Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800 (64 page)
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Authors: Khaled El-Rouayheb
BOOK: Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800
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The discussions of the Ḥanafi
and Sha
fiʿi
jurists often took note of an alternative opinion, expressed by some older jurists of their schools, which forbids love poetry of boys regardless of whether their identity is specified or not. This latter position was apparently still endorsed by jurists of the Hanbali
and Ima
mi
Shi
ʿi
schools, who constituted a minority within the Arabic-speaking areas of the Ottoman Empire. Such jurists permitted saying love poetry of a woman if she was a wife or concubine, or if her identity was not specified, but held that composing love poetry of a boy was always out of bounds.
148
The Ima
mi
She scholar Zayn al-Di
n al-ʿĀmili
(d. 1558), for instance, commenting on a manual of law which stated that it was prohibited to say love poetry of a specific woman not available for licit intercourse, added:
and Shafiʿijurists often took note of an alternative opinion, expressed by some older jurists of their schools, which forbids love poetry of boys regardless of whether their identity is specified or not. This latter position was apparently still endorsed by jurists of the Hanbaliand ImamiShiʿischools, who constituted a minority within the Arabic-speaking areas of the Ottoman Empire. Such jurists permitted saying love poetry of a woman if she was a wife or concubine, or if her identity was not specified, but held that composing love poetry of a boy was always out of bounds.148
The Ima
miShe scholar Zayn al-Din al-ʿĀmili(d. 1558), for instance, commenting on a manual of law which stated that it was prohibited to say love poetry of a specific woman not available for licit intercourse, added:And exempted by the phrase “not available for licit intercourse”
(ghayr muḥallalah lahu
is a wife or concubine, the implication being that saying love poetry of them is permissible ... and the saying of love poetry of a boy is prohibited absolutely, since the object is prohibited [to the poet].
149
The Ḥanbali
scholar Muhammad al-Saffārīnī (d. 1774) also asserted that saying love poetry of a boy is prohibited, “whether the identity of the beardless boy is specified or not.”
150
He explicated the term “licit poetry” as “that which is free from the defamation of Muslims, and from descriptions of alcoholic beverages, a beardless boy, or a specified woman not available for licit intercourse.ʾʾ
151
scholar Muhammad al-Saffārīnī (d. 1774) also asserted that saying love poetry of a boy is prohibited, “whether the identity of the beardless boy is specified or not.”150
He explicated the term “licit poetry” as “that which is free from the defamation of Muslims, and from descriptions of alcoholic beverages, a beardless boy, or a specified woman not available for licit intercourse.ʾʾ
151
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