Arab Literature
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي /
ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...
: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as
prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...
and
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, produced by writers in the
Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from a meaning of
etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...
, and which implies politeness, culture and enrichment. Arabic literature emerged in the 5th century with only fragments of the written language appearing before then. The
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
, widely regarded as the finest piece of literature in the
Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
, would have the greatest lasting effect on
Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Arab ...
and its literature. Arabic literature flourished during the
Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
, but has remained vibrant to the present day, with poets and prose-writers across the
Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
, as well as in the
Arab diaspora Arab diaspora (also known as MENA diaspora, as a short version for the Middle East and North Africa diaspora) refers to descendants of the Arab people, Arab Emigration, emigrants who, voluntarily or as refugees, emigrated from their native lands ...
, achieving increasing success.


History


''Jahili''

is the literature of the pre-Islamic period referred to as ''al-Jahiliyyah'', or "the time of ignorance". In pre-Islamic Arabia, markets such as Souq Okaz, in addition to and , were destinations for caravans from throughout the peninsula. At these markets poetry was recited, and the dialect of the
Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
, the tribe in control of Souq Okaz of Mecca, became predominant.


Poetry

Notable poets of the pre-Islamic period were Abu Layla al-Muhalhel and
Al-Shanfara Al-Shanfarā ( ar, الشنفرى; died c. 525 CE) was a semi-legendary pre-Islamic poet tentatively associated with Ṭāif, and the supposed author of the celebrated poem '' Lāmiyyāt ‘al-Arab''. He enjoys a status as a figure of an archetypa ...
. There were also the poets of the ''
Mu'allaqat The Muʻallaqāt ( ar, المعلقات, ) is a group of seven long Arabic poems. The name means The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems, the traditional explanation being that these poems were hung in the Kaaba in Mecca, while scholars have also ...
'', or "the suspended ones", a group of poems said to have been on display in
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
. These poets are
Imru' al-Qais Imruʾ al-Qais Junduh bin Hujr al-Kindi ( ar, ٱمْرُؤ ٱلْقَيْس جُنْدُح ٱبْن حُجْر ٱلْكِنْدِيّ, ALA-LC: ''ʾImruʾ al-Qays Junduḥ ibn Ḥujr al-Kindīy'') was an Arab king and poet in the 6th century, an ...
, Tarafah ibn al-‘Abd, ,
Harith ibn Hilliza Al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥilliza al-Yashkurī ( ar, الحارث بن حلزة اليشكري) was a pre-Islamic Arabian poet of the tribe of Bakr, from the 5th century. He was the author of one of the seven famous pre-Islamic poems known as the ''Mu'all ...
,
Amr ibn Kulthum ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm ibn Mālik ibn ʿAttāb ʾAbū Al-ʾAswad al-Taghlibi ( ar, عمرو بن كلثوم; 526–584) was a poet and chieftain of the Taghlib tribe in pre-Islamic Arabia. One of his poems was included in the ''Mu'allaqat''. He is t ...
,
Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma Zuhayr bin Abī Sulmā ( ar, زهير بن أبي سلمى; ), also romanized as Zuhair or Zoheir, was a pre-Islamic Arabian poet who lived in the 6th & 7th centuries AD. He is considered one of the greatest writers of Arabic poetry in pre-I ...
, Al-Nabigha al-Dhubiyānī,
Antara Ibn Shaddad Antarah ibn Shaddad al-Absi ( ar, عنترة بن شداد العبسي, ''ʿAntarah ibn Shaddād al-ʿAbsī''; AD 525–608), also known as ʿAntar, was a pre-Islamic Arab knight and poet, famous for both his poetry and his adventurous life ...
, al-A'sha al-Akbar, and Labīd ibn Rabī'ah.
Al-Khansa Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah ( ar, تماضر بنت عمرو بن الحارث بن الشريد السُلمية), usually simply referred to as al-Khansāʾ ( ar, الخنساء, links=no, meaning "snub-n ...
stood out in her poetry of ''
rithā' Rithā’ ( ar, رثاء) is a genre of Arabic poetry corresponding to elegy or lament. Along with elegy proper (''marthiyah'', plural ''marāthī''), ''rithā’'' may also contain ''taḥrīḍ'' (incitement to vengeance). Characteristics The ...
'' or
elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...
. was prominent for his '' madīh'', or "
panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
", as well as his , or "
invective Invective (from Middle English ''invectif'', or Old French and Late Latin ''invectus'') is abusive, reproachful, or venomous language used to express blame or censure; or, a form of rude expression or discourse intended to offend or hurt; vituperat ...
".


Prose

As the literature of the Jahili period was transmitted orally and not written, prose represents little of what has been passed down. The main forms were parables ( ''al-mathal''), speeches ( ''al-khitāba''), and stories ( ''al-qisas''). was a notable Arab ruler, writer, and
orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...
. was also one of the most famous rulers of the Arabs, as well as one of their most renowned speech-givers.


The Qur'an

The
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
, the main
holy book Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, had a significant influence on the Arabic language, and marked the beginning of
Islamic literature Islamic literature is literature written by Muslim people, influenced by an Islamic cultural perspective, or literature that portrays Islam. It can be written in any language and portray any country or region. It includes many literary forms in ...
. Muslims believe it was transcribed in the Arabic dialect of the
Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
, the tribe of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
. As Islam spread, the Quran had the effect of unifying and standardizing Arabic. Not only is the Qur'an the first work of any significant length written in the language, but it also has a far more complicated structure than the earlier literary works with its 114 ''
suwar A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
'' (chapters) which contain 6,236 '' ayat'' (verses). It contains
injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
s,
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
s,
homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...
,
parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...
s, direct addresses from God, instructions and even comments on how the Qu'ran will be received and understood. It is also admired for its layers of metaphor as well as its clarity, a feature which is mentioned in
An-Nahl The Bee (Arabic: الْنَّحْل; ''an-nahl'') is the 16th chapter (''sūrah'') of the Qur'an, with 128 verses ('' āyāt''). It is named after honey bees mentioned in verse 68, and contains a comparison of the industry and adaptability of h ...
, the 16th surah. The 92 Meccan suras, believed to have been revealed to Muhammad in Mecca before the
Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
, deal primarily with , or "the principles of religion", whereas the 22 Medinan suras, believed to have been revealed to him after the Hijra, deal primarily with
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
and prescriptions of Islamic life. The word ''qur'an'' comes from the Arabic root qaraʼa (قرأ), meaning "he read" or "he recited"; in early times the text was transmitted orally. The various tablets and scraps on which its suras were written were compiled under
Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
(573-634), and first transcribed in unified ''masahif'', or copies of the Qur'an, under
Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic proph ...
(576-656). Although it contains elements of both prose and poetry, and therefore is closest to '' Saj'' or
rhymed prose Rhymed prose is a literary form and literary genre, written in unmetrical rhymes. This form has been known in many different cultures. In some cases the rhymed prose is a distinctive, well-defined style of writing. In modern literary traditions ...
, the Qur'an is regarded as entirely apart from these classifications. The text is believed to be
divine revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
and is seen by
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
as being eternal or 'uncreated'. This leads to the doctrine of ''
i'jaz In Islam, ''’i‘jāz'' ( ar, اَلْإِعْجَازُ, al-’i‘jāz) or inimitability of the Qur’ān is the doctrine which holds that the Qur’ān has a miraculous quality, both in content and in form, that no human speech can match. ...
'' or inimitability of the Qur'an which implies that nobody can copy the work's style. This doctrine of ''i'jaz'' possibly had a slight limiting effect on Arabic literature; proscribing exactly what could be written. Whilst Islam allows Muslims to write, read and recite poetry, the Qur'an states in the 26th sura (
Ash-Shu'ara Ash-Shu‘ara’ ( ar, الشعراء, ; The Poets) is the 26th chapter (sūrah) of the Qurʾan with 227 verses ( āyāt). Many of these verses are very short. The chapter is named from the worAsh-Shu'arain ayat 224. The chapter talks about v ...
or The Poets) that poetry which is blasphemous, obscene, praiseworthy of sinful acts, or attempts to challenge the Qu'ran's content and form, is forbidden for Muslims. This may have exerted dominance over the pre-Islamic poets of the 6th century whose popularity may have vied with the Qur'an amongst the people. There was a marked lack of significant poets until the 8th century. One notable exception was
Hassan ibn Thabit Ḥassān ibn Thābit ( ar, حسان بن ثابت) (born c. 563, Medina died 674) was an Arabian poet and one of the Sahaba, or companions of Muhammad, hence he was best known for his poems in defense of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was b ...
who wrote poems in praise of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
and was known as the "prophet's poet". Just as the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
has held an important place in the literature of other languages, The Qur'an is important to Arabic. It is the source of many ideas, allusions and quotes and its moral message informs many works. Aside from the Qur'an the ''
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
'' or tradition of what Muhammed is supposed to have said and done are important literature. The entire body of these acts and words are called ''
sunnah In Islam, , also spelled ( ar, سنة), are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed ...
'' or way and the ones regarded as ''sahih'' or genuine of them are collected into hadith. Some of the most significant collections of hadith include those by
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Abū al-Ḥusayn ‘Asākir ad-Dīn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward ibn Kawshādh al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī ( ar, أبو الحسين عساكر الدين مسلم بن الحجاج بن مسلم بن وَرْد بن كوشاذ ...
and Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari. The other important genre of work in Qur'anic study is the ''
tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
'' or commentaries Arab writings relating to religion also includes many
sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
s and devotional pieces as well as the sayings of
Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
which were collected in the 10th century as '' Nahj al-Balaghah'' or ''The Peak of Eloquence''.


Rashidi

Under the
Rashidun , image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png , caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia , known_for = Companions of t ...
, or the "rightly guided caliphs," literary centers developed in the
Hijaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...
, in cities such as
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
and
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
; in the Levant, in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
; and in Iraq, in
Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
and
Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
. Literary production—and poetry in particular—in this period served the spread of Islam. There was also poetry to praise brave warriors, to inspire soldiers in ''
jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
'', and ''rithā''' to mourn those who fell in battle. Notable poets of this rite include
Ka'b ibn Zuhayr Kaʿb ibn Zuhayr ( ar, كعب بن زهير) was an Arabian poet of the 7th century, and a contemporary of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ka'b ibn Zuhayr was the writer of ''Bānat Suʿād (Su'ād Has Departed)'', a qasida in praise of Muhammad. ...
, Hasan ibn Thabit, , and Nābigha al-Ja‘dī. There was also poetry for entertainment often in the form of ''
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
''. Notables of this movement were Jamil ibn Ma'mar,
Layla al-Akhyaliyya Layla bint Abullah ibn Shaddad ibn Ka’b al-Akhyaliyyah () (d. c. AH 75/694×90/709 CE), or simply Layla al-Akhyaliyyah () was a famous Umayyad Arab poet who was renowned for her poetry, eloquence, strong personality, and beauty. Nearly fifty of h ...
, and Umar Ibn Abi Rabi'ah.


Ummayad

The
First Fitna The First Fitna ( ar, فتنة مقتل عثمان, fitnat maqtal ʻUthmān, strife/sedition of the killing of Uthman) was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of ...
, which created the Shia–Sunni split over the rightful
caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, had a great impact on Arabic literature. Whereas Arabic literature—along with Arab society—was greatly centralized in the time of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
and the
Rashidun , image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png , caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia , known_for = Companions of t ...
, it became fractured at the beginning of the period of the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
, as power struggles led to tribalism. Arabic literature at this time reverted to its state in ''al-Jahiliyyah'', with markets such as Kinasa near
Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
and near
Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
, where poetry in praise and admonishment of political parties and tribes was recited. Poets and scholars found support and patronage under the Umayyads, but the literature of this period was limited in that it served the interests of parties and individuals, and as such was not a free art form. Notable writers of this political poetry include Al-Akhtal al-Taghlibi,
Jarir ibn Atiyah Jarir ibn Atiyah al-Khatfi Al-Tamimi ( ar, جرير بن عطية الخطفي التميمي) () was an Arab poet and satirist. He was born in the reign of Najd Arabia, and was a member of the tribe Kulaib, a part of the Banu Tamim. He was a nat ...
,
Al-Farazdaq Hammam ibn Ghalib ( ar, همام بن غالب; born c. 641; died 728–730), most commonly known as Al-Farazdaq () or Abu Firas, was an Arab poet. He was born in, Kazma. He was a member of Darim, one of the most respected divisions of the Bani T ...
, Al-Kumayt ibn Zayd al-Asadi, , and . There were also poetic forms of ''rajaz''—mastered by and —and ''ar-Rā'uwīyyāt,'' or "
pastoral poetry A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
"—mastered by and Dhu ar-Rumma.


Abbasid

The
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
period is generally recognized as the beginning of the
Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
, and was a time of significant literary production. The
House of Wisdom The House of Wisdom ( ar, بيت الحكمة, Bayt al-Ḥikmah), also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad, refers to either a major Abbasid public academy and intellectual center in Baghdad or to a large private library belonging to the Abba ...
in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
hosted numerous scholars and writers such as
Al-Jahiz Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
and
Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...
. A number of stories in the ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' feature the Abbasid caliph
Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
.
Al-Hariri of Basra Abū Muhammad al-Qāsim ibn Alī ibn Muhammad ibn Uthmān al-Harīrī ( ar, أبو محمد القاسم بن علي بن محمد بن عثمان الحريري), popularly known as al-Hariri of Basra (1054 – 10 September 1122) was an Arab po ...
was a notable literary figure of this period. Some of the important poets in were:
Bashar ibn Burd Bashār ibn Burd ( ar, بشار بن برد; 714–783), nicknamed al-Mura'ath, meaning "the wattled", was a Persian poet of the late Umayyad and early Abbasid periods who wrote in Arabic. Bashar was of Persian ethnicity; his grandfather was taken ...
,
Abu Nuwas Abū Nuwās al-Ḥasan ibn Hānī al-Ḥakamī (variant: Al-Ḥasan ibn Hānī 'Abd al-Awal al-Ṣabāḥ, Abū 'Alī (), known as Abū Nuwās al-Salamī () or just Abū Nuwās Garzanti ( ''Abū Nuwās''); 756814) was a classical Arabic poet, ...
,
Abu-l-'Atahiya Abū al-ʻAtāhiyya ( ar, أبو العتاهية; 748–828), full name Abu Ishaq Isma'il ibn al-Qasim ibn Suwayd Al-Anzi (), was among the principal Arabic, Arab poets of the early Islamic era, a prolific ''muwallad'' Arabic poetry, poet of asc ...
, Muslim ibn al-Walid,
Abbas Ibn al-Ahnaf Abu al-Fadl Abbas Ibn al-Ahnaf () (750 in Basra-809), was an Arab Abbasid poet from the tribe of Banu Hanifa. His work consists solely of love poems ( ghazal). It is "primarily concerned with the hopelessness of love, and the personae in his compo ...
, and .


