Doctoral Dissertation POETICS OF AMBIVALENCE IN AL-MA‘ARRĪ’S LUZŪMĪYĀT AND THE QUESTION OF FREETHINKING by Sona Grigoryan Supervisor: Aziz Al-Azmeh Submitted to the Medieval Studies Department, Central European University, Budapest In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Medieval Studies CEU eTD Collection Budapest 2018 TABLE OF CONTENT Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. iv List of Abbreviations................................................................................................................................. v Some Matters of Usage ............................................................................................................................ vi INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Al-Ma‘arrī-an Intriguing Figure ........................................................................................................ 1 2. The Aim and Focus of the Thesis ....................................................................................................... 4 3. Working Material ............................................................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 1. AL-MA‘ARRĪ AND HIS CONTEXT ............................................................................... 15 1.1. Historical Setting ......................................................................................................................... 15 1.2. Al-Ma‘arrī’s Life ......................................................................................................................... 23 1.3. Works .......................................................................................................................................... 28 1.4. Social Standing and Network ....................................................................................................... 51 1.5. Reputation of Unbeliever ............................................................................................................. 63 1.6. Possible Affiliations? ................................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 2. LUZŪMĪYĀT AND SOME OF ITS LITERARY FEATURES ........................................ 69 2.1. Introductory Remarks .................................................................................................................. 69 2.2. Luzūm as a “Sheer” Poetry? ......................................................................................................... 70 2.3. Genre and Meaning ..................................................................................................................... 75 2.4. Structure and Style....................................................................................................................... 83 2.5. Thematic Landscape .................................................................................................................... 94 CHAPTER 3. ISSUES OF DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF UNBELIEF, AND THE CASE OF LUZŪM .................................................................................................................................... 98 3.1. General Terms and Interpretations of Unbelief ............................................................................. 98 3.2. Studies of the ‘Abbasid Context of Unbelief .............................................................................. 108 3.3. Modern Readings of Belief and Unbelief in Luzūm .................................................................... 123 3.4. Revisiting Luzūm in the Light of Ambivalence and Polemics ..................................................... 134 CHAPTER 4. REGISTERS OF OPPOSITES IN LUZŪM: GOD, REVELATION, AND REASON .. 142 CEU eTD Collection 4.1. God: The Problem ..................................................................................................................... 142 4.2. God in Luzūm ............................................................................................................................ 148 The Unbeliever’s God ........................................................................................................................... 153 Believer’s God ...................................................................................................................................... 157 Irony ..................................................................................................................................................... 161 4.3. Conclusion: Is there a Definition? .............................................................................................. 164 4.4. Prophecy: The Problem.............................................................................................................. 166 4.5. Prophecy in Luzūm .................................................................................................................... 168 4.6. Scriptures: the Problem .............................................................................................................. 172 4.7. Scriptures in Luzūm ................................................................................................................... 173 4.8. Conclusion: Religion Simplified? .............................................................................................. 177 4.9. Reason: The Problem ................................................................................................................. 181 4.10. Al-Ma‘arrī’s Rationalism ....................................................................................................... 185 4.11. Reason constrained ................................................................................................................ 190 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 191 CHAPTER 5. ISSUES OF RECEPTION AND PERSECUTION ......................................................... 194 5.1. Denunciations, Censures and Responses during Lifetime ........................................................... 195 5.2. The Issue of Persecution ............................................................................................................ 209 5.3. Image in Posterity ...................................................................................................................... 217 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 230 BIBLIOGRPAHY ................................................................................................................................... 235 CEU eTD Collection Acknowledgements First and foremost, I am deeply thankful and grateful to my supervisor Aziz Al-Azmeh for his support, wisdom, and advice. I thank him for always carefully reading drafts of my chapters in the shortest possible time, for always providing me with clear suggestions and questions of inquiry, and for being available for conversations when I needed them. Most of all, I am grateful to him for so wonderfully combining his demanding attitude with patience and great understanding. I thank Professor Nadia al-Bagdadi not only for her scholarly advice and support, but also for directing me towards practical solutions in academic matters, as well as non-academic. I am thankful to professors Alice Coyke and Volker Menze for their constant encouragement, Csilla Dobos for all her logistical help and for her warmth, Esther Holbrook for taking care of many administrative arrangements and for cheering me up. I have immensely benefited from my research visits to the Orient Institue-Beirut. My regular consultations with Professor Stefan Leder were always enlightening and encouraging. I also thank Dahlia Gubara at American University of Beirut for the enthusiasm she has always shown towards my research. I thank Alfred El-Khoury and Safaa Ibrahim, two wonderful students of Arabic literature at AUB, for their help in linguistic and literary matters. I am thankful to my colleagues Stephan Tölke and Marijana Misevic for their help in providing me with literature, which they did so smoothly, to Courtney Krolikoski for correcting my English in some parts of the thesis, to Andras Kraft for being a nice colleague and for providing me with suggestions. All this time, I have been surrounded with kindness and care of my friends Veronica Ferreri, Jana Bacova, Anna Ohanjanyan, Judit Veres, Szilvia Nyari, Zoja Ivanisevic, Asli Karaca, Pamela Klasova, Elena Sahin, Ruben Jengibarjan, Piruza Hayrapetyan, Tatev Beknazaryan, and Artak Galyan. I am the luckiest person for having in my life Dora Ivanisevic and Kristina Grigoryan, for their unwavering support and endless love. My gratitude to all members of my wonderful family, kids and adults, has no limit. This thesis has been, for better or worse, a journey for two. Mamikon shared my burden with care, and optimism and had to deal with my anxieties as much as no one did. I thank him for making these years colorful and very special. CEU eTD Collection iv List of Abbreviations BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies