Language:
English
Year of publication:
2024
Titel der Quelle:
Hebrew Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
65 (2024) 3-26
Keywords:
Ibn Sahl al-Isrāʼīlī, Ibrāhīm, Criticism and interpretation
;
Moses In literature
;
Arabic poetry History and criticism
;
Poetry, Medieval History and criticism
;
Hebrew poetry, Medieval History and criticism
;
Love poetry History and criticism
;
Allegory
;
Sufism
;
Muslim converts from Judaism
Abstract:
The present study analyzes the love poetry composed in Arabic by the Jewish convert to Islam Ibrāhīm Ibn Sahl al-Isrāʾīlī al-Ishbīlī (1211–1251). Ibn Sahl is considered unique among poets in the Andalusian period. He wrote his poetry in fluent Arabic and was very familiar with the use of Arabic themes and expressions, yet his verses contain allegorical allusions and utterances that hint at a yearning for his Jewish origins and for Hebrew. The discussion will focus on the meanings of Ibn Sahl's love poems, both literal and allegorical, especially the poems devoted to the figure of "Moses" and the various meanings that can be attached to it.A significant question that Ibn Sahl's love poems raise is how to understand the status of the beloved figure of "Moses" ('Mūsā'): Is the poet referring to the Moses the prophet, who serves as a mask behind which Ibn Sahl can express his yearning for the Jewish faith into which he was born, or is his intention to express his ardent love for "Moses", hidden behind a ṣūfī mask, in an imitation of the ṣūfī poets whom he encountered in Andalusia? Another important question is whether Ibn Sahl's use of ṣūfī terminology was a result of his contacts with ṣūfī scholars, headed by the mystic philosopher Muḥyi al-Dīn Ibn ʿArabī (1165–1240), a native of Murcia and author of Turjumān al-ashwāq ('Interpreter of Desires').The present study will attempt to answer these questions.
DOI:
10.1353/hbr.2024.a945132
URL:
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