Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800 (21 page)

ji
was prompted to compose a couplet when he was criticized for gazing at a handsome youth near the White Bridge in Damascus by the local scholars Ahmad ibn Sha
hi
n (d. 1644) and ʿAbd al-Rahman al-ʿIma
di
(d. 1641), unless he believed, or wanted his readers to believe, that this was indeed the case. One may also consider the following three stories:
(I) In his poetic anthology
Nafh
at al-rayh
a
nah)
Muh
ibbi
mentioned that his close friend Ah
mad al-S
afadi
(d. 1689), toward the end of his life, fell madly in love with a youth called Raba
h
. Muh
ibbi
then cited a short poem his love-struck friend said, the last verse of which indicates the youth in question:
Abandon your occupation, and occupy yourself with a beloved, and perhaps time will grant you Raba
h
113

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