Andalusi

Andalusi literature was produced in
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
, or Islamic Iberia, from its
Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He esta ...
in 711 to either the Catholic conquest of Granada in 1492 or the Expulsion of the Moors ending in 1614. Ibn Abd Rabbih's ''
Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd ''al-ʿIqd al-Farīd'' (''The Unique Necklace'', ar, العقد الفريد) is an anthology attempting to encompass 'all that a well-informed person had to know in order to pass in society as a cultured and refined individual' (or '' adab''), c ...
'' (The Unique Necklace) and Ibn Tufail's ''
Hayy ibn Yaqdhan ''Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān'' () is an Arabic philosophical novel and an allegorical tale written by Ibn Tufail (c. 1105 – 1185) in the early 12th century in Al-Andalus. Names by which the book is also known include the ('The Self-Taught Philosop ...
'' were influential works of literature from this tradition. Notable literary figures of this period include
Ibn Hazm Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ( ar, أبو محمد علي بن احمد بن سعيد بن حزم; also sometimes known as al-Andalusī aẓ-Ẓāhirī; 7 November 994 – 15 August 1064Ibn Hazm. ' (Preface). Tr ...
,
Ziryab Abu l-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Nafi, better known as Ziryab, Zeryab, or Zaryab ( 789– 857) ( ar, أبو الحسن علي ابن نافع, زریاب, rtl=yes) ( fa, زَریاب ''Zaryāb''), was a singer, oud and lute player, composer, poet, and teache ...
,
Ibn Zaydun Abū al-Walīd Aḥmad Ibn Zaydūni al-Makhzūmī () (1003–1071) or simply known as Ibn Zaydun () or Abenzaidun was an Arab Andalusian poet of Cordoba and Seville. He was considered the greatest neoclassical poet of al-Andalus. He reinvigorate ...
,
Wallada bint al-Mustakfi Wallada bint al-Mustakfi ( ar, ولادة بنت المستكفي) (born in Córdoba in 994 or 1010 – died March 26, 1091) was an Andalusian poet. Early life Wallada was the daughter of Muhammad III of Córdoba, one of the last Umayyad Co ...
, Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad,
Ibn Bajja Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyà ibn aṣ-Ṣā’igh at-Tūjībī ibn Bājja ( ar, أبو بكر محمد بن يحيى بن الصائغ التجيبي بن باجة), best known by his Latinised name Avempace (;  – 1138), was an A ...
,
Al-Bakri Abū ʿUbayd ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muḥammad ibn Ayyūb ibn ʿAmr al-Bakrī ( ar, أبو عبيد عبد الله بن عبد العزيز بن محمد بن أيوب بن عمرو البكري), or simply al-Bakrī (c. 1040–1 ...
,
Ibn Rushd Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, ...
, Hafsa bint al-Hajj al-Rukuniyya,
Ibn Tufail Ibn Ṭufail (full Arabic name: ; Latinized form: ''Abubacer Aben Tofail''; Anglicized form: ''Abubekar'' or ''Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail''; c. 1105 – 1185) was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath: a writer, Islamic philosopher, Islamic theolo ...
,
Ibn Arabi Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...
,
Ibn Quzman Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Isa Abd al-Malik ibn Isa ibn Quzman al-Zuhri ( ar, أبو بكر محمد بن عيسى بن عبدالملك بن عيسى بن قزمان الزهري; 1087–1160) was the single most famous poet in the history of Al-Andalu ...
,
Abu al-Baqa ar-Rundi Abu Muhammad Salih b. Abi Sharif ar-Rundi () (or Abu-l-Tayyib/ Abu-l-Baqa Salih b. Sharif al-Rundi) was a poet, writer, and literary critic from al-Andalus who wrote in Arabic. His fame is based on his '' nuniyya'' entitled "" ''Rithaa' ul-Andalus' ...
, and
Ibn al-Khatib Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib ( ar, لسان الدين ابن الخطيب, Lisān ad-Dīn Ibn al-Khaṭīb) (Born 16 November 1313, Loja– died 1374, Fes; full name in ar, محمد بن عبد الله بن سعيد بن عبد الله بن ...
. The ''
muwashshah ''Muwashshah'' ( ar, موشح '  literally means "girdled" in Classical Arabic; plural ' or ' ) is the name for both an Arabic poetic form and a secular musical genre. The poetic form consists of a multi-lined strophic verse poem written ...
'' and ''
zajal Zajal () is a traditional form of oral strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect. While there is little evidence of the exact origins of the zajal, the earliest recorded zajal poet was the poet Ibn Quzman of al-Andalus who lived from 1078 ...
'' were important literary forms in al-Andalus. The rise of Arabic literature in al-Andalus occurred in dialogue with the golden age of Jewish culture in Iberia. Most Jewish writers in al-Andalus—while incorporating elements such as rhyme, meter, and themes of classical Arabic poetry—created poetry in Hebrew, but
Samuel ibn Naghrillah Samuel ibn Naghrillah (, ''Sh'muel HaLevi ben Yosef HaNagid''; ''ʾAbū ʾIsḥāq ʾIsmāʿīl bin an-Naghrīlah''), also known as Samuel HaNagid (, ''Shmuel HaNagid'', lit. ''Samuel the Prince'') and Isma’il ibn Naghrilla (born 993; died 1056 ...
,
Joseph ibn Naghrela Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, and Ibn Sahl al-Isra'ili wrote poetry in Arabic.
Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
wrote his landmark ''Dalãlat al-Hā'irīn'' (''
The Guide for the Perplexed ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...
'') in Arabic using the
Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, wikt:אלפבית, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew languag ...
.


Maghrebi

Fatima al-Fihri Fatima bint Muhammad al-Fihri al-Quraysh ( ar, فاطمة بنت محمد الفهري القرشية) was an Arab woman who is credited with founding the al-Qarawiyyin mosque in 857–859 AD in Fez, Morocco. She is also known as "Umm al-Banay ...
founded al-Qarawiyiin University in
Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
in 859, recognised as the first university in the world. Particularly from the beginning of the 12th century, with sponsorship from the
Almoravid dynasty The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that s ...
, the university played an important role in the development of literature in the region, welcoming scholars and writers from throughout the Maghreb, al-Andalus, and the
Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...
. Among the scholars who studied and taught there were
Ibn Khaldoun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...
,
al-Bitruji Nur ad-Din al-Bitruji () (also spelled Nur al-Din Ibn Ishaq al-Betrugi and Abu Ishâk ibn al-Bitrogi) (known in the West by the Latinized name of Alpetragius) (died c. 1204) was an Iberian-Arab astronomer and a Qadi in al-Andalus. Al-Biṭrūjī ...
, Ibn Hirzihim (
Sidi Harazim ''For the teacher of Ash-Shadhili see Abu Abdallah ibn Harzihim'' Sidi Ali ibn Harzihim () or Abul Hasan Ali ibn Ismail ibn Mohammed ibn Abdallah ibn Harzihim/Hirzihim (also: Sidi Hrazem or Sidi Harazim) was born in Fes, Morocco and died in tha ...
),
Ibn al-Khatib Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib ( ar, لسان الدين ابن الخطيب, Lisān ad-Dīn Ibn al-Khaṭīb) (Born 16 November 1313, Loja– died 1374, Fes; full name in ar, محمد بن عبد الله بن سعيد بن عبد الله بن ...
, and Al-Wazzan (
Leo Africanus Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
) as well as the Jewish theologian
Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
.
Sufi literature Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism. Sufism had an important influence on medieval literature, especially poetry, that was written in Arabic, Persian, Turkic and Urdu. Sufi doctr ...
played an important role in literary and intellectual life in the region from this early period, such as Muhammad al-Jazuli's book of prayers ''
Dala'il al-Khayrat ''Dalāil al-khayrāt wa-shawāriq al-anwār fī dhikr al-ṣalāt alá al-Nabī al-mukhtār'' ( ar, دلائل الخيرات وشوارق الأنوار في ذكر الصلاة على النبي المختار, translation=Waymarks of Benefit ...
''. The
Zaydani Library The Zaydani Library (Arabic: الخزانة الزيدانية, ''Al-Khizaana Az-Zaydaniya'') or the Zaydani Collection is a collection of manuscripts originally belonging to Sultan Zaydan Bin Ahmed that were taken by Spanish privateers in Atlanti ...
, the library of the Saadi Sultan
Zidan Abu Maali Zidan Abu Maali ( ar, زيدان أبو معالي) (? – September 1627; or Muley Zidan) was the embattled Saadi Sultan of Morocco from 1603 to 1627. He was the son and heir of Ahmad al-Mansur by his wife Lalla Aisha bint Abu Bakkar, a lady of ...
, was stolen by Spanish privateers in the 16th century and kept at the El Escorial Monastery.


Mamluk

During the
Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...
, Ibn Abd al-Zahir and
Ibn Kathir Abū al-Fiḍā’ ‘Imād ad-Dīn Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī al-Damishqī (Arabic: إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير القرشي الدمشقي أبو الفداء عماد; – 1373), known as Ibn Kathīr (, was ...
were notable writers of history.


Ottoman

Significant poets of Arabic literature in the time of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
included ,
Al-Busiri Al-Būṣīrī ( ar, ابو عبد الله محمد بن سعيد بن حماد الصنهاجي البوصيري, Abū ʿAbdallāh Muhammad ibn Saʿīd al-Ṣanhājī al-Būṣīrī; 1212–1294) was a Sanhaji Berber Muslim poet belong ...
author of "''
Al-Burda ''Qasīdat al-Burda'' ( ar, قصيدة البردة, "Ode of the Mantle"), or ''al-Burda'' for short, is a thirteenth-century ode of praise for the Islamic prophet Muhammad composed by the eminent Sufi mystic Imam al-Busiri of Egypt. The poe ...
''",
Ibn al-Wardi Abū Ḥafs Zayn al-Dīn ʻUmar ibn al-Muẓaffar Ibn al-Wardī ( ar, عمر ابن مظفر ابن الوردي), known as Ibn al-Wardi, was an Arab historian -, the author of ''Kharīdat al-ʿAjā'ib wa farīdat al-gha'rāib'' ("The Pearl of wond ...
, Safi al-Din al-Hilli, and Ibn Nubata.
Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi Shaykh 'Abd al-Ghani ibn Isma′il al-Nabulsi (an-Nabalusi) (19 March 1641 – 5 March 1731), was an eminent Sunni Muslim scholar, poet, and author on works about Sufism, ethnography and agriculture. Family origins Abd al-Ghani's family descen ...
wrote on various topics including theology and travel.


Nahda

During the 19th century, a revival took place in Arabic literature, along with much of Arabic culture, and is referred to in Arabic as "''
al-Nahda The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, ...
''", which means "the renaissance". There was a strand of
neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
in the Nahda, particularly among writers such as Tahtawi, Shidyaq, Yaziji, and Muwaylihi, who believed in the ''iḥyāʾ'' "reanimation" of Arabic literary heritage and tradition. The translation of foreign literature was a major element of the Nahda period. An important translator of the 19th century was
Rifa'a al-Tahtawi Rifa'a at-Tahtawi (also spelt Tahtawy; ar, رفاعة رافع الطهطاوي, ; 1801–1873) was an Egyptian writer, teacher, translator, Egyptologist and renaissance intellectual. Tahtawi was among the first Egyptian scholars to write about ...
, who founded the School of Languages (also knowns as ''School of Translators'') in 1835 in Cairo. In the 20th century,
Jabra Ibrahim Jabra Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (28 August 1919 – 12 December 1994) ( ar, جبرا ابراهيم جبرا) was a Iraqi-Palestinian author, artist and intellectual born in Adana in French-occupied Cilicia to a Syriac Orthodox Christian family. His famil ...
, a
Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
-
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i intellectual living mostly in Bagdad, translated works by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
,
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
or
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...
, among many others. This resurgence of new writing in Arabic was confined mainly to cities in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
until the 20th century, when it spread to other countries in the region. This cultural renaissance was not only felt within the Arab world, but also beyond, with a growing interest in
translating Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
of Arabic works into European languages. Although the use of the Arabic language was revived, particularly in poetry, many of the tropes of the previous literature, which served to make it so ornate and complicated, were dropped. Just as in the 8th century, when a movement to translate
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
and other literature had helped vitalise Arabic literature, another translation movement during this period would offer new ideas and material for Arabic literature. An early popular success was ''
The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...
'', which spurred a host of
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
s on similar Arabic subjects.
Jurji Zaydan Jurji Zaydan ( ar, جرجي زيدان, ; December 14, 1861 – July 21, 1914) was a prolific Lebanese novelist, journalist, editor and teacher, most noted for his creation of the magazine ''Al-Hilal (magazine), Al-Hilal'', which he used to seri ...
and
Niqula Haddad Niqula Haddad was a Syrian Socialist, and was brother in law to Farah Antun. Early life Niqula Haddad was born into an orthodox family in 1870.Reid, Donald M. “The Syrian Christians and Early Socialism in the Arab World.” ''International J ...
were important writers of this genre.


Poetry

During the
Nahda The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...
, poets like Francis Marrash,
Ahmad Shawqi Ahmed Shawqi (also written Chawki; ar, أحمد شوقي, , ; ; 1868–1932), nicknamed the Prince of Poets ( ar, أمير الشعراء ''Amīr al-Shu‘arā’''), was an Arabic poet laureate, to the Arabic literary tradition. Life Raised ...
and
Hafiz Ibrahim Hafez Ibrahim ( ar, حافظ إبراهيم, ; 1871–1932) was a well known Egyptian poet of the early 20th century. He was dubbed the "Poet of the Nile", and sometimes the "Poet of the People", for his political commitment to the poor. His p ...
began to explore the possibility of developing the classical poetic forms. Some of these neoclassical poets were acquainted with Western literature but mostly continued to write in classical forms, while others, denouncing blind imitation of classical poetry and its recurring themes, sought inspiration from French or English
romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. The next generation of poets, the so-called Romantic poets, began to absorb the impact of developments in Western poetry to a far greater extent, and felt constrained by Neoclassical traditions which the previous generation had tried to uphold. The
Mahjar The Mahjar ( ar, المهجر, translit=al-mahjar, one of its more literal meanings being "the Arab diaspora") was a literary movement started by Arabic-speaking writers who had emigrated to America from Ottoman-ruled Lebanon, Syria and Palestine ...
i poets were emigrants who mostly wrote in the Americas, but were similarly beginning to experiment further with the possibilities of Arabic poetry. This experimentation continued in the Middle East throughout the first half of the 20th century. Prominent poets of the
Nahda The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...
, or "Renaissance," were
Nasif al-Yaziji Nāṣīf bin ʻAbd Allāh bin Nāṣīf bin Janbulāṭ bin Saʻd al-Yāzijī (; March 25, 1800 – February 8, 1871) was a Lebanese author at the times of the Ottoman Empire and father of Ibrahim al-Yaziji. He was one of the leading figures in ...
;
Mahmoud Sami el-Baroudi Mahmoud Sami Al Baroudi ( ar, محمود سامي البارودي; June 11, 1839 – December 11, 1904) was a significant Egyptian political figure and a prominent poet. He served as 5th Prime Minister of Egypt from 4 February 1882 until 26 May 1 ...
, , , and
Hafez Ibrahim Hafez Ibrahim ( ar, حافظ إبراهيم, ; 1871–1932) was a well known Egyptian poet of the early 20th century. He was dubbed the "Poet of the Nile", and sometimes the "Poet of the People", for his political commitment to the poor. His p ...
;
Ahmed Shawqi Ahmed Shawqi (also written Chawki; ar, أحمد شوقي, , ; ; 1868–1932), nicknamed the Prince of Poets ( ar, أمير الشعراء ''Amīr al-Shu‘arā’''), was an Arabic poet laureate, to the Arabic literary tradition. Life Raised ...
;
Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi ( ar, جميل صدقي الزهاوي, ; 17 June 1863 – January 1936) was a prominent Iraqi poet and philosopher. He is regarded as one of the greatest contemporary poets of the Arab world and was known for his defence of ...
,
Maruf al Rusafi Ma'ruf bin Abdul Ghani al Rusafi (1875–1945) (Arabic: معروف الرصافي) was a poet, educationist and literary scholar from Iraq. He is considered by many as a controversial figure in modern Iraqi literature due to his advocacy of freed ...
, , and
Khalil Mutran Khalil Mutran ( ar, خليل مطران, ; July 1, 1872 – June 1, 1949), also known by the sobriquet ''Shā‘ir al-Quṭrayn'' ( ar, شاعر القطرين, links=no / literally meaning "the poet of the two countries") was a Lebanese poet ...
.


