Qasida (also spelled
qasidah) in
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
:
قصيدة, plural
qasā'id,
قــصــائـد; in
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
:
قصیده (or
چكامه,
chakameh),
TurkishTurkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other...
:
Kaside, is a form of
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
from
pre-IslamicIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
Arabia. It typically runs more than 50 lines, and sometimes more than 100. It was later inherited by the Persians, where it became sometimes longer than 100 lines and was used and developed immensely.
Qasida is often
panegyricA panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
written in praise of a king or a nobleman.
Qasida (also spelled
qasidah) in
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
:
قصيدة, plural
qasā'id,
قــصــائـد; in
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
:
قصیده (or
چكامه,
chakameh),
TurkishTurkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other...
:
Kaside, is a form of
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
from
pre-IslamicIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
Arabia. It typically runs more than 50 lines, and sometimes more than 100. It was later inherited by the Persians, where it became sometimes longer than 100 lines and was used and developed immensely.
Qasida is often
panegyricA panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
written in praise of a king or a nobleman. This kind of qasidah is known as a
madih meaning praise. Qasidas have a single presiding subject, logically developed and concluded.
The classic form of qasida maintains a single elaborate
meterIn poetry, the meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse meter, or a certain set of meters alternating in a particular order. Prosody is a more general linguistic term, that includes poetical meter but also the rhythmic aspects of...
throughout the poem, and every line rhymes. These poems are considered some of the most elaborate in the world.
In his 9th century
Kitab al-shi'r wa-al-shu'ara (Book of Poetry and Poets) the Arabic writer ibn QutaybahIbn Qutaybah was a renowned Islamic scholar from Kufa, Iraq.-Biography:His full name is Abu Muhammad ‘Abdullaah bin Muslim Ibn Qutaybah Ad-Dinawaree . He was born in Kufa in what is now modern day Iraq. He was of Iranian descent; his father was from Merv...
says that (Arabic) qasida are formed of three parts:
- They start, he says, with a nostalgic opening in which the poets reflects on what has passed, known as nasib
. A common concept is the pursuit of the poet of the caravan of his love; by the time he reaches their campsite they have already moved on.
- The nasib
is usually followed by the takhallus
- a release or disengagement. The poet often achieved this disengagement by describing his transition from the nostalgia of the nasib
to the next portion of the poem. The second section is rahil
(travel section) in which the poet contemplates the harshness of nature and life away from the tribe.
- Finally there is the message of the poem, which can take several forms: praise of the tribe, fakhr
; satire about other tribes, hija
; or some moral maxims, hikam.
While a lot of poets have intentionally or unintentionally deviated from this plan in their qasida it is recognisable in many.
One of the most popular and well known qasidas is the Qasida Burda ("Poem of the Mantle") by
Imam al-BusiriBūsīrī was an Egyptian poet who lived in Egypt, where he wrote under the patronage of Ibn Hinna, the vizier. His poems seem to have been wholly on religious subjects...
.
Persian variation of Qasideh
As mentioned above, after the 10th century, Iranians developed qasideh immensely and used it for very different purposes other than praise or nostalgia as did Arabs originally for the tribal and nomadic life.
For example, Naser Khosro used qasideh extensively for philosophical, theological, and ethical purposes. Even
Avicenna, known as Abū Alī Sīnā or Ibn Sīnā , and commonly known in English by his Latinized name Avicenna , was a Persian polymath and the foremost physician and philosopher of his time...
used qasideh to express philosophical ideas.
In the Persian style, the opening is usually description of a natural event like seasons (spring, fall, etc) or a natural landscape, or an imaginary sweetheart. If it's about the spring it's called 'baharieh' (in Persian: بهاريه or Spring Poem), if it's about the fall it's called 'khazanieh' (in Persian: خزانيه, or Autumn Poem).
Then there comes the 'takhallos' (disengagement or escape or the main purpose) where the poets usually addresses themselves by using their pen name. Then the last section is the main purpose of the poet in writing the poem. Because, after all, 'qasideh' literally means intention and it was used to ask for support from a patron or to state a petition.
In
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
the best qasidehs are those by
- Farrokhi Sistani, the court poet of Mahmoud Ghaznavi (11th century), especially his 'Hunting Scene' (in Persian: قصيده شكارگاه),
- Masud Sa'd Salman
Mas'ud-i Sa'd-i Salmān was an 11th century Persian poet of the Ghaznavid empire who is known as the prisoner poet.-Early life:He was born in 1046 CE in Lahore to wealthy parents from Hamadan, present-day Iran...
(12th century) who was wrongfully imprisoned on the suspicion of treason
- Anvari Abiverdi
Anvari , full name Awhad ad-Din 'Ali ibn Mohammad Khavarani or Awhad ad-Din 'Ali ibn Mahmud was one of the greatest Persian poets....
, (12th century) especially his petition for help against the invasion of Mongols
- Khaghani Shervani
Khāqāni or Khāghāni – 1190) , a Persian poet who was born in Shirvan, under the Shirvanshah and died in Tabriz in present-day Iran.- Life :...
(12th century)
- and in the 20th century, Mohammad Taghi Bahar
Mohammad-Taqí Bahār , widely known as Malek o-Sho'arā and Malek o-Sho'arā Bahār, is a renowned Iranian poet and scholar, who was also a politician, journalist, historian and Professor of Literature...
with his innovations in using qasideh for political purposes.
After the Mongol invasion and starting in the 14th century, Persian poets became more interested in
ghazalThe ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
and the qasideh declined in status. Ghazal was originally developed from the first part of qasideh where the poets praised their sweethearts. The mystic poets and sufis used ghazal for mystical purposes.
See also
- Islam
Islam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
- Sufi poetry
Sufi poetry has been written in many languages, both for private devotional reading and as lyrics for music played during worship, or dhikr. Themes and styles established in Arabic poetry and mostly Persian poetry have had an enormous influence on Sufi poetry throughout the Islamic world.Some of...
- Urdu poetry
Urdu poetry is one of the most dominant and prominent poetries of times and has many different colours & types...
- Qaṣīdat-ul-Burda
- Qawwali
Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia, particularly in areas with a historically strong Muslim presence, such as southern Pakistan, and parts of North India...
like in India a renowned and well known QASEEDA OR QASIDA writer and reciter is FARAZ DAQ-E-HIND ALLAM QAIS ZANGIPURI.he has written on almost all issue(zameen)1899-1972