The Maqāmāt of al-Ḥarīrī

Few works of Arabic literature occupy such an important place as the Maqāmāt by Abū

Muḥammad al-Qāsim al-Ḥarīrī (1054-1122). Indeed, in his translation of the Maqāmāt,

Chenery (1867) notes that al-Ḥarīrī‟s work is “esteemed, next to the Koran [sic], as the

chief treasure of the Arabic tongue.”1 This statement is hardly surprising given that

Ḥarīrī‟s masterpiece is, in fact, second only to the Qu‟ran in terms of the sheer number of

commentaries written on the subject.2 Moreover, in the preface to his translation of the

Maqāmāt, Preston (1850) writes that “few books are more unintelligible without the

assistance of a commentary.”3 This literary complexity along with the trans-textual

aspect of the Maqāmāt is indeed one the main beauties of al-Ḥarīrī‟s work and can be

partly attributed to his background as a philologist and grammarian. For, he continuously

sought to show off his literary genius through what Gibb (1926) refers to as “endless

tours de force and cunning obscurities.”4 According to Allen (2000), this literary style is

designed to touch upon the varying types of rhetorical texts present in Arabic literature.5

To this end, al-Ḥarīrī tells us in the introduction to his Maqāmāt that it will contain,

amongst other things: serious language, jokes, sophisticated style, Qu‟ranic quotations,

metaphors, Arab proverbs, grammatical riddles, improvisations, orations and discourses.

Truly, it can be said that al-Ḥarīrī intended his Maqāmāt to be a testament to erudition and

the art of Belles-Lettres (Adab). His wish to portray and discuss a whole array of

knowledge is reflected in the title Maqāmah (singular of Maqāmāt) which can be equated

1
Gibb. Arabic Literature. p.89
2
Preston. Makamat of al-Hariri. p.xii
3
Ibid. p.xiii
4
Gibb. Arabic Literature. p.88
5
Allen. Arabic Literature. p.164

1
to a majlis and functions as a kind of salon where learned men met to discus the arts and

sciences. Likewise, Preston construed the meaning of Maqāmah as “the discourses

delivered or conversations held in an assembly.”6 This in itself is also an accurate

description of the framed narrative of the Maqāmāt as each story starts of with the

narrator recalling to a gathering some incident that happened to him.

The literary concept of the Maqāmāt was not an original idea though. In fact, the genre

as well as its stylistic and narratives devices had been initially pioneered to great acclaim

by Badī’ az-Zamān al-Hamadhānī (967-1008). While perhaps less original than al-

Hamadhānī‟s work and employing the same style of rhetorical exaggeration and over-the-

top imagery as his predecessor, the Maqāmāt of al-Ḥarīrī are nevertheless much longer

and place more importance on poetry,7 making them infinitely more accomplished

rhetorically than those of al-Hamadhānī. On the difference between both authors, Allen

remarks that while one could imagine the latter improvising his work in public, the

Maqāmāt of al-Ḥarīrī “reflect the deliberate touch of a virtuoso creating his works within

the more private world of the written text.”8 Certainly, while reading al-Ḥarīrī‟s

Maqāmāt one cannot help but notice the minute care and attention that has gone into each

and every line. For Jones (2000), this craftsmanship is too over-the-top and dense for

aural comprehension and is therefore intended to be read and not heard. In this respect,

he argues that the genre has been profoundly changed compared to how al-Hamadhānī

conceived it.

Furthermore, the Maqāmāt of al-Ḥarīrī differ from those of their predecessor in the names

of the main characters. Instead of the original narrator „Isā ibn Hishām, we find al-Ḥārith

6
Preston. Makamat of al-Hariri. p.11
7
Allen. Arabic Literature. p.164
8
Ibid.

2
ibn Hammām and in lieu of Abū al-Fatḥ al-Iskandarī as al-Hamadhānī‟s vagabond

trickster, we follow the exploits of Abū Zayd as-Sarūjī. As regards the reasons for

changing the character names, we are told by ibn Khallikan9 that al-Ḥarīrī uses the name

Ḥārith ibn Hammām to denote himself as narrator. Additionally, we are told that the

character‟s name can be traced back to a Ḥadīth of Prophet Muḥammad in which he is

reported to have said “every one of you is a trader (Ḥārith), and every one of you is a

worrier (Hammām)” because each one of us is a provider assailed by worries.

As for al-Ḥarīrī‟s choice of Abū Zayd as-Sarūjī as the trickster‟s name, we are told by
10
both Yāqūt - (d. 1129) and ibn Khallikān11 (1211-1282) that it was inspired

by an actual event. Both Medieval biographers relate the words of al-Ḥarīrī‟s son,

„Abdallah Abū al-Qāsim, who recalled how one day al-Ḥarīrī was attending the mosque

near where he lived in Basra when he was solicited by a beggar who eloquently presented

himself as Abū Zayd of Sarūj. Whilst relating the incident to friends it transpired that

Abū Zayd al-Sarūjī had in fact visited each of their mosques in turn, changing his

appearance and rhetoric each time. After hearing this, al-Ḥarīrī was so impressed with

Abū Zayd‟s trickery and rhetoric that upon returning home he immediately penned a

Maqāmah about what he had just witnessed.

In the view of Preston, the literary character of Abū Zayd played a key part in al-Ḥarīrī‟s

success as it personified “the type to which the then state of literary taste and structure of

literary society assimilated many of the most gifted and cultivated minds of the period.”12

9
Ibn Khallikān. Wafayāt al-A’yān. Volume 4, p.65
10
Yāqūt. Kitāb Mu‘jam al-Buldān. Volumes 15-16, p.263
11
Ibn Khallikān. Wafayāt al-A’yān. Volume 4, pp. 63-64
12
Preston. Makamat of al-Hariri p.x-xi

3
While Chenery describes the anti-hero as “a crafty old man, full of genius and learning,

unscrupulous of the artifices which he uses to effect his purpose, reckless in spending in

forbidden indulgences the money he has obtained by wit or deceit.”13

Upon publication in Baghdad, al-Maqāmah of al-Ḥarāmīy, as al-Ḥarīrī named it, was read

and greatly enjoyed by one of the wazirs of Caliph al-Mustarshid Billahi (1118-1135) -

either Abū Naṣr Anū Shirwān or Jalāl ad-Din ibn Ṣadaqa according to different accounts -

who then commissioned al-Ḥarīrī to write a further thirty-nine stories. Such was their

magnificence that some in Baghdad raised doubts as to whether al-Ḥarīrī was the genuine

author. Most especially, as up until then he had been relatively unknown and had only

published a few tracts on grammar, so as a test of his credentials, al-Ḥarīrī was challenged

by the wazir to write another Maqāmah immediately.14 However, after forty days in

Baghdad he was still unable to write anything and so withdrew in shame back to Basra

where he immediately penned another ten, bringing the total number to fifty Maqāmāt.

Despite a reasonably large number of individual stories, each Maqāmah shares a similar

premise. Generally, the story starts with al-Ḥārith ibn Hammām narrating a particular

incident which he witnessed. It soon becomes clear that main protagonist in his narrative

is endowed with great rhetoric and wit which become apparent “through his discussions

of metaphor and plagiarism in poetry, of syntax, and of comparative virtues of epistolary

and financial expertise.”15 Towards the end of each anecdote, al-Ḥārith unmasks the true

identity of the story‟s main protagonist and reveals him to be none other than the

13
Nicholson. A Literary History of the Arabs. p.332
14
The challenge set by the wazir differs slightly according to accounts. For his part, ibn Khallikan tells us
that al-Harīrī was challenged by the wazir to write a rhetorical letter of high eloquence on a particular
subject. Al-Harīrī duly withdrew to a corner of the court to compose his letter. However, he was unable to
write a single word for he was seized by nerves. (ibn Khallikan. Wafayāt al-A’yān. Volume 4, p.64)
15
Allen. Arabic Literature. p.164

4
swindler Abū Zayd as-Sarūjī who during the course of the tale had played some ingenious

trick on the assembled audience who, in awe of the con-artist‟s wit and eloquence,

bestowed him with money.

In reality though, the subject matter is often subordinate to the rhetorical style of the

Maqāmāt.16 The plot line is merely seen by al-Ḥarīrī as providing an excuse to exhibit his

rhetorical agility. This is illustrated by the following extract from al-Maqāmah al-

Dimashqīya which provides a small indication of the author‟s ingenuity:

First of, we can see the Maqāmah alternates between a line of three rhymes and a shorter

line whose rhythm and rhyme are repeated each time. On the penultimate line we are

even treated to an assonance or jinās; the last two rhyming words are spelt the same way

save for their first vowel.

Preston translates the above stanza as:

When I journey far and wide,

16
Preston. Makamat of al-Hariri p.i

5
 When I curb the fiery steed,
When I stem the foaming main,
„Tis that I may gaily lead,
Youth and Pleasure in my train,
I forfeit honour‟s hope,
If I sell my all away,
„Tis that I may freely tope,
„Tis that I here love to stay17

