Praise between Al-Musayyab Ibn Alas and Rudaki Samarqandi: A comparative study

Abstract

Praise is one of the poetic purposes that poets have paid most attention to. It is believed that praise is the basis of other poetic purposes, hence poets and researchers in various cultures, such as Arabic and Persian, have given it their attention. Among those illustrious names who dealt with praise as a primary purpose in poetry are the Arab poet Al-Musayyab Ibn Alas and the Persian poet Rudaki Samarqandi. Using a descriptive analytical approach, this article attempts to compare praise between these poets and discover the similarities and the differences between their poetry. The study concludes that the issue of profiteering from poetry, which is related to the personality of the poet, was present in the minds of both, in addition to the presence of other motives related to the personality of the praised. The two poets focused on highlighting the image of the praised and ignored everyone else except while he serves to highlight the qualities of the latter. Rudaki, for instance, praised the moral and physical qualities of the praiseworthy, in contrast to Al-Musayyab, who paid attention only to his moral qualities. The image of the praised, however, was overshadowed by the actual reason for praise; be it a reward or a genuine admiration for the praised. The present article in this sense is an attempt to highlight a very prominent characteristic of old poetry.