Islamic Literature between Theory and Practice

Vol. 46 Intellectual Discourse 1, No.1, October 1993 Islamic Literature Between Theory And Practice Muhammad Badawi* If literature is the expressionin words of human ideas, emotions and beliefs, and if it reflects culture and collective attitudes, is it justifiable to speak of literature belonging to an ideology in the same way as we speak of literature belonging to a nation, a country or a linguistic group? The question that poses itself is whether we can treat literary works that are the product of certain ideological or philosophical influences as more or less distinct cultural entities. It stands to reasonthat, having so much in common, literary works emanating from a certain collective ideological frame of mind can be grouped together in spite of national, linguistic, cultural, and stylistic differences.So, it would appearthat we are perfectly safe in speaking of Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, or even evolutionary, socialist, Marxist, Freudian, or existentialist literature in much the same way as we speak of Arabic, English, American, French, or Malay literature.) However, it is to be concededthat, as in the case of literatures of linguistic or national groups, what is meant by each individual term needs to be more defined. Islamic literature is the concern of this paper, and an attempt at a working definition of it will be made later. It is to be noted, moreover, that literary schools belonging to specific ideologies reflect -sometimes consciously/directly and other times unconsciously/ MuhammadBadawiis AssociateProfessor,Departmentof EnglishLanguageand Literature,InternationalIslamic University, Malaysia. M. Badawi Islamic Literature BetweenTheory And Practice 47 indirectly -the ideals, values, and attitudes of their respective mother ideologies and communities in works of art like poetry, drama, and the novel. For a conception of Islamic literature and a better understandingof its featuresand characteristics,one has naturally to go fIrst to the Qur:an, both as a sourceof legislation/codeformulator and a masterpieceof literary excellence.The Sunnahof ProphetMuhammad (SAAS) is the secondplace to look into, again as a sourceof legislation and as a practical application of Islamic values in literature. Moreover, it is in the plan of this paper to look at the attitudes and literary practicesof some chosenCompanions of the Prophet (SAAS) and at some modem 'Islamic' authorsand works to have a comparativelook at the Islamic conceptionof literature and how this conceptionwas put into practice in the early years of Islam and how it is being practised in the presentday. Islamic Conception of Literature Islam describes itself more as a comprehensiveway of life -for individuals as well as communities-than as a religion in the narrow sense of a systemof worship and ritualistic practice.The teachingsof Islam have specific instructions and recommendationsfor every aspectof ~ife in an announcedattempt at making man's life better, richer, and happier, both in this world and in the hereafter.Moreover, it is Islam's implied aim not only to form the righteousindividual and the virtuous community and state but also to build a civilization on the pillars of Islamic beliefs and codes of behaviour? Following from this, it was only natural for literature to come, in one way or another, under the influence of the Islamic doctrine and way of life in Muslim communities. This is particularly so in view of the pronounced interest of Islam in literature and the important role that literature or li~erarypractice has played in the propagationof Islam from the very beginning. It is interesting and enlighteninghere to notice that the very first word of the Qur'an revealedto the Prophet (SAAS) was an instruction to read, signifying the important role reading and knowledge were going to play in the new religion. In the fourth verse of tll.c same surah we read that it was God who taught man with the 'pen'.~ 'fb,' 'pen' is again held in very high esteemas the subject of an oath made by God in the first verse of the sixty-eighth surah (which, significantly, carries the title al-Qalam, 'The Pen'). 48 Intellectual Discourse Vol. 1, No.1, October 1993 In fact, the Qur'an, Islam's greatestmiracle, has strong and obvious literary undertones.It was through the hjghly impressiveeloquenceof the Qur' an that many of the early Muslims in Arabia came to embraceIslam. They were a people of great linguistic abilities, and eloqu~nceplayed a great role in their lives. They felt that the Qur' an was like nothing they had heard or said before. It put forward the claim that it was not the word of a human being but of God, and this claim was substantiatedmainly by the highly sophisticateduse of language,the like of which no one of the ancient Arabs could produce. This makes it clear that the Qur' an dependedto a great extent on linguistic and literary aspectsin propagating and supportingIslam in the early days.Moreover, this aspectof the miracle of the Qur' an still holds strongly today. Scholarly volumes have been written and continue to be written about the Qur'anic use of language and its rhetorical inimitability (i'jaz).4 However, two aspectsof the Qur'anic use of languagewill be considered sufficient here to exemplify the literary aspectof the Qur'an touching on our topic. In innumerable instances,the Qur' an uses highly imaginative figurative languageto drive home its points. In its description of the state of mind of the hypocriteswho professIslam and hide disbelief, for example, the Qur' an gives two graphic pictures. The first depicts those who have lit a fife in order to see around (signifying the light of faith they once had or professedto have had), but the fire was soon e~tinguishedleaving them in total darkness.The other figure is that of total darknessbroken by intermittent thunder and lightning (perhapsagain signifying the light of the messagethey professedto hold), which instead of giving them light gives them fear and makes them put their fingers in their ears for fear of death.sTo show the statusof believers,the Qur' an gives the illustration of a healthy plant that is the.pride of the farmer and provokes the envy and anger of his enemies.The Qur' an states that this is the example for believers given in the Bible as well.6 Many literary critics would frown upon the idea of discussing the content and the form of a literary work separately.The Qur' an is seen to provide a perfect example of the match between form and content. Nevertheless,it should be noticed that the Qur'an gives 'form' due attention. A major point that should be made here is the complete and balanced musical effect of many of the Qur' anic;verses and passages.Bearing in mind that the Qur'an is not poetry (as is statedexplicitly in many verses), it is to be noticed that the Qur' an goesto somelengths to retain the builtin musical effect of many of its passages.It is obviously and naturally impossible to discern or discussthis trait in a translation, but the reader of the Qur'an can feel that in order to retain the on-going musical 'rhyme' M. Badawi 49 Islamic Literature Between Theory And Practice in certain verses,the Qur' an sometimesmakes a break at the end of the verse even though the meaningis not yet complete,and the meaningwould be' completed in the next verse; a practice that resembles 'enjambment' in poetry. This is done as it appears,to keep the musical structure of the passage.An example will illustrate this point further. .