Equally
Neglected Are The Tawarikh (History) And The Hikmat (Or Philosophy),
Once So Ardently Cultivated By Moslem Savans; Indeed, It Is Now All But
Impossible To Get Books Upon These Subjects.
For upwards of six weeks,
I ransacked the stalls and the bazar, in order to find some one of
The
multitudinous annals of Al-Hijaz, without seeing for sale anything but
the fourth volume of a large biographical work called al-Akd al-Samin
fi Tarikh al-Balad al-Amin.
The 'Ilm al-'Aruz, or Prosody, is not among the Arabs, as with us, a
chapter hung on to the tail of grammar. It is a long and difficult
study, prosecuted only by those who wish to distinguish themselves in
"Arabiyat,"-the poetry and the eloquence of the ancient and modern
Arabs. The poems generally studied, with the aid of commentaries, which
impress every verse upon the memory, are the Burdah and the Hamziyah,
well-known odes by Mohammed of Abusir. They abound in obsolete words,
and are useful at funerals, as on other solemn occasions. The Banat
Su'adi, by Ka'ab al-Ahbar (or Akhbar), a companion of the Apostle, and
the Diwan 'Umar ibn Fariz, a celebrated mystic, are also learned
compositions. Few attempt the bulky volume of Al-Mutanabbi-though many
place it open upon the sofa,-fewer still the tenebrous compositions of
Al-Hariri; nor do the modern Egyptians admire those fragments of
ancient Arab poets, which seem so sweetly simple to the European ear.
The change of faith has altered the national taste to such an extent,
that the decent bard must now sing of woman in the masculine gender.
For which reason, a host of modern poetasters can attract the public
ear, which is deaf to the voices of the "Golden Song."
In the exact sciences, the Egyptian Moslems, a backward race according
to European estimation, are far superior to the Persians and the
Moslems of India.
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