Prose

Rifa'a at-Tahtawi Rifa'a at-Tahtawi (also spelt Tahtawy; ar, رفاعة رافع الطهطاوي, ; 1801–1873) was an Egyptian writer, teacher, translator, Egyptologist and renaissance intellectual. Tahtawi was among the first Egyptian scholars to write about ...
, who lived in Paris from 1826 to 1831, wrote about his experiences and observations and published it in 1834.
Butrus al-Bustani Butrus al-Bustani ( ar, بطرس البستاني, ; 1819–1883) was a writer and scholar from present day Lebanon. He was a major figure in the Nahda, which began in Egypt in the late 19th century and spread to the Middle East. He is consi ...
founded the journal ''Al-Jinan'' in 1870 and started writing the first encyclopedia in Arabic: Da'irat ul-Ma'arif in 1875.
Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq ( ar, أحمد فارس الشدياق, ; born Faris ibn Yusuf al-Shidyaq; born 1805 or 1806; died 20 September 1887) was a scholar, writer and journalist who grew up in what is now present-day Lebanon. A Maronite Christia ...
published a number of influential books and was the editor-in-chief of in Tunis and founder of in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
.
Adib Ishaq Adib Ishaq ( ar, اديب اسحق, ; 21 January 1856 – 12 June 1885) was an important Syrian literary figure of nineteenth-century Arab Nahda. Born in Damascus (then a city of the Ottoman Empire, and the present-day capital of Syria), he was ...
spent his career in journalism and theater, working for the expansion of the press and the rights of the people. Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghānī and
Muhammad Abduh ; "The Theology of Unity") , alma_mater = Al-Azhar University , office1 = Grand Mufti of Egypt , term1 = 1899 – 1905 , Sufi_order = Shadhiliyya , disciple_of = , awards = , infl ...
founded the revolutionary anti-colonial pan-Islamic journal ''
Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa ''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' (, ) was an Islamic revolutionary journal founded by Muhammad Abduh and Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī. Despite only running from 13 March 1884 to October 1884, it was one of the first and most important publications of the ...
'',
Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi 'Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi ( ar, عبد الرحمن الكواكبي, -c.1902) was a Syrian author and Pan-Arab solidarity supporter. He was one of the most prominent intellectuals of his time; however, his thoughts and writings continue to be r ...
,
Qasim Amin Qasim Amin (, arz, قاسم أمين; 1 December 1863, in AlexandriaPolitical and diplomatic history of the Arab world, 1900-1967, Menahem Mansoor – April 22, 1908 in Cairo) was an Egyptian jurist, Islamic Modernist and one of the founders ...
, and
Mustafa Kamil Mustafa Kamal, Mostafa Kamal or variations may refer to: * Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), Turkish field marshal, revolutionary statesman, and founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first President. *Mustafa Kemal Kurdaş (1920–20 ...
were reformers who influenced public opinion with their writing.
Saad Zaghloul Saad Zaghloul ( ar, سعد زغلول / ; also ''Sa'd Zaghloul Pasha ibn Ibrahim'') (July 1859 – 23 August 1927) was an Egyptian revolutionary and statesman. He was the leader of Egypt's nationalist Wafd Party. He led a civil disobedience ...
was a revolutionary leader and a renowned orator appreciated for his eloquence and reason.
Ibrahim al-Yaziji Ibrahim al-Yaziji (Arabic ابراهيم اليازجي, ''Ibrahim al-Yāzijī''; 1847–1906) was an Arab Christian philosopher, philologist, poet and journalist. He belonged to the Greek Catholic population of the Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebano ...
founded the newspaper '' an-Najah'' ( "Achievement") in 1872, the magazine '' At-Tabib'', the magazine ''Al-Bayan'', and the magazine ''
Ad-Diya Between 1898 and 1906, the Arabic periodical ''aḍ-Ḍiyā''ʾ (Arabic: ''Illumination'') was published twice a month in Cairo. There are eight year's issues with 24 numbers each (first to third year), resp. 20 numbers each (fourth to eighth yea ...
'' and translated the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
into Arabic. launched a newspaper called ''al-Istiqama'' (, " Righteousness") to challenge Ottoman authorities and push for social reforms, but they shut it down in the same year.
Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti Mustafa Lutfi el-Manfaluti ( ar, مصطفى لطفي المنفلوطي, ; 1876–1924) was an Egyptians, Egyptian writer and poet who wrote many famous Arabic books and was born in the Upper Egyptian city of Manfalut to an Egyptians, Egyptian fat ...
, who studied under Muhammad Abduh at
Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...
, was a prolific essayist and published many articles encouraging the people to reawaken and liberate themselves.
Suleyman al-Boustani Suleyman al-Boustani (Arabic: سليمان البـسـتاني / ALA-LC: ''Sulaymān al-Bustānī'', tr, Süleyman el-Büstani; 1856–1925) was born in Bkheshtin, Lebanon. He was a statesman, teacher, poet and historian. He was a Maronite Ca ...
translated the ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'' into Arabic and commented on it.
Khalil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...
and
Ameen Rihani Ameen Rihani (Amīn Fāris Anṭūn ar-Rīḥānī) ( ar, أمين الريحاني / ALA-LC: ''Amīn ar-Rīḥānī''; Freike, Lebanon, November 24, 1876 – September 13, 1940), was a Lebanese American writer, intellectual and political a ...
were two major figures of the
Mahjar The Mahjar ( ar, المهجر, translit=al-mahjar, one of its more literal meanings being "the Arab diaspora") was a literary movement started by Arabic-speaking writers who had emigrated to America from Ottoman-ruled Lebanon, Syria and Palestine ...
movement within the Nahda.
Jurji Zaydan Jurji Zaydan ( ar, جرجي زيدان, ; December 14, 1861 – July 21, 1914) was a prolific Lebanese novelist, journalist, editor and teacher, most noted for his creation of the magazine ''Al-Hilal (magazine), Al-Hilal'', which he used to seri ...
founded ''Al-Hilal'' magazine in 1892, founded ''Al-Muqtataf'' in 1876,
Louis Cheikho Louis Cheikho, ar, لويس شيخو, born Rizqallâh Cheikho (1859–1927) was a Jesuit Chaldean Catholic priest, Orientalist and Theologian. He pioneered Eastern Christian and Assyrian Chaldean literary research and made major contributio ...
founded the journal ''
Al-Machriq ''Al-Machriq'' (Arabic: ''The East'') was a journal founded in 1898 by Jesuit and Chaldean priest Louis Cheikhô, published by Jesuit fathers of Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. The subtitle was ''Revue Catholique Orientale. Scienc ...
'' in 1898. Other notable figures of the Nahda were
Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe' (1 January 1880 – May 1937) was an Egyptian poet, born in Egypt in Qalyubiyya, Egypt. Early life His maternal grandfather was Sheikh Eltoukhy (originally from Toukh, a famous Egyptian city) ...
and
May Ziadeh May Elias Ziadeh ( ; ar, مي إلياس زيادة, ; 11 February 1886 – 17 October 1941) was a Lebanese people, Lebanese-Palestinians, Palestinian poet, essayist, and translator, who wrote many different works both in Arabic language, Ar ...
.
Muhammad al-Kattani Muhammad Bin Abdul-Kabir Al-Kattani (محمد بن عبد الكبير الكتاني; from 1873 - May 4, 1909), also known by his ''kunya'' Abu l-Fayḍ () or simply as Muhammad Al-Kattani, was a Moroccan Sufi ''faqih'' (scholar of Islamic la ...
, founder of one of the first arabophone newspapers in Morocco, called '' At-Tā'ūn'', and author of several poetry collections, was a leader of the Nahda in the Maghreb.


Modern literature

Beginning in the late 19th century, the Arabic novel became one of the most important forms of expression in Arabic literature. The rise of an ''efendiyya'', an elite, secularist urban class with a Western education, gave way to new forms of literary expression: modern Arabic fiction. This new
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
class of ''literati'' used
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
from the 1850s, starting in Lebanon, and the
private press Private press publishing, with respect to books, is an endeavor performed by craft-based expert or aspiring artisans, either amateur or professional, who, among other things, print and build books, typically by hand, with emphasis on design, gra ...
from the 1860s and 1870s to spread its ideas, challenge traditionalists, and establish its position in a rapidly transforming society. The modern Arabic novel, particularly as a means of social critique and reform, has its roots in a deliberate departure from the traditionalist language and aesthetics of classical ''adab'' for "less embellished but more entertaining narratives." This direction began with translations from French and English, followed by social romances by and other writers—particularly Christians. Khalil al-Khuri's narrative '' Way, Idhan Lastu bi-Ifranjī!'' (1859-1860) was an early example. The emotionalism of early 20th century writers such as
Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti Mustafa Lutfi el-Manfaluti ( ar, مصطفى لطفي المنفلوطي, ; 1876–1924) was an Egyptians, Egyptian writer and poet who wrote many famous Arabic books and was born in the Upper Egyptian city of Manfalut to an Egyptians, Egyptian fat ...
and
Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...
, who wrote with heavy
moralism Moralism is any philosophy with the central focus of applying moral judgements. The term is commonly used as a pejorative to mean "being overly concerned with making moral judgments or being illiberal in the judgments one makes". Moralism has s ...
and
sentimentality Sentimentality originally indicated the reliance on feelings as a guide to truth, but in current usage the term commonly connotes a reliance on shallow, uncomplicated emotions at the expense of reason. Sentimentalism in philosophy is a view in ...
, equated the novel as a literary form with imported Western ideas and "shallow sentimentalism." Writers such as of
Al-Madrasa al-Ḥadītha ''Al-Madrasa al-Ḥadītha'' ( or 'The New School') was a modernist movement in Arabic literature that began in 1917 in Egypt. The movement is associated with the development of the short story in the earlier periods of modern Arabic literature. D ...
"the Modern School," calling for an ''adab qawmī "''national literature," largely avoided the novel and experimented with short stories instead. Mohammed Hussein Heikal's 1913 novel ''Zaynab'' was a compromise, as it included heavy sentimentality but portrayed local personality and characters. Throughout the 20th century, Arabic writers in poetry, prose and theatre plays have reflected the changing political and social climate of the Arab world.
Anti-colonial Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...
themes were prominent early in the 20th century, with writers continuing to explore the region's relationship with the West. Internal political upheaval has also been a challenge, with writers suffering censorship or persecution. The
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
featured writers such as
Taha Hussein Taha Hussein (, ar, طه حسين; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was one of the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the Nahda, Egyptian Renaissance and the modernism, modernist movem ...
, author of '' Al-Ayyām,''
Ibrahim al-Mazini Ibrahim Abd al-Qadir al-Mazini ( ar, إبراهيم عبد القادر المازني, ; born August 19, 1889 or 1890; died July 12 or August 10, 1949) was an Egyptian poet, novelist, journalist, and translator. Early life Al-Mazini was born in ...
,
Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad ( ar, عباس محمود العقاد, ; 28 June 1889 – 12 March 1964) was an Egyptians, Egyptian journalist, poet and literary critic,
, and
Tawfiq al-Hakim Tawfiq al-Hakim or Tawfik el-Hakim ( arz, توفيق الحكيم, ; October 9, 1898 – July 26, 1987) was a prominent Egyptian writer and visionary. He is one of the pioneers of the Arabic novel and drama. The triumphs and failures that ar ...
. The acceptance of suffering in al-Hakim's 1934 , is exemplary of the disappointment that prevailed over the idealism of the new middle class. As a result of increasing
industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
and
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
, binary struggles such as the "materialism of the West" against the "spiritualism of the East," "progressive individuals and a backward, ignorant society," and "a city-versus-countryside divide" were common themes in the literature of this period and since. There are many contemporary Arabic writers, such as
Mahmoud Saeed Mahmoud Saeed (born 1939) is an Iraqi-born American novelist. Born in Mosul, Saeed has written more than twenty novels and short story collections, and hundreds of articles. He started writing short stories at an early age. He wrote an award-w ...
(Iraq) who wrote ''Bin Barka Ally'', and ''I Am The One Who Saw (Saddam City)''. Other contemporary writers include
Sonallah Ibrahim Son'allah Ibrahim ( ar, صنع الله إبراهيم ''Ṣunʻ Allāh Ibrāhīm'') (born 1937) is an Egyptian novelist and short story writer and one of the " Sixties Generation" who is known for his leftist and nationalist views which are expr ...
and
Abdul Rahman Munif Abdelrahman bin Ibrahim al-Munif ( ar, عَبْدُ الرَّحْمٰن المُنِيفٌ) known by his nickname Abdelrahman Munif (May 29, 1933 – January 24, 2004) was a Saudi Arabian novelist, short story writer, memoirist, journalist ...
, who were imprisoned by the government for their critical opinions. At the same time, others who had written works supporting or praising governments, were promoted to positions of authority within cultural bodies.
Nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...
writers and academics have also produced political polemics and criticisms aiming to re-shape Arabic politics. Some of the best known are
Taha Hussein Taha Hussein (, ar, طه حسين; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was one of the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the Nahda, Egyptian Renaissance and the modernism, modernist movem ...
's ''
The Future of Culture in Egypt ''The Future of Culture in Egypt'' ( ar, مستقبل الثقافه في مصر ) is a 1938 book by the Egyptian writer Taha Hussein. The book is a work of Egyptian nationalism advocating both independence and the adoption of various European ...
'', which was an important work of
Egyptian nationalism Egyptian nationalism is based on Egyptians and Egyptian culture. Egyptian nationalism has typically been a civic nationalism that has emphasized the unity of Egyptians regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Egyptian nationalism first manifes ...
, and the works of
Nawal el-Saadawi Nawal El Saadawi ( ar, نوال السعداوي, , 22 October 1931 – 21 March 2021) was an Egyptian feminist writer, activist and physician. She wrote many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice ...
, who campaigned for
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
. Tayeb Salih from
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
and Ghassan Kanafani from Palestine are two other writers who explored identity in relationship to foreign and domestic powers, the former writing about colonial/post-colonial relationships, and the latter on the repercussions of the Palestinian struggle.


Poetry

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, there was a largely unsuccessful movement by several poets to write poems in
free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French ''vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Definit ...
(''shi'r hurr''). Iraqi poets
Badr Shakir al-Sayyab Badr Shakir al Sayyab ( ar, بدر شاكر السياب) (December 24, 1926 in Jaykur, near Basra – December 24, 1964 in Kuwait) was a leading Iraqi poet, well known throughout the Arab world and one of the most influential Arab poets of all ti ...
and
Nazik Al-Malaika Nazik al-Malaika ( ar, نازك الملائكة; 23 August 1923 – 20 June 2007) was an Iraqi poet. Al-Malaika is noted for being among the first Arabic poets to use free verse. Early life and career Al-Malaika was born in Baghdad to a cult ...
(1923-2007) are considered to be the originators of free verse in Arabic poetry. Most of these experiments were abandoned in favour of
prose poetry Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis, and emotional effects. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associ ...
, of which the first examples in modern Arabic literature are to be found in the writings of Francis Marrash, and of which two of the most influential proponents were Nazik al-Malaika and Iman Mersal. The development of
modernist poetry Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases ...
also influenced poetry in Arabic. More recently, poets such as
Adunis Ali Ahmad Said Esber (, North Levantine: ; born 1 January 1930), also known by the pen name Adonis or Adunis ( ar, أدونيس ), is a Syrian people, Syrian poet, essayist and translator. He led a modernist revolution in the second half of the ...
have pushed the boundaries of stylistic experimentation even further. Poetry retains a very important status in the Arab world.
Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish ( ar, محمود درويش, Maḥmūd Darwīsh, 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as the Palestinian national poet. He won numerous awards for his works. Darwish used Palestine ...
was regarded as the Palestinian national poet, and his funeral was attended by thousands of mourners. Syrian poet
Nizar Qabbani Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani ( ar, نزار توفيق قباني, , french: Nizar Kabbani; 21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian diplomat, poet, writer and publisher. He is considered to be Syria's National Poet. His poetic style combines sim ...
addressed less political themes, but was regarded as a cultural icon, and his poems provide the lyrics for many popular songs.