~ . .)":..:I.. In reciting these two verses,?the reader will notice that the break at the end of the first quoted verse at the subject -~ .J" 1 leaves the meaning of the verse incomplete in a senseand to be made complete in the predicate in the first four words of the following verse, ~ Lb. ; ,,~ J..,:; " .It is clear that the break was madeat that specific place to retain the musical effect of the dominant 'rhyme' of the passage. Furthermore, the Qur' an at other times cites common words ending in a peculiar form not normally used in standardArabic solely to keep the smooth flowing and balanced prevalent 'rhyme'. Such words used in a passagein Surah al-H(lqqah, for example, are .~ l:..$' ,~ L.::o. , ~ L. and ~ Lb.L ..We notice that to the end of the ordinary spelling of each word is added the sound ~ to retain the musical effect.8This showsclearly that the Qur'an paysparticular attentionto 'form' as well as 'content', bringing both in unison to produce a single effect contributing greatly to its literary aspect, which has charmed readers for centuries. If the Qur' an itself is, in one of its facets, a literary miracle, as we have seen, it is no wonder that Islam takes great care of literature and that literature has played an importantrole in Islamic practice. But the kind of literature endorsedand encouragedby Islam is of course that which furthers and upholds its values. It must carry the values seenby the mother ideology proper for man's life. It must reflect the concept of monotheism (worshipping God alone with no partners,the basic tenet of Islam), belief in the prophethoodof Muhammad(SAAS), and the values of justice, truth, and honestyas perceived in Islam. It must furthermore stand up to wrong doing, oppression,and perversionand help the individual fight his base Vol. Intellectual Discourse 50 1, No.1, October 1993 tendencies which are not in line with Islam's values, to give but a few examples. In his article 'Characteristicsof Islamic Art', R. Ettinghausenspeaks of four main characteristicsthat can be found to apply to literature as well as to other branchesof art: fear of the Day of Judgement,belief in the human nature of Muhammad (SAAS), submissionto God, and centrality 0f ...e Qur' an. 9 th Islamic Literature Defined At this stagewe should try to define what this papermeansby Islamic literature. We might as well first have a look at definitions given by other students of the topic. J. Kritzeck uses 'Islam' in the loose sense of the 'vast community of Moslems, the lands in which they live, their social and political institutions, and indeed the whole of their cultures'. To him, the term 'Islamic literature' denotesliterature written by people belonging to Muslim nations.lo'Imad al-Din Khalil attemptsa definition of Islamic literature saying that it is 'An aestheticimpressiveexpressionin words of the Islamic conceptof existence'.II Another interestingview is put forward by MUhammadQutb, who is of the opinion that under the title of Islamic literature should go not only works by Muslim writers but also works by non-Muslim writers that expressviews in line with Islamic values.He cites works by the Indian R. Tagoreand the Irishman J. M. Syngeas examples.12 For working purposes,this paperwill restrict considerationto literary works expressing Islamic ideals by Muslim (mainly Arabic) writers. It should not be understoodfrom what has been said, however, that Islamic literature should be another form of preaching -far from it. According to theorists of Islamic literature, it is essential that it not fall into the 'trap' of preaching and direct, prosaic rhetoric.13Besides being truthful to the Islamic view, practice, and way of life, a literary work, they argue, should fulfil aestheticconditions required in literature or it will be classed as preaching rather than artistic writing. More of the aesthetic aspectsand commitment in Islamic literature will be consideredlater, in the discussion of the Islamic view of poetry. Types of Literature Before we move on to our next point, it is worth our while here tonotice that considerableinterest in the topic of Islamic literature has been 51 M. Badawi Islamic Literature BetweenTheory And Practice shown lately. This has taken three main forms. A great increaseis to be witnessed lately in the number of literary works that can be classified as Islamic in the different arts of poetry, drama, the novel, the short story, and the essayin Arabic and in other languagesof the Islamic world. These works reflect the growing interest in the affairs of the Muslim ummah .and the problems facing it in the modernworld. Referencesto some suchworks will be made in due course.Interest in Islamic literature is further reflected in the publishing of books purporting to delineate a 'theory' for Islamic literature. Lastly, the increasing interest in Islamic literature shows in the holding of internationalseminarsandconferencesdevotedto its cause.Three such seminarsare: the International Seminar for Islamic Literature held in Lucknow, India, 17-19 April 1981; the Seminar of Discourse on Islamic Literature held in Madinah, 5-9 Rajab 1402Hand the meeting in Makkah on 10 March 1982 to establish the Islamic Institution for Publication, Distribution, and Art Productions.14 Poetry Turning to the Islamic conception of poetry we notice first that the Qur'an vehementlydeniesthe 'charge' levelled againstMuhammad(SAAS) that he was a poet and that the revelation was a kind of poetry. The disbelievers in Makkah, in an attemptto evadethe necessityof faith, said that the revelation was mere poetry, and the Qur' an recordsthis in several verses.IS This 'accusation',arguesJaberQumeiha,carries an implicit recognition on the side of the disbelieversof the greatnessof the Qur'an as a literary miracle, as they grouped it with their highest achievementand pride.16 However, the Qur'an refutes their accusation,stating categorically that the Prophet (SAAS) was not and could never be a poet and that revelation is something totally different from poetry in source and nature.l? This brings into discussion the subject of the source of poetic inspiration. M.A. Hamdunmakesthe remark that in Greco-Romanculture, and also in Chinese culture for that matter, there was no distinction made between divine and poetic inspiration, as the latter's source was held to be 'divine' muses.In pre-Islamicand early Islamic times, the Arabs thought of the jinn as the source of poetic inspiration. This changed later to a belief in the human source of poetic inspiration.ISThis is in line with the Islamic view, which distinguishesbetweenthe infallible, divine source of revelation and the human source of poetry, which is open to 'good' as well as 'evil' influences. 