View source for (Boylove Documentary Sourcebook) - A List of Some Handsome Beardless Youths of Early 12th-Century Al-Andalus in a Poem by Ibn Quzmān

[[File:MA Salón de Abd al-Rahman III (Salón Rico).jpg|thumb|center|Interior of the "Salón Rico", the reception hall of the Umayyad Caliph Abd-ar-Rahman III, located at the ruins of the Andalusi Moorish palace-city of Medina Azahara, built in the 10th century on the outskirts of Córdoba, [[Spain]].]]


From <i>The Mischievous Muse: Extant Poetry and Prose by Ibn Quzmān of Córdoba (d. AH 555/AD 1160)</i>, Volume 1, edition, translation, and notes, along with an analysis of selected poems by James T. Monroe, <i>Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures</i> (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2016). Footnotes omitted.

<b>Note:</b> <i>The </i>zajal<i> below comes from the </i>Dīwān<i> (Early 12th Century) by Abū Bakr ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Quzmān, which is dedicated to his patron, the </i>amīn<i> ("Market Inspector of Weight and Measures") Abū Iṣhāq Ibrāhīm ibn Aḥmad al-Waškī.</i><ref>James T. Monroe, ed. and trans., <i>The Mischievous Muse: Extant Poetry and Prose by Ibn Quzmān of Córdoba (d. AH 555/AD 1160)</i>, Volume 1, <i>Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures</i> (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2016), p. 24.</ref> 

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<big><b>69</b></big>

<i>0</i> The love of my heart requests<br>
<i>That I praise pretty boys.</i>

1 I will have to praise those<br>
About whom he has had good things to say:<br>
I would never contradict Al-Waškī’s opinion<br>
<i>Even though surrounded by lances.</i>

2 Indeed, his nature has no equal,<br>
For he is always responsive to me:<br>
In this wise does a helpful nature<br>
<i>Respond, as soon as it is called.</i>

3 I apologize to you, Sir,<br>
For beginning with whomever I may;<br>
I’m neither putting a good boy after a bad one,<br>
<i>Nor putting him first because of his goodness.</i>

4 As-Subkī’s youngest son<br>
Has a face like the shining full moon;<br>
Once he grows up he’ll be even prettier,<br>
<i>For midday comes after dawn.</i>

5 The same is true of Ibn al-Aslamī:<br>
Whoever denies his beauty is blind,<br>
And is defending himself with a lie,<br>
<i>So that I grant my permission to attack him.</i>

6 The son of <i>ḥajj</i> Ibn Ubayy<br>
Is well-mannered, intelligent, and sweet:<br>
“There is no beauty beyond his!”<br>
<i>Loudly announces the one who sees him.</i>

7 As for Ibn Muḥriz, what a boy he is!<br>
There’s no one like him anywhere.<br>
Should anyone fall ill for lack of him,<br>
<i>He will recover upon seeing that lad’s eyes.</i>

8 The same is true of Ibn Abī l-Ḫiṣāl:<br>
Beauty itself becomes confused by his beauty:<br>
He was created from permitted magic,<br>
<i>So speak out in praise of him, without any sin.</i>

9 Likewise, Al-ʿAbbād has certain qualities,<br>
And is perfect in every respect:<br>
Sitting down without loving him is a sin,<br>
<i>Whereas dying of love for him is a virtue.</i>

10 Likewise, Ibn al-ʿAṭṭār is cute,<br>
And love for him is true love:<br>
Were Qays ibn aḏ-Ḏarīḥ to see him,<br>
<i>He would find no escape from the boy.</i>

11 In beauty, the tax-collector’s son<br>
Is so outstanding that he has no equal:<br>
You will find eyes like a gazelle in him,<br>
<i>Along with little cheeks like dawn.</i>

12 His brother Aḥmad encompasses [fair features],<br>
For elegance is natural to both of them:<br>
Whoever falls into his snare, will collapse<br>
<i>And remain in it with broken wings.</i>

13 As for Abū Bakr of Cúllar-Vega,<br>
What a cute boy he is, both rare and noble!<br>
Because of his prettiness, wounds<br>
<i>Are inflicted upon men’s hearts.</i>

14 Likewise, Al-ʿIzz has no equal;<br>
Every form of beauty’s reached its peak in him:<br>
If he swaggers, he has every right to do so,<br>
<i>And is to be thanked for his condescension.</i>

15 As for that boy’s maternal cousin,<br>
It is also my purpose to praise him,<br>
For, by the Prophet, I know well<br>
<i>That I seduce with my praise.</i>

16 Who’s the boy from Priego I’ve not seen,<br>
When God Himself brought him to us?<br>
I will now fly in praise of him,<br>
<i>As does the falcon on wings.</i>

17 Abū l-Qāsim, I have finished<br>
Mentioning all those included in my <i>zajal</i>;<br>
It is sound, with smooth wording,<br>
<i>And even sounder ideas.</i><br>

18 What words they are, extended and sweet,<br>
Of equal quality from first to last!<br>
If not for you, I’d never have composed them,<br>
<i>And now, who would ever consider marriage?</i>
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[[File:Ustad Muhammadi - Hamza Mirza Entertained (detail). Persian tinted drawing, second half of the 16th century. Safavid Period, Iran.png|thumb|center|<i>Hamza Mirza Entertained</i> (detail). Persian tinted drawing by Ustad Muhammadi, second half of the 16th century. Safavid Period, Iran. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 14.587.]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Adult friend (dictionary)]]
*[[Age of attraction (dictionary)]]
*[[Boylove]]
*[[Ephebophilia]]
*[[Ghilman]]
*[[Köçek]]
*[[Loved boy (dictionary)]]
*[[Minor-attracted person (dictionary)]]
*[[Pederasty in the Middle East and Central Asia]]
*[[Pedophilia]]
*[[Situational homosexuality (dictionary)]]
*[[Sufism]]
*[[Tellak]]
*[[Young friend (dictionary)]]

[[Category:Boylove Documentary Sourcebook]]
[[Category:Spain]]
[[Category:Arabic literature]]
[[Category:Boylove in literature]]
[[Category:Poetry]]
[[Category:LGBT articles]]