Novels

Two distinct trends can be found in the ''nahda'' period of revival. The first was a neo-classical movement which sought to rediscover the literary traditions of the past, and was influenced by traditional literary genres—such as the ''
maqama ''Maqāmah'' (مقامة, pl. ''maqāmāt'', مقامات, literally "assemblies") are an (originally) Arabic prosimetric literary genre which alternates the Arabic rhymed prose known as '' Saj‘'' with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical ...
''—and works like ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
''. In contrast, a modernist movement began by translating Western modernist works—primarily novels—into Arabic. In the 19th century, individual authors in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
created original works by imitating classical narrative genres:
Ahmad Faris Shidyaq Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq ( ar, أحمد فارس الشدياق, ; born Faris ibn Yusuf al-Shidyaq; born 1805 or 1806; died 20 September 1887) was a scholar, writer and journalist who grew up in what is now present-day Lebanon. A Maronite Christia ...
with ''Leg upon Leg'' (1855), Khalil Khoury with ''Yes... so I am not a Frank'' (1859), Francis Marrash with ''The Forest of Truth'' (1865), Salim al-Bustani with ''At a Loss in the Levantine Gardens'' (1870), and Muhammad al-Muwaylihi with ''Isa ibn Hisham's Tale'' (1907).Logan, ed., p. 573. This trend was furthered by
Jurji Zaydan Jurji Zaydan ( ar, جرجي زيدان, ; December 14, 1861 – July 21, 1914) was a prolific Lebanese novelist, journalist, editor and teacher, most noted for his creation of the magazine ''Al-Hilal (magazine), Al-Hilal'', which he used to seri ...
(author of many historical novels),
Khalil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...
,
Mikha'il Na'ima Mikha'il Nu'ayma ( ar, ميخائيل نعيمة, ; US legal name: Michael Joseph Naimy), better known in English by his pen name Mikhail Naimy (October 17, 1889 – February 28, 1988), was a Lebanese poet, novelist, and philosopher, famous for ...
and
Muhammad Husayn Haykal Mohammed Hussein Heikal ( ar, محمد حسين هيكل ; August 20, 1888 – December 8, 1956) was an Egyptian writer, journalist, politician. He held several cabinet posts, including minister of education. Life Haekal was born in Kafr Ghan ...
(author of '' Zaynab''). Meanwhile, female writer
Zaynab Fawwaz Zaynab Fawwaz (1860–1914) was a Lebanese people, Lebanese women's rights activist, novelist, playwright, poet and historian of famous women. Her novel "''حسن العواقب/Ḥusn al-Awaqib",'' (''The Happy Ending'', 1899) is considered the ...
's first novel ''Ḥusn al-'Awāqib aw Ghādah al-Zāhirah'' (''The Happy Ending'', 1899) was also influential. According to the authors of the ''Encyclopedia of the Novel'':
Almost each of the above orkshave been claimed as the first Arabic novel, which goes to suggest that the Arabic novel emerged from several rehearsals and multiple beginnings rather than from one single origin. Given that the very Arabic word "''riwaya''", which is now used exclusively in reference to the "novel", has traditionally conjured up a tangle of narrative genres .. it might not be unfair to contend that the Arabic novel owes its early formation not only to the appropriation of the novel genre from Europe ..but also, and more importantly, to the revival and transformation of traditional narrative genres in the wake of
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's 1798 expedition into Egypt and the Arab world's firsthand encounter with industrialized imperial Europe.
A common theme in the modern Arabic novel is the study of family life with obvious resonances of the wider family of the Arabic world. Many of the novels have been unable to avoid the politics and conflicts of the region with war often acting as background to intimate family dramas. The works of
Naguib Mahfuz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. M ...
depict life in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, and his Cairo Trilogy, describing the struggles of a modern Cairene family across three generations, won him a
Nobel prize for literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
in 1988. He was the first Arabic writer to win the prize.


Plays

The musical plays of Lebanese Maroun Naccache from the mid-1800s are considered the birth of not only theatre in Lebanon, but also modern Arab theatre. Modern Arabic drama began to be written in the 19th century chiefly in Egypt and mainly influenced and in imitation of French works. It was not until the 20th century that it began to develop a distinctly Arab flavour and be seen elsewhere. The most important Arab playwright was
Tawfiq al-Hakim Tawfiq al-Hakim or Tawfik el-Hakim ( arz, توفيق الحكيم, ; October 9, 1898 – July 26, 1987) was a prominent Egyptian writer and visionary. He is one of the pioneers of the Arabic novel and drama. The triumphs and failures that ar ...
whose first play was a re-telling of the Qur'anic story of the
Seven sleepers In the Islamic and Christian traditions, the Seven Sleepers, otherwise known as the Sleepers of Ephesus and Companions of the Cave, is a medieval legend about a group of youths who hid inside a cave outside the city of Ephesus (modern-day S ...
and the second an epilogue for the ''Thousand and One Nights''. Other important dramatists of the region include Yusuf al-Ani from
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Saadallah Wannous Saadallah Wannous ( ar, سعد الله ونوس) (1941 – 15 May 1997) was a Syrian playwright, writer and editor on Arabic theater. He was born in the village of Hussein al-Bahr, near Tartous, where he received his early education. He studied ...
from
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.


Classical Arabic literature


Poetry

A large proportion of Arabic literature before the 20th century is in the form of poetry, and even prose from this period is either filled with snippets of poetry or is in the form of ''
saj' Saj‘ ( ar, سجع) is a form of rhymed prose in Arabic literature. It is named so because of its evenness or monotony, or from a fancied resemblance between its rhythm and the cooing of a dove. It is a highly artificial style of prose, characte ...
'' or rhymed prose. The themes of the poetry range from high-flown hymns of praise to bitter personal attacks and from religious and mystical ideas to poems on women and wine. An important feature of the poetry which would be applied to all of the literature was the idea that it must be pleasing to the ear. The poetry and much of the prose was written with the design that it would be spoken aloud and great care was taken to make all writing as mellifluous as possible.


Religious scholarship

The research into the life and times of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, and determining the genuine parts of the
sunnah In Islam, , also spelled ( ar, سنة), are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed ...
, was an important early reason for scholarship in or about the Arabic language. It was also the reason for the collecting of pre-Islamic poetry; as some of these poets were close to the prophet— Labid meeting Muhammad and converting to Islam—and their writings illuminated the times when these events occurred. Muhammad also inspired the first Arabic
biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
, known as A''l-Sirah Al-Nabawiyyah''; the earliest was by
Wahb ibn Munabbih Wahb ibn Munabbih ( ar, وهب بن منبه) was a Yemenite Muslim traditionist of Dhimar (two days' journey from Sana'a) in Yemen; died at the age of ninety, in a year variously given by Arabic authorities as 725, 728, 732, and 737 C.E. He was a ...
, but
Muhammad ibn Ishaq Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār (; according to some sources, ibn Khabbār, or Kūmān, or Kūtān, ar, محمد بن إسحاق بن يسار بن خيار, or simply ibn Isḥaq, , meaning "the son of Isaac"; died 767) was an 8 ...
wrote the best known. Whilst covering the life of the prophet they also told of the battles and events of early Islam and have numerous digressions on older biblical traditions. Some of the earliest works studying the Arabic language were started in the name of Islam. Tradition has it that the caliph
Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
, after reading a copy of the Qur'an with errors in it, asked
Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali Abu al-Aswad al-Duʾali ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْأَسْوَد ٱلدُّؤَلِيّ, '; -16 BH/603 CE – 69 AH/689 CE), whose full name is ʾAbū al-Aswad Ẓālim ibn ʿAmr ibn Sufyān ibn Jandal ibn Yamār ibn Hīls ibn Nufātha ibn al-ʿĀd ...
to write a work codifying
Arabic grammar Arabic grammar or Arabic language sciences ( ar, النحو العربي ' or ar, عُلُوم اللغَة العَرَبِيَّة ') is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with ...
.
Khalil ibn Ahmad Abu ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad ibn ‘Amr ibn Tammām al-Farāhīdī al-Azdī al-Yaḥmadī ( ar, أبو عبدالرحمن الخليل بن أحمد الفراهيدي; 718 – 786 CE), known as Al-Farāhīdī, or Al-Khalīl, ...
would later write ''Kitab al-Ayn'', the first dictionary of Arabic, along with works on prosody and
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
, and his pupil
Sibawayh Sibawayh ( ar, سِيبَوَيْهِ ' or ; fa, سِیبُویه‎ ' ; c. 760–796), whose full name is Abu Bishr Amr ibn Uthman ibn Qanbar al-Basri (, '), was a Persian leading grammarian of Basra and author of the earliest book on Arabic ...
would produce the most respected work of Arabic grammar known simply as ''al-Kitab'' or ''The Book''. Other caliphs followed after 'Abd al-Malik made Arabic the official language for the administration of the new empire, such as
al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...
who set up the '' Bayt al-Hikma'' in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
for research and translations.
Basrah Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is ha ...
and
Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
h were two other important seats of learning in the early Arab world, between which there was a strong rivalry. The institutions set up mainly to investigate more fully the Islamic religion were invaluable in studying many other subjects. Caliph
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administra ...
was instrumental in enriching the literature by instructing scholars to translate works into Arabic. The first was probably
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
's correspondence with
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
translated by Salm Abu al-'Ala'. From the east, and in a very different literary genre, the scholar
Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa Abū Muhammad ʿAbd Allāh Rūzbih ibn Dādūya ( ar, ابو محمد عبدالله روزبه ابن دادويه), born Rōzbih pūr-i Dādōē ( fa, روزبه پور دادویه), more commonly known as Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ ( ar, ابن الم ...
translated the animal
fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mo ...
s of the ''
Panchatantra The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.
''. These translations would keep alive scholarship and learning, particularly that of
ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
, during the Dark Ages in Europe and the works would often be first re-introduced to Europe from the Arabic versions.


Culinary

More medieval cookbooks have survived into the present day written in Arabic than in any other language. Classical Arabic culinary literature is comprised not only of cookbooks, there are also many works of scholarship, and descriptions of contemporary foods can be found in fictional and legendary tales like ''
The Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
''. Some of these texts predate
Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq ( ar, أبو محمد المظفر بن نصر ابن سيار الوراق) was an Arab author from Baghdad. He was the compiler of a tenth-century cookbook, the ( ar, links=no, كتاب الطبيخ, ''The Book of Dishes''). This is the earlie ...
's ''Kitab al-Tabikh'', the earliest known book of medieval Arabic cuisine. The
Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
''Ḵusraw ī Kawādān ud rēdak-ēw'', translated into Arabic after the conquest of the
Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
by Arab armies in the 7th century, was a guide to the sophisticated culinary and court culture of the time, written as a fictionalized narrative about an orphan descended from priestly roots who learns the ways of
Khosrow I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩; New Persian: []), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ( [] "the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from ...
's court. Early authors appear to have been familiar with the earlier works of
Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
,
Rufus of Ephesus Rufus of Ephesus ( el, Ῥοῦφος ὁ Ἐφέσιος, fl. late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD) was a Greek physician and author who wrote treatises on dietetics, pathology, anatomy, gynaecology, and patient care. He was an admirer of Hi ...
and Galen of Pergamum. Galen's '' On the Properties of Foodstuffs'' was translated into Arabic as ''Kitab al-aghdiya'' and was cited by all contemporary medical writers in the Caliphate during the reign of
Abu Bakr al-Razi Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (full name: ar, أبو بکر محمد بن زکریاء الرازي, translit=Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī, label=none), () rather than ar, زکریاء, label=none (), as for example in , or in . In m ...
. Al-Razi was himself the author of an early text on food '' Manafi al-Aghdhiya wa Daf Madarriha'' (Book of the Benefits of Food, and Remedies against Its Harmful Effects). Interest in Galen's work was not limited only to Muslim scholars; Jewish scholar Abu Ya'qub Ishaḳ ibn Sulayman al-Isra'ili wrote ''Book on Foods'' (also in Arabic) in the same period. Rufus' original
Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...
work has not survived into the present day, and it is only known to us from its Arabic translation.


Non-fiction literature


Compilations and manuals

In the late 9th century
Ibn al-Nadim Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Nadīm ( ar, ابو الفرج محمد بن إسحاق النديم), also ibn Abī Ya'qūb Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Warrāq, and commonly known by the ''nasab'' (patronymic) Ibn al-Nadīm ...
, a
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
i bookseller, compiled a crucial work in the study of Arabic literature. The ''
Kitab al-Fihrist The ''Kitāb al-Fihrist'' ( ar, كتاب الفهرست) (''The Book Catalogue'') is a compendium of the knowledge and literature of tenth-century Islam compiled by Ibn Al-Nadim (c.998). It references approx. 10,000 books and 2,000 authors.''The ...
'' is a catalogue of all books available for sale in Baghdad, and it gives an overview of the state of the literature at that time. One of the most common forms of literature during the
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
period was the compilation. These were collections of facts, ideas, instructive stories and poems on a single topic, and covers subjects as diverse as house and garden, women, gate-crashers, blind people, envy, animals and misers. These last three compilations were written by
al-Jahiz Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
, the acknowledged master of the form. These collections were important for any ''nadim'', a companion to a ruler or noble whose role was often involved regaling the ruler with stories and information to entertain or advise. A type of work closely allied to the collection was the manual in which writers like
ibn Qutaybah Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī al-Marwazī better known simply as Ibn Qutaybah ( ar-at, ابن قتيبة, Ibn Qutaybah; c. 828 – 13 November 889 CE / 213 – 15 Rajab 276 AH) was an Islamic scholar of Persian ...
offered instruction in subjects like etiquette, how to rule, how to be a bureaucrat and even how to write. Ibn Qutaybah also wrote one of the earliest histories of the Arabs, drawing together biblical stories, Arabic folk tales and more historical events. The subject of sex was frequently investigated in Arabic literature. The ''
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
'' or love poem had a long history, being at times tender and chaste and at other times rather explicit. In the
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
tradition, the love poem would take on wider, mystical and religious importance. Sex manuals were also written such as ''
The Perfumed Garden ''The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight'' ( ar, الروض العاطر في نزهة الخاطر ''Al-rawḍ al-ʿāṭir fī nuzhaẗ al-ḫāṭir'') is a fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature by Muhammad ibn ...
'', '' Ṭawq al-Ḥamāmah'' or ''The Dove's Neckring'' by
ibn Hazm Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ( ar, أبو محمد علي بن احمد بن سعيد بن حزم; also sometimes known as al-Andalusī aẓ-Ẓāhirī; 7 November 994 – 15 August 1064Ibn Hazm. ' (Preface). Tr ...
and ''Nuzhat al-albab fi-ma la yujad fi kitab'' or ''Delight of Hearts Concerning What will Never Be Found in a Book'' by
Ahmad al-Tifashi Ahmad al-Tifashi whose full name is Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbās Aḥmad ibn Yusuf al-Ḳaysi al-Tifachi (), born in Tifash, a village near Gafsa in Tunisia (1184 – died 1253 in Cairo) was an Arabic poet, writer, and anthologist, best known for hi ...
. Countering such works are one like ''Rawdat al-muhibbin wa-nuzhat al-mushtaqin'' or ''Meadow of Lovers and Diversion of the Infatuated'' by
ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb al-Zurʿī l-Dimashqī l-Ḥanbalī (29 January 1292–15 September 1350 CE / 691 AH–751 AH), commonly known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya ("The son of the principal of he school ...
who advises on how to separate love and lust and avoid sin.


