Historical and Cultural Relevance of the Adventures of Amir Hamza

Review

Historical and cultural relevance of the Adventures of Amir Hamza

Qurat-ul-Ain Shirazi* and Ghulam Sarwar Yousof

Department of English Language and Literature, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Accepted 10 May, 2013

The Adventures of Amir Hamza is an important work of popular Islamic literary tradition. It is a collection of tales which tells the life story of Amir Hamza. It contributes to the tradition of oral celebration of cultural and religious heroes. The Adventures of Amir Hamza is an English translation of Dāstān-e-Amīr Hamza Sahibqirān (Urdu). The translation has brought this important piece of Islamic literature into limelight. The paper aims at exploring the historical background of the story of Amir Hamza. It will also analyse its cultural relevance, as this story encompasses a wide variety of cultures which exist within the Islamic territories. Its historical and cultural relevance will be analysed through a critical insight into the storytelling tradition which has been widely popular among Muslim populations. It will highlight the Pre-Islamic and Islamic values as exhibited in the plot, characters and themes of this story. The paper will establish the story of Amir Hamza, as a significant specimen of multiculturalism and religious pluralism despite being produced within the Islamic literary environment. It will also highlight the religious tolerance and coexistence as an important thematic dimension of the story of Amir Hamza.

Key words: History, cultural diversity, Amir Hamza, storytelling, pre-Islamic, Islamic.

INTRODUCTION

The traditions of epic poetry, prose romances, legends important Islamic prose epic titled Dāstān-e-Amīr Hamza and folklore, which are genres of pre-modern popular Sahibqirān. Dāstān-e-Amīr Hamza Sahibqirān contributes literature, have flourished throughout the world at diffe- to the tradition of oral celebration of cultural and religious rent times in the history of human existence. The stories heroes. However, now it is available as a written record and accounts of the renowned warriors and accom- and is also translated in different languages such as plished emperors have captured the fancy of common English, Bengali and Malay. This paper will analyze the folk since times immemorial. In their original form, most historical and cultural background of The Adventures of of the epics and romances found expression as orally Amir Hamza: Lord of the Auspicious Planetary transmitted tales narrated through poetry and poetic Conjunction. prose. Their popularity and acceptance among literate as well as illiterate audiences eventually produced these tales in written form. These classical epics were mani- DĀSTĀN-E-AMĪR HAMZA SAHIBQIRĀN fested in the western as well as eastern literary traditions. The Adventures of Amir Hamza: Lord of the Auspicious Dāstān-e-Amīr Hamza Sahibqirān is the title of a forty six Planetary Conjunction (2008) is a translation of an volume work in Urdu. Dāstān means a long story in Urdu.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].

