Preview

Literature in Arabic History

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1303 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Literature in Arabic History
Fayyaz Ahamed
Professor Rashid
Arabic 1A
27 November 2014
Literature throughout Arab and Islamic History The culture of Arabic-speaking people throughout history has been expressed greatly by the written word of the people, and to an almost equal degree, the spoken word. Even before the advent of Islam on the Arabian Peninsula, poetry was representative of the Arabic culture. As Islam spread across the Mediterranean and the world, great mathematicians and scientists wrote works, treatises, compilations and many other documents describing their discoveries. Countless histories, biographies, and geographies were written in the Islamic Golden Age. A great deal of fiction was written throughout Arabic history, ranging from Romantic novels to epic literature. Despite the prolificacy of all these genres and works, much Arabic literature remains in the dark today, both to the Western world and for many Muslims and Arabs.
Literature in the Arabic culture started in the pre-Islamic era mostly with poets of various tribes throughout the Arabian Peninsula. These poets acted as historians, propagandists, reciters of legends, and at times, even the tribe’s spokesmen. Most poets recited their works orally, rather than writing them down. Some of the more famous of these poets were Imru’ al-Quais, Antar, and Zuhair. These poets were especially important for their “hanged poems” up on display in the Kaaba, a worship place for idols at the time. The style of poetry at the time was focused on the line of poetry, not the overall form of the piece. This style was often analogized as a “string of pearls,” and often depended on the flow and sound of letters, rather than the overall coherence of the work. The overall consonant structure of the language especially helped with making the spoken word sound very beautiful.
The spread of Islam also spread the language of Arabic, which often led to cultural clashes between local cultures and the now dominating Arab culture. The



Cited: "AL-JAHIZ AND THE RISE OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM." Salaam Knowledge. Salaam Knowledge, 1983. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. "Al-Nahda." Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Nov. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. "Al-Sabi Thabit Ibn Qurra Al-Harrani." Thabit Biography. N.p., Nov. 1999. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. "Arabic Literature." Infoplease. Infoplease, 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. "Ibn Al-Nafis." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2008. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. "Ibn Khordadbeh." Khordadbeh. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. "Ibn Tufail." Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. "Layla and Manjun Analysis." Wahiddudin.net. Wahiddudin, Mar. 2006. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. "Medieval Sourcebook: Pre-Islamic Arabia: The Hanged Poems, before 622 CE." Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Fordham University, Sept. 1998. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Quran and Oedipus the King also known as Oedipus Rex are two well written pieces of work. The Quran, is the last sentiment of God to many, is not just a piece of writing, but a way of life describe in a book. The Oedipus Rex is a complex work that tells a tale, but also sheds a light on how modern day people are. Both works are still relevant to today’s modern times.…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Culturally through religious toleration and cultural blending, the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties can be compared. Umayyad practiced a fair degree of religious tolerance and they hired Christians and Jews that belonged to the Levant to high ranks, but they weren’t as open minded when it came to race, and their leaders and officials of the Empire were Arabs. But the Abbasids gave the most important jobs to non-Arab administrators, merchants, and scholars. Although both dynasties tolerated the “people of the book” they charged higher taxes, convincing even more people by themselves to convert to their religion. The “people of the book” knew that in order to succeed, they had to convert even though both these dynasties accepted them. During the early years of the dynasty the Abbasid rulers encouraged intellectual expansion, which was basically cultural blending. The Abbasids absorbed ideas from Byzantium and India and ancient Greek philosophers were translated into Arabic. The Abbasids adopted Indian mathematical ideas such as a system of numerals and the concept of zero. The Umayyad also wrought many changes in Islamic government. The most significant of these was the adoption of Byzantine administrative and financial systems. These intellectual improvements made the Islamic community a center of cultural and intellectual growth.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Middle Eastern society is greatly effected by their religion since their religious backgrounds are so strong having an effect on their every day life. The Middle East is also effected literature, and the treatment of women and the discovery of oil. Literature was effected greatly by Islam because Muslims regarded the Koran (book of Islam) to be their greatest literary work. Poetry has also been a big part of the Middle Eastern life. It extolled Bedouin tribal life, courage in battle, hunting, sports, and respecting animals of the desert, especially the camel. The camel has always been highly respected in the Middle East mostly because it helped benefit trade and labor. Poetry will continue to be a…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the rise of Islam in Africa and Asia, new cultural steps were taken. The most significant one is that of literacy. The Arabic language, in addition to Persian and the new Persian-influenced Urdu languages were being spread. Timbuktu and Delhi became important centres for Muslim learning, both creating a profitable book trade.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Similar to each other, these two societies valued literature. The Islamic society valued their Muslim holy book, Qur’an, so much that they could only write copies of book in calligraphy. This is because only calligraphy was…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Muslim Belal” and “The Jewish and Muslim Girl Poetry Slam” are two well-known examples of religious poetry. The poet “Muslim Belal” talks about how he got from the streets to Islam. “The Jewish and Muslim Girl Poetry Slam” talks about how society discriminates the religions: Islam and Judaism. These two poems do have some similar qualities.…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The “Post-Classical Period,” was a time of change, expansion, and vast cultural diffusion. The Islamic civilization is a group that emerged from the Semitic groups of southwestern Asia, and moved to the Arabian peninsula in tribes, known as the Bedouin tribes, due to lack of water and food. The Islamic Civilization encountered the cultures of the Europeans, Asians and Africans, and connected into these civilizations because of the spread of the Muslim religion. The Bedouin Arabs intensified cultural diffusion also through trade, migration, and warfare. The movement of the Islamic culture resulted in the dissemination of distinct cultural characteristics, ideas, and technology throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa.…