Biography, history, and geography

Aside from the early
biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
of Muhammad, the first major biographer to weigh character rather than just producing a hymn of praise was
al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى بن جابر البلاذري) was a 9th-century Muslim historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and ...
with his '' Kitab ansab al-ashraf'' or ''Book of the Genealogies of the Noble'', a collection of biographies. Another important biographical dictionary was begun by
ibn Khallikan Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān) ( ar, أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 1211 – 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a 13th century Shafi'i Islamic scholar w ...
and expanded by al-Safadi and one of the first significant
autobiographies An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
was ''
Kitab al-I'tibar ''Kitab al-I'tibar'' ( ar, كتاب الاعتبار, ''The Book of Learning by Example'') is the autobiography of Usama ibn-Munqidh, an Arab Syrian diplomat, soldier of the 12th century, hunter, poet and nobleman. The book was first discover ...
'' which told of
Usamah ibn Munqidh Majd ad-Dīn Usāma ibn Murshid ibn ʿAlī ibn Munqidh al-Kināni al-Kalbī (also Usamah, Ousama, etc.; ar, مجد الدّين اُسامة ابن مُرشد ابن على ابن مُنقذ الكنانى الكلبى) (4 July 1095 – 17 Nove ...
and his experiences in fighting in the
Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
s. This time period saw the emergence of the genre of ''tabaqat'' (biographical dictionaries or biographical compendia).
Ibn Khurdadhbih Abu'l-Qasim Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Khordadbeh ( ar, ابوالقاسم عبیدالله ابن خرداذبه; 820/825–913), commonly known as Ibn Khordadbeh (also spelled Ibn Khurradadhbih; ), was a high-ranking Persian bureaucrat and ...
, an official in the
postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...
wrote one of the first
travel book The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In ...
s and the form remained a popular one in Arabic literature with books by
ibn Hawqal Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler who travelled during the ye ...
,
ibn Fadlan Aḥmad ibn Faḍlān ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Rāšid ibn Ḥammād, ( ar, أحمد بن فضلان بن العباس بن راشد بن حماد; ) commonly known as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century Muslim traveler, famous for his account of his ...
, al-Istakhri,
al-Muqaddasi Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Maqdisī ( ar, شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن أَبُو عَبْد ٱلله مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد ابْن أَبِي بَكْر ٱلْمَقْدِسِي), ...
, al-Idrisi and most famously the travels of
ibn Battutah Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim wor ...
. These give a view of the many cultures of the wider
Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
world and also offer
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
perspectives on the non-Muslim peoples on the edges of the empire. They also indicated just how great a trading power the Muslim peoples had become. These were often sprawling accounts that included details of both
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
and
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
. Some writers concentrated solely on history like
al-Ya'qubi ʾAbū l-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (died 897/8), commonly referred to simply by his nisba al-Yaʿqūbī, was an Arab Muslim geographer and perhaps the first historian of world cult ...
and
al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
, whilst others focused on a small portion of history such as ibn al-Azraq, with a history of
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, and ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur, writing a history of
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
. The historian regarded as the greatest of all Arabic historians though is
ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...
whose history ''
Muqaddimah The ''Muqaddimah'', also known as the ''Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun'' ( ar, مقدّمة ابن خلدون) or ''Ibn Khaldun's Prolegomena'' ( grc, Προλεγόμενα), is a book written by the Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ...
'' focuses on society and is a founding text in
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
and
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
.


Diaries

In the medieval Near East, Arabic
diaries Diaries may refer to: * the plural of diary *''Diaries: 1971-1976'', a 1981 documentary by Ed Pincus *'' Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years'', a 2006 book by Michael Palin *''OFW Diaries ''OFW Diaries'' is a Philippine television documentary ...
were first being written from before the 10th century, though the medieval diary which most resembles the modern diary was that of
Abu Ali ibn al-Banna Abu Ali ibn al-Banna, full name Abū 'Alī al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn 'Abd Allāh ibn al-Bannā' al-Baghdādī al-Ḥanbalī, was an 11th-century author, scholar, and diarist from Baghdad. According to Ibn al-Sam'ani, he was one of the leading Is ...
in the 11th century. His diary was the earliest to be arranged in order of date (''ta'rikh'' in Arabic), very much like modern diaries.


Literary theory and criticism

Literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
in Arabic literature often focused on religious texts, and the several long religious traditions of
hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...
and textual
exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...
have had a profound influence on the study of secular texts. This was particularly the case for the literary traditions of
Islamic literature Islamic literature is literature written by Muslim people, influenced by an Islamic cultural perspective, or literature that portrays Islam. It can be written in any language and portray any country or region. It includes many literary forms in ...
. Literary criticism was also employed in other forms of medieval
Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry ...
and literature from the 9th century, notably by
Al-Jahiz Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
in his ''al-Bayan wa-'l-tabyin'' and ''al-Hayawan'', and by Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz in his ''Kitab al-Badi''.


Fiction literature

Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih () or Ibn ʿAbd Rabbihi (Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Abd Rabbih) (860–940) was an arab writer and poet widely known as the author of ''Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd'' (''The Unique Necklace''). Biography He was born in Cordova, now in Spain, ...
's book ''
Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd ''al-ʿIqd al-Farīd'' (''The Unique Necklace'', ar, العقد الفريد) is an anthology attempting to encompass 'all that a well-informed person had to know in order to pass in society as a cultured and refined individual' (or '' adab''), c ...
'' is considered one of the seminal texts of Arabic fiction. In the
Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
, there was a great distinction between ''al-fus'ha'' (quality language) and ''al-ammiyyah'' (language of the common people). Not many writers would write works in this ''al-ammiyyah'' or common language and it was felt that literature had to be improving, educational and with purpose rather than just entertainment. This did not stop the common role of the ''hakawati'' or story-teller who would retell the entertaining parts of more educational works or one of the many Arabic
fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mo ...
s or folk-tales, which were often not written down in many cases. Nevertheless, some of the earliest
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
s, including the first
philosophical novel Philosophical fiction refers to the class of works of fiction which devote a significant portion of their content to the sort of questions normally addressed in philosophy. These might explore any facet of the human condition, including the funct ...
s, were written by Arabic authors.


Epic literature

The most famous example of Arabic fiction is the ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' (''Arabian Nights''). It is easily the best-known work of all Arabic literature, and still affects many of the ideas non-Arabs have about Arabic culture. A good example of the lack of popular Arabic prose fiction is that the stories of
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
and
Ali Baba "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard ...
, usually regarded as part of the ''Tales from One Thousand and One Nights'', were not actually part of the ''Tales''. They were first included in French translation of the ''Tales'' by
Antoine Galland Antoine Galland (; 4 April 1646 – 17 February 1715) was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of '' One Thousand and One Nights'', which he called ''Les mille et une nuits''. His version of the t ...
who heard them being told by
Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...
Hanna Dyab and only existed in incomplete Arabic manuscripts before that. The other great character from Arabic literature, Sinbad, is from the ''Tales''. The ''One Thousand and One Nights'' is usually placed in the genre of
Arabic epic literature Arabic epic literature encompasses epic poetry and epic fantasy in Arabic literature. Virtually all societies have developed Folklore, folk tales encompassing tales of heroes. Although many of these are legends, many are based on real events and ...
along with several other works. They are usually collections of short stories or episodes strung together into a long tale. The extant versions were mostly written down relatively late, after the 14th century, although many were undoubtedly collected earlier and many of the original stories are probably pre-Islamic. Types of stories in these collections include
animal fable An animal tale or beast fable generally consists of a short story or poem in which animals talk. They may exhibit other anthropomorphic qualities as well, such as living in a human-like society. It is a traditional form of allegorical writing. A ...
s,
proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...
s, stories of ''
jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
'' or propagation of the faith, humorous tales, moral tales, tales about the wily con-man Ali Zaybaq, and tales about the prankster Juha.


Maqama

''
Maqama ''Maqāmah'' (مقامة, pl. ''maqāmāt'', مقامات, literally "assemblies") are an (originally) Arabic prosimetric literary genre which alternates the Arabic rhymed prose known as '' Saj‘'' with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical ...
'' not only straddles the divide between
prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...
and
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, being instead a form of
rhymed prose Rhymed prose is a literary form and literary genre, written in unmetrical rhymes. This form has been known in many different cultures. In some cases the rhymed prose is a distinctive, well-defined style of writing. In modern literary traditions ...
, it is also part-way between fiction and non-fiction. Over a series of short narratives, which are fictionalised versions of real-life situations, different ideas are contemplated. A good example of this is a ''maqama'' on musk, which purports to compare the feature of different perfumes but is in fact a work of political satire comparing several competing rulers. ''Maqama'' also makes use of the doctrine of ''badi'' or deliberately adding complexity to display the writer's dexterity with language.
Al-Hamadhani Badi' al-Zamān al-Hamadāni or al-Hamadhāni ( ar, بديع الزمان الهمذاني التغلبي‎; 969–1007) was a medieval Arab man of letters born in Hamadan, Iran. He is best known for his work the '' Maqamat Badi' az-Zaman al-H ...
is regarded as the originator of ''maqama''; his work was taken up by Abu Muhammad al-Qasim al-Hariri, one of al-Hariri's ''maqama'' being a study of al-Hamadhani's own work. ''Maqama'' was an exceptionally popular form of Arabic literature, one of the few forms which continued to be written during the decline of Arabic in the 17th and 18th centuries.


Love literature

A famous example of romantic
Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry ...
is ''
Layla and Majnun ''Layla & Majnun'' ( ar, مجنون ليلى ; Layla's Mad Lover) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). "The Layla ...
'', dating back to the
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
era in the 7th century. It is a
tragic Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
story of undying
love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
. ''Layla and Majnun'' is considered part of the
platonic Love Platonic love (often lowercased as platonic love) is a type of love in which sexual desire or romantic features are nonexistent or has been suppressed or sublimated, but it means more than simple friendship. The term is derived from the nam ...
(Arabic: حب عذري) genre, so-called because the couple never marry or consummate their relationship, that is prominent in Arabic literature, though the literary motif is found throughout the world. Other famous Virgin Love stories include ''Qays and Lubna'', ''Kuthair and Azza'', '' Marwa and al-Majnun al-Faransi'' and '' Antara and Abla''. The 10th-century '' Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity'' features a fictional
anecdote An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Occasionally humorous ...
of a "prince who strays from his palace during his wedding feast and, drunk, spends the night in a cemetery, confusing a corpse with his bride. The story is used as a gnostic parable of the soul's
pre-existence Pre-existence, preexistence, beforelife, or premortal existence, is the belief that each individual human soul existed before mortal conception, and at some point before birth enters or is placed into the body. Concepts of pre-existence can enco ...
and return from its terrestrial sojourn". Another medieval Arabic love story was ''
Hadith Bayad wa Riyad ''Hadith Bayāḍ wa Riyāḍ'' ( ar, حديث بياض ورياض, "The Story of Bayad and Riyad") is a 13th-century Arabic love story. The main characters of the tale: Bayad, a merchant's son and a foreigner from Damascus, Riyad, a well-educate ...
'' (''The Story of Bayad and Riyad''), a 13th-century
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
love story. The main characters of the tale are Bayad, a merchant's son and a foreigner from
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, and Riyad, a well-educated girl in the court of an unnamed
Hajib A ''hajib'' or ''hadjib'' ( ar, الحاجب, al-ḥājib, to block, the prevent someone from entering somewhere; It is a word "hajb" meaning to cover, to hide. It means "the person who prevents a person from entering a place, the doorman". The ...
(vizier or minister) of 'Iraq which is referred to as the lady. The ''Hadith Bayad wa Riyad'' manuscript is believed to be the only illustrated manuscript known to have survived from more than eight centuries of Muslim and Arab presence in Spain. Many of the tales in the ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' are also love stories or involve romantic love as a central theme. This includes the
frame story A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...
of
Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' deri ...
herself, and many of the stories she narrates, including "
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
", "
The Ebony Horse The Ebony Horse, The Enchanted Horse or The Magic Horse is a folk tale featured in the Arabian Nights. It features a flying mechanical horse, controlled using keys, that could fly into outer space and towards the Sun. The ebony horse can fly t ...
", "
The Three Apples The Three Apples ( ar, التفاحات الثلاثة), or The Tale of the Murdered Woman ( ar, حكاية الصبية المقتولة, Hikayat as-Sabiyya al-Maqtula), is a story contained in the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' collection (also k ...
", "Tale of Tàj al-Mulúk and the Princess Dunyà: The Lover and the Loved", "Adi bin Zayd and the Princess Hind", "Di'ibil al-Khuza'i With the Lady and Muslim bin al-Walid", "The Three Unfortunate Lovers", and others. Several elements of
courtly love Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing vari ...
were developed in Arabic literature, namely the notions of "love for love's sake" and "exaltation of the beloved lady" which have been traced back to Arabic literature of the 9th and 10th centuries. The notion of the "ennobling power" of love was developed in the early 11th century by the Persian psychologist and
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
,
Ibn Sina Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
(known as "Avicenna" in Europe), in his Arabic treatise ''Risala fi'l-Ishq'' (
A Treatise on Love
'). The final element of courtly love, the concept of "love as desire never to be fulfilled", was also at times implicit in
Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry ...
.


Murder mystery

The earliest known example of a
whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the cl ...
murder mystery Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
was "
The Three Apples The Three Apples ( ar, التفاحات الثلاثة), or The Tale of the Murdered Woman ( ar, حكاية الصبية المقتولة, Hikayat as-Sabiyya al-Maqtula), is a story contained in the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' collection (also k ...
", one of the tales narrated by
Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' deri ...
in the ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' (''Arabian Nights''). In this tale, a fisherman discovers a heavy locked chest along the
Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
river and he sells it to the
Abbasid Caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...
,
Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
, who then has the chest broken open only to find inside it the dead body of a young woman who was cut into pieces. Harun orders his
vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
,
Ja'far ibn Yahya Jafar ibn Yahya Barmaki, Jafar al-Barmaki ( fa, جعفر بن یحیی برمکی, ar, جعفر بن يحيى, Jafar bin yaḥyā) (767–803) also called Aba-Fadl, was a Persian vizier of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, succeeding his father ...
, to solve the crime and find the murderer within three days, or be executed if he fails his assignment.
Suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...
is generated through multiple
plot twist A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist or surprise ending. It may change the aud ...
s that occur as the story progresses. This may thus be considered an archetype for
detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
.


