Al-Muhassinat Al-Lafdziyah fi Al-Maqamah Al-Hilwaniyah li Muhammad Al-Qasim Al-Hariri

Abstract

Manuscripts of al-Harīrī's Maqāmāt (also known as The Assemblies of al-Hariri) is the famous work of Abu Mohammad Qasim bin Ali Hariri Basri, born in 446 AH.  This literary work is one of the oldest illustrated stories of Arabic literature during the Abbāsid caliphate. Unique literature, narrative attractions along with social criticism, moral and educational values are its unique features. By illustrating this work, Mahmoud Wasiti not only established the Baghdad School of Painting, but also created an illustrated culture of the social, behavioral, and moral conditions of the time. This article has used social criticism to describe and analyze the written and illustrated text of al-Harīrī's Maqāmāt and will address the realities of the medieval Arab society as well as the research results. Maqāmah (مقامة, pl. maqāmāt, مقامات, literally "assemblies") are an (originally) Arabic prosimetric literary genre which alternates the Arabic rhymed prose known as Saj‘ with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous.These Maqāmāt manuscripts were likely created and illustrated for the specialized book markets in cities such as Baghdad, Cairo, and Damascus, rather than for any particular patron.  The audience for these manuscripts were of elite and educated classes, such as nobles or scholars, as the Maqāmāt was largely appreciated and valued for its nuanced poetry and language choice, rather than its manuscript illustrations. The al-Harīrī Maqāmāt, also called the Schefer Maqāmāt, was illustrated by al-Wasiti and contains the highest amount of illustrations as well as being the most studied by scholars. Al-Muhassinat Al-Lafdziyyah is a style of language that makes words more beautiful and pleasant to hear in terms of pronunciation or sound articulation.