52 Intellectual Discourse Vol. 1, No.1, October1993 The attitude of the Qur'an, however, is to be sought mainly in the last four verses of the twenty-sixth surah, interestingly and significantly entitled al-Shu'ara', 'Poets'. The verses begin with a general statement about poets being followed by the misguided.It depictspoets as wanderers in a valley transgressingthe limits of reason, common sense,and belief in what they say and saying what they do not mean or not practising what they say. Historians and scholarsof the Qur' an record that Muslim poets, especially' Abdullah Ibn Rawaha,were very sad upon hearingthoseverses. But soon new verses were revealed with exceptions regarding the poets mentioned in the earlier verses.To be excluded from criticism, statedthe new verses,are poets who believe, do good, and rememberGod. This set the Muslim poets at ease.19 So it is clear that the Qur'an does not consider poetry inadmissible as did Plato in his Republic, for example. Rather, it distinguishes betweentwo types of poetry: the righteous which servesthe altruistic causesof man and the stray which misleads and harms man's chancesfor a better life. A classical Muslim scholar, Abu Hilal al-' Askari (of the tenth century) elaborateson this point saying: 'the fac~ that God the glorious and the magnificent made exceptionsin the questionof poets indicates that the blameworthy in poetry is that which avoids the right to go to the wrong and the just to go to the unjust'!O The greatMuslim scholar, al-Ghazali (of the twelfth century) arrives at the same conclusion in his statementthat 'Poetry is but a form of speech:the good of it is acceptable, and the evil abominable Reciting and composing poetry is not to be considered forbidden [haram] if it does not include abomination'!1 Concerning the Prophet's attitude toward poetry, we notice that he encouragedpoetry that was in line with Islamic ideals. He evenappreciated pre-Islamic poetry that expressedviews not in contradiction with Islamic precepts. The Prophet (SAAS) is reported to have listened to his Companions on severaloccasionsrecitinglines from pre-Islamic poetry at length and to have smiled at that and at some of the lines!2 Moreover, he is reported to have appreciatedindividual pre-Islamic poets like' Antara Ibn Shaddad and Umaiyyah ibn Abi al-Salt? Much as he appreciatedpoetry, the Prophet(SAAS) could not manage to recite a single line of poetry. It is reported that he tried on at least three occasionsto recite specific lines of poetry by Labid, Tarafa, and al'Abbas Ibn Mirdas but could on none of the occasionsget the lines right, in spite of correctionsbrought to his attentionby those who were present!4 The Prophet's (SAAS) appreciationof poetry further shows in his statement, 'In somepoetry is wisdom', and in his sayingcommentingon the battle of words raging betweenthe Muslim and disbelievingpoets in the early days of the Islamic state, 'Poetry is more effective on enemiesthan arrows are'!S M. Badawi Islamic Literature BetweenTheory And Practice 53 A brief account of the battle of poetry just mentionedwould be both interesting and illuminating here. Besidesconventionalweaponsknown in the day, the disbelieversused poetry in the war they were waging against Islam. Their poets composed poems abusing the Prophet (SAAS), the Muslims, and their religion. These were very painful weaponsthat made the Muslims feel down, as they were not prepared for this kind of war. Several poets offered to fight back, but the Prophet(SAAS) chose Hassan Ibn Thabit to be the mouthpieceof the Muslims in the battle and commanded him to retaliate saying, 'answer them for us. 0 God, support him with the holy spirit',26 He even had a pulpit made for Hassanand put in the mosque. After the capture of the city of Makkah by the Muslims, poets began to compose poems to panegyrize the Prophet (SAAS) and seek his forgiveness.The most distinguishedof thesewas Ka'b Ibn Zuhayr, the son of one of the most celebratedpoets in pre-Islamic times and one who had refused earlier to acceptthe call of Islam. He cameto the Prophet(SAAS) in the mosque and recited his famous ode beginning with J~ Beatrix [Su'ad] hathdeparted.Thereforewas my heart that day distracted, raving after her, irredeemably enchained}7 The Prophet (SAAS) was so happy with the coming of Ka'b into the Muslim community and with his poemthat he gave him his stripedYemeni cloak or mantle (burdah) in reward, and the poemwas sincecalled Qasidat al-Burdah, 'The Poem of the Cloak'. So we can safely deduce that the Prophet(SAAS) not only appreciatedbut also encouragedpoetry. However, he madea distinction betweenreasonablepoetry{which apparentlyincluded love poetry) and 'wandering' poetry, and he acceptedreasonablepoetry even from non-Muslim poets. This was also the attitude of the Prophet'sCompanions,as can be seen most clearly in the dealings of the secondcaliph, 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, with poets. He is reported to have said, 'recite poetry, it guides to manners'}8 However, he was harsh on stray poets.There is a well-known and oft-quoted incident in which 'Umar punished the famous poet alHutay'ah for abusing some people in his poetry. Moreover, 'Umar's conception of poetry shows in the conversationhe held with the sons of Harim ThnSinan,a well-known and generouschieftain in pre-Islamictimes, 54 Intellectual Discourse Vol. I, No. I, October 1993 whose influence and generositywere instrumental in bringing to an end one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles in pre-Islamic times. The famous poet Zuhayr Ibn Abi Sulma composeda lengthy ode eulogizing Harim and his feat. 