Satire and comedy

In
Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry ...
, the genre of
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
poetry was known as ''hija''. Satire was introduced into prose literature by the author
al-Jahiz Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
in the 9th century. While dealing with serious topics in what are now known as
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, sociology and
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
, he introduced a satirical approach, "based on the premise that, however serious the subject under review, it could be made more interesting and thus achieve greater effect, if only one leavened the lump of solemnity by the insertion of a few amusing anecdotes or by the throwing out of some witty or paradoxical observations." He was well aware that, in treating of new themes in his prose works, he would have to employ a vocabulary of a nature more familiar in ''hija'', satirical poetry. For example, in one of his
zoological Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and dis ...
works, he satirized the preference for longer
human penis size Human penises vary in size on a number of measures, including length and circumference when flaccid and erect. Besides the natural variability of human penises in general, there are factors that lead to minor variations in a particular male, ...
, writing: "If the length of the penis were a sign of honor, then the
mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...
would belong to the (honorable tribe of)
Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
". Another satirical story based on this preference was an '' Arabian Nights'' tale called "Ali with the Large Member". In the 10th century, the writer Tha'alibi recorded satirical poetry written by the poets As-Salami and Abu Dulaf, with As-Salami praising Abu Dulaf's wide breadth of knowledge and then mocking his ability in all these subjects, and with Abu Dulaf responding back and satirizing As-Salami in return. An example of Arabic
political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...
included another 10th-century poet Jarir satirizing Farazdaq as "a transgressor of the
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
" and later Arabic poets in turn using the term "Farazdaq-like" as a form of political satire. The terms "
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
" and "satire" became synonymous after
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
's ''
Poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...
'' was translated into Arabic in the
medieval Islamic world The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
, where it was elaborated upon by Arabic writers and
Islamic philosophers Muslim philosophers both profess Islam and engage in a style of philosophy situated within the structure of the Arabic language and Islam, though not necessarily concerned with religious issues. The sayings of the companions of Muhammad contained ...
, such as Abu Bischr, his pupil
al-Farabi Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the Western world, West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a reno ...
,
Avicenna Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
, and
Averroes Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psycholog ...
. Due to cultural differences, they disassociated comedy from
Greek drama Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
tic representation and instead identified it with Arabic poetic themes and forms, such as ''hija'' (satirical poetry). They viewed comedy as simply the "art of reprehension", and made no reference to light and cheerful events, or troublous beginnings and happy endings, associated with classical Greek comedy. After the
Latin translations of the 12th century Latin translations of the 12th century were spurred by a major search by European scholars for new learning unavailable in western Europe at the time; their search led them to areas of southern Europe, particularly in central Spain and Sicily, w ...
, the term "comedy" thus gained a new semantic meaning in
Medieval literature Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...
.


Theatre

While
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
theatre and passion plays were popular in the
medieval Islamic world The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
, live
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
and
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
has only been a visible part of Arabic literature in the modern era. There may have been a much longer theatrical tradition but it was probably not regarded as legitimate literature and mostly went unrecorded. There is an ancient tradition of public performance amongst
Shi'i Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...
Muslims of a play depicting the life and death of
al-Husayn Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
at the
battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Husayn ...
in 680 CE. There are also several plays composed by Shams al-din Muhammad ibn Daniyal in the 13th century when he mentions that older plays are getting stale and offers his new works as fresh material. The most popular forms of theater in the medieval Islamic world were puppet theatre (which included hand puppets,
shadow play Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-ou ...
s and
marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...
productions) and live passion plays known as ''ta'ziya'', where actors re-enact episodes from
Muslim history Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
. In particular,
Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...
ic
plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...
revolved around the ''
shaheed ''Shaheed'' ( ,  ,   ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
'' (martyrdom) of
Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
's sons
Hasan ibn Ali Hasan ibn Ali ( ar, الحسن بن علي, translit=Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; ) was a prominent early Islamic figure. He was the eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ...
and
Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
. Live secular plays were known as ''akhraja'', recorded in medieval '' adab'' literature, though they were less common than puppetry and ''ta'ziya'' theater.Moreh (1986). The
Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...
had a noticeable influence on the works of George Peele and
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's ''
The Battle of Alcazar ''The Battle of Alcazar'' is a play attributed to George Peele, perhaps written no later than late 1591 if the play "Muly Molucco" mentioned in Henslowe's diary is this play (see below), and published anonymously in 1594, that tells the story o ...
'' and Shakespeare's ''
The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...
'', ''
Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen ...
'' and ''
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
'', which featured a Moorish
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish delegations from
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
to
Elizabethan England The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...
at the beginning of the 17th century, ignoring the fact that ''
The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...
'' and ''
Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen ...
'' were both penned in the 16th century. In 2016, opera singer and actor David Serero performed Othello in a Moroccan adaptation in New York.


Philosophical novels

The Arab
Islamic philosophers Muslim philosophers both profess Islam and engage in a style of philosophy situated within the structure of the Arabic language and Islam, though not necessarily concerned with religious issues. The sayings of the companions of Muhammad contained ...
,
Ibn Tufail Ibn Ṭufail (full Arabic name: ; Latinized form: ''Abubacer Aben Tofail''; Anglicized form: ''Abubekar'' or ''Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail''; c. 1105 – 1185) was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath: a writer, Islamic philosopher, Islamic theolo ...
(Abubacer)McGinnis & Reisman, p. 284. and Ibn al-Nafis, were pioneers of the
philosophical novel Philosophical fiction refers to the class of works of fiction which devote a significant portion of their content to the sort of questions normally addressed in philosophy. These might explore any facet of the human condition, including the funct ...
as they wrote the earliest
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
s dealing with
philosophical fiction Philosophical fiction refers to the class of works of fiction which devote a significant portion of their content to the sort of questions normally addressed in philosophy. These might explore any facet of the human condition, including the funct ...
. Ibn Tufail wrote the first Arabic novel ''
Hayy ibn Yaqdhan ''Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān'' () is an Arabic philosophical novel and an allegorical tale written by Ibn Tufail (c. 1105 – 1185) in the early 12th century in Al-Andalus. Names by which the book is also known include the ('The Self-Taught Philosop ...
'' (''Philosophus Autodidactus'') as a response to
Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
's ''
The Incoherence of the Philosophers ''The Incoherence of the Philosophers'' (تهافت الفلاسفة ''Tahāfut al-Falāsifaʰ'' in Arabic) is the title of a landmark 11th-century work by the Persian theologian Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali and a student of ...
''. This was followed by Ibn al-Nafis who wrote a fictional narrative ''
Theologus Autodidactus ''Theologus Autodidactus'' ("The Self-taught Theologian"), originally titled ''The Treatise of Kāmil on the Prophet's Biography'' ( ar, الرسالة الكاملية في السيرة النبوية), also known as ''Risālat Fādil ibn Nātiq'' ...
'' as a response to Ibn Tufail's ''Philosophus Autodidactus''. Both of these narratives had
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
s (Hayy in ''Philosophus Autodidactus'' and Kamil in ''Theologus Autodidactus'') who were
autodidactic Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...
individuals spontaneously generated in a
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
and living in seclusion on a
desert island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...
, both being the earliest examples of a desert island story. However, while Hayy lives alone on the desert island for most of the story in ''Philosophus Autodidactus'' (until he meets a
castaway A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade captors or the world in general. A person may also be left a ...
named Absal), the story of Kamil extends beyond the desert island setting in ''Theologus Autodidactus'' (when castaways take him back to civilization with them), developing into the earliest known
coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
plot and eventually becoming the first example of a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel. Ibn al-Nafis described his book ''Theologus Autodidactus'' as a defense of "the system of Islam and the Muslims' doctrines on the missions of Prophets, the religious laws, the resurrection of the body, and the transitoriness of the world." He presents rational arguments for bodily
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
and the
immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...
of the human
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
, using both demonstrative
reasoning Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, lang ...
and material from the hadith corpus to prove his case. Later Islamic scholars viewed this work as a response to the
metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
claim of Avicenna and Ibn Tufail that bodily resurrection cannot be proven through reason, a view that was earlier criticized by al-Ghazali. Ibn al-Nafis' work was later translated into Latin and English as ''Theologus Autodidactus'' in the early 20th century. A
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
translation of Ibn Tufail's work, entitled ''Philosophus Autodidactus'', first appeared in 1671, prepared by
Edward Pococke Edward Pococke (baptised 8 November 160410 September 1691) was an English Orientalist and biblical scholar. Early life The son of Edward Pococke (died 1636), vicar of Chieveley in Berkshire, he was brought up at Chieveley and educated from a y ...
the Younger. The first English translation by
Simon Ockley Simon Ockley (16789 August 1720) was a British Orientalist. Biography Ockley was born at Exeter. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. in 1697, MA. in 1701, and B.D. in 1710. He became fellow of Jesus College and vica ...
was published in 1708, and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
and
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
translations were also published at the time. These translations later inspired
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
to write ''
Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...
'', which also featured a desert island narrative and was regarded as the
first novel in English A number of works of literature have been claimed to be the first novel in English. List of candidates * Thomas Malory, ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' (a.k.a. ''Le Morte Darthur''), (written c. 1470, published 1485) * William Baldwin, ''Beware the Cat'', ( ...
.Wainwright. ''Philosophus Autodidactus'' also inspired
Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of ...
, an acquaintance of Pococke, to write his own philosophical novel set on an island, ''The Aspiring Naturalist'', in the late 17th century. The story also anticipated
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
's '' Émile'' in some ways, and is also similar to the later story of
Mowgli Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" (co ...
in
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...
's ''
The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'' as well the character of
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
, in that a baby is abandoned in a deserted tropical island where he is taken care of and fed by a mother
wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
. Other European writers influenced by ''Philosophus Autodidactus'' include
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
,
Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathem ...
,
Melchisédech Thévenot Melchisédech (or Melchisédec) Thévenot (c. 1620 – 29 October 1692) was a French author, scientist, traveler, cartographer, orientalist, inventor, and diplomat. He was the inventor of the spirit level and is also famous for his popular posthumo ...
,
John Wallis John Wallis (; la, Wallisius; ) was an English clergyman and mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus. Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal ...
,
Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of ...
, George Keith, Robert Barclay, the
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
, and
Samuel Hartlib Samuel Hartlib or Hartlieb (c. 1600 – 10 March 1662)
M. Greengrass, "Hartlib, Samuel (c. 1600–1662)", ''Oxford D ...
.Toomer, p. 222.


Science fiction

''Al-Risalah al-Kamiliyyah fil Sira al-Nabawiyyah'' (''The Treatise of Kamil on the Prophet's Biography''), known in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
as ''Theologus Autodidactus'' (which is a phonetic transliteration of the Greek name Θεολόγος Αὐτοδίδακτος, meaning self-taught theologian), written by the
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
ian polymath Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), is the earliest known
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel. While also being an early
desert island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...
story and
coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
story, the novel deals with various science fiction elements such as
spontaneous generation Spontaneous generation is a superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was hypothesized that certain forms, such as fleas, could arise fr ...
,
futurology Futures studies, futures research, futurism or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will li ...
, apocalyptic themes, the end of the world and doomsday,
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
and the
afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...
. Rather than giving supernatural or mythological explanations for these events, Ibn al-Nafis attempted to explain these plot elements using his own extensive
scientific knowledge Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
in anatomy, biology, physiology, astronomy, cosmology and
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
. His main purpose behind this science fiction work was to explain
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic religious teachings in terms of
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
and
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. For example, it was through this novel that Ibn al-Nafis introduces his scientific theory of
metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
, and he makes references to his own scientific discovery of the
pulmonary circulation The pulmonary circulation is a division of the circulatory system in all vertebrates. The circuit begins with deoxygenated blood returned from the body to the right atrium of the heart where it is pumped out from the right ventricle to the lungs. ...
in order to explain bodily resurrection. The novel was later translated into English as ''Theologus Autodidactus'' in the early 20th century. A number of stories within the ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' (''Arabian Nights'') also feature science fiction elements. One example is "The Adventures of Bulukiya", where the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
Bulukiya's quest for the herb of immortality leads him to explore the seas, journey to the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
and to
Jahannam In Islam, the place of punishment for unbelievers and other sin in Islam, evildoers in the afterlife, or hell, is an "integral part of Islamic theology",#ETISN2009, Thomassen, "Islamic Hell", Numen, 56, 2009: p.401 and has "occupied an important p ...
, and travel across the
cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
to different worlds much larger than his own world, anticipating elements of
galactic Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...
science fiction;Irwin, p. 209. along the way, he encounters societies of jinns,
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
s, talking serpents, talking
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s, and other forms of life. In another ''Arabian Nights'' tale, the protagonist Abdullah the Fisherman gains the ability to breathe underwater and discovers an underwater
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
society that is portrayed as an inverted reflection of society on land, in that the underwater society follows a form of primitive communism where concepts like money and clothing do not exist. Other ''Arabian Nights'' tales deal with lost ancient technologies, advanced ancient civilizations that went astray, and catastrophes which overwhelmed them. "
The City of Brass ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
" features a group of travellers on an
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
expedition across the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
to find an ancient lost city and attempt to recover a brass vessel that
Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
once used to trap a
jinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also Romanization of Arabic, romanized as djinn or Anglicization, anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are Invisibility, invisible creatures in early Arabian mytho ...
, and, along the way, encounter a
mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
queen,
petrified In geology, petrifaction or petrification () is the process by which organic material becomes a fossil through the replacement of the original material and the filling of the original pore spaces with minerals. Petrified wood typifies this proce ...
inhabitants, lifelike
humanoid robot A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipedal locomotion, or for other pur ...
s and
automata An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...
, seductive
marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...
s dancing without strings, and a brass horseman
robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
who directs the party towards the ancient city. "
The Ebony Horse The Ebony Horse, The Enchanted Horse or The Magic Horse is a folk tale featured in the Arabian Nights. It features a flying mechanical horse, controlled using keys, that could fly into outer space and towards the Sun. The ebony horse can fly t ...
" features a robot in the form of a flying mechanical horse controlled using keys that could fly into outer space and towards the Sun, while the "Third Qalandar's Tale" also features a robot in the form of an uncanny boatman.Pinault, pp. 10–11. "The City of Brass" and "The Ebony Horse" can be considered early examples of proto-science fiction. Other examples of early Arabic proto-science fiction include
al-Farabi Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the Western world, West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a reno ...
's ''Opinions of the residents of a splendid city'' about a
utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
n society, and elements such as the
flying carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One ...
.


Arabic literature for young readers and children

As in other languages, there is a growing number of literary works written in Arabic for young readers. With this group of readers in mind, the Young Readers series of the
New York University Press New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University. History NYU Press was founded in 1916 by the then chancellor of NYU, Elmer Ellsworth Brown. Directors * Arthur Huntington Nason, 1916–1932 ...
’s Library of Arabic Literature (LAL) offers contemporary and even classical texts in its Weaving Words collection, like the tenth-century anthology of stories and anecdotes ''Al-Faraj Ba’d al-Shiddah'' (Deliverance Follows Adversity'')'' by medieval writer Al-Muḥassin ibn ʿAlī al-Tanūkhī (327–84/939–94). In her 2011 essay "Arabic Children's Literature Today: Determining Factors and Tendencies" author and translator from Arabic to German Petra Dünges gave an overview of fiction written for Arab children since its beginnings in Egypt during the late 19th century, focussing on books published between 1990 and 2010. Judging from several modern illustrated books and
mangas Manges (; Greek language, Greek: μάγκες ; Grammatical number, sing.: mangas , μάγκας ) is the name of a social group in the Belle Époque era's counterculture of Greece (especially of the great urban centers: History of Athens#Modern At ...
such as ''Gold Ring'' (الذهب سوار) by Emirati writer Qays Sidqiyy (
Sheikh Zayed Book Award The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award begun in the UAE. It is presented yearly to "Arab writers, intellectuals, publishers as well as young talent whose writings and translations of humanities have scholarly and objectively enriched Arab ...
2010), she noted an increase in the variety of children’s literature in the changing modern Arab society. Further, she noticed a growing demand for stories and adequate illustrations that take children as readers seriously. Finally, she ascertained that Arabic children’s literature is an important contribution the development of Arab society, crucial to keeping Arab culture and the Arabic language alive. Marcia Lynx Qualey, editor-in-chief of
ArabLit ''ArabLit'' is an online magazine for information about translations of Arabic literature into English. The editors also publish ''ArabLit Quarterly'' as a print and electronic magazine, books with selected contemporary Arabic literary works and ...
online magazine, has translated Arabic novels for young readers, such as ''Thunderbirds'' by Palestinian writer Sonia Nimr. Further, she has written on Arabic books for teens and participated in academic forums. She and other literary translators and consultants publish the website ArabKidLitNow!, promoting translated Arabic literature for children and young readers.


