Abu Dhabi, January 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Book on Poetry encyclopaedia by anonymous fifth-Hijri-century author includes 2,700 literary pieces. The National Library of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) has published the first part of a new book entitled "Soul of the Soul" authored by an anonymous Muslim scholar of the fifth Hijri (Islamic Calendar) century.
The book is considered to be among the most important poetry encyclopaedias in Arabic.
According to Ibrahim Saleh, who researched and edited the work, it is impossible to know the identity of the author of the book, which is available in two manuscripts only; one in the National Library in Paris while the other one is in the Assad National Library in Damascus.
The publication of the book comes within the framework of the commemoration of the centenary of Sheikh Zayed the First, in appreciation of his efforts as a ruler for Abu Dhabi which are celebrated by ADACH.
Saleh said the importance of this book, which is divided into 360 sections, is due to the combination of several factors but first and foremost, its 2,790 literary pieces makes the largest collections of Arabic poetry in quantity and quality of the time, although around 2% of its predominately-verse content is prose.
The book divides Arabic poetry according to the old tradition of categorisations into authors and themes, among other divisions.
ADACH said it recognised the amount of effort made by the anonymous author in compiling and categorising such rich and dear poetry content.
The prime focus of the book is poets from the fourth and fifth Hijri centuries, and it rarely contains any of the works of poets from pre-Islamic, Islamic, Umayyad and Abbasid eras.
Saleh said the author is tipped to be among the disciples of Al Thaalibi (961-1038) the famous Muslim scholar, whose name is mentioned in the book with the utmost regard, and whose renowned work - "Yatimat Al Dahr" (One of its Kind) - is a primary source.
Saleh also expected that some of the unattributed poetry cited in the book is the work of the author himself, as he used the phrase "some contemporary poet said" to refer to himself implicitly.
Middle East Online
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