Syrian janbiya

[DaveA]

Hello,

A correspondent of mine sent me these photos of a janbiya he bought "somewhere in the middle of the desert during a trip to Syria." His question, of course, is whether it is a knife for the tourist or something more. I lean towards the latter, especially due to the quality and interesting reinforced tip of the blade and the beautiful hilt.

He obtained a translation of the writing on the blade:

In the middle, the year: 1942 ???

And a verse from a poem by Al-Mutanabbi

لا يسلم الشرف الرفيع من الأذى
حتى يراق على جوانبه الدم

High honor is never safe from harm
until there is bloodshed at its sides

I always enjoy learning the inscriptions on these blades. The poetry is usually very apropos the purpose of the knife!

Best,

Dave A.

[VANDOO]

A NICE CLASSIC EXAMPLE AND I AGREE LIKELY THE DATE IS CORRECT AND IT WAS MADE FOR LOCAL USE NOT JUST FOR SALE TO TOURISTS. THE WRITING ON THE BLADE AND THE FACT THAT IS IS LEGIBLE ALSO POINT TO SOMETHING MADE FOR A LOCAL.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

This is indeed a great item displaying the words of probably the greatest poet in Arabian History...some would say of all time!
I checked both the Encyclopeadia Britanicca and Wikepedia and found the latter to be more readable and informative thus...

Quote"Abu at-Tayyib Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Mutanabbi al-Kindi (Arabic: أبو الطيب أحمد بن الحسين المتنبّي الكندي Abū aṭ-Ṭayyib ʾAḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Mutanabbī al-Kindi‎) (915 – 23 September 965) was an Arab poet. He is considered as one of the greatest poets in the Arabic language. Much of his poetry revolves around praising the kings he visited during his lifetime. Some consider his 326 poems to be a great representation of his life story. He started writing poetry when he was nine years old. He is well known for his sharp intelligence and wittiness. Al-Mutanabbi had a great pride in himself through his poetry. Among the topics he discussed were courage, the philosophy of life, and the description of battles. Many of his poems were and still are widely spread in today's Arab world and are considered to be proverbial.

His great talent brought him very close to many leaders of his time. He praised those leaders and kings in return for money and gifts. His powerful and honest poetic style earned great popularity in his time.


Famous Sayings

"If you see the teeth of the lion, do not think that the lion is smiling at you."

Al-Mutanabbi was killed because one of his poems contained a great insult to a man called Dhaba al-Asadi (Arabic: ضبة الأسدي Ḍabba al-ʾAsadī). Dhaba, along with his Uncle Fatik al-Asadi (Arabic: فاتك الأسدي Fātik al-ʾAsadī), were determined to kill Al-Mutanabbi because of that poem which contained a great insult to Dhaba. They managed to intercept Al-Mutanabbi, his son Muhassad (Arabic: محسد Muḥassad), and his servant near Baghdad. Ibn Rachik reported that when Al-Mutanabbi wished to flee, his servant awkwardly reminded him of his bold verses; Al-Mutanabbi resolved to live up to them, fought, and died along with his companions in 965".Unquote

The remaining details of this amazing poet can be viewed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Mutanabbi

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi