Non-Laudatory Qasidahs and Overview of a Qasidah’s Sections

Abstract

"Qasidahs" were undoubtedly written with a wide range of purposes. However, it is a fact that the first concept one associates with the term "qasidah" is that of "tribute" (praise). With time, the concepts of "qasidah" and "tribute" became so close in terms of their meaning that the chapter/part of the qasidahs dealing with the main subject/plot was entitled as tribute. Contrary to this, poems which were not written as a tribute but looked similar to qasidah in terms of verses and rhyme scheme can be seen in chapters of diwans named "qasidahs". This type of qasidahs are mostly unusual, didactical poems which remind one of a mathnavi. Some of these qasidahs which are composed of two parts, namely the maksud (intent) and dua (prayer) can be considered as distinct works in terms of their titles, length, certain themes they deal with, their mathnavi-like fragmentation, and for some of them, their namings. This paper will shed light upon the form of this type of qasidahs which were not written as a tribute and, based on this, make some suggestions as to the different parts of a qasidah.