Arabian Literature

2. LESSON : ARABIA: CULTURE,
GEOGRAPHY AND LITERATURE

3. ARABIAN
GEOGRAPHY:
The country, which is divided
into 13 provinces and is
composed primarily of desert.
Found in the Middle East
between the Persian Gulf and
the Red Sea. It borders
Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to
the north, Yemen to the
south, and Oman, the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), and
Qatar to the east.

4. Facts About “The Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia”
Capital: Riyadh
Language: Arab
Religion: Islam
Economy: Saudi Arabia occupies
most of the Arabian Peninsula and
is the largest country in area in the
Middle East—but 95 percent of
the land is desert. Mountains
running parallel to the Red Sea
slope down to plains along the
Persian Gulf. Desert kingdom one
of the wealthiest nations in the
world.

5. Cultures and Traditions
 Pork is considered unclean and is
prohibited. Lunch is traditionally the
day’s main meal.
 Alcohol consumption, nightlife is
forbidden.
 Saudi Arabian women are required,
according to Islamic law, to cover
their bodies in abaya (black robes
and face coverings) as a sign of
respect for Muslim modesty laws.
 Ramadan the holiest season of the
year and marks fasting
 Large, extended families live together,
and nepotism is encouraged.
 Storytelling is another favorite form of
artistic expression, but in keeping with
Islamic law, guidelines govern public
performances, and artists can’t make
"graven images.” Hand-lettered Qurans
are considered sacred art that’s to be
respected and kept safe for generations.

6. A written Arabic literature began to be
known with the collect of Koran, the
sacred book of Islam, in Arabia in 17th
century A.D. with the spread of the
Islamic faith into Asia, Africa and Europe,
the Arabian language soon became a
major world language.
ARABIAN LITERATURE
The most famous
examples of Arabian
Literatures are the
elaborated odes, or
qasdahs, of Mu’allagat
(“the suspended odes”),
beginning with those of
Imru’ Alqais. These poems
reflected and praised the
customs and values of the
desert environment in
which they arose.

7. History of Arabic Literature
The history of Arabic
literature is usually
divided into periods
making the dynastic
changes and divisions
that took place within the
Islamic world.
Umayyad Period (A.D.
661-750)
Abbasid Empire (750-
1258)
Modern Period

8. Umayyad Period (A.D. 661-750) Arabic
prose literature was limited primarily to
grammatical treatise, commentaries on the
Koran, and compiling of stories about
Muhammad and his companions. The
Umayyad poets, chief of whom were Al-
Akhtal and Al-Farazdaq, favored poetic
forms such as love lyrics called (Ghazals),
wine songs and hunting poems.
These forms the conditions of life and
manners found in territories conquered by
Islam.

9. Abbasid Empire (750-1258) In the early
years of this empire, many forms were
invented for Arabic literature, which then
entered what is generally regarded it’s
greatest period of development and
achievement
The greatest masters of adab were Al
jahiz and Al Hariri. An inventive type of folk
literature ,exemplified in “The Thousand
and One Nights” (popularly known as The
Arabian Nights), drew upon the recitations
of wandering storytellers called rawis.

10. Modern
Period
During the centuries of
Ottoman Turkish domination,
Arabic literature fall into
decline. Not until the mid-19th
century was it revived by it’s
intellectual movement known
as Nahdah (―reawakening),
which originated in Syria and
spread to Egypt.
Outstanding among the
recent Arabic novelists,
dramatists, and essayists:
• Tawfig al-Hakim,
• Nobelist Ngaguib
Mahfouz, Taha Husayn
• Poets, Ihiya Abu Madi,
Adonis , Ahmad Shawqi,
Abu Shadi and Abbas al
Aqqad

11. Other
Details
In The first century after the
death of Mohammed, IN
622 A.D. CALLED Umayyad
period there were no
outstanding
literary productions but,
there were 4 NOTEWORTHY
POETS
• AKHATA
• FARAZDA
• JARIR
• DHU
RUMMA