Astrology between poetics and politics in the Abbasid period: Abū al-'Alā' al-Ma'arrī as case study

It is the aim of this study to examine the astrological references in the work of Abū al-'Alā' al-Ma'arrī, an outstanding reclusive misanthropic poet who occupies a lonely eminence among the poets of the mid-Abbasid period. He addressed the ordinary thoughtful citizen and never put his talent at the service of politicians except when under great financial pressure, nor did he lower himself to satirize a particular rival. Throughout his life he resisted the entanglements of love and strove to keep his talent uncorrupted in order to awaken his audience to the miserable realities of life.The main concern of this study is to investigate al-Ma'arrī's personal attitudes towards astrology, his level of knowledge of the principles and concepts underlying the discipline, and the nature and function of the astrological references in his works. We will also discuss the poet's use of astrology, not mainly to ascertain whether he regarded it as a valid or invalid science, but to discover how he subjected its principles and techniques to his poetic vision, and how he managed to appeal to the medieval Muslim audience, most of whom seem to have trusted in astrology. The main research questions that deserve our attention here are: How did al-Ma'arrī's worldview affect his poetry in general and his use of astrological references in particular? What was his intention in employing astrological references? And what was his opinion on astrology and astrologers? The author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the University of Manchester. All rights reserved. © 2012 The author.