Hadithi ya Qiyama
MS 380530a : Hadithi ya Qiyama.
This utenzi narrates the events of Judgement Day. After praising God and Mohammed, the author says, in stanza 11, that he has read a book (in Arabic) that told of Judgement Day. He then names the physical conditions that will characterise the time: there will be no water in the world (18); no food,...
| Full title: |
Hadithi ya Qiyama [electronic resource]. |
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| Alternative titles: |
MS 380530a : Hadithi ya Qiyama. |
| Format: | Electronic |
| Language: | Swahili |
| Published: |
[n.d.].
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| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
ASC. REGIONS. RAFR. ISLAMIC. SWAHILI. ILOAA. IASC. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online access: |
Electronic Resource Click here to view record |
| Summary: |
This utenzi narrates the events of Judgement Day. After praising God and Mohammed, the author says, in stanza 11, that he has read a book (in Arabic) that told of Judgement Day. He then names the physical conditions that will characterise the time: there will be no water in the world (18); no food, sleep or rest (20); and a fierce wind will blow (22). God sends the angels on various missions. Jibril asks the earth where the grave of the prophet may be found, but the earth cannot say. So Izrafil blows his horn, and light emanates from Mohammed's grave (43). When Mohammed asks about the strange world in which he finds himself, Jibril explains that the Day of Judgement has come (55). Mohammed asks about some of his companions, and they appear (61). Mohammed's horse will not agree to be ridden until it receives a promise of the Prophet's intercession (67). The utenzi also narrates the blowing of the horn by Izrafil (75) and the gathering of human souls (82); the argument from evil souls, who do not want to be restored to their bodies because they fear torment in hell (90); Mohammed's inquiry about the whereabouts of his people (110) and his arrival at the place where they are crying out in distress (132); delivery of the scales to God and the pronouncing of judgement (136); Jibril's delivery to Malik of God's order to build a huge fire (149); the suffering of the sinners in the fire (173-192); the pleas of Abraham (193) and Jesus (195) that they be spared the fire; Mohammed's plea that all his followers be spared (204); the nature of the Swirat, the way along which all human beings must pass whether they are destined for heaven or hell (208); the delights of those who enter heaven (213); and the suffering and vain protests of those who enter hell (221). The poem concludes with a prayer. This 246-stanza manuscript does not match any manuscript described by Allen (1971) or Knappert (1967), although many sections of its narrative resemble those two published versions. It contains a curious mixture of Kiamu word forms and forms associated with the more northern dialect of Kigunya (also known as Kitikuu or Kibajuni). Stanza 88, in which 'zile' (line 1) and 'uzito' (line 3) appear with 'dha' (line 1) and 'ndha' (line 2) provides an example of this. Also in this utenzi the 'ka' tense is used somewhat unusually, to narrate events that have yet to occur. For comments on age of the poem and its composition, see Allen (1971) and Biersteker (1996). |
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| Language: | Swahili |
| Published: |
[n.d.].
|
| Subjects: | |
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
ASC. REGIONS. RAFR. ISLAMIC. SWAHILI. ILOAA. IASC. |
| Bibliography: |
Relevant publications: Allen, J.W.T. 1971. Tendi. London: Heinemann Educational, pp. 429-485. Biersteker, Ann. 1996. Kujibizana: Questions of Language and Power in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Poetry in Kiswahili. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press. Hemed Abdallah Said al-Buhry. 1945. Utendi wa Qiyama. Ed. and trans. by Roland Allen. Special supplement to Tanganyika Notes and Records. Knappert, Jan. 1967. Traditional Swahili Poetry. Leiden: E.J. Brill, pp. 243-264. Sacleux, Charles. 1939. Dictionnaire Swahili-Francais. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie, pp. 1094-1108. |
| Access: |
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