Reading and Counter-Reading: A Comparative Approach to Receiving the Poetry of Amr ibn Qays between Ibn Rashiq al-Qairawani and Ibn Sharaf al-Qairawani

Abstract

#Since criticism - as knowledge and practice - represents a discourse that inherently involves the dominance of a certain authority, reflecting the self-desire of the producer to assert power, critical discourses produced within a cultural and historical context are not exempt from excluding each other. Even the creative text being studied is not immune to the impact of the conflicts of interpretations on its reception. Based on this assumption, this research aims - through an analysis of the reception of Amr ibn Qays' poetry by Ibn Rashiq al-Qairawani and Ibn Sharaf al-Qairawani, as models of reading and counter-reading - to: examine the specificity of each reader's approach, the references they relied on, and the aspects overlooked in their readings. To achieve these objectives, a descriptive-explanatory methodology was adopted scientifically, and a discourse analysis methodology was used analytically. The most important findings include: 1. Ibn Rashiq's reading sought to elevate the status of Amr ibn Qays and his poetry, while Ibn Sharaf's reading leaned towards the opposite. Although both readings were based on the horizon of previous readers' expectations, each of them selectively aligned with what suited their purpose of reading. 2. Neither critic was innocent in their reading of Amr ibn Qays' poetry; they were driven by personal motives that led them to use it as a means to achieve their own goals due to the literary rivalry between them. Conversely, the poetry of Amr ibn Qays, along with the critical discourse it generated, had a significant impact that enabled reading and counter-reading to realize their statements and experiences with their respective strategies.