ARABIAN LITERATURE: Verity, Aesthetics, and The Poetry of Islam

1. Design a a scrapbook for your literary folio. 2.
Choose 6 Literature Periods discussed in

this course. Best choose the one you are very familiar with. 3. Each period should contain
the following information: *Notable Contribution of each period in Literature *Literary
Artists both in Prose and Poetry (Mention a little info about each of them) *Famous Literary
Works *Discussion of 1 literary work with complete annotation of its literary elements.
ARABIAN LITERATURE: Verity, Aesthetics, and the Poetry of Islam

There is perhaps no other literature so closely allied to the history of its people as
is that of the Arabs. The monotony of nomadic life, the rise of Islam, the Arab
conquests, the imperial luxury of early Abbasids, the interaction and cross
fertilization with other civilizations (notably in Spain), the decline and overthrow
of the Caliphate, the period of cultural stagnation, the reactions and inspirations
owing to the colonial encounter, and the eventual reawakening of the Arab world
to form the vibrant independent states of today—these are all faithfully reflected
in Arabic literature, the ups and downs of which parallel the fortunes of the Arabs
themselves.
“SAJ” or Rhyme Prose is most striking characteristics feature of the Arabic prose.
It consists of succession of pairs of short rhyming expression with rhetorical and
antithetical balance of sense of sense between the pairs of expressions with a
certain loose of rhythmical balance not bound by strict meter.
→ The Qur'an
The Qur'an is the holy book for Muslims,
revealed in stages to the Prophet
Muhammad over 23 years.
Qur'anic revelations are regarded by
Muslims as the sacred word of God,
intended to correct any errors in previous
holy books such as the Old and New
Testaments.
→ The Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights)
The Thousand and One Nights, also called The Arabian Nights, Arabic Alf
laylah wa laylah, collection of largely Middle Eastern and Indian stories of
uncertain date and authorship. Its tales of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sindbad
the Sailor have almost become part of Western folklore, though these were
added to the collection only in the 18th century in European adaptations.
Aladdin Saluted Her with Joy,

illustration by Virginia Frances
Sterrett from a 1928 edition of
The Arabian Nights.
“Khutbah” or Weekly Address
The institution of the weekly address (khutba) by the Khalifa, led no doubt to
careful preparation and thus paved the way for pulpit oratory which found its
loftiest expression in rhymed prose. It is not, however, until the beginning of the
third century of the Hijra that it reappears in the khutba and becomes the
conventional style of the professional preacher.
Notable Writers of Khutbah
→ Ibn Nubata. (April 1287 – October 13, 1366). He was an Arab poet of the
Mamluk era. Best known for his poetry, he also wrote prose. His works are
largely not, or not critically, edited to this day, but in 2018 Thomas Bauer
was reported to be completing an edition of his al-Qaṭr an-Nubātī ('Ibn
Nubātah's Sweet Drops').
Ibn Nubata was the son of a Ḥadīth scholar and from early youth his
interest in poetry emerged in short poems he wrote. Born in Fusṭāṭ, in 1316
he left Cairo for Damascus and lived there until 1360, taking short stays in
Hama and Aleppo. However, the Sultan An-Nasir al-Hasan ordered his
return to Cairo. Ibn Nubata died on October 13, 1366 (7 Safar 768 H), and is
buried in the Qalawun cemetery of Al-Mansur Qalawun.
Famous Work: The Sermon of the Vision

It is a rhymed prose on death, resurrection and judgement written by Ibn
Nubata. The language is dignified and solemn, but perfectly plain and
intelligible. A vast empire with its numerous provincial governments and
political and commercial relations with neighbouring states required that its
edicts, foreign despatches, and official correspondence should be expressed
in language at once dignified and forceful.
→ Al-Jahiz. (776; died December 868/January 869). was an Arab prose writer
and author of works of literature, Mu'tazili theology, zoology, and politico-
religious polemics.
Qatari Stamp of Al Jahiz
Famous Work: Kitāb al-bukhalāʾ (“Book of Misers”)

It is a collection of stories about the avaricious. Al-Jāḥiẓ, in effect, provides
in his works an entire education in the humanities of his time.
Arabic Poetry
“The register of the Arabs” (dīwān al-ʿArab) is the age-old phrase whereby
Arabs have acknowledged the status and value that poetry has always
retained within their cultural heritage. From the very earliest stages in the
Arabic literary tradition, poetry has reflected the deepest sense of Arab
self-identity, of communal history, and of aspirations for the future.
Two Categories of Arabic Poetry
Classical Modern
Poetry Poetry
Classical Poetry. It was written before the Arabic renaissance (An-Nahḍah). Thus,
all poetry that was written in the classical style is called "classical" or "traditional
poetry" since it follows the traditional style and structure.
Illustration of how
Arabs celebrate poetry
Notable Classical Poets

