The Criteria for the Concept of Fuḥūla According to al-Aṣmaʿī and Ibn Sallām al-Jumahî: A Comparative Study

This article is a comparative study of the criteria for fuḥūla in Arabic poetry as put forward by al-Aṣmaʿī (d. 216/831) and Ibn Sallām al-Jumahî (d. 231/845). Al-Aṣmaʿī and Ibn Sallām are two of the most important critics of Arabic literature. The concept of fuḥūla is considered one of the main pillars of ancient poetry criticism and was a measure to deter-mine the poet's power, creativity and ability to innovate. The term originated in al-Aṣmaʿī's “Ṭabaqāt al-fuḥūla al-Shuʿarā” and then appeared in Ibn Sallām's “Ṭabaqāt al-Shuʿarā”, where it developed sig-nificantly into a unified theory. This study focuses on the differences and similarities between these two critics' principles of evaluating poets and tries to identify the qualities that a poet must possess in order to be a Fahl (master poet). The study begins by presenting the concept of fuḥūla/master poet according to al-Aṣmaʿī. Al-Aṣmaʿī believes that Fuhūla is related to the quality of words and mastery over language. He argues that the poet must have the ability to use powerful and impressive words. Al-Aṣmaʿī emphasizes linguistic skill and knowledge of ancient poetry as the main criteria for evaluating the poet who is Fahl. Ibn Sallām, on the other hand, takes a broader view of the concept of fuḥūla and focuses on the social and historical background. According to him, a Fahl is a person who sincerely and realistically articulates the problems of his age. He categorized poets into successive classes according to their poetic competence. This study aims to examine the commonalities and differences between these two critics and to analyze the critical meanings these differences contain. This article examines the fixed approach of al-Aṣmaʿī in evaluating fuḥūla, where he classifies poets into two categories: fuḥul and non-fuḥul. His comments are characterized by brevity, reflected in the concise nature of his work, which does not exceed fifty pages. al-Aṣmaʿī used the large number of poems and the length of the poems as a criterion for a poet to be considered a faḥl, and he preferred the poets of the Jahiliyyah period to others because they reflected the simplicity of Bedouin life in their poems with strong expressions and clear language. Ibn Sallām, on the other hand, adopted a different approach. According to this approach, he accepted that all poets were faḥl and divided them into two classes: the Jahiliyyah period and the Islamic period. However, he did so in a general historical order, without a strict connection to chronology, by placing the four most famous poets in each class. In this way, he brought together poets from different periods, for which he received some criticism about his method. Ibn Sallām based his evaluation of the poets on the principle of similarity, drawing parallels between the poets of the Jahiliyyah period and the poets of the Islamic period according to common characteristics such as obscenity, fluency of poetry, power of language, and diversity of themes. This difference between al-Aṣmaʿī and Ibn Sallām's methods of examination and analysis reveals the diversity of critical approaches in ancient Arabic thought. While al-Aṣmaʿī approaches the concept of faḥl from a linguistic perspective focusing on the richness of language and the power of expressions, Ibn Sallām approaches it from the perspective of the poet's creativity and originality, the power of creativity and the ability to innovate.