Invective poetry as violence

The genre of hijaɔ, ‘satire’, ‘lampoon’, or ‘invective poetry’, was a cultural phenomenon very characteristic of pre-Islamic Arabian society. It had a special significance in the context of tribal conflicts and rivalry, and was by no means considered sinful or reprehensible per se even though recognized to be a form of aggressive challenge. From the time of the great Islamic conquests urbanization, detribalization and the increasing dominance of Islamic values, emphasizing the brotherhood of all Muslims and condemning unnecessary conflict as well as malevolence and slander gradually modified popular attitudes to hijaɔ to some extent. Popular assessments of the phenomenon palpably shifted towards disapproval. However, that vague disapproval did not result in the emergence of clear-cut norms, a set of straightforward rules, for the proper manner of reacting to a challenge of hijaɔ. As we shall see, a myriad possibilities of response were available to the offended person, and deciding the eventual course of action or inaction involved considerations of audience, publicity and secrecy, honour, generally accepted norms, political realities, and social circumstances. Surely, personal temper also played a role. Reactions to hijaɔ apparently ranged from extremely violent retaliation to deliberate inaction; and both extremes of behaviour might be either approved or disapproved of by the public, depending on the circumstances and the various interpretations of the antagonists' motives.