Arabic literature

Literature written in the Arabic language, the literature of Arabs and the Islamic world.

6th century–750 Arabic literature has its beginnings in pre-Islamic poetry with its highly developed qasida (‘purpose poem’ or elegy) form and intricate metrical systems. These poems present vivid and dramatic scenes of life in the Arabian peninsula and are alleged to date from the 6th century, compiled in written form in the 8th century. The most celebrated collection of pre-Islamic poetry is that known as the Mu'allaqat; the other great anthologies are the Mufaddaliyyat and the Hamasa books collected by Abu Tammam (807–c. 845) and al-Buhturi (820–97), although problems of the authenticity of this poetry remain a subject of controversy. The ghazal form was introduced during the Omayyad period (661–750); its most eminent practitioner was 'Umar ibn Abi Rabi'a (644–c. 720).

750–1055: the Golden Age The first three centuries of the Abbasid period witnessed the great flowering of medieval Arabic literature and have been called its Golden Age; at this time Islamic culture assimilated major portions of the Greek and Roman intellectual traditions. Ibn al-Muqaffa' (died 757) adapted much material of Sassanian origin and from the Indian fables of Bidpai. The wealth and culture which prevailed, particularly in the ruling cities of Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, led to patronage on a magnificent scale, typical examples being the court life which surrounded the Baghdad caliphs Harun al-Rashid and Mamun. 'Abbas ibn al-Ahnaf (died 807), Muslim ibn al-Walid (died 823), Abú Nuwás, and Abu'l-'Atahiya (died 826) are some of the numerous poets who flourished at this time. Outstanding poets of the later 9th century include Abu Tammam, al-Buhturi, Ibn al-Rumi (died 896), and Ibn al-Mu'tazz (died 908).

Secular prose in the 9th century is dominated by al-Jahiz (c. 776–c. 869); of his numerous treatises and essays, the most notable is The Book of Animals, in which a description of animals and insects provides the framework for the discussion of an enormous variety of human, intellectual, and social topics. Almost as illustrious in the fields of prose writing and the beginnings of literary criticism is his contemporary, Ibn Qutaiba (828–c. 889).

In the 10th century, effective political power no longer centred on the royal cities of Iraq, but accompanied the rise of quasi-independent dynasties which appeared in the far-flung regions of the Islamic world. Two of the greatest Arabic poets were connected with the Hamdanid court at Aleppo in northern Syria: al-Mutanabbi and Abu-al-Ala al-Maarri. The minor dynasties which arose in eastern Persia, such as the Samanids, also attracted numerous men of letters: al-Hamadhani (969–1007), who spent much time at Neyshabur, the capital of Khorasan, can be described as the father of the magama genre, a brief, highly stylized type of anecdote written in rhymed prose. This form was brought to perfection by al-Hariri of Basra (died 1122).

North Africa also made its contribution with the poet Ibn Hani' al-Andalusi (died 973) and the rhetorician Ibn Rashiq al-Qayrawani (died 1064), while Spain was notable for the prose of Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi (died 940) and the poetry of Ibn Zaidun (died 1071) and Ibn Hazm (died 1064) who also wrote a famous treatise on courtly love known as The Ring of the Dove.

11th–13th centuries In the 11th and 12th centuries, Islamic mysticism or Sufism became a widespread movement in social terms and this had an effect on Arabic literature. While mysticism in Arabic was not developed to the same extent as in Persian, or later in Turkish, the poems of the Spaniard Ibn 'Arabi (died 1240) and the Egyptians Ibn al-Farid (died 1235) and Baha al-Din Zuhayr (1186–1258) can compare with the best of the Islamic Sufi authors.

13th–19th centuries The period of turmoil and instability ushered in by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century was hardly propitious for a literature so dependent on patronage and reasonable periods of political stability. Furthermore, the flowering of Persian and, subsequently, Turkish literature followed the firm establishment of new political forces in the Islamic world. Although the Mameluke period (1250–1517 in Egypt) was relatively undistinguished from the point of view of Arabic literature, and the Ottoman Turkish period (16th–19th centuries) even more so, Arabic did not fall into disuse thanks to its status as the language of religion and learning.

19th–20th centuries In the 19th century, the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire were increasingly subject to the power and influence of Europe. The gradual rise of Arab nationalism in the late 19th century was accompanied by the modern Arabic literary renaissance centred mainly in Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. While Arabic poetry was rejuvenated through the work of the Egyptians al-Barudi, Ahmad Shawqi, Hafiz Ibrahim (died 1932), and the Lebanese Khalil Mutran (died 1949), new forms such as the novel and the drama were assimilated from Western Europe. The period after World War II saw the final demise of the qasida form, which had been present throughout the whole history of Arabic poetry, to be replaced by freer, less regular prosodic conventions. In the 20th century, Arabic literature proved itself as vital and energetic as at any time in its long, rich, and varied evolution.