'Umar met Harim's sonsand askedthem to recite Zuhayr's verses on their father. When they had done, he remarked, 'he said good things about you'. Harim's sons said, 'and we gave him a good reward for it'. On this 'Umar commented, 'What you have given him has gone, but what he gave you still lives'!9 This shows how 'Umar, as a representativeof a prevalent trend of thought in the community, felt aboutpoetry. He was of the attitude that good poetryis to be acceptedand that it survivesmaterial reward. Going against this appreciative trend was, paradoxically, one of the, greatestpoets of pre-Islamic times, Labid Thn Rabi'ah, the composer of one of the sevenmu'allaqat (the major poems hung on the walls of the Ka'ba). When he was asked to recite poetry after converting to Islam, he said, 'God has given me better than verse: the surahs of the Qur'an'.30It is to be noticed, however, that this does not representa generaltrend but a personal preference on the part of the poet. An important point that merits some discussionhere is the statement attributed to al-Asma'i (an eighth-centuryphilologist and critic) that poetry achieves high levels of eloquence only in matters of hatred, self-glory, exaggeration,and enmity; that in Islam it is restrainedand cannottake free reign in expression;and that, following this, poetry had gone soft in Islam. Al-Asma'i makesa specific remarksayingthat poetryflourished in adversity and that HassanThn Thabit's poetry used to be strong before Islam, but when Islam cameits strengthwaned.3.This view was taken over by several literary historiansand critics. In an attemptat explainingthe allegedsoftness of poetry in Islam, W. A. Cloustonsays that 'During most part of the first century after the rise of Islam, the successorsof Muhammad (SAAS) were too much engrossedin extendingtheir dominions to bestow any patronage on science or literature'.32A modern Muslim author, M.H. Braighish, acceptsal-Asma'i's argumentbut explains it in a totally different manner. He assertsthat the weaknessof poetry in the early days of Islam is due largely to the fact that poetsclung to old forms of expressionand old images and did not adjust their ways to the spirit of the new religion which, he argues, needed new forms to express new ideas and new relationships.33 Nevertheless,there have beenscholarswho did not acceptthe argument of the weaknessof poetry in Islam. The prominent Muslim historian, Thn Khaldun, assertsthat the Muslim poets' ways and styles were polished by their contact with the eloquenceand the rich style of the Qur'an and thus achieved a higher standard of eloquencethan that of their pre-Islamic M. Badawi Islamic Literature BetweenTheory And Practice 55 counterparts}4UsamahYusuf Shehab,a modemIslamic critic, goesto great lengths to refute al-Asma'i's argumentand arrives at the conclusion that in Islam poetry did not go soft. On the contrary, it grew stronger but it took another direction and acquired a different nature.35 The problemconcernsnot only early Islamic poetry but hasfar-reaching ramifications and toucheson the very relationshipbetweenIslam and poetry. It is to be noticed that poetry thrives mainly on contradictions, feelings of internal tension, deprivation,and unease.A personwho is satisfied with life, has nothing to complain of, and feels at easewith the universeis most likely to make a poor poet, if he makesone at all. Islam aims at instilling a spirit of conciliation betweenman and the universe by teaching surrender to God's will and acceptanceof fate with feelings of satisfactionand by making man feel a meaningful part of life within proper, set limits. The achievementof this aim is likely to eradicate internal strife, existential anxiety, and tensions,thus drying many of the sourcesof exquisitepoetry.36 However, if Islam dries these painful sourcesof literary creativity, it opens new paths for literary achievement.A Muslim poet has virgin fields in expressinghis love for God, the Prophet(SAAS), fellow Muslims, and humanityand in strugglingto establishIslam in himself and on earth. Khalil sees that Islam has removed sourcesof negative tension and anxiety and replaced them with new sources of positive creative tension.3? A point that has raised some controversy in Western literature and literary criticism is the relation betweenart, beauty, and truth. To put it crudely, should art servean altruistic causeor should it be an end in itself? This paper cannot aim at presentingdifferent views on the matter -partly due to the sheervolume of the debate from different quarters and partly due to the fact that it has little bearing on our topic, as we shall see.38 One can say that the aestheticproblemis solved in the theoryof Islamic literature by virtue of its very defmition. Being an offshoot of a certain ideology, Islamic literature hasto servethe aims and valuesof that ideology. But the problemcannotbe dismissedout of hand.The line betweenliterature and preaching should be drawn very clearly, and the aesthetic component should be delineated in a plausible theory of Islamic literature. 'Imad al-Din Khalil quotesa hadith of the Prophet(SAAS) saying,'God is beautiful [and] he loves beauty'. In commenting on the hadith, Khalil notices that beauty is to be found everywhere in God's creation, both in nature and in human beings. The Qur' an draws man's attention to beauty in innumerable verses. Khalil further remarks that God who has created beautiful things has provided man with receptorsto appreciate and be impressedby beauty: the senses,the mind, and the emotive aspectof man. However, Khalil makesthe fine distinction that beauty accordingto Islam 56 Intellectual Discourse Vol. 1, No.1, October 1993 is attachedto its systemof values and is not an end in itself and that man should be able to differentiate betweenreal, valuable beautyand deceptive, superficial beauty that is likely to throw into imbalance man's faculties and hinder his efforts for a better life}9 Islamic aesthetic cannot, for example, endorse the view that beauty is the 'wonderful thing detached from benefit or utility'.40 If Islam showsthis greatinterestin beauty,it is but natural for a theory of Islamic literature to studythe aestheticaspectof art. Naturally, this paper cannot do full justice to the subject, which merits an independenttreatise. However, on a purely theoreticallevel, we can notice that works of poetry or prose that can be classedas Islamic pay great attention to beauteous forms and not only to content. Islamic literature cares for real, truthful beauty but not for its own pure sake or for marketing purposes.This is not to say that pleasureis an illegal aim to be sought in Islam. Najib alKilani quotes a hadith of the Prophet (SAAS) saying,'relieve your souls [of their worries by amusement]every now and then, becausesouls may lose sight [of reason] if they are overworked'. On this, al-Kilani comments that Islamic literature, in line with the Prophetic recommendation,seeks genuine and shuns superficialand harmful pleasure.41 He argues,moreover, that 'It is a great dangerfor Islamic literature to sacrifice aestheticvalues for the sake of content'.42 We can then safely deducethat Islamic literature purports to work in a dual function: presentingbeautyand pleasureand at the sametime relaying a messageabout life and the universe in line with the Islamic view. In this light we can see that 'art for art's sake' is alien to Islamic literature. Beauty and art must form an integral part of the systemand should not be ends in themselves.43 A related point is the questionof commitment.That is, to wbat should a Muslim artist give his primary inner felt allegiance:ideologyor art? Admittedly, the questionis not an easy one. On the one hand there is the danger of falling into direct preaching and on the other of wandering in the valleys of either