    • 1716 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Literature: reflected the diverse traditions of the various peoples who lived under Muslim rule. Oral poetry talked about the joys of battle, desert journeys, or the glories of their clans. Their most important themes—chivalry and the romance of nomadic life—recurred in Arab poetry throughout the centuries. Later Arab poets developed elaborate formal rules for writing poetry and explored both religious and worldly themes.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another form of writing that prevailed over the years was decorative writing, also known as calligraphy (specifically, Arabic calligraphy). Many verses from the Holy Scripture were written in calligraphy and displayed in holy places, such as mosques, and…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Islamic faith began in the Arabic world but than began to spread where local culture, geography, language and ethnicity influenced beliefs and practices. Much of this cultural backgroud continously required faith and dedication, in order to "properly understand the role of religions in human societies, the course contends, we must go beyond descriptive summaries of beliefs and practices and look at them as a living and dynamic traditions that are constantly changing according to context and circumstance of their adherents" ( Muslim Histories and…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Muslim Culture

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Originally Muslim literature is in Arabic, the language of the Prophet. Most of their literature is religious. It embraces messages and records of their belief system from the Quran, Sira and Hadith. Muslim literature was established in the Umayyad Empire, It was taken by the Arabs to distant lands and turn into part of this popular culture. In time, Persian developed into one of the main languages of the civilization. In the sub-continent, syncretistic poetry from the Sufis spread the bases of Muslim culture. (Anon, 2015) (Sheikh, Dhami,…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The police service is usually financed by public funds and serves the benefit of the public at large. However, there are situations where the police service makes charges to individuals and organizations to recover costs incurred in the delivery of their services. Section 25 of the Police Act 1996 provides that special police services is provided to any individual who has made payments of charges stipulated by statutory provisions. Special police services relate to policing of events such as concerts, football matches and other private events. The definition of special policing services and the conditions for charging events has been subject to legal litigation.…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As Islam conquered other countries it also enforced it"s laws. One of these being Arabic as their primary spoken language. This made communicating with people from other parts of the country easy since they all had a common language. They also imposed a tax on Christians and Jews who did not convert.…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The stories in the Arabian Nights have gripped the world’s imagination now for more than 1000 years. From at least the 9th century part of the repertoire of storytellers in India, China, Iran, Turkey and the Arab world that is why this paper aims not only to give a suffice background of one of the most celebrated tales of the millennia but also explore the cultural treasury it has brought world that serves a fertile material ready to discover—The Arabian Nights. It delves in most cultural elements hugely various like lands it come from. It further supports information which gives a bird’s-eye-view of the cultural resource developing from early times up to the present; and devotes itself primarily on the cultural implications it has given across cultures and linguistic boundaries through time.…

    • 1687 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rubaiyat vs Koran

    • 325 Words
    • 1 Page

    Spiritual literature is at the core of many faiths and has a profound affect on people. Through the use of metaphors, symbolism, and repetition, the messages are conveyed to the readers. The reader then forms their personal beliefs based on their understanding of the literature which influences their actions. The Rubaiyat and the Koran are spiritual poems that share some commonalities and several differences, but both ultimately serve peoples faith.…

    • 325 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays