Isḥāq Ibrāhīm ibn Sahl al-Isrā’īlī, or as he is called in Hebrew, “Abraham ibn Sahl,” is a unique literary phenomenon, who, based on the mysterious literary situation that surrounded him, made many critics unable to judge him! As a result, he did not receive the due attention from the crowds of researchers! Therefore, our study is distinctive as it seeks to present and explain this literary situation in such a way that has never been addressed before. He is an Andalusian poet and thinker who lived in the capital of the Andalusian state in the initial phases of its establishment, and coped with the problem of his Jewish origin and conversion to Islam. Unlike the Jewish-Arab poets in Andalusia who wrote in Hebrew-Arabic (Arabic in Hebrew) as was the common norm, Ibn Sahl wrote in Arabic. This rather complex situation in addition to the double standards in the character of Ibn Sahl al-Isrā’īlī made his poetry appear vague. Ibn Sahl, thus, resorted to different techniques to veil his true self. He, for example, used religious and historical masks, and his poetry was generally full of motifs, symbols and mystery. In other words, he employed dozens of symbols and masks in his poetry, among which the mask of “Moses” emerged. The study examined this mask from a variety of aspects. It regards this mask as a Jewish symbol through which the poet instilled his constant nostalgia for his original religion, i.e. Judaism. It also considers the possibility that Moses may be a symbol of tolerant heavenly religions, especially since his character presents subjects with which the Qur’an and the Torah intersect. In addition, this study looks into Moses as a character that is likely to represent a realistic terrestrial lover. And the fourth course of this study embraces the interpretation that Moses may be a Ṣūfī earthly mask intended to spread nostalgia for the greatest adoration, i.e. “God”, in the way of Muḥyi Eddīn ibn al-Arabī as displayed in his Turjumān Al Ashwāq.
References
[1]
Abbās, I. (1967). Dīwān ibn Sahl al-Isrā’īlī. Dar Sader.
[2]
Abdul Razzāq, H. (1993). Arabic Literature in the Balearic Islands. Dar Al-Jīl.
[3]
Abdullah, Y. A. G. (1988). Dīwān ibn Sahl al-Ishbīlī. House of Scientific Books.
[4]
Al-’Arabī, A. H. (1926). Dīwān ibn Sahl al-Isrā’īlī. Arab Library,
[5]
Al-Arees, M. (2005). Encyclopedia of Andalusian Poets. Dar al-Yousef.
[6]
Al-Ishbīlī, I. I. S. (1998). Dīwān Ibrāhīm ibn Sahl al-Isrā’īlī al-Ishbīlī. Dar al-al-Maghreb al-Islami.
[7]
Al-Muqarrī, A. B. M. (1995). The Scent of Perfume from the Good Branch of Andalusia and its Minister. Lisān Eddīn bin Al-Khāṭīb, Volume 5. House of Scientific Books.
[8]
Al-Niffārī, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbār, (1934). Al-Mawāqif wal Mukhātabāt. Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah.
[9]
Al-Zayyāt, A. M. (1990). Lamentation of Cities in Andalusian Poetry. Qar Younis University.
[10]
Amin, A. W. A. (1995). Linguistic Adventure in Meccan Conquests. House of Knowledge.
[11]
Arberry, A. J. (1966). Muslim Saint Mystics. Routledge and Kegan Paul.
[12]
Ashraf, S. H. (1973). Muhammad, Studies in Tasawwuf.
[13]
Ash-Shak’ah, M. (1975). Andalusian Literature: Its Themes and Arts. House of Science in the Millions.
[14]
Belqāsim, K. (2004). Writing and Ṣūfism by Ibn al-’Arabī. Dar Toubkal,
[15]
Chittick, W. (1974). The Sufi Doctrine of Rumi: An Introduction. University of Tehran.
[16]
Dāwood, M. A. B. (1997). Annihilation amongst the Sufi Muslims and Other Faiths. Egyptian-Lebanese House.
[17]
Eckhardt, C. D. (1983). The Medieval Prosimetrum Genre (from Boethius to Boece). Genre, 16, 21-38.
[18]
Ghannam, T. (1979). Lights on Mysticism. World of Books.
[19]
Haidar, A. (1999). An Introduction to the World of Ṣūfism. Shamus.
[20]
Hakki, I. (2002). Translation of a Commentary on Fusus al-Hikam. Oxford University.
[21]
Helminski, K. (2000). The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation. Shambhala Publications Inc.
[22]
Ibn Al-’Arabī, M. E. (1972). Futūḥāt Makkiyya (Meccan conquests), First Volume. Egyptian General Book Authority.
[23]
Ibn Z. (1988). An Account of Al-ḥallāj’s Murder. Dar Qubā’.
[24]
Isa, S. F. (1991). Andalusian Poetry in the Age of the Monotheists. University Knowledge House.
[25]
Khafājī, M. A. M. (1992). Andalusian Literature: Evolution and Renewal. Dar Al-Jil.
[26]
Lings, M. (1975). What Is Ṣūfism? George Allen & Unwin.
[27]
Manāhel Arabic Literature, Ibn Sahl’s Anthology (1953). Library Issued.
[28]
Mones, H. (2002). Ibn Sahl. In P. J. Bearman, T. H. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. Van Donzel, & D. W. P. Heinrich (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Islam. Leiden Brill.
[29]
Naamneh, M., & Assadi, J. (2022). The Role of Form and Content in Creating the Meaning of a Text: Iben al-Rūmī and al-ṭayyib Ṣāliḥ as Examples. Westwood Books Publishing.
[30]
Nettler, R. L. (2003). Sufi Metaphysics and Quranic Prophets: Ibn ‘Arabi’s Thought and Method in the Fusus al-Hikam. Islamic Texts Society.
[31]
Qareeb A., & Al-Fatih, H. (1999). The Councils of Pleasure between the Enticers and Amateurs: The Symbolic Concept of Wine in Ṣūfism. Arab House Library.
[32]
Sarkīs, Y. I. (1928). Dictionary of Arabic and Translated Publications. Muʻjam al-maṭbūʻāt al-ʻArabīyah wa-al-muʻarrabah) v.2. Maṭba ‘at Sarkīs.
[33]
Schirmann, J. (1960). Ha-shirah ha-’ivrit bi-sefarad u-ve-provans [The Hebrew Poetry of Spain and Provence]. Mossad Bialik.
[34]
Smith, M. (2010). Rābi’a the Mystic and Her Fellow-Saints in Islam. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511710797
[35]
Snir, R. (2002). Two Ruk’ahs in Love: A Study in the Poetry of Abdul Wahāb al-Bayyāti. Dar al-Saki.
[36]
Tobi, Y. (2006). Love in Traditional Hebrew Poetry Being Influenced by Arabic Poetry. In Between Hebrew and Arabic Poetry. Studies in Spanish Medieval Hebrew Poetry (pp. 116-147). Brill Publishers.