empty beauty and pompousrhetoric with little or no messageor of low life found by Islam to be pernicious to man's natural goals in th~ world. Naturally, then, Islamic literatureis primarily committed to the Islamic view and what it seesas conduciveto man's higher interests. AI-Khunain sees that the source of Islamic commitment in poetry comes forth from the religion of Islam and its doctrine and from the Muslim poet's desire to attain the pleasure of his Creator ...How he moulds his poem is of little consequenceas long as the content is in line with truth, or at least does not contain obscenities.His effort towards perfection in his poetry, moreover,is an Islamic duty.44 M. Badawi Islamic Literature BetweenTheory And Practice 57 While followers of the Parnassianschool struggle to 'liberate' art and poetry from altruistic causes,we see that the Islamic theory of literature ties it to Islam's value system. This view finds partial expressionin a line of poetry by Hassan Ibn Thabit: l3.l..g ~ ~ 1~1J~ ~ .. ...,1:;L:;..:...jI ~ ~ I (J.J J The greatest[mostpoetic] line of verse you can recite is one about which people would say, 'You have told the truth'. The pillars of Islamic commitment in poetry are to be found in the versesof Surahal-Shu'ara' referred to previously:believing in God, doing good, and remembering God in everything one says or. does. Islamic literary theorists argue that after excluding all fields of forbidden activ~tiesand topics likely to excite baseinstincts in a forbidden manner, there is still wide room for literature ~o move in like expression of Muslim brotherhood, human concerns,love in ail its permitted forms, and sympathy.45 From a survey of Arabic literature one cannothave the impressionthat it ail servesIslamic views. Much of Arabic poetry written after the times of the first four caliphs did not express Islamic ideals and cannot be considered Islamic according to the definition adopted in this paper. However, the Islamic tradition was never broken, and it found expression in Arabic in the works of such poets as Abu ai-' Atahiyah and ai-Sharif al-Radi, in some works of Abu Tammamand Ibn aI-Rumi, and in the later poems of Abu Nuwas; in Persianin the works of laIaI ai-Din aI-Rumi (the sufi writer of al-Mathnawl) and 'Umar aI-Khayyam (the author of alRuba'iyyat); and in Turkish in the works of Yunus Emre, to mention only a few examples. In modem times, with the revival of the Islamic spirit, there has been an increasing interest in 'Islamic' poetry and an increase in the number of 'Islamic' poets in various languages.In Arabic we may mention Ahmad Shauqi, who was awardedthe title of 'Prince of the Poets' in a gathering of poets from ail over the Arab world. We can notice that a senseof strong and passionateIslamic interestpermeatesmany of his poems.Of the several classic odes he devoted to Islamic topics, we may mention wulida al Huda ('Guidance is Born') on the occasionof the birthday of the Prophet(SAAS) and Nahj al-Burdah ('In the Method of al-Burdah'). 'Umar Baha' al-Amiri, is a well known Syrian poet whose most widely read group of poems is Ma'a al-Lah ('With God'). Another Syrian poet who can be mentioned 58 Intellectual Discourse Vol. 1, No.1, October 1993 here is MuhammadMunla Ghuzayil, author of al-Subhal-Qarib ('The Near Morning'), 'Abd al-Rahman al-' Ashmawi is a Saudi poet whose works include lla Ummati ('To My Nation') and Qasa'id ila Lubnan ('Poems to Lebanon'). Another widely-read modernIslamic poet is the Iraqi Walid al-A'zami, whose groups like al-Shu'a' ('The Beam') andal-zawabi' ('The Tornadoes') deal with problems facing the ummah in the present. From among other Islamic poetswe may mentionHali and Hafeezin Urdu, Necip Fazil and Erdem Bayazit in Turkish, and Kemala and A.S. Amin in Malay. However, perhapsthe most internationally known Islamic poet of the twentieth century is MuhammadIqbal, who wrote in Persianand Urdu and expressedin suchpoemsas 'Secretof the Soul', 'The Messageof the Orient' and 'The Caravan Bell', a deep sense of belonging and commitment to Islam and the Muslim ummah. He deeply influencedIslamic poets allover the world, and Najib al-Kilani, for one, admits being greatly moved and influenced by Iqbal in his view of poetry.46 A survey of the poetry of these and other poets would show a great interest in the affairs of Muslims in the world of today, a great pride in Islamic culture, a deep senseof sadnessand frustration at the current state of the Muslim ummah, and a hope that salvationwill come about and that an upward trend will save Muslims from the state of backwardnessfrom which they are suffering. A question that has given rise to a great deal of debate in literary quarters, especially in Arabic-speakingcountries, concernsthe 'form' of poetry. Traditional literary theorists and poets have preferred to stick to the classical form ('amud) of Arabic poetry, with a single rhythm and rhyme throughoutthe poem.The more 'liberal' amongIslamic poetspreferto write in a more flexible style, with multiple rhymes and lines of varied rhythm and length, which was introduced into Arabic poetry after contact with modem European verse forms. However, most Islamic literature theorists seemto be of the opinion that freedomof choice shouldbe left to individual poets to write in whichever fashion they deem fit for their subjects.Old forms are not sacred and can be changed if other, more suitable, forms are found, so long as po~ts keep to acceptednorms in subject matter.47 Prose In prose.we discernthree main prosearts in early Islamic days:oratory. letter writing. and narration. These arts thrived then on account of great demandfor them in propagatingthe messageof the religion and establishing the state. Speech making. for example. was a must in several religious M. Badawi Islamic Literature Between Theory And Practice 59 practices,like the Friday and 'Id congregations.Moreover, it was used on many other occasionslike pilgrimage, the sending of military campaigns, and inauguration of new caliphs. The Prophet (SAAS) was an eloquent orator and used speechesextensively on various occasionsto deliver his message.48 The first four caliphs were eloquent orators, too, who used speechesto a great extent in their attemptsat establishingthe rule o( the shari'ah and delineating the message0(1Islam.49The Prophet (SAAS) as well as his successorsalso used letters/lo relay the message.of Islam and to sendinstructionsto their representativesin farawayplaces.so The speeches and the letters of the day were characterizedby being of a highly religious content, by starting and ending with relevant doxology, and by quoting extensively from the Qur'an. Narration is probably the nearestof these three categoriesto artistic writing. Narratives are a prominent feature of the Qur'anic style. The Qur' an, for teachingpurposes,gives extensiveaccountsof ancient prophets and peoples in a highly impressive manner. It is interestinghere