Arabic Literature  العربي الدب

Arabic Literature• Produced by writers in the Arabic

language.• Adab is the Arabic word for literature.• Includes works of Turks, Persians,

Syrians, Egyptians, Indians, Jews and other Africans and Asians, as well as the Arabs themselves.

Arabic Literature

• Not from literary motives but religious and practical needs.

Quran* Finest literature work in Arabic Language.

History and Culture

• Under the Abbasids (750-1258) * Hellenic, Syrian, Pahlari, and

Sanskrit works became available in translation.

* Arabic Language developed as vehicle of science and philosophy.

Pioneers of Arabic Prose

• Ibn al-Muqaffa - Translator of the

Indian fables of Kalila Awa Dimna

Pioneers of Arabic Prose• Al-Jahiz - Influential

Arab in the establishment of the belles-lettres compedia. (adab)

Rise of the new Arabic-Persian Culture of Baghdaol

• Philosophy, mathematics, law, Qur’anic interpretation and criticism, history, and science were cultivated.• Collections of early Arabic poetry

were compiled during this period.

4th to 7th Century(Golden Age of Lyric Poetry)

• Poems are strongly personal qasida or odes.• The themes are love, fighting,

courage and chase.• Poet speaks directly not

romantically, of nature and power of God.

• Quran - Primary document of Islamic.• Poetry gained prestige under the

Umayyads because of Al-Alchtal and Al-Farazdaq.

At the End of the 8th Century

• Abu Nuwas - prominent court poet• Omar Ibn al-Faridh - greatest mystic poet• Influence of India and Persia seen

in Arabic prose romance.• The greatest collection is the

Thousand and One Nights.

Major Writers

• Bukhari• Tabari• Masudi• Ibn Khaldun*• Ibn al-Athir• Ibn Batuta

• Spanish Arabs produced fine poets and scholars.• Their works became known in

Europe.

During the 19th Century

• Printing in Arabic began in earnest.• Newspapers, encyclopedia, and

books were published.• Interest in modern Arabic

Literature increased because of Naguib Mahfouz.

20th and 21st Century

• Famous writers include: Abdelrahman Munit, Sonallah Dorahim, Yahya Hakki, Uhassan Kanati, Alaa Al Aswany, Elias Khoury, and Mahmoud Saeed.• International Prize for Arabic

Fiction stimulated the interest of Arabic Fiction.

Characteristics & Significance

Characteristics• The structure of the Arabic

Language.• The typical poem of this period is

the qasidah. * Abu Al-Farat Al-Isfahani * Kitab al-Hayawan * Kitab al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin * Kitab al-Bukhala

Significance

• Quran, the primary document.• It has 114 suras which contain

6,236 ayat.• It contains injunctions, narratives,

homilies, and parables,• The Quran is the holy book of

Islam.

Representative Writers

Naguib Mahfouz

• Was born in December 11, 1911 and died in August 30, 2006.• An Egyptian writer.• He is regarded as

one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic Literature.

He published• 50 novels• 350 short stories• 12 of movie scripts• 5 plays over a 70 years career

Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani(21 March 1923 – 30

April 1998)- Was a Syrian

diplomat, poet and publisher.

- Born in the Syrian Capital of Damascus.

- Studied at the Nat’ l Scientific College School.

• He later studied law at the Damascus University.• After graduating from law school,

he worked for the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

Khalil GibaranJanuary 6, 1883 – April 10,

1931- Lebanese artist, poet and

writer- Born in the town of

Bsharri in the north of modern-day Lebanon.

- Immigrated with his family to the U.S.

- Literary and political rebel.

- Third best-selling poet of all time.- Died in New York City (48 years

old)“ I am not politician, nor do I wish

to become one.” and “Spare me the political events and power struggles, as the whole earth is my homeland and all men are my fellow countrymen.”

•Prepared by:Teresa Mae J. Garcia