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Sahibqirān is a title used for kings and monarchs whose 1988). The Persian romance tradition has also produced rule continued for forty years or more. It was produced in significant works, such as Laila and Majnu written by the 9th century and is the longest Romance cycle in Urdu Nizami (1141-1209) and Yousuf and Zuleikha composed literature. It exists as a forty six volume book of stories in by Jami (1414-1492); they had worked upon the Urdu. It is also considered the most important Indo- sensibilities of listeners through oral and written material. Islamic prose epic. It started as an oral work, which Popular demand urged the storyteller to introduce the absorbed various tales and cultural as well as regional element of fantasy in the stories and different types of influences in the widespread Islamic world. Oral tradition stories became a part of Arabic as well as Persian fiction is intimately connected with the theme of spreading and which included animal fables, stories of battle, stories glorifying an individual identity, which preserves the connected with propagation of faith, humorous tales, lineages and lessons of past, and helps to spread tales of trickery, love stories and magic tales (Irwin, reputations. It thrives in a culture which has little 1994). Thus the romance tradition that found expression interaction with writing and only the spoken word allows in the later Islamic oral and written literary tradition people to learn about others and make their own stories resulted from a strong interaction between the literary known. As an important mode of entertainment, Dāstān- traditions of Persian and Arabic origin. e-Amīr Hamza Sahibqirān was narrated at fairs, festivals, markets and even in closed domestic quarters. The narrative sessions were based on the stories, which the LEGEND OF AMIR HAMZA storyteller improvised by his memory and creative imagination to capture the interest of his listeners Pre-Islamic storytelling was grounded in different genres (Schimmel, 1975). Historical details in these stories were which include Hikāya, Qissah, Ma’rekgiri and Sīra. Apart often manipulated and the original identities of the from narrating the stories before audiences the dominant characters were adjusted according to the religious and similarity between these genres was that history and past cultural backdrop of the regions where the stories were events were employed as basic content of the stories. As narrated. a result, history was considerably romanticized and changed according to the demands of narrative technique and the taste of the audience. As this practice was STORYTELLING IN THE PRE-ISLAMIC ERA AND common among storytellers and narrators of popular ISLAMIC LITERARY HISTORY narratives, the popular oral narratives are not considered by historians and critics of literary studies as significant The rich expression and style of oral transmission when sources of historical data. Pre-Islamic history forms the combined with storytelling subject matter, has strong backdrop for Sīra Al Mulk, Sīra Saif Bin Dhi Yazān, Sīra popular appeal which gives rise to the genre of Romance. ‘Antar and Sīra Banī Hilāl, while early Islamic history Historically, romance has its roots in Arabic and Persian forms the background of Sīra Amir Hamza and Dhāt Al literature, before it found expression in Urdu. The popular Himma (Heath, 1996). Arabic romance fiction found its exhibition in the The tradition of storytelling glorifies the character of an Romance of ‘Antar also called Sīra ‘Antar. In popular individual by narrating his war exploits, by using Arabic literary tradition, the genre of storytelling and decorative language and by adding fictitious exaggera- romance is called Sīra and Qissa (Heath, 1996). The tions which have no chronological order that matches real pre-Islamic Arab poets and narrators used to comme- historical events. The stories often comprise loose morate the heroism and bravery of tribal chiefs. Sīra was episodes with abundance of poetical and prosaic elo- an important genre that was used with biographical quence. Historical characters are combined with legends details to glorify the heroics of tribal warriors. With the and folk traditions to give birth to the popular romance advent of Islam, the personality of Prophet Muhammad which continued thriving in different parts of the Islamic (peace be upon him) revolutionized the genre and world and which absorbed different stories and legends tradition of Sīra. It was developed into a significant with the passage of time. literary form and acquired status of a genre for religious writings, which was employed by Muslim writers and scholars to articulate the life history of Prophet HISTORICAL HAMZA IBN ‘ABD AL MUTTAALIB Muhammad (peace be upon him). [B.568- D.625] AND THE LEGENDARY AMIR HAMZA On the other hand, although Sīra ceased to be used as a genre for oral storytelling, the tradition of storytelling The stories that celebrated the heroism of tribal war lords continued and thrived throughout the history of Arab tribal got a transformation at the advent of Islam, and started era as well as after the advent of Islam. Arab tribal celebrating the valiant warriors who were famous before traditions and the religious narratives of prophets became Islam and who upon the advent of Islam, embraced the the basis for both high and popular literature (Heath, new religion. Among such figures were ‘Antara, Hamza

