• Who is an Arab?

"Arab" is a cultural and

linguistic term. It refers
to those who speak
Arabic as their first
language.
• What is the Arab World?
The Arab World consists of 22
countries in the Middle East and
North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the
Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq,
Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco,
Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,
Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and
Yemen.
Arabia is a big
peninsula situated in the south-
west of Asia. Its area is three
million square kilometers,
almost double the area of Iran,
six times that of France, ten
times that of Italy and eighty
times that of Switzerland.
• Arabia was an absolute
monarchy until 1992 at
which time the Saud royal
family introduced the
country’s first constitution.
• The legal system is based
on the Sharia La (Islamic
Law)
• Arabian peninsula was occupied
by the wealthy Sabaean
civilization, then by Babylonians
and the Egyptians. It was
eventually united (7th century)
under the caliphs of Muhammad
and became the “cradle of Islam”
 Period of Jahiliyah
 The period prior to the Prophethood.
 It was a period in which Arabs had no
dispensation, no inspired prophets and no
revealed book to guide them.
 Though they had faith in a supreme power
they worshipped many gods and goddesses.
 There was no formal system of education.
A few could read and write among the
pagan Arabs.
 Period of Jahiliyah
(It is the period of war, where Muhammad, the young boy of
15 years participated in. It ended with the peace committee
named 'Hilful Fuzul' in which Muhammad was a member.)
 there is little written literature
before this time, although
significant oral tradition is
postulated.
 Tales like those about Sinbad and Antar
bin Shaddad were probably current, but
were recorded later.
 Pre-Islamic Poetry:
the Register of the Arabs
(-authentic record of the Pre-Islamic life)
 In the time of the Jahiliyah, they
conducted poetical contests
throughout Arabia.
 These pre-Islamic poems were
committed to memory and
transmitted by oral tradition and
finally recorded in writing during the
third century C.E.
 Example of Pre-Islamic Poetry:
Qasida (ode)
It is a form of Arabic
poem, usually in mono-
rhyme, that may be
satirical or elegiac.
(This poetic form developed in pre-
Islamic Arabia and perpetuated
throughout the Islamic literary history.)
Imru’u l-Qaysi bnu He wrote passionate love
Ḥujri l-Kindī) ‫ام ُر ُؤ‬ ْ poetry, and is believed to
ِ ِِِّ ْْ ‫ ا ْلقَ ْي ِس ا ْب ُن ُح ْج ِر ا ْل ِِك‬was an have invented the Qasida,
Arabic poet in the 6th century or classical Arabic ode.
 Example of Qasida
‘Al-Mu'allaqat’
means something that is hung or suspended
 Among the pre-Islamic Qasida 'seven-suspended'
poems hold the first place.
 It is honoured throughout the Arab-speaking world
as the masterpiece of the poetical composition of
the Arabic language.
 Poetry contests were held annually in the Jahiliyya
period at Ukaz during the month of pilgrimage
(Dhul Hajj). The winning poems in the Ukaz fair
were written on silk in golden letters and were
hung on the wall of the Ka'ba.
 610 A. D., Qur’an was
revealed to Prophet
Muhammad
 632 AD-661AD After
the death of Prophet
Muhammad, Islam has
expanded its territory out
of Arabia Peninsula into
Egypt, Syria and Iran
rapidly
 first book written in Arabic language
 sweet mixture of prose and poetry
but, it is closest to rhymed prose
 considered as the exquisite expression of literary
art among the Arabs
 has a far more complicated structure with its 114
chapters, which contains 6,666 verses
 was delivered to Prophet Muhammad by the Angel
Gabriel and revealed in stages over a period of 23
years.
 Arabic prose
 as limited primarily
to grammatical
by Malik ibn Anas
treatises, (circa 712–795)
commentaries on • first significant treatise on
Qur’an and the Muslim Law
compiling of stories • which includes many
traditions attributed to the
about Mohammed Prophet Muhammad as well
and his companions. as Malik’s own legal opinions
 Ghazals
“erotic poetry”
or love lyric • Taking the typical example of
ibn Qais al-Ruqayyat
 wine song (d.c. 80/699 – 700)
one finds him mentioning Umm
 hunting al-Banin, the wife of Walid b. ‘Abd
poems al-Malik, as the object of his
flirtation
rose during this period
Jarir, Akhtal, Farazdaq, Umar bin, Abi Rabia