Even in translation, one is immediately struck by the sheer degree of imagery and

exaggeration implemented by al-Ḥarīrī. The stanza also works as an effective device for

introducing the main subject of the Maqāmah which is wine drinking. This is extremely

ironic as Abū Zayd initially passes himself of as religious zealot who claims to be in

possession of a prayer that can lead al-Ḥārith ibn Hammām‟s caravan safely across the

desert. In fact, Abū Zayd‟s prayer turns out to be a rather long winded sermon of hell and

brimstone during which he asks God to avert him from „the fraud of the crafty, and the

treachery of the perfidious.‟ When the caravan arrives safely at its destination Abū Zayd

is rewarded and disappears off to the taverns in order to spend all his earnings on wine

and song. He is subsequently tracked down and once again unmasked by al-Ḥārith who

scolds him for his insincerity and reprehensible conduct. Abū Zayd merely shrugs off the

criticism and retorts with a poem about the qualities of wine. This choice of subject

matter and as well as al-Ḥarīrī‟s perceived admiration for Abū Zayd would inevitably lead

to some criticism. In his defense, al-Ḥarīrī writes that The Maqāmāt serve a moral

purpose and are as useful and instructive as the tales of Kalīla wa Dimna.

17
Preston. Makamat of al-Hariri pp. 192-193

6
However, it is in al-Maqāmah al-Marāghīya that al-Ḥarīrī flexes his linguistic muscles to

their fullest. During the story, al-Ḥārith ibn Hammām describes a majlis (assembly) he

attended during which the participants were discussing whether anyone still exists who

could invent a completely original style of eloquence. After deciding that no one of that

description remained, an elderly man surges forth and says he is capable of such a

wonder. As a proof of his genius, he is prompted to compose a rhetorical letter asking for

alms, throughout which he skillfully alternates between words made up of only „dotted‟

letters, and ones made up of only „non-dotted‟ script.

Above all though, al-Ḥarīrī never forgot that the goal of his writing was not only to show

off the Arabic language but above all to amuse and entertain readers. In fact, such was

the success of his Maqāmāt that they were subsequently translated into Hebrew by the

Andalusian poet Judah ibn Shlūmū al-Harīzī (1165-1225) who was also one of al-Ḥarīrī‟s

pupils,18 as well as into a host of other languages, including Syriac, Persian, Latin, French,

German and English. This was despite the fact that the considerable difficulties

associated with rendering translations faithfully into rhythm and rhyme have been near

insurmountable.

However, it is not only copying and translating that has taken place. As Allen tells us,

“after the death of al-Ḥarīrī, the Maqāmah became a favored mode of belletristic

expression in Arabic, its continuing popularity as a genre serving as one of the most

obvious manifestations of the literary élite‟s predilection for elaborate forms of prose

discourse.”19 Indeed, for nine centuries the Maqāmāt has been considered as the genre of

choice by Arab writers seeking a vehicle for writing about a wide range of subjects.

18
Jones. Maqamat in English literature in Encyclopedia of Literary Translation. Volume 2, p.912.
19
Allen. Arabic Literature. p.165

7
Many writers have indeed attempted to write their own version of Maqāmāt, even

including references to al-Ḥarīrī‟s work, such as al-Maqāmah as-Saroujī written by al-

Yāzijī (d. 1871) about the search for the spirit of Abū Zayd. Some authors have

accomplished impressive literary feats in the process, such as al-Jazarī (d. 1273) who

followed in al-Ḥarīrī‟s footsteps by creating a passage in his al-Maqāmah as-Sanjariyyah

that can be read forwards as well as backwards. None, however, have ever succeeded in

replicating the rhetorical mastery of al-Ḥarīrī. The incomparable nature of his work is

perfectly summed up by Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī who writes “had al-Ḥarīrī claimed the

Maqāmāt as a miracle no one would have been found to dispute it.”20

20
Yāqūt. Kitāb Mu‘jam al-Buldān. Volumes 15-16, p.265

8
 Bibliography

Allen, Roger. An Introduction to Arabic Literature. Cambridge University Press. United

Kingdom. 2000.

Classe, Olive. Encyclopedia of Literary Translation into English. Fitzroy Dearborn

Publishing. United Kingdom. 2000.

Gibb, H.A.R. Arabic Literature: An ISntroduction. Oxford University Press. United

Kingdom. 1926.

al-Ḥarīrī, Abū Muḥammad al-Qāsim. Sharaḥ Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī.. Dār at-Turāth. Beirut.

1968.

Ibn Khallikān, . Wafayāt al-A’yān wa-Anbā’ Abnā’ az-Zamān. Dār

ath-Thaqāfa. Beirut. 1968.

Nicholson, Reynold A. A Literary History of the Arabs. Cambridge University Press.

United Kingdom. 1968.

Preston, Theodore. Makamat or Rhetorical Anecdotes of al-Hariri of Basra: Translated

from the Arabic, with Annotations .Darf Publishers Limited. United Kingdom.

1986.

Yāqūt ibn „ - . Kitāb Mu‘jam al-Buldān. „at as-Sa„ādah. Egypt.

1906.