Rayat al-mubarrizin wa-ghayat al-mumayyazin facts for kids

Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn wa-ghāyāt al-mumayyazīn (Arabic: رايات المبرزين وغايات الممayyazīn), which means Banners of the Champions and the Standards of the Distinguished, is a collection of Arabic poems. It was written in the 1200s by a scholar named Ibn Said al-Maghribi. The poems in this book come from a region called al-Andalus. This was a part of Spain and Portugal where Arabic culture was very strong. Many experts believe this book is one of the most important collections of poetry from that time. Ibn Said wanted to show that poetry from the West (al-Andalus) was just as good as poetry from the East. Today, only one handwritten copy of this book still exists.

About the Book's Creation

How the Book Started

Ibn Said finished writing Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn wa-ghāyāt al-mumayyazīn in Cairo, Egypt. He completed it on June 21, 1243. The book was dedicated to Musā ibn Yaghmūr, who lived from 1203 to 1265. Musa ibn Yaghmur was likely a supporter of Ibn Said's work.

This book was made as a shorter version of a much larger work. That larger work was a fifteen-volume book called al-Mughrib fī ḥulā l-Maghrib. Ibn Said also put together this bigger book. He explained that he created Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn before the larger book was fully done. He made sure to note where he found all the poems. It seems this collection was meant for a small group of people. It was not for everyone to read. This was probably because it was made to honor his supporter, Musa ibn Yaghmur.

How the Poems are Organized

Ibn Said said he only wanted to include poems that were very clever and beautiful. All the poems in the book follow a traditional style. This means they use classic rhymes, rhythms, and words. He did not include poems written in everyday language.

The book is organized by where the poet lived and what their job was. It starts with poems from western Spain. Then it moves through central and eastern Spain. It also includes poems from Ibiza, North Africa, and Sicily. This way, it covers the entire region of al-Andalus. Famous cities like Córdoba, Granada, and Seville are included.

Within each region, the poems are sorted by city. Then, they are sorted by the poet's job. The highest-ranking jobs come first. Poets included kings, ministers, scholars, and even regular people. This book shows how important love poetry was to educated people in al-Andalus. The collection has 314 short poems. These poems are by 145 different poets. Ibn Said also added an introduction and a short ending. He sometimes added notes about the poems and the poets.

According to Arthur John Arberry, Ibn Said chose the poems and parts of poems himself. He even included many of his own writings. He put more of his own poems in the book than anyone else's. The whole section about Alcalá la Real is filled with poems by his family members. Most of the poems are very short parts of longer works. Sometimes, it's just a single verse.

Where the Poems Came From

For poems written during Ibn Said's and his father's lives, many came from people telling them aloud. Sometimes, the people who shared the poems are named. These include Ibn Al-Abbār and Al-Tīfāshī. Ibn Said also used many written sources.

Books from the West

He used collections of poems from al-Andalus. Some of these books were:

• Ibn ‘Abd Rabbi-hi, Kitāb al-‘iqd al farīd
• Ibn Bassām, Kitāb al-dhakhīra
• Ibn Khāqān, Qalā’id al-‘Iqyān

Books from the East

He also used collections from the eastern Arabic world. These included:

• ʻAbd al-Malik ibn Muḥammad Thaʻālibī, Yatīmat al-dahr
• Ḥarīrī, Durrat al-ghawwāṣ

Poets' Own Collections

Ibn Said also used Diwāns. These are books that collect all the poems by one writer. Some of the poets whose Diwāns he used were:

• Ibn Hāni’
• Ibn Ḥamdīs
• Ibn Khafāja

The Only Surviving Copy

When the book was prepared for modern readers by Emilio García Gómez, he used photos of the only known copy. He didn't know exactly where the original book was, but he thought it might be in Istanbul. This old book has 272 pages. It contains two different texts. Pages 202-272 hold the Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn wa-ghāyāt al-mumayyazīn. A famous scribe named Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad copied this book. He likely did this in Egypt. He finished copying the Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn on May 18, 1703.

A Poem Example

Here is a small part of a poem from the book. It's called "The Tailor's Apprentice" by Ibn Kharuf. This is how A. J. Arberry translated it:

His stool, the steed he rides upon
Rejoices in its champion
Armed with the needle that he plies
Sharp as the lashes of his eyes.

The needle o'er the silken dress
Careers with wondrous nimbleness
As down the sky bright meteors snake.

With threads of lightening in their wake.

How the Book Influenced Others

Emilio García Gómez's translation of the book had a big impact. It especially influenced modern Spanish poetry. A famous poet named Federico García Lorca was very inspired by it. His own book, El diván del Tamarit, shows a lot of influence from Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn.

See also

In Spanish: Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn wa-ghāyāt al-mumayyazīn para niños