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Ibn ʿAbd Al Muṭṭalib and Hatim at Tai. Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al trickster). In the legend of Amir Hamza, the sequences of Muṭṭalib was a member of tribe Quraish in Mecca. He birth and death of the legendary Amir Hamza are embraced Islam two years after the first revelation. He structured according to the birth and death of the was famous as a brave warrior and was awarded the title historical Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib. Like the historical, Lion of God and his Prophet. Prophet here refers to the legendary Amir Hamza also belonged to Arabian Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Peninsula and resided the city of Mecca along with his There are various records which endorse the connec- father ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib. However, the huge transformation tion between historical figure of Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al surfaces in the description of life events where the Muṭṭalib and the stories spread about his bravery after his bifurcation between the real life events of the historical martyrdom. In the preface to the Persian version of Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib and the legendary Amir Hamza story ZubdaturRumuz (The Cream of the Rumūz), Hamza is very prominent. Haji Kissa Khwan Hamdani (1613) explains the association between the historical Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib and the legend of Amir Hamza indicating that the story SPREAD OF HAMZA LEGEND started as a celebratory account of historical Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib’s exploits given by the women of Mecca. The legend of Amir Hamza is one of many legends which The writer also mentions that Prophet Muhammad (peace occupied interest of people in the Islamic territory. It be upon him) used to stop outside the houses in which became the most widespread story as it was translated the stories were narrated to listen them. The stories and adopted from Arabic into Persian, Turkish, Urdu, about life of historical Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib Malay and other Islamic languages (Azim, 1979). As the provided a cohesive foundation to legends in terms of legend of Amir Hamza crossed linguistic barriers, it biographical details, geographical location and political absorbed different regional and cultural influences in the backdrop. Muslim world. From a legend, it transformed into a It is evident from the analysis of Persian influence on literary form in Persian language. The legend of Amir popular Islamic literature that fantasy and romance were Hamza was present in Persian as Kitab-e-Rumuz-e- dominant trends that were injected in the popular Islamic Hamza (The Subtleties of Hamza) and Qissa-e-Jang-e- fiction through Persian influence. The legend of Amir Amir Hamza (Story of the War of Amir Hamza) Hamza also has a strong foundation in Persian folk lore (Houtsmann, 1974). In the mid-nineteenth century Kitab- and literary tradition. The Persian historian Jafar Se’ār e-Rumuz-e-Hamza existed in a version about twelve (1968) confirms the association between the legendary hundred pages in length (Pritchett, 1991). During the Amir Hamza and historical Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib. In course of its transfer from Arabic to Persian as a popular the popular Persian literary tradition, the name Hamza oral narrative the story of Amir Hamza changed its social refers to another Persian adventurer named Hamza bin and cultural setting. In Persian literary tradition, the story Abdullah who belonged to the Kharjiite sect. His legend found expression as an oral narrative which is told and is titled Maghazi-e-Hamza (Lakhnawi and Bilgrami, performed by a storyteller or a Naqqal (Naqqal tells as 2008). Lang and Meredith Owens (1959) write “Legend well as performs the story). The Persian oral tradition is of (historical) Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib (d.625), different from Arabic oral tradition as the story is also intermixed with that of Hamza bin ‘Abd-allah Khāriji performed apart from being told. Yamamoto (2003) (d.828-29) where Hamza bin ‘Abd-allah Khāriji defeated describes the Persian storytelling tradition known as the armies of Harun al Rashid in Khurasān and led “Naqqali is a form of storytelling which includes both expedition to India and China, and was rewarded in spoken and written words as well as performance. By Safavid times”. As both Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib and including different versions of the story it provides an Hamza bin ‘Abd-allah Khāriji were warriors and fought for invaluable example of how the story is transformed spread of religion; thus their separate historical identities according to different modes of delivery” (2003). The oral are mixed with each other. Despite intermixing between narration of heroic stories mixed with religious and non- the two personalities, the similarities between historical religious content was popular among the common Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib and the legendary Amir people. Amir Hamza’s story had been significantly meta- Hamza establish the fact that the story of Amir Hamza is morphosed as a romance in Persian literary tradition. The based on the heroics of Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib. metamorphosis of Amir Hamza’s legend continued with Hanaway (1971) in his study of popular Persian its territorial spread as Persian speakers started romances, endorses the connection between the establishing themselves in North western region of South historical Hamza Ibn ‘Abd Al Muṭṭalib and the legendary Asia from the early 11th century onwards (Pritchett, 1991). Amir Hamza as the story of prophet’s uncle Hamza, was The Persian language merged with local languages such one of the five most famous romances of Persian as Punjabi, Sanskrit, Hindi and Urdu. Persian brought popular fiction which included the stories about with it a strong literary tradition which influenced the local Alexander, King Darius, King Firuz Shah and Samak (a languages as well as literature. As the story reached