to note that a whole surah of the ~r'an (the twenty-eighth), for example,carries the title al-Qasas ('The Narratives'). The twelfth surah, entitled Yusuf, is devoted almost entirely to a narration of the life of Prophet (SAAS). Moreover, other surahsabound with stories of Prophets(SAAS) and their peoples.51The Prophet (SAAS) also used narratives in his speechesand ahadith, again for teaching purposes.52 Storytelling flourished in the early days of Islam, especiallyby Tamim al-Dari.and other storytellerswho were given permissionto tell their stories in the mosque before being chased out by the fourth caliph, 'Ali Thn Abi Talib, when their stories began to lean toward more profane topiCS.53 Narratives continued to be popular forms of literary expressionand have acquired renewed popularity in the twentieth century with the introduction of new narrative forms. Stories aboutancientProphets(SAAS) were written based on the Qur' anic and biblical accounts,the latter being provided by Jewish and Christian converts to Islam. A classic example is al-Tha'labi's 'Ara'is al-Majalis: Qasasal-Anbiya' ('The Brides of Sessions: Narratives of the Prophets') in the eleventhcentury. From among innumerable stories, romances,and biographies we may count the following as examplesof the most influential and time enduring. Kalilah wa Dimnah ('Kalilah and Dimnah') by Thnal-Muqaffa' (of the eight century) is a group of fables meant mainly to give instruction to kings on how to treat their subjects and teach subjects how to deal with kings. Sirat 'Antara ('The Biography of 'Antara'), widely believed to be the production of al-Asma'i (of the eighth century), recounts in epic style the fictional adventuresof a pre-Islamic hero bestowing on him many Islamic characteristics.54 Sirat 60 Intellectual Discourse Vol. 1, No.1, October 1993 ai-Malik Sail Ibn Dhi Yawn ('The Biographyof King Saif ibn Dhi Yazan') is again a fictional folk account (belonging to the fourteenth century) of the life and adventuresof a killg who actuallylived long beforethe coming of Islam, again bestowing on him Islamic traits under the pretext that he was a believer in the Hanafi religion establishedby ProphetAbraham(AS). While much of the Arabian Nights cannotpossiblybe saidto uphold Islamic moral values, there still are in the storieselementsthat warrant classifying them with lslamic works. We can also mention here the maqamat,which are short stories written in a highly ornate style displaymg a great skill in manipulating figures of speechand other linguistic tricks. Two of the most famous maqamat writers are al-Hamadhani(tenth century) and alHariri (eleventh century) whose works depict the social life under the ,Abbasids. In the twentieth century we can discerna rising interest in narrative art forms among Muslim writers. This has taken mainly three forms: the novel, the short story, and the play. In the novel, we see that Najib alKilani holds muchof the ground with novelslike Qatil Hamzah('The Killer of Hamzah'), 'Amaliqat al-Shimal ('The Giants of the North'), 'Adhra' Diakarta ('The Maiden of Jakarta') and Layali Turkistan ('The Nights of Turkistan'). While the first of thesenovels deals with a historical topic, the martyrdom of Hamzah,an uncle of the Prophet(SAAS), the last three deal with problems facing different Muslim communities in wide apart localities in the modemworld: 'Ali Ahmad Bakathir also helpe~popularize the 'Islamic novel' with works like Wa Islamah for example. In his theoretical work Madkhal ila al-Adab al-Islami ('An Introductionto Islamic Literature'), al-Kilani makes the remr.rk that the hero in Islamic novels, unlike his counterpartin modemEuropeannarratives,should presenta good example to be followed in honesty, meticulousness,and uprightness. Among the numerousshort story writers, we may mentionMuhammad al-Majdhub Qasasla Tunsa('Unfor~etta6IeStories'),Ibrahim' Assi Haditha .Ii shari' al-Hurriyyah ('An Event in Liberty Street') and Hanan Lahham Milad Jadid ('A New Birth'). Again, the short storiesexhibit a strong sense of belongingto the Muslim ummahand an awarenessof the political, social and intellectual problems facing twentieth-centuryMuslims.~ Theatre In spite of the fact that early Muslims translated much of the works of the Greeks, especially in philosophy and medicine, they did not take any interest in Greek theatre (probably due to the obvious polytheistic overtones in the plays). The theatrehad to wait until the twentieth century M. Badawi Islamic Literature Between Theory And Practice 61 to be introduced into Arabic literature, and then at the hands of Christian writers. Nevertheless,the theatreacquiredincreasingpopularity, and Muslim writers took up the new form and tried to amend its techniquesto suit their rules and ideals. Islamic theatre,besidesrestricting itself to topics and ways of treatment,not in conflict with Islamic teachings,has, for example, to avoid showing any of the prophets or any of the revered Companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAAS) on stage. Again, both women and men appearing on stage should be properly dressed in accordancewith the Islamic dresscode. Among the most famousplaywrights in modemArabic literature we may mention Taufiq aI-Hakim (Muhammad), Ali Ahmad Bakathir, al-Malhama al-lslamiyyah al-Kubra ('The Great Islami..:Epic'), in nineteenparts giving the biographiesof nineteenpersonagesfrom Islamic history, Najib al-Kilani 'Umar Yazhar .Ii al-Quds ('Urnar Appears in Jerusalem'), about the repercussionsof the defeat of Arab armies by the Israeli army in June 1967), and 'Imad al-Din Khalil al:Ma'surun ('The Captured'), Mu'jizah fi al-Daffah al-Gharbiyah ('A Miracle in the West Bank'), and Sarkha 'ind al-Masjid al-Aqsa ('A Cry at al-Aqsa Mosque'). It is to be noticed that most of these plays -and this can be guessed even from reading the titles -deal with the central ArablMuslim cause of modem times: the conflict with Israel and the challenge it poses to the Muslim ummah.The plays showthe Muslim playwrights' greatshock,pain, and frustration at the setback of the ArablMuslim powers in the face of Israel and the powers supportingit. They also expressgreathopethat things will changeand the belief that the changewill come aboutthrough Muslims and Arabs going back to the ideals and values of their religion. Essaywriting is anotherprominentfeature of modemIslamic literature. Modem Islamic essaysexpressthe revival in Islamic spirit and give a new interpretationof Islamic subjectsof interestrelevantto contemporaryworld affairs. Perhaps the most prominent and influential Islamic essayistsare Mustafa Sadeqal-Rafe'i ljaz al-Qur'an ('The Inimitability of the Qur'an') and Wahiy al-Qalam ('The Inspiration of the Pen') and 'Abbas Mahmud aI-' Aqqad Yas'alunak ('They Ask You'). Relations!tip Between Islamic And Other Literary Schools It is useful at this stage to comment briefly on the nature of the relationship between the Islamic