→ Imru’ al-Qais (501-565). Heir to the throne of the Kindah tribe, which was
based in the Arabian peninsula, al-Qais chose a life of travelling, drinking,
fighting – and poetry.
Charcoal
painting of
Imru’ al-Qais
Famous work: Mu’allaqa. The Muʻallaqāt 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 suggested that the hanging is figurative, as
if the poems "hang" in the reader's mind.
→ Al-Khansa (575-645). She was one of the Arab world’s famous female
poets. Nineteenth-century Arab critics assigned al-Khansa’ to secondary
status in the hierarchy of Arab poets, yet she perfected the inherited forms
and themes of traditional elegies by adding new expressions, emotions, and
imagery. Her elegies about her brothers and children demonstrate a
marked shift in emotions and imageries from previous elegies.
Portrait Painting of Al-

Khansa
Famous work: Elegy for Sakhr. In this work, which she lamented the
deceased’s integrity, gallantry, munificence, and justice. But to temper her
strong and tender expression of perpetual grief, a grief evinced by a
constant stream of tears which badly affected her eyes, she introduced new
universal themes such as patience, mishaps that befall man, man’s struggle
with his fate, and, his ultimate surrender to God’s will.
Elegy for Sakhr
By al-Khansa
Be generous, my eyes, with shedding copious tears

and weep a stream of tears
for Sakhr!
I could not sleep and was awake all night;
it was as if my eyes were rubbed with grit.
I watched the stars, though it was not my task to watch;
at times I wrapped myself in my remaining rags
He would protect his
comrade in a fight, a match
for those who fight with weapons, tooth, or claw
Amidst a troupe of horses straining at their bridles
eagerly,
like lions that arrive in
pastures lush.
→ Abu Nuwas (756-814). The reputation of

Abu Nuwas in the Arab world is built on his
adoration of wine and as the poet of gay
love. He was a leading Arabic poet who
transformed Arabic poetry about wine,
love, the obscene, and hunting in ways
that influenced poetry from the Iberian
Peninsula and France to Iran and India. He
also contributed to the traditions of
ascetic, praise, elegy, censure, and
invective poetry. Abu Nuwas was born in
southwest Iran and lived mainly in Basra
and Baghdad.
Famous work: Karkhiyya.

Modern Poetry. It deviated from classical poetry in its content, style,
structure, rhyme and topics. It refers to the verse created by the writers
and poets of the 20th and 21st centuries. The actual definition of “modern”
varies, depending on the authority cited.
Notable Modern Poets

→ Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008). He was born in the Palestinian village of
al-Birwa under the British mandate but fled as the Israeli authorities took
control and displaced thousands of Arabs.
In much of his work he mixed modern poetry with Arabic rhythmical
meters: subjects included the Palestinian revolution of 1965-1993 and the
mass exodus of 1948, known as the Catastrophe or Nakba.
A photo of Mahmoud Darwish
Famous Work: The Eternity Of Cactus

Excerpt from The Eternity Of Cactus
He felt for his key the way he would feel for
his limbs and was reassured. He said
as they climbed through a fence of thorns:
Remember, my son, here the British crucified
your father on the thorns of a cactus for two nights
and he didn't confess. You will grow up,
my son, and tell those who inherit their guns
the story of the blood upon the iron...
- Why did you leave the horse alone?

- To keep the house company, my son
Houses die when their inhabitants are gone...
Eternity opens its gates from a distance

to the traffic of night. The wolves of the wilderness
howl at a frightened moon. And a father
says to his son: Be strong like your grandfather!
Climb with me the last hill of oaks,
my son, and remember: Here the janissary fell
from the mule of war. So be steadfast with me
and we'll return.
- When, father?
- Tomorrow. Perhaps in two days, my son!
→ Iman Mersal (1966 - present). Mersal is an

Egyptian poet and currently a professor of
Arabic Literature at the University of
Alberta, Canada. Mersal's poems delve
into the personal and banal but then
morph into metaphors about life, travel
and motherhood.
Famous work: These Are Not Oranges, My Love
Excerpt from These Are Not Oranges, My Love
What you learn here is not different from what you learned there:
You read to absent reality.
You hide your shyness behind foul language.
Camouflage your weakness by lengthening your fingernails.
Suppress anxiety by smoking all the time and by organising, and
reorganising the contents of drawers sometimes.
Use three kinds of eye drops to clarify vision then enjoy the ensuing
blindness. Most important is that wondrous moment of closing your
eyelids as a fire breaks out.
Here and there
life exists only to be watched from a distance.
ARABIAN LITERATURE

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1. Design a a scrapbook for your literary folio. 2.

Choose 6 Literature Periods discussed in

ARABIAN LITERATURE: Verity, Aesthetics, and the Poetry of Islam

Aladdin Saluted Her with Joy,

Famous Work: The Sermon of the Vision

Qatari Stamp of Al Jahiz

Famous Work: Kitāb al-bukhalāʾ (“Book of Misers”)

Two Categories of Arabic Poetry

Notable Classical Poets

Portrait Painting of Al-

Be generous, my eyes, with shedding copious tears

→ Abu Nuwas (756-814). The reputation of

Famous work: Karkhiyya.

Notable Modern Poets

A photo of Mahmoud Darwish

Famous Work: The Eternity Of Cactus

- Why did you leave the horse alone?

Eternity opens its gates from a distance

→ Iman Mersal (1966 - present). Mersal is an

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