ARABIC LITERATURE – A HISTORY
THE JĀHILIYYA, OR THE SO-CALLED “AGE OF IGNORANCE”
The Jāhiliyya — a word whose root evokes ignorance — refers to the pre-Islamic period, not only because of the paganism that prevailed in the Arabian Peninsula at the time, but also by contrast with the wisdom and knowledge that Islam brought and helped to cultivate in the region and beyond.
Nevertheless, from a strictly literary standpoint, the period was far from devoid of activity. It consisted, admittedly, essentially of poetry — but a poetry that was abundant and highly refined in terms of metre and themes. The Arab Bedouin society transmitted its heritage almost exclusively orally, placing great importance on memory: epic memory, genealogical memory, and literary memory.
Poetry stood at the crossroads of all these requirements, recording the great deeds of tribes and their notable members, and offering a vehicle for every sentiment — love, grief, bravado, satire. The classical qasida (ode) followed a well-established structure: an amorous opening (nasīb), a description of the journey (rahil), and then the main subject, which might be boasting (fakhr), panegyric (madh), elegy (ritha’), chivalric narrative, satire, or amorous or bacchic verse.
The most famous surviving works of this era are the celebrated Mu’allaqāt, or “The Suspended Odes”, so named because they were said to have been hung on the walls of the Kaaba, such was the veneration they commanded. Their number is estimated at between 6 and 10, depending on the source. Five names appear on all lists: Imru’ al-Qays, Tarafa ibn al-‘Abd, Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā, ‘Amr ibn Kulthūm, and others.
THE QURANIC PERIOD
The Qur’anic text, by virtue of its sacred status and its divinely considered origin, played a considerable role in the development of Arabic literary prose. On a technical level, the holy Book was the primary reference for grammarians. Correct speech thus had its source in the Qur’an. However, the Qur’anic text placed later writers in a paradoxical position: the sacred text inevitably imposed itself as a model, but could not, by propriety, serve as a subject for imitation.
Nevertheless, rhymed prose — inspired by its example — became extremely widespread, sometimes tending towards excess and mannerism. The hadiths, the words and actions of the Prophet, also played an important role in the genesis of Arabic literature, the Messenger of God being regarded as the most eloquent of all Arabs. However, since the texts were often transmitted according to meaning rather than exact wording, they could not fully serve as a reference in the elaboration of grammar. The early Islamic period is above all characterised by the introduction of religious themes into poetry. The panegyric of the Prophet, as a specific poetic form, was born during his own lifetime. The famous Burda of Ka’b ibn Zuhayr — a notable poet and Companion of the Prophet — set the standard for a form of poem still imitated today.
THE UMAYYAD PERIOD
The defining feature of Arabic literature in the Umayyad period was the shift of power towards the Shām region (Greater Syria) and Damascus in particular, as well as the emergence of a developed state apparatus. The departure from the Arabian Peninsula, the nascent administration, and the life of the court locally gave rise to court poetry and a prose production aimed principally at the education of princes. This is adab — translated today as “literature”, but originally denoting “refinement” or “proper conduct”.
Works of adab are in essence the Arabic equivalent of the Western “Mirror for Princes” genre. They were originally composed mainly of epistles and counsel for the powerful. This was also the era when Greek, Persian, and Indian works began to be translated. A name worth remembering is that of Abdallah ibn al-Muqaffa’ (720–756), often called the father of adab, for having contributed more than anyone else to formalising this genre.
THE ABBASID PERIOD
The Abbasid period represents the golden age of Arabic literature. The Thousand and One Nights (Alf Layla wa Layla), a celebrated collection well known in the West, belongs to this era — though it was in reality simply a collection of popular stories told in a more or less “common” language, and had no prestige in the eyes of the educated of the time. It should also be noted that fiction in general was poorly regarded in the Arab-Muslim world until the modern era. The exceptions, however, are quite celebrated.
This is the case of the Kalīla wa Dimna stories — a sort of ancestor of La Fontaine’s Fables, translated and adapted from Pahlavi by Ibn al-Muqaffa’, featuring animals as protagonists. It is also the case of the Maqāmāt, a singular literary genre initiated by Badī’ al-Zamān al-Hamadhānī (968–1008), staging a character who seeks to make his living through eloquence and cunning — yet another means of teaching fine language through entertainment.
During the Abbasid period, anthologies of literary themes constituted a highly prized form. Steeped in the splendour of the Abbasid court and later dynasties, poetry naturally tended towards greater refinement and sometimes greater licence. Thus bacchic poetry was exemplified notably by Abū Nuwās, the pre-eminent poet of wine. As for the most celebrated Arab poet of all time, al-Mutanabbī (915–965), he excelled as a panegyrist and satirist, as well as in his descriptions of battle, his wisdom poetry, and his philosophy in verse.
To this body of literature one may add history, with great names such as Ibn Khaldūn (1332–1406), considered the father of sociology; and travel writing, with the indefatigable explorer Ibn Battūta (1304–1377), who is said to have covered more than 120,000 km.
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