‫ جرير بن عطية الخطفي التميمي‬:)

Jarir bin Atiyah al-

Khatafi al-Tamimi
-Arab poet and satirist
(750AD-1258AD)
 The Qur’an  The
prominent Arab
set the model
poets of the
for prose seventh
writing during century were
the seventh Labid, Hasan
century. ibn Thabit and
Ka’b ib N
Zuhair, and
Khansa.
 Wa ahsanu minka lam tara qattu aini
Wa ajmalu minka lam talidin nissa’u
Khuliqta Mubarra’ an min Kulli aibin
Hasan ibn Thabit Ka-anna-ka qad khuliqta kama tasha’u
------------------------------------------------------
(Arabic: ) ‫حسان بن ثابت‬ Translated in English
(born c. 563, Medina And more excellent than you, my eye has never
died 674) seen,
And more beautiful than you, no woman ever gave
He was also Islam's first birth to;
religious poet, using You were created free from any flaw whatsoever,
many phrases from the As though you were created just the way you
wanted.
Qur'an in his verses. ------------------------------------------------------
  There was a revival of
 The writings were love poetry, and poets
on religious topics also began to sing in
with the Prophet, praises of the Ka’bah,
the Pilgrimage and the
saws, as the central beauties of Islam. Jamil
figure. Some of the ul Udhri, Al Akhtal,
prominent writers Umar ibn Abi Rabiah
and Al Farazdaq, Layla
during this time Akhtalaya and Maysuna
were Al Auhri, (the wife of theUmayyad
Asad ibn Musa, caliph) were the poets
and poetesses of this
and Ibn Ishaq. period.
 Asad ibn Musa
(Arabic: ‫) أسِ بن هاشم‬
was the son of Hashim ibn Abd al-Manaf and the
brother of Abdul Muttalib. He was the father of Fatima
bint Asad, the mother of Ali and the cousin and wife
of Abu Talib.
(at the end of 8th century)
collection of tales from the Islamic Golden Age,
compiled by various authors over many hundreds of
years The tale includes: Aladdin's
Wonderful Lamp, The Three
Apples, The Tale of the
Hunchback, Ali Baba and the
Forty Thieves, The Seven
Voyages
Though of Sinbad
each collection the
features different stories, they
are all centered around the frame story of the
Sailor…………
sultan Shahrayar and his wife, Scheherazade. After
finding out that his first wife is unfaithful, Shahrayar
kills her and swears to marry a different woman each
night before killing her the following morning to
prevent further betrayal. Scheherazade, his vizier's
daughter, concocts a plan to end this pattern. She
marries Shahrayar, and then begins to tell him a story
that night. However, she stops the story in the middle,
so that he will be excited to hear the rest the
following night. The next evening, she finishes that
story and then begins another, following the same
pattern for 1,001 nights, until Shahrayar has a
change of heart. The stories she tells comprise the
collection.
  Abu Nawas revived
 The field of prose erotic poetry.
writing considerably  Abul Atahiya wrote love
expanded, and songs in praise of his
covered topics not beloved.
attempted before.  Abu Tammam came to
be known for the over
 For example: intellectualization of his
Jahiz wrote the book poetry.
of animals  Muti’b Ilyas and Ibn al
Rumi both wrote love
Ibn Qutaybah wrote songs.
the book of poetry  Al Bahtiri wrote poems
and poets which came to
Al Baladhuri wrote be distinguished for
their imagery. He came to
the book of be known as a verbal
conquests. chemist.
 Arabic prose developed
further both in the matter  Al Mutannabi
of variety of topics and the
style of expression. was the most
 Ibn Abdhi Rabihi produced a prominent poet of
book on general knowledge the tenth century.
 Al Nasai produced a book
on traditions
He is regarded as
 Masudi wrote on travels and one of the greatest
history poets of the Arabic
Tabari produced a book on

