Ibn Sallām al-Jumahī in Classical Arabic Poetry Criticism
Ibn Sallām al-Jumahī (d. 231/846 [?]) stands as one of the foremost critics representing
the classical tradition of both oral and written Arabic poetry criticism.
He drew not only from major figures of the oral tradition such as Abū ʿUbayda
and al-Aṣmaʿī but also from the methodological approaches of traditionists and
historians. This interdisciplinary engagement reflects Ibn Sallām’s ambition to
establish poetry criticism as an autonomous scholarly discipline rather than a
subsidiary branch of literary or linguistic studies. By reinterpreting the concepts
of fahl (poetic mastery) and ṭabaqāt (hierarchical classification), which had shaped
earlier critical thought, Ibn Sallām sought to transform poetry criticism into
a systematic and regulated field with defined criteria and specialists. This study
examines Ibn Sallām’s project—partially realized in his extant works—as a foundational
attempt to institutionalize Arabic literary criticism. Focusing on
the ṭabaqāt framework, the research traces the intellectual sources that influenced
Ibn Sallām and evaluates the extent to which he was indebted to the preexisting
oral and written traditions. It also explores his level of originality and
his success in developing an independent critical paradigm. Through this discussion,
the study analyzes how Ibn Sallām defined the concept of poetry, the
standards he employed in classifying poets, and his overall contribution to shaping
a structured discipline of poetry criticism. Challenging the prevailing assumption
that systematic Arabic poetry criticism emerged in the 4th/10th century,
this research argues that its roots can, in fact, be traced back to the 3rd/9th
century. The study employs a qualitative methodology that emphasizes textual
interpretation and contextual understanding.
Keywords: Arabic Language and Literature; Ibn Sallām al-Jumahī; Poetry Criticism;
Fahl; Ṭabaqāt