The Concept of Poetic Virility and Poetic Class in Classical Arabic Criticism: A Comparative Study of al-Asmaʿī, Ibn Sallām al-Jumaḥī, and Ibn al-Muʿtazz in the 2nd–3rd Centuries AH

This study analyzes the conceptual evolution of "Poetic Virility" (Fuḥūlat al-Shuʿarāʾ) and "Poetic Class" (Ṭabaqāt al-Shuʿarāʾ) within classical Arabic literary criticism during the 2nd–3rd centuries AH. Through a systematic textual-comparative methodology, it examines the critical works of al-Asmaʿī, Ibn Sallām al-Jumaḥī, and Ibn al-Muʿtazz to identify the evaluative criteria each scholar employed in classifying poets and to situate these criteria within their respective intellectual and historical contexts. Findings reveal a distinct developmental trajectory: al-Asmaʿī restrictively associated poetic virility with pre-Islamic poets based on quantitative output, qualitative excellence, and renown; Ibn Sallām expanded the framework to incorporate early Islamic poets, constructing a hierarchical class system rooted in artistic merit; and Ibn al-Muʿtazz shifted focus entirely to ʿAbbasid court poets, omitting the concept of virility while emphasizing panegyric and stylistic refinement. The study concludes that this progression reflects a broader transition from impressionistic, taste-based evaluation toward increasingly systematic and contextualized literary criticism in early Islamic intellectual history.