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South Asia, it underwent a shift from oral to print. It was INDIGENIZATION OF FOREIGN CULTURES IN THE no longer narrated and told; instead it started being read STORY in silent quarters. The story of Amir Hamza, in terms of its origin and historical background, is an important specimen of CHARACTERIZATION OF AMIR HAMZA Islamic literature. It reflects cultural diversity existent with- Religion overlaps with accentuated heroism in narrative in the Islamic world. As a work of literature, it presents of Hamza story. The story frames Amir Hamza as a diversity within the unity of the Islamic world. The transfer warrior, whose sole aim is to serve emperor Naushervān of the Hamza legend from the Arabian Peninsula to and seek the allegiance and loyalty from rebellious Persian lands and its further expansion in South Asia kingdoms and emperors. He exacts tribute from them and resulted in appearance of diverse cultural and literary travels worldwide. Naushervān is a Persian king and Amir influences in the basic corpus of the story. Hamza serves him as a commander. Amir Hamza never As an important cultural statement, the story of Amir establishes his own kingdom, although he himself is a Hamza is a symbol of cultural and literary genius of the commander who leads a strong army. Thus the character Muslims of South Asia. It depicts a world which reflects of Amir Hamza develops in a space which is religiously eastern cultural diversity. Arabic, Persian and Indian are and culturally ambivalent. Reynard (2004) explains the dominant cultural influences which develop the cultural character development in such a religious and cultural paradigm of the story. The stories are set in different space of a narrative as “such a model where a hero parts of the world which include Mecca, Medina, Egypt, grows in his own cosmos, situates the hero primarily in Ceylon, India, Persia and a supernatural world titled space rather than in time: change in the world rather than Mount Qaf. Persian influence concretizes in the narrative in the individual”. In the case of character development of through literary traditions and structural devices which Amir Hamza, the life story of Amir Hamza unfolds in a make their way through linguistic connection between space which is multicultural. He travels all over the world, Persian language and Urdu. In literary venues, the two invades lands and establishes the rule of one God. The languages further strengthen their liaison. story revolves around the ideal of establishing incessant The narrative cohesion and integrity in this story is peace and harmony in the world. Thus the story of Amir established through four important themes. These themes Hamza symbolises a struggle in which a warrior engages through which the intricate pattern in the story is weaved to establish the rule of God. It also displays specimens of are Warfare, Trickery, Enchantment and Love and Beauty ideal military endeavour, perfect social conduct and im- (Sharar, 1975). The themes materialize through the peccable individual morality. Religion in the story of Amir Middle Eastern, Persian and Indian cultural values and Hamza is synonymous with unity of God and welfare of virtues which are presented as background of all action mankind. In the narrative, the protagonist leads the forces and inaction in the story. The theme of warfare gives an of good and his objective is to eradicate evil. It refers insight into the traditional forms of warfare and combat, it repeatedly to historical and religious incidents which is manifested through the motifs of battles, journeys to far involve religious and historical figures who interact with flung lands and political intrigues. The theme of trickery is the protagonist. These figures include prophets, saints, a source of comedy and satire in the story. The theme of angels and many other holy personages and celestial enchantment encompasses the traditional occult and creatures. These interactions are a source of connected- magical practices existent in Muslim societies. The theme ness to historical antecedents and bridge the gap of beauty and love gives an access to the reader of this between antiquity and contemporary society. In the story into the emotional landscape of a lover and it is an narrative, the sacred figures from the greatest prophets to important cultural signifier as it depicts the traditional the local holy personages inspire and encourage the festivities and merriment through motifs of Islamic protagonist and his companions when the times are hard. wedding ceremonies and other forms of entertainment. The appearance of such benevolent religious figures is a The cultural and traditional dimension of the story forms a way of complementing courageousness and armed strong backdrop of all stories which are a part of the expertise with intellectual alertness and spiritual aware- major narrative. The characters in the story also hail from ness. The motif of divine intervention is used to instruct different cultural backgrounds and thus bring variety and the intellectual and spiritual faculties, whereas dreams assortment to the story. The narrative describes in detail and visions and chance meetings are modes of com- their traditional customs and habits thus providing the munication with religious figures. These religious figures reader and the listener with a visual adaptation of are ministers of goodwill, exhortation and counsel unknown cultures and people. provided to the protagonist and his companions. They In the story of Amir Hamza, culture coexists with also serve the purpose of exciting the religious sensibility religious ambiguity and historical assortment. The culture of the listeners and are a source of religious edification depicted in the story is predominantly Islamic, but the for them. religious association does not reduce the multiplicity of

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cultural space. Indeed within the corpus, the religio- supports intermingling of these diverse traditions. This cultural dynamics of the narrative become more vibrant trend is reflected in the works of popular literature, and exuberant. The culture is predominantly Islamic. cinema and different forms of entertainment. The popular Islamic culture offers a unique cultural heterogeneity for literary idiom, in which the narrative of Hamza story is the reasons that it came to encompass diverse geo- grounded, seeks an approach which accommodates the graphical regions ranging from Central Asia to Far East classical antiquity as well as modern hybridity. The need and ancient cultural spaces like the Arabian Peninsula, is to recognize the richness of literary, cultural and Persia, South Asia and South East Asia. With the advent traditional values embedded in the narrative of this story. of Islam the successful assimilation of supra-Islamic The story of Amir Hamza has surfaced in a new shape identity of Muslim rulers, warriors and travellers to the and new language after suffering a neglect of almost a new lands was possible because of Islam. Both in theory century. The English translation is highly inviting and and practice, Islam is a complete code of life designed to engrossing. Modern scholarship should reconsider and unify the diversity spread all around the world. The story respond to this work according to the intellectual stirrings of Amir Hamza narrates the story of struggle for a of the new age. The work is also an interesting piece of peaceful and perfect world, it promotes solidarity and literature which can enamour a common reader’s unity among different groups and nations in the world. It imaginative capacity. It is a significant work of Islamic becomes an exponent of an inter-civilizational dialogue literature which has a capacity to garner a widespread which is a strong undercurrent under the dominant tide of appeal and to export the Islamic ideals outside Islamic storytelling. It neutralizes the religious differences and world. political strife between different cultures and groups of people. As a work of idealism and imagination, it transcends all borders of separation and divide, existent REFERENCES in the human community. While promoting solidarity Azim SW (1979). Humari Dastanein. Lahore: Ashraf Press. among people, it keeps cultural diversity intact. It is a Hamdani HKK (1613). Zubdatur Rumuz. Patna: Khuda Bukhsh library source of disseminating the shared values of humanity by manuscript. exhibiting cultural diversity. 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