school of literature and other literary schools: Classical,Romantic,Realist, Absurdist, and Futurist, to give a few examples.It is to be noticed that, while Islamic literature may have some aspectsin common with some of these schoolsand trends, it nevertheless retains its distinct identity stemming from its mother ideology. It can be 2. Intellectual Discourse 62 Vol. 1, No.1, October 1993 found to be classical. romantic. or realistic in some of its aspects.or in some works. but it is always Islamic and differs from all other schools. in being subservientto an Islamic view of life.55 In this, Islamic literature is seento be fulfilling certain functions in life. In its ideological dimension, for example, Islamic literature bas the responsibility of relaying the Islamic view to readers in a lively manner-. Its political function lies in promoting the concept of Islamic unity and the interests of Muslim communities. Its sociological function concerns protecting Muslim societies from degeneration,fragmentation,and decay.. Its psychological aspectlies mainly in the attempt to help individuals cope with pressures and stressful situations through what may resemble an .Islamic catharsis,' which differs from Aristotelian catharsis in that it acknowledgesthe role a providential God plays in man's life and, in that it does not ~ncourageexcessivejoyfulness in agreeablesituations and excessivesadnessin adverseones.56 Islamic literature is also seento have an educationalfunction in promoting self-disciplineand in developingmoral and aesthetical values.57 Thus, Islamic literature can playa major role in propagating the messageof Islam and in serving the interests of Muslim communities in a lively and aesthetic manner. NOTES See Gustave E. von Grunebaum. 'The Spirit of Islam as Shown in Its Literature'. Studia Islamica. 1(1953); reprinted in Themes in Medieval Arabic Literature (London: Variorum Reprints. 1981). pp. 101. 113. Theseare more or less the three meaningsof the word 'Islam' referred to in M. A. Hamdun, Nahwa Nazariyya Iii Adab al-Islami, ('Towards a Theory of Islamic Literature') [Arabic] (Jeddah:AI-Manhal, 1986), 68; see also Yahya Arrnajani, 'Islamic Literature in Post-War Iran', in The World of Islam, ed. James Kritzeck and R.Bayly Winder (London: Macmillan, 1960), 271. English translationsof Arabic titles have been supplied by the author throughout this paper. 6. 1. 8. 9. M. Hadawi 3. Islamic L,cerul:ore B~7oeen Theory And Practice 63 Surah al-'Alaq (96):1-4 f)ne of the nrore widely' read: tramlators of tiheQur'an, 'Abdullah Yusuf 'Ali, gives the foHowing cQm~ntary on verse 4: 'The Arabic words for 'teach:"and 'knowled-ge"are from the same root. It is impossible to prodwi:ein a Translation the complete orchestralharmonyof the word fro: 'read', 'teach', 'pen", (which im~lies reading, writing, books, study,.reseafch),'knowledge' (including science, self knowledge, spiritual; untkrstanding). and .proclaim', an, alternative meaning of the word! futr "to read'. The Holy Qur'an: Text" Translation, and Commentary,new revised ed. [Brentwood, MD:: Amana Corp., 1409H/1989CE]"E672, n.6206). 4. For an exampleof ancientbooks,oathe topic seeAbu Bakr al-Baqilliani, Kitab I'jaz al;.Qur'an ('The.. Book of the Qur'anic I'jaz') [Arabic] (Egypt: Islarnict:Printing Press,1965); for a modemexample see Hifni MuhammadSharar, Al-I'jaz,al'-Balaghiji al-Qur'an bain al-Nazariyyah wa al-Tatbiq «('TheRhetorical f'jaz of the Qur'an BetweenTheory and Practice') [Arabic] (Cairo:: Higher Council of Islamic Affairs, 1970). 5 Surah al-Baqarah (2): 16~J19 Surah al-Fmh (48):29 Surah Muhammad(47)::20-21.No attempt will be made in this study to give a translation of versesof the Qur'an. The writer is of the belief that the Qur'an, due to its rich and intricate style, is really untranslatable and that a dangerousmeasureof misrepresentationis unavoidable in trying to translatethe Qur' an. This is apt to causea serious distortion to the messageof the Qur'an, which is Allah's word and should not be tamperedwith. However,the gist of the relevantverseswill be given in English, and the interestedreadercan find ways to probe deeper into the matter. For more information on this point seeSheikh Othman ai-Sari, Bid'iyat Tarjamat aI-Qur'an aI-Karim ('Translation of the Qur'an Seen as a Deviation from Religion') [Arabic] (pakistan: forthcoming). Surah al-Haqqah (69):6-31 R. Ettinghaus~n,'Characteristicsof Islamic Art' quoted in Hamdun, op. cit., p. 65. 10. JamesKritzeck, (ed.),Anthology ofIslamic Literature (:{Iarnmondsworth: 13. 14. 64 Intellectual Discourse Vol. 1, No.1, October 1993 Pelican Books, 1964), p. 15. A detailed discussionof this conceptis outside the scope of this paper, mainly for reasons of space, but it is to be noticed that it begs a numberof q~estions.For example,shall we include under Islamic literature works by people who belong to Muslim nations but do not appearto subscribeto Islamic beliefs or practices in their works (SalmanRushdieis probablythe most obvious example that comes to mind, but one can include under this category a long list of writers like Najib Mahfuz, Ihsan 'Abd aI-Quddus,and Nizar Qabbani in Arabic and Nazim Hikmat in Turkish)? That would surely appeara misnomer.Nevertheless,this seemsto be what Kritzeck had in mind from his including even wine poems by Abu Nuwas, for example, in his anthology. In fact he extendedthe conceptof 'Islamic literature' to include evenpre-Islamicpoetslike Irnru' aI-Qais,Tarafa, and others. 'Imad aI-Din Khalil, Madkhal ila Nazariyyat al-Adab al-Islami ('An Introduction to the Theory of Islamic Literature') [Arabic] (Beirut: Dar al-Risalah, 1987),p. 69; translationof this and all otherquotationsfrom Arabic sourcesare the author's unless otherwise stated. 12. Muhammad Qutb, Manhaj at-Fan al-lslami ('The Method of Islamic Art') [Arabic] (Beirut: Dar al-Shuruq, 1983); Tagore's 'Trip to the Market' is discussedpp. 199-202and Synge's 'Riders to the Sea' pp. 212-21. 'Imad al-Din Khalil, op. cit., p. 213, strongly endorsesthis view and puts it into practice in his study of the Spanish writer Alexandra Cassona's'A Boat without a Fisherman' in his fi al-Naqd al-lslami al-Mu'asir ('On ContemporaryIslamic Criticism') [Arabic] (Beirut: Dar al-Risalah, 1984), pp. 67-99. See, e.g., Khalil, op. cit., p. 78; Najib al-Kilani, Madkhai ila ai-Adab ai-Isiami ('An Introductionto Islamic Literature') [Arabic] (Qatar:The Book of al-Ummah, 1407H), pp. 100-02; and Muhammad al-Nadawi, Ai-Adab ai-Islami wa Siiatuhu bi ai-Hayat ('Islamic Literature and its Relationshipwith Life') [Arabic] (Cairo: Dar al-Sahwah,1985), p. 17. For further information on these seminarsand for a listing of their recommendationssee Usamah Yusuf Shehab, Nahwa Adab Islami Mu'asir ('Towards a ContemporaryIslamic Literature') [Arabic] (Amman: Dar al-Bashir, 1985), p. 192ff., and Sa'd Abu al-Rida, AI-Adab ai-Islam: Qadiyyah wa Bina' ('Islamic Literature: Cause and Construction') [Arabic] (Jeddah: 'Alam al-Ma'rifah, 1983), pp. 170-83. M. 15. 