Women in Arabic literature

In the words of Clarissa Burt, :: Despite the historical and social conditions that contributed to an almost total eclipse of women's poetic expression in the literary record as maintained in Arabic culture from the pre-Islamic era through the nineteenth century, with a few significant exceptions, women poets writing in Arabic have made tremendous strides since the dawn of the twentieth century in presenting their poetic offerings in mainstream cultural forums, and contributing to a plethora of new and modern poetic currents in literary cultural throughout the Arab world. Whilst not playing a major attested part in Arabic literature for much of its history, women have had a continuing role. Women's literature in Arabic has been relatively little researched, and features relatively little in most Arabic-language education systems, meaning that its prominence and importance is probably generally underrated.


The Medieval Period

In the estimation of Tahera Qutbuddin, : the citation of women's poetry in the general medieval anthologies is sparse. The earliest anthologists either ignored women poets or made disparaging remarks about them ... In his introduction to the ''Nuzhat al-Julasa'', al-Suyuti refers to a large (at least six-volume) anthology--now lost--of 'ancient' women's poetry ... It would seem from this that women poets may have formed a more dynamic part of the poetic landscape, at least in the earliest classical period, than is generally believed. (The main modern anthology of medieval Arabic women's writing in English translation is that of Abdullah al-Udhari.) Pre-Islamic women's literature seems to have been limited to the genre of ''marathiya'' ('elegy'). The earliest poetesses were
al-Khansa Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah ( ar, تماضر بنت عمرو بن الحارث بن الشريد السُلمية), usually simply referred to as al-Khansāʾ ( ar, الخنساء, links=no, meaning "snub-n ...
and
Layla al-Akhyaliyyah Layla bint Abullah ibn Shaddad ibn Ka’b al-Akhyaliyyah () (d. c. AH 75/694×90/709 CE), or simply Layla al-Akhyaliyyah () was a famous Umayyad Arab poet who was renowned for her poetry, eloquence, strong personality, and beauty. Nearly fifty of h ...
of the 7th century. Their concentration on the ''ritha''' or elegy suggests that this was a form deemed acceptable for women to work with. However, the love lyric was also an important genre of women's poetry. The
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
and 'Abbasid periods saw professional singing slave girls (''qiyan'', sing. ''quayna'') who sang love songs and accompanied these with music; alongside panegyric and competitive verse-capping, ''qiyan'' also sang love-poetry (''ghazal''). In his ''Risalat al-Qiyan'' (''Epistle of the Singing-Girls''), al-Jahiz (d. 255/868×69) reckoned that an accomplished singer might have a repertoire of 4,000 songs. Pre-eminent 'Abbasid singing-girls included: 'Inan (paramour of
Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
, r. 786–809); Arib al-Ma'muniyya (concubine of
Al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...
, r. 813–17); and
Fadl Ashsha'ira Fadl al-Qaysi or Faḍl al-Shāʻirah ( ar, فضل الشاعرة "Faḍl the Poet"; d. 871) was one of "three early ʻAbbasid singing girls ... particularly famous for their poetry" and is one of the pre-eminent medieval Arabic female poets who ...
(d. 871; concubine of
Al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was t ...
, r. 847–61). Meanwhile, Harun al-Rashid's half-sister
‘Ulayya bint al-Mahdī Ulayya bint al-Mahdi ( ar, عُلَيّة بنت المهدي, ʿUlayya bint al-Mahdī, 777–825) was an Abbasid princess, noted for her legacy as a poet and musician. Biography ‘Ulayya was one of the daughters of the third Abbasid Caliph al- ...
(777-825) was also known for her poetic skills, as was the mystic and poet of Basra
Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya ( ar, رابعة العدوية القيسية) (714/717/718 — 801 CE) was an Arab Muslim saint and Sufi mystic and carried her life out as an influential religious figure. She is known in some parts of t ...
(d. 801).Tahera Qutbuddin, 'Women Poets', in ''Medieval Islamic Civilisation: An Encyclopedia'', ed. by Josef W. Meri, 2 vols (New York: Routledge, 2006), II 866, . Women also had an important role in pre-modern periods as patrons of the arts. Writings from medieval moorish Spain attest to several important female writers, pre-eminently
Wallada bint al-Mustakfi Wallada bint al-Mustakfi ( ar, ولادة بنت المستكفي) (born in Córdoba in 994 or 1010 – died March 26, 1091) was an Andalusian poet. Early life Wallada was the daughter of Muhammad III of Córdoba, one of the last Umayyad Co ...
(1001–1091), an Umawi princess of al-Andulus, who wrote
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
poetry and was the lover of fellow poet
ibn Zaydun Abū al-Walīd Aḥmad Ibn Zaydūni al-Makhzūmī () (1003–1071) or simply known as Ibn Zaydun () or Abenzaidun was an Arab Andalusian poet of Cordoba and Seville. He was considered the greatest neoclassical poet of al-Andalus. He reinvigorate ...
; the Granadan poet Hafsa Bint al-Hajj al-Rukuniyya (d. 1190/91); and Nazhun al-Garnatiya bint al-Qulai’iya (d. 1100). These and other women writers suggest a hidden world of literature by women. Despite their lack of prominence among the literary elite, women still played an important part as characters in Arabic literature. '' Sirat al-amirah Dhat al-Himmah'', for example, is an Arabic epic with a female warrior, Fatima Dhat al-Himma, as protagonist, and
Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' deri ...
is famous for cunningly telling stories in the ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' to save her life. The Mamluk period saw the flourishing of the Sufi master and poet
'A'isha al-Ba'uniyya ʿĀʾishah bint Yūsuf al-Bāʿūniyyah (, died the sixteenth day of Dhū al-Qa‘dah, 922/1517) was a Sufi master and poet. She is one of few medieval female Islamic mystics to have recorded their own views in writing, and she "probably compos ...
(d. 1517), who was probably the Arabic-speaking world's most prolific female author before the twentieth century. Living in what is now Egypt and Syria, she came from the al-Ba'uni family, noted for its judges and scholars, and belonged to the 'Urmawi branch of the
Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...
order. 'A'isha composed at least twelve books in prose and verse, which included over three hundred long mystical and religious poems.


Al- Nahda

The earliest prominent female writer of the modern period during which the Arab cultural renaissance (
Al-Nahda The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, ...
) took place is
Táhirih Táhirih (Ṭāhira) ( fa, طاهره, "The Pure One," also called Qurrat al-ʿAyn ( "Solace/Consolation of the Eyes") are both titles of Fatimah Baraghani/Umm-i Salmih (1814 or 1817 – August 16–27, 1852), an influential poet, women's rights ...
(1820–52), from what is now Iran. She wrote fine Arabic and Persian poetry.
Women's literary salons and societies in the Arab world The tradition of women's literary circles in the Arab world dates back to the pre-Islamic period when the eminent literary figure, Al-Khansa, would stand in the 'Ukaz market in Mecca, reciting her poetry and airing her views on the scholarship of ...
were also pioneered during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, initially by
Christian Arab Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic language, Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab ...
women, who tended to have more freedom and access to education than their female Muslim counterparts in the Ottoman Empire at the time.
Maryana Marrash Maryana bint Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (Arabic: , ; 1848–1919), also known as Maryana al-Marrash or Maryana Marrash al-Halabiyah, was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda or the Arab Renaissance. She revived the tradition of litera ...
(1848−1919) started what is now believed to have been the first salon including women in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
. In 1912,
May Ziadeh May Elias Ziadeh ( ; ar, مي إلياس زيادة, ; 11 February 1886 – 17 October 1941) was a Lebanese people, Lebanese-Palestinians, Palestinian poet, essayist, and translator, who wrote many different works both in Arabic language, Ar ...
(1886-1941) also started a literary salon in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and in 1922, Mary 'Ajami (1888−1965) did the same in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
. These salons supported the emergence of women's writing (both literary and journalistic) and women's presses through increased interaction in the male-dominated world of Arab literature.


Late 20th century to early 21st century

A quote by Clarissa Burt on modern Arab poetry by female Arab authors:
Unlocked from the constraints of the traditional ode, several of these and other women have had long careers of poetry writing, entering into areas of expression of women's experience that had not been presented in print before. In many ways, this poetic work has gone hand in hand with the growth of critical discourse about women's role, status, and experience, and women's desires to be fully participating members of public society. ..With few exceptions, critical reception in the Arab world of these and other women poets has been lukewarm at best, for the most part, often filled with criticism of their adherence or lack thereof to poetic principles that have been held as prescriptive in many schools of Arabic literary criticism.
Alongside
Maryana Marrash Maryana bint Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (Arabic: , ; 1848–1919), also known as Maryana al-Marrash or Maryana Marrash al-Halabiyah, was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda or the Arab Renaissance. She revived the tradition of litera ...
, May Ziadeh, and Mary 'Ajami, pioneering figures in women's writing in Arabic during this time period are
Zaynab Fawwaz Zaynab Fawwaz (1860–1914) was a Lebanese people, Lebanese women's rights activist, novelist, playwright, poet and historian of famous women. Her novel "''حسن العواقب/Ḥusn al-Awaqib",'' (''The Happy Ending'', 1899) is considered the ...
(modern Lebanon/Egypt, 1846–1914), who arguably wrote the first novel in Arabic and was the first woman to write a play in that language as well; Aisha Taymur (modern Turkey/Egypt, 1840–1902);
Malak Hifni Nasif Malak Hifni Nasif (25 December 1886 – 17 October 1918) was an Egyptian feminist who contributed greatly to the intellectual and political discourse on the advancement of Egyptian women in the early 20th century . Personal life Malak was born ...
(under the pseudonym Bahithat al-Badiyya, Egypt 1886–1918); Anbara Salam Khalidy (modern Palestine/Lebanon, 1897–1988) Anbara Salam Khalidy (modern Palestine/Lebanon, 1897–1986) and Salma al-Kadhimiyya (Iraq, 1908–1953, under the pseudonym Umm Nizar). Since the Second World War, Arabic women's poetry has become markedly more prominent.Clarissa Burt, 'Arts: Poets and Poetry: Arab States', in ''Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures'', ed. by Suad Joseph (Leiden: Brill, 2003-2007), V: 77-80 (p. 78).
Nazik Al-Malaika Nazik al-Malaika ( ar, نازك الملائكة; 23 August 1923 – 20 June 2007) was an Iraqi poet. Al-Malaika is noted for being among the first Arabic poets to use free verse. Early life and career Al-Malaika was born in Baghdad to a cult ...
(Iraq/Egypt, 1923–2007) was the daughter of Salma al-Kadhimiyya, who in her own right was a poet and a vanguard of the early nationalist movement. Al-Malaika, alongside
Badr Shakir al-Sayyab Badr Shakir al Sayyab ( ar, بدر شاكر السياب) (December 24, 1926 in Jaykur, near Basra – December 24, 1964 in Kuwait) was a leading Iraqi poet, well known throughout the Arab world and one of the most influential Arab poets of all ti ...
, can be considered the initiator of the Free Verse Movement in Arabic poetry. Al-Malaika's poetry is characterised by thematic variations and the use of imagery. She also wrote ''The Case of Contemporary Poets'' which is considered a major contribution to Arab literary criticism. Other major post-war poetic voices include Fadwa Touqan (Palestine, 1917–2003), Rabāb al-Kāẓimī (Iraq, b. 1920), Jalīla Riḍa (Egypt, 1920–2001),
Salma Khadra Jayyusi Salma Khadra Jayyusi ( ar, سلمى الخضراء الجيوسي; born 1926 or 1927) is a Palestinian poet, writer, translator and anthologist. She is the founder and director of the Project of Translation from Arabic (PROTA), which aims to provi ...
(Palestine, 1926-), Lami'a 'Abbas 'Amara (Iraq, b. 1927). The poetry of Saniya Salih (Syria, 1935–85) appeared in many well-known magazines of her time, particularly ''Shi’r'' and '' Mawaqif,'' but remained in the shadow of work by her husband, the poet Muhammad al-Maghout. Her later poems often address her relationship with her two daughters, and many were written during her illness, as she died of cancer. Other Arab post-war poetesses include Zubayda Bashīr (Tunis, 1938-);
Ghada al-Samman Ghadah Al-Samman ( ar, غادة السمّان; born 1942) is a Syrian writer, journalist and novelist born in Damascus in 1942 to a prominent and conservative Damascene family. Her father was Ahmed Al-Samman, a president of the Syrian Universi ...
(Syria, 1942-), known not only for poetry, but also for short stories and novels, Su'ad al-Sabah (Kuwait, 1942-) and Hamda Khamis (Bahrain, 1946-), who is regarded as Bahrain's first female free-verse poet. More recent Arabic literature has seen an even greater number of female writers' works published: Suhayr al-Qalamawi, Ulfat Idlibi, Layla Ba'albakki, Zuhrabi Mattummal,
Hoda Barakat Hoda Barakat ( ar, هدى بركات) (born 1952) is an award-winning Lebanese novelist. She lived most of her early life in Beirut before moving to Paris, where she now resides. She has published six novels, two plays, a book of short stories, a ...
and
Alifa Rifaat Fatimah Rifaat (June 5, 1930 – January 1996), better known by her pen name Alifa Rifaat ( ar, أليفة رفعت), was an Egyptian author whose controversial short stories are renowned for their depictions of the dynamics of female sexuality, ...
are just some of these novelists and prose writers. There has also been a number of significant female authors, who wrote non-fiction and mainly exploring the female condition in Muslim societies, which includes authors such as Zaynab al-Ghazali,
Nawal el-Saadawi Nawal El Saadawi ( ar, نوال السعداوي, , 22 October 1931 – 21 March 2021) was an Egyptian feminist writer, activist and physician. She wrote many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice ...
and
Fatema Mernissi Fatema Mernissi ( ar, فاطمة مرنيسي, Fāṭima Marnīsī; 27 September 1940 – 30 November 2015) was a Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist. Biography Fatema Mernissi was born on 27 September 1940 in Fez, Morocco. She grew up in t ...
. Women writers in the Arab world have unavoidably courted controversy. Layla Ba'albakki, for instance, was charged with obscenity and "endangering public morality" a few months after she published her collection of short stories titled ''Tenderness to the Moon'' (1963). The Lebanese vice squad actually traveled to every bookstore, where the book was sold, to confiscate all remaining copies because of its erotic content. In
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, women's oral literature used in ceremonies called ''Būqālah'', also meaning ceramic pitcher, became a symbol of national identity and anti-colonialism during the
War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...
in the 1950s and early 60s. These poems are usually four to ten lines in
Algerian Arabic Algerian Arabic (natively known as Dziria) is a dialect derived from the form of Arabic spoken in northern Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic language continuum and is partially mutually intelligible with Tunisian and Moroccan. Like ...
, and cover topics from the everyday, like love and work, to the political, like the struggle for independence. Since using
Algerian Arabic Algerian Arabic (natively known as Dziria) is a dialect derived from the form of Arabic spoken in northern Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic language continuum and is partially mutually intelligible with Tunisian and Moroccan. Like ...
as poetic language was considered an act of cultural resistance in itself at the time, these poems took on a revolutionary implication.


