieval Middle East
The Book of Monasteries聽takes readers on a tour of the monasteries of the Middle East by presenting the rich variety of poetry and prose associated with each monastery. Starting with Baghdad, readers are taken up the Tigris into the mountains of south-eastern Anatolia before moving to Palestine and Syria, along the Euphrates down to the old Christian center of 岣つ玶ah and onward to Egypt. For the literary anthologist al-Sh膩busht墨, who was Muslim, monasteries were important sites of interactions with Christian communities that made up about half the population of the Abbasid Empire at the time. Translated into English for the first time,聽The Book of Monasteries聽offers an entertaining panorama of religious, political, and literary life during the Abbasid era.
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