20. 21 22. 23. 24. Badawi Islamic Literature BetweenTheory And Practice 65 See surahal-Anbiya' (21):5, surah al-Saffat (37):36, and surah al-Tur (52):30. 16. Jaber Qumeiha,Adab al-Khulafa' al-Rashidin ('The Literature of the Well-Guided Caliphs') [Arabic] (Cairo and Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Misri wa al-Lubnani, 1984), p. 14. 17. See surah fa Sin (36):69 and surah al-Haqqah (69):41. 18. Hamdun, op. cit., pp. 17-21. 19. See Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim ('Exegesis of the Great Qur'an') [Arabic] (Cairo: Dar al-Turath, n.d.), 3:354. Abu Hila! aI-' Askari, Kitab al-Sina'atain: al-Kitaba wa al-Nathr ('The Book of the Two Crafts: Prose and Poetry') [Arabic] (Istanbul: n.p., 1320 h) p. 104. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Ihya 'Vlurn ai-Din ('Reviving the Sciencesof Religion') [Arabic] (Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifah, n.d.), 3:126. Quoted in M. al-Nadawi, op. cit., p. 32. AI-Imam Muhammad Ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, al-Sahih, trans, M.M. Khan, (Lahore: Kazi Publications, 1983), 8:108. Mustafa Sadeqal-Rafei, ljaz al-Qur'an ('Inimitability of the Qur'an') [Arabic] (Cairo: al-Maktabah al-Tijariyah, 1961), p. 342. 25. Quoted in M. al-Nadawi, op. cit., p. 60. 26. AI-Bukhari,op. cit., pp. 112-13. 27. The trapslation is by l.W. Redhousein Arabian Poetry, (ed.), W.A. Clouston(London: Darf PublishersLtd., 1986),p. 305. Notice that the poem begins with love poetry (nasib) before moviQgto a eulogy of the Prophet (SAAS). This is in accordancewith the ancient Arabic poetic practice of beginning with love poetry before dealing with the main topic. Ka'b, then, asked for forgivenessfrom the Prophet(SAAS) saymg: i~1 29. 30. 66 Intellectual Discourse Vol. 1, No.1, October 1993 '1 have been informed that the Apostle of God hath threatenedme; but pardon is hoped for from the Apostle of God. Respitet -May He guide thee [0 Apostle!} aright, who hath given thee the free gift of the Qur'an, in which are exhortation and detail! Punish me not, then at the words of calumniators: for I have not offended,though stories have multiplied concerning me." Hassan Thn Thabit followed this practice in many of his poems as well. The thirteenth-centuryEgyptian poet al-Busiri composed a rather lengthy ode entitled 'al-Burdah' that begins with the words ~ .l:; ()"O1 ('Is it from a recollection of neighboursat Dhu-Salam that thou hast mixed with blood the tears flowing from an eyeball?' [trans.Redhouse in Ibid, p. 319]. In the twentiethcentury.Ahmad Shauqiwrote a poem called 'In the Method of al-Burdah' beginning with tY ~.J -*';JJi~ ~~ di- J.:..i r'J v~, ~ tW' (' A deer in the valley betweenaI-Ban and aI-' Alarn legitimized spilling my blood in the haram months [wherein fighting is prohibited]'). All these poems begin with love poetry before proceedingto praise the Prophet (SAAS) and his message. 28. Quotedin Qumeiha.op. cit.. p. 150. Quoted in M. al-Nadawi, op. cit., p. 28. Quoted in Shehab,op. cit., p. 99. 31. See Abu al-Rida, Islamic Literature, 26 and SaIni Makki aI-'Ani, AlIslam wa al-Shi'r (on "Islam'and Poetry') [Arabic] (Kuwait: 'Alam alMa'rifah, 1983), pp. 18-19. Badawi Islamic Literature BetweenTheory And Practice 67 32. Clouston, op. cit., p. lxvi. 33. M.H. Braighish, .Ii a/-Adab a/-Is/ami a!-Mu' asir (On Contemporary Islamic Literature') [Arabic] (AI-Zarqa', Jordan: AI-Manar, 1985), 57. Thn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah, trans. Franz Rosenthal (Princeton: Bollingen Foundation, 1980), pp. 396-97. 35. Shehab,op. cit., pp. 105-06. William James,the American psychologist,assertsthat 'The greatest cure for anxiety is, without doubt, faith' (Quoted in Arabic in M.O. Najati, AI-Qur'an wa 'Ilm al-Nafs ('The Qur'an and Psychology') [Beirut and Cairo: Dar al-Shuruq, 1985], p. 248. See Khalil, op. cit., p. 57, and al-Kilani, Afaq al-Adab al-/slami ('Horizon of Islamic Literature') [Arabic] (Beirut: Dar al-Risalah, 1985), p. 75. 38. A somewhatdetailed accountof the issue of commitment in literature, mainly with respectto socialism, Western capitalism, and existentialism, is given in Nasir' Abdul-Rahmanal-Khunain, Al-lltizam al-/slami fi al-Shi'r ('Islamic Commitment in Poetry') [Arabic] (AI-Riyad: Dar al-Asalah, 1987), pp. 45-101 passim. M. 34. 36. 37. 39.. 40. Al-Kilani, 42. 41 43. 44. 45. For a fuller account see Khalil, op.. cit.., pp.. 9-43 passim.. Attributed to Kant in Hamdun, op. cit., p. 69. op. cit., pp. 70-71 Khalil, op. cit., p. 102. For an account of the debatesover this point that engagedmany Arab critics, ancient as well as modern, see al-Khunain, op. cit., pp. 30214 passim. Ibid, 184. See M. al-Nadawi, op. cit., p. 52; Khalil, op. cit., p. 94; al-Khunain, op. cit., pp. 208-72 passim; seealso Ahmad al-Jada' and Husni Jarrar, 53. 68 Intellectual Discourse Vol. 1, No.1, October 1993 Shu'ara' al-Da'wah al-Islamiyyahfial-'Asr al-Hadith ('The Poetsof the Islamic Call in the Modem Age') [Arabic] (Beirut: Dar al-Risalah,1978). 46. See aI-Kilani, Introduction to Islamic Literature, 22~ for a general discussion of Iqbal's poetry and his contributions see Qutb, Method of Islamic Art, 184-92, and Abu aI-Hassanal-Nadwi, Glory of Iqbal, trans: M. A. Kidawi (Lucknow: Academy of Islamic Researchand Publications, 1979). 47. See al-Kilani, Introduction to Islamic Literature, 19-20; Khalil, Introduction to the Theory of Islamic Literature, 164; and Braighish, On Contemporary Islamic Literature, 66. 48. For an English translation of an example of the Prophet's speeches see Ismail Hamid, Arabic and Islamic Literary Traditions with References to Malay Islamic Literature (Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications, 1982), 59. 49. For an English translation of an example of Abu Bakr's speechessee ibid., 60; for original examples in Arabic, see relevant sections in Qumeiha, Literature of the Caliphs. 50. The Prophet's letter to al-Muqauqis, the king of Egypt, is translated in Ismail Hamid, Arabic and Islamic Literary Traditions, 69; for examplesof caliphs' lettersseerelevantsectionsin Qumeiha,Literature of the Caliphs. 51. See 'Ali M. aI-Bajawi et aI., The Narratives of the Qur'an [Arabic] (Beirut: Dar aI-' Arabi, 19&6). 52. See Tal'at Salem, Selectionsfrom Narratives in the Sunnah[Arabic] (Cairo: al-Zahra', 1988); also Bakri Sheikh AmiD, The Literature of the Prophet's Sayings [Arabic] (Beirut: Dar al-Shuruq, 1979). See Ismail Hamid, Arabic and Islamic Literary Traditions, 81 54. See Terrick Hamilton, Antar: A Bedoueen Romance (New York: Scholars' Facsimiles & Printers, 1981), ii. 55. For a fuller discussionseeespeciallyKhalil, Introduction to the Theory; of Islamic Literature, 127-53. 56. 57. M. Badawi Islamic Literature BetweenTheory And Practice Harndun, Towards a Theory of Islamic Literature, 151. Khalil, Introduction to the Theory of Islamic Literature, 174-82. 69