Abundance from the Desert: Classical Arabic Poetry

13 To Egypt with Love

248 To Egypt with Love An Egyptian is whoever truly loves Egypt. —Najib Mahfuz, “Simsarat al-amir” (The Prince’s Broker, 1979) Our last poet is Baha’ al-Din Zuhayr, a younger contemporary of Ibn alFarid . He is not as well known as Ibn al-Farid nor as well known as any of the other poets from whose works we have read. In the past quarter century he has attracted scant scholarly attention, and perhaps by many readers and admirers of Arabic literature he has been forgotten. His poetry has a special charm, however, and it would seem that he deserves greater recognition and an acknowledged place in the first rank of poets from the classical period. In this chapter we will recall his life and suggest the milieu in which he operated, read a selection of his amatory and panegyrical verse, and study an extraordinary poem by him. Baha’ al-Din Zuhayr was born in 1186 at Mecca. We may assume that he began attending lessons there in such subjects as literature, history, and religion. At some time while still a young man, he emigrated to Qus, where he completed his formal education. Qus, it may be pointed out, is located by the Nile some twenty miles north of Luxor at which place the river comes closest to the Red Sea. Egypt then was ruled by the Ayyubids (1171–1250) and was the center of Muslim power, Islam’s richest territory,1 and Qus was Egypt’s way station en route to the Red Sea. In this period it was Egypt’s third city, after Cairo and Alexandria. Andalusi traveler Ibn Jubayr sojourned there in 1183 and said: “This is a city of fine markets, and of ample amenities, and it has many beings in it because of the comings and goings of pilgrims and merchants from India, the Yemen, and Ethiopia. It is a place which all may come upon, a place of alighting for the traveler, a gathering place To Egypt with Love 249 for companies of wayfarers, and a meeting-place for pilgrims from the Maghrib [North Africa and al-Andalus], from Misr [Cairo], from Alexandria and from adjoining lands. From here they go into the desert of ‘Aydhab, and here they return on their way back from the Hajj.”2 When Baha’ al-Din was twenty-four, Ibn al-Lamti, an Ayyubid favorite, was appointed governor of Qus, and our poet addressed to him a poem of congratulation . He spent the next decade or so in this governor’s service, although he also traveled to Cairo and Damascus and composed panegyrics for the sultans al- ‘Adil (r. 1200–1218) and al-Kamil (r. 1218–38). During this period he developed a close friendship with the Upper Egyptian native Ibn Matruh (d. 1251), who would become an important political poet for the Ayyubids and would remain Baha’ al-Din’s friend for life. Around the middle 1220s Baha’ al-Din left Qus for Cairo and, there, was made secretary to the crown prince, al-Salih Ayyub. Under the Ayyubids Cairo was thriving, and we may pause here to picture the environment into which Baha’ al-Din settled. The city included at least eighteen principal markets. Urbanization was under way, and while the less fortunate were crowding into existing dwellings or adding small additions to them, the rich and well connected were building for themselves pavilions, complete with ample reception areas and Nile views. Numerous gardens lined the river; one of them was called, presumably in reference to the person who was often taken or met there, “Bustan al-Ma‘shuq” (Garden of the Beloved). The atmosphere in Cairo was notably pleasant and festive from August to October, on account of high Nile. The atmosphere could also be dreadful this time of year, however, such as in 1201 and 1202, when the river did not rise much.3 The opening, typically in August, of the canal, the Khalij, was annual cause for celebration. Yet authorities had reason for concern should this event fall during the holy month of Ramadan. For example, in 1198, as we are told: “The water in the Khalij flowed by the grace of God. . . . The people engaged in activities of depravity and idleness in boats on a day of the month of Ramadan and with them were whores who played upon lutes. One heard their voices, their lewdness, and their customers with them in their boats. These men kept neither their hands nor...