The authority of the Islamic clergy on the Andalusian Poetry during the Almoravides age

Abstract

Most of the old and contemporary researchers and poetry historians believe that the poetry retreated throughout the Almoravides (hij484-541) reign in Andalusia; and they have provided a number of reasons for this decline which include the lack of the Arabic comprehension on the Almoravides side, their concentration on war and invasions and the political instability which plagued their time among other reasons. The historians have studied these reasons in depth yet they have ignored to a large extent the strong and the negative influence exerted by the Islamic clergy on the poetry during this period. This study is about the authority exercised by the Islamic clerics on the poetry during the almorvides epoch. The study draws on the studies of the poetry in this period by concentrating on the work of three of the most well known poets at this era who are: the Blind of Tudela, Ibn-Khafaja and Ibn-Kuzman. The study also would investigate the other poets and poetry mentioned in the literary books that describe this period of time.