universal history
language.
 Ibn Durayd produced an
Arabic Lexicon and a treatise
on Arab genealogies.
 Books on Sufism were also
produced during this century.
 • ‘Ihya Uloom ul Deen’
• Al Hariri prodiced a
masterpiece on stories and
 The eleventh century anecdotes
produced important works • Ibn Jubair wrote an account
on religion. Al Hasifi of his travels,
compiled a treatise on the • Ibn Dahqab produced
Qur’an and Abdul Malik al Juridical Tables.
Juwayni wrote a book on
Theology.
 At this time, some books on
Sufism were also written.  The eleventh century
 Al Mansur al Tha’albi produced poets like
wrote Anthology of Poets, Abul A’ala Al Ma’arri,
 Al Mawardi wrote a book who wrote in imitation
on the principles of the of the Qur’anic style,
government
and Ibn Zaydun, the
greatest poet of
 Imam Ghazali produced Muslim Spain.
his classical work
 Newspapers, encyclopedia, and books ere
published

 Short story and novel came to being in this

period
 International Prize for Arabic Fiction
stimulated the interest of Arabic Fiction
Qassim Haddad • Majnun Layla is a complex and
• Qassim Haddad did not finish layered lyrical story of love.
secondary school. Almost all the sensual and
• Born in Bahrain in 1948, he intellectual levels of this story
left formal education early to end up in creating a cultural
contribute to his family’s mosaic that is elegiac, supple,
income. graceful, and profound“
• Revolutionary as well as a • The central poem recasts the
writer, and was jailed for his seventh-century story into a
political beliefs in the 1950s. contemporary poetic narrative
 Mohammad Ahmad
• Mohammad Al Murr Al Falasi is a short-
story writer from the United Arab
Emirates.
• He has published over 15 volumes of short
stories and has had two collections
translated into English: Dubai Tales and The
Wink of the Mona Lisa.
 The Stone of Desire

Nasser al Dhaheri
• Nasser al-Dhaheri is an Emirati
writer and journalist.
• He was born in al-Ain, Abu
Dhabi in the United Arab
Emirates.
• He was educated in the UAE
and in France.
• Born 1960,Al Ain, United
Arab Emirates
 Ayqounat Al Hilm
(The Dream’s Icon)

Sara al-Jarwan
-is an Emirati novelist, short
story writer and playwright.
Born in Ajman
-she joined the UAE armed
forces as a soldier just before
the 1991 Gulf War.
-First Emirati woman to have
published a novel
 won the 2010 King Fahd Center Award

A richly textured portrayal of

Iraqi society before the
Mahmoud Saeed upheavals of the late twentieth
-an Iraqi-born American award- century, Saeed’s novel depicts a
winning novelist. sensitive and loving child
-born in Mosul, 1939- assailed by the cruelty of life.
-has written more than twenty
novels and short story
collections, and hundreds of
articles.
 The Prophet is a book
of prose poetry presents
the farewell observations on
and recommendations about
Khalil Gibran life and death of Almustafa,
-1883-1931 the chosen and beloved
Prophet, as he ends a twelve-
-Lebanese artist, poet year sojourn in Orphalese.
and writer
-Literary and political
rebel
 Hanan Al Shaykh
-an acclaimed Lebanese author
of contemporary literature.
This is a bold retelling of the famous Arabian Nights tales of the One
Thousand and One Nights. It’s dream-like, magical and yet aimed for
adults. It’s quitean interesting read and definitely a must read
considering it’s one of the first takes on the literary heritage by a
woman.