Contemporary Arabic Literature

Suffice to say although female Arab authors still risk controversy by discussing explicit themes or taboo topic in their works, it is a theme explored more explicitly and with more vigour due to greater outreach thanks to social media and more international awareness of Arab literature. More current Arab female writers include
Hanan al-Shaykh Hanan al-Shaykh ( ar, حنان الشيخ; born 12 November 1945, Beirut) is a Lebanese author of contemporary literature. Biography Hanan al-Shaykh was born Beirut, Lebanon, in 1945, into a strict Shi'a family. Her father and brother exerte ...
, Salwa al-Neimi (writer, poet and journalist), Joumanna Haddad (journalist and poet),
Assia Djebar Fatima-Zohra Imalayen (30 June 1936 – 6 February 2015), known by her pen name Assia Djebar ( ar, آسيا جبار), was an Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker. Most of her works deal with obstacles faced by women, and she is noted fo ...
. Ahdaf Soueif and Yasmine El-Rashidi amongst others who confront less-talked about topics such as sex, prostitution, homosexuality and political censorship and prosecution within the Arab diaspora and also internationally in relation to Arab emigration. Contemporary female Arab writers/poets/journalists alongside producing literature and non-fiction works often take on an activist role in their careers in order to highlight and improve the female condition in Arab society. This concept is embodied in female figures such as
Mona Eltahawy Mona Eltahawy ( ar, منى الطحاوى, ; born August 1, 1967) is a freelance Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator based in New York City. She has written essays and op-eds for publications worldwide on Egypt and the Islamic w ...
, who is an Egyptian columnist and international public speaker. She is best known for her unconventional comments on Arab and Muslim issues and her involvement in global feminism. In 2015, she released her book '' Headscarves and Hymens'' in which she argues the need for a sexual revolution in the Middle East. Another writer from Egypt is
Basma Abdel Aziz Basma Abdel Aziz (Arabic: بسمة عبد العزيز, born 1976 in Cairo, Egypt) is an Egyptian writer, psychiatrist, visual artist and human rights activist, nicknamed 'the rebel'. She lives in Cairo and is a weekly columnist for Egypt's ''al-Sh ...
, who has published dystopian novels called
The Queue The Queue was a nickname for the queue of mourners who waited to file past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II while she lay in state at Westminster Hall in London, England, from 14 to 19 September 2022. Two separate queues for mourners operate ...
or ''Here is a Body,'' as well as nonfiction based on her studies of oppression, torture and authoritarian language of the government in Egypt. Contemporary Arab women's literature has been strongly influenced by the diaspora of Arabic-speakers, who have produced writing not only in Arabic, but also in other languages, prominently English, French, Dutch and German. The Internet is also important in furthering the reach of literature produced in Arabic or Arabic-speaking regions:
It is among the younger generation of poets that the Internet has become a platform for mounting collections and sharing poetry. Some of these poets have their own websites, while others are included on ever growing web anthologies being posted by young Arab computer geeks dedicated to the construction of web archives for Arabic poetry and poetic history. Similarly, critical treatment of these women's poetry, while now well established in on-line resources and web-based sites for major paper publications throughout the arab world, has yet to produce clearly defined critical means of articulating emerging values for poetry, for measuring the critical worth of some of these new productions, and for encouraging the production of Arab women's poetry which will have weight, depth, and acclaim comparable to the work of some of the major Arab male poets of our day.


Literary criticism

For many centuries, there has been a vibrant culture of literary criticism in the Arabic speaking world. The poetry festivals of the pre-Islamic period often pitched two poets against each other in a war of verse, in which one would be deemed winner by the audience. Literary criticism also relates to theology, and gained official status with Islamic studíes of the Qur'an. Although nothing which might be termed 'literary criticism' in the modern sense, was applied to a work held to be ''i'jaz'' or inimitable and divinely inspired, textual analysis, called ''
ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...
'' and referring to independent reasoning, was permitted. This study allowed for a better understanding of the message and facilitated interpretation for practical use, all of which helped the development of a critical method important for later work on other literature. A clear distinction regularly drawn between works in literary language and popular works has meant that only part of the literature in Arabic was usually considered worthy of study and criticism. Some of the first studies of Arabic poetry are ''Qawa'id al-shi'r'' or ''The Rules of Poetry'' by Tha'lab and ''Naqd al-shi'r'' or ''Poetic Criticism'' by
Qudamah ibn Ja'far Qudāma ibn Jaʿfar al-Kātib al-Baghdādī ( ar, قدامة بن جعفر الكاتب البغدادي; c. 873 – c. 932/948), was a Syriac scholar and administrator for the Abbasid Caliphate. Life Little is known with certainty about Qudama ...
. Other works continued the tradition of contrasting two poets in order to determine which one best follows the rule of classical poetic structure. Plagiarism also became a significant topic, exercising the critics' concerns. The works of
al-Mutanabbi Abū al-Ṭayyib Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Mutanabbī al-Kindī ( ar, أبو الطيب أحمد بن الحسين المتنبّي الكندي; – 23 September 965 AD) from Kufa, Abbasid Caliphate, was a famous Abbasid-era Arab poet at th ...
were particularly studied with this concern. He was considered by many the greatest of all Arab poets, but his own arrogant self-regard for his abilities did not endear him to other writers and they looked for a source for his verse. Just as there were collections of facts written about many different subjects, numerous collections detailing every possible rhetorical figure used in literature emerged, as well as how to write guides. Modern criticism first compared new works unfavourably with the classical ideals of the past, but these standards were soon rejected as too artificial. The adoption of the forms of European
romantic poetry Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Enlightenment ideas of the 18t ...
dictated the introduction of corresponding critical standards. Taha Hussayn, himself well versed in European thought, would even dare to examine the Qur'an with modern critical analysis, in which he pointed out ideas and stories borrowed from pre-Islamic poetry. An outstanding Sudanese
scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
and literary critic with a long list of publications on poetry or other genres, and on Arabic language in general, was Abdallah al-Tayyib (1921–2003). Arguably his most notable work is ''A Guide to Understanding Arabic Poetry'', written over thirty-five years and published in four volumes of several thousand pages.


Outside views of Arabic literature

Literature in Arabic has been influential outside the
Islamic world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
. One of the first important translations of Arabic literature was
Robert of Ketton Robert of Ketton, known in Latin as Rodbertus Ketenensis ( 1141–1157), was an English astronomer, translator, priest and diplomat active in Spain. He translated several works of Arabic into Latin, including the first translation of the Quran int ...
's translation of the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
in the twelfth century, but it would not be until the early eighteenth century that much of the diverse Arabic literature would be recognised. This was largely due to
arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in medieval Muslim Spain, which lay on the ...
s, like
Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot (21 May 1833 – 25 May 1901) was a notable British Orientalist and translator. Biography Arbuthnot's early career was spent as a civil servant in India; his last post was as Collector for the Bombay government. ...
and his books such as ''Arabic Authors: A Manual of Arabian History and Literature''.
Antoine Galland Antoine Galland (; 4 April 1646 – 17 February 1715) was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of '' One Thousand and One Nights'', which he called ''Les mille et une nuits''. His version of the t ...
's French translation of the ''
Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' was the first major work in Arabic which found great success outside the Muslim world. Other significant translators were
Friedrich Rückert Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Biography Rückert was born in Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local '' Gymnasium'' ...
and
Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
, along with others working at
Fort William, India Fort William is a fort in Hastings, Calcutta (Kolkata). It was built during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It sits on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, the major distributary of the River Ganges. One of Kolkat ...
. Since at least the 19th century, Arabic and many works in other Western Asian languages fuelled a fascination in Orientalist thinking and artistic production in the West. Works of dubious 'foreign' morals were particularly popular, but even these were censored for content, such as homosexual references, which were not permitted in
Victorian society The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a registered ...
. Most of the works chosen for translation helped confirm the stereotypes of the audiences. Compared to the variety and scope of literature written in Arabic, relatively few historical or modern Arabic works have been translated into other languages. Since the mid-20th century, there has been an increase of translations of Arabic books into other languages, and Arabic authors began to receive a certain amount of acclaim. Egyptian writer
Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...
had most of his works translated after he won the 1988
Nobel Prize for Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
. Other writers, including
Abdul Rahman Munif Abdelrahman bin Ibrahim al-Munif ( ar, عَبْدُ الرَّحْمٰن المُنِيفٌ) known by his nickname Abdelrahman Munif (May 29, 1933 – January 24, 2004) was a Saudi Arabian novelist, short story writer, memoirist, journalist ...
and
Tayeb Salih Tayeb Salih ( ar, الطيب صالح, aṭ-Ṭayyib Ṣāliḥ; 12 July 1929 – 18 February 2009) was a Sudanese writer, cultural journalist for the BBC Arabic programme as well as for Arabic journals, and a staff member of UNESCO. He is best k ...
have found critical acclaim by Western scholars, and both
Alaa Al Aswany Alaa Al Aswany ( ar, علاء الأسواني, ; born 26 May 1957) is an Egyptian writer, novelist, and a founding member of the political movement Kefaya. Early life and career Al Aswany was born on 26 May 1957 in Cairo. His mother, Zaina ...
's ''
The Yacoubian Building ''The Yacoubian Building'' ( ar, عمارة يعقوبيان ''‘Imārat Ya‘qūbyān'') is a novel by Egyptian author Alaa-Al-Aswany. The book was made into a film of the same name in 2006 and into a TV series in 2007. Published in Arabi ...
'' and
Rajaa al-Sanea Rajaa al-Sanea (; born in 1981, on 11 September) is a Saudi writer who became famous through her novel ''Girls of Riyadh'' ( ). The book was first published in Lebanon in 2005 and in English in 2007. Al-Sanea grew up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, t ...
's ''
Girls of Riyadh ''Girls of Riyadh'', or ''Banat al-Riyadh'' ( ar, بنات الرياض), is a novel by Rajaa Alsanea. The book, written in the form of e-mails, recounts the personal lives of four young Saudi Arabia, Saudi girls, Lamees, Michelle (half-Saudi, hal ...
'' attracted significant Western media attention in the first decade of the 21st century.


See also


References


Citations


Sources

*Allen, Roger (1995). ''The Arabic Novel: an Historical and Critical Introduction'' (2nd ed.). Syracuse University Press. . *Allen, Roger (2006). ''The Arabic Literary Heritage: the Development of its Genres and Criticism''. Cambridge University Press. . *Ashtiany, Julia; Johnstone, T. M.; Latham, J. D.; Serjeant, R. B.; Smith, G. Rex, ed. (1990). ''Abbasid Belles-lettres''. Cambridge University Press. . *Auchterlonie, Paul (1986). ''Arabic Biographical Dictionaries: a Summary Guide and Bibliography''. Middle East Libraries Committee. . *Beeston, A. F. L.; Johnstone T. M.; Serjeant, R. B.; Smith, G. R., ed. (1983). ''Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period''. Cambridge University Press. . *Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1976). ''The Mediaeval Islamic Underworld: the Banū Sāsān in Arabic Society and Literature''. Brill. . * El-Enany, Rasheed (1993). ''Naguib Mahfouz: the Pursuit of Meaning''. Routledge. . *Glassé, Cyril (2001). ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam''. AltaMira Press. . *Hamori, Andras (1971). "An Allegory from the Arabian Nights: the City of Brass". ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies''. Volume XXXIV. *Hashmi, Alamgir, ed. (1986). ''The Worlds of Muslim Imagination''. Gulmohar. *Hassan, Nawal Muhammad (1980). ''Hayy Bin Yaqzan and Robinson Crusoe: a Study of an Early Arabic Impact on English Literature''. Al-Rashid House for Publication. *Irwin, Robert (2005). ''The Arabian Nights: a Companion''. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. . *Jayyusi, Salma Khadra (1977). ''Trends and Movements in Modern Arabic Poetry''. Volume I. Brill. . *Jayyusi, Salma Khadra (1992). "The Romantic Poets". In Badawi, Mohammed Mustafa. ''Modern Arabic Literature''. Cambridge University Press. . *Jones, Alan (2003). "Foreword". In Rodwell, J. M. ''The Koran''. Phoenix. . *Logan, Peter Melville, ed. (2011). ''The Encyclopedia of the Novel''. Volume I. Wiley-Blackwell. . *Makdisi, George (May 1, 1986). "The Diary in Islamic Historiography: Some Notes". ''History and Theory''. Volume XV. *Marzolph, Ulrich; van Leeuwen, Richard; Wassouf, Hassan (2004). ''The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO. . *McGinnis, Jon; Reisman, David C. (2007). ''Classical Arabic Philosophy: an Anthology of Sources''. Hackett Publishing Company. . *Menocal, María Rosa; Scheindlin, Raymond P.; Sells, Michael, ed. (2000). ''The Literature of al-Andalus''. Cambridge University Press. . *Moreh, Shmuel (1976). ''Modern Arabic Poetry 1800–1970: the Development of its Forms and Themes under the Influence of Western Literature''. Brill. . *Moreh, Shmuel (1986). "Live Theater in Medieval Islam". In Sharon, Moshe. ''Studies in Islamic History and Civilization: in Honour of Professor David Ayalon''. Brill. *Moreh, Shmuel (1988). ''Studies in Modern Arabic Prose and Poetry''. Brill. . *Pinault, David (1992). ''Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights''. Brill Publishers. . *Russell, G. A., ed. (1994). ''The 'Arabick' Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-century England''. Brill. . *Somekh (1992). "The Neo-Classical Poets". In Badawi, Mohammed Mustafa. ''Modern Arabic Literature''. Cambridge University Press. . *Stone, Christopher (2008). ''Popular Culture and Nationalism in Lebanon: the Fairouz and Rahbani Nation''. Routledge. . *Toomer, G. J. (1996). ''Eastern Wisedome and Learning: the Study of Arabic in Seventeenth-century England''. Oxford University Press. . *Van Gelder, G. J. H. (1982). ''Beyond the Line: Classical Arabic Literary Critics on the Coherence and Unity of the Poem''. Brill. . *Von Grunebaum, G. E. (1952). "Avicenna's Risâla fî 'l-'išq and Courtly Love", ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies''. *Wainwright, Martin (March 22, 2003)
"Desert island scripts"
''The Guardian''. *Young, M. J. L.; Latham, J. D.; Serjeant, R. B., ed. (1990). ''Religion, Learning and Science in the Abbasid Period''. Cambridge University Press. .


Further reading

* Abdel-Malek, Kamal, "Popular Arabic Religious Narratives", in ''Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God'' (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol II, pp. 460–465. * Eglash, Ruth, "Arabic manuscripts from J'lem libraries to go online
Arabic manuscripts from J'lem libraries to go online
* * Johnson-Davies, Denys (ed.) 2006, ''The Anchor book of modern Arabic fiction'', New York: Anchor Books. *


External links

*
Arabic Ontology Arabic Ontology is a linguistic ontology for the Arabic language, which can be used as an Arabic Wordnet with ontologically-clean content. People use it also as a tree (i.e. classification) of the concepts/meanings of the Arabic terms. It is a fo ...

Lexicographic Search Engine


{{DEFAULTSORT:Arabic Literature Arab culture Literature by ethnicity