Arabian Literature

Module 3
ARABIAN LITERATURE
https://tadweenpublishing.com/blogs/news/8387930-how-arabic-literature-is-perceived-in-the-western-world
Jannette P. De la Cruz
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, the students will be able to:
1. extract high-minded values out of literary works under space
study;
2. differentiate the Quran with that of the Bible in terms of
objectives; and
3. design a characters scrapbook of the given literary piece of
Arabian Literature.
History of Saudi Arabia
• Arabs originated on the descendants of indigenous tribes
and lived along the Persian Gulf coast. Arabian Peninsula is
also the homeland of Islam, the world’s second largest
religion. Muhammad founded Islam there, and it is the
location of the two holy pilgrimage cities of Mecca and
Medina.
https://www.om.org/en/content/arabian-peninsula
• A succession of invaders attempted to control the
peninsula, but in 1517 the Ottoman Empire dominated,
and in the middle of the 18th century, it was divided into
separate principalities.
• In 1745 Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab began calling
for the purification and reform of Islam, and the Wahhabi
movement swept across Arabia. Wahhabis had been
driven out of power again
by Ottomans and their
Egyptian allies.
https://historica.fandom.com/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Abd_al-Wahhab
• The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is almost entirely the creation
of King Ibn Saud (1882-1953). A descendant of Wahhabi
leaders, he seized Riyadh in 1901 and set himself up as
leader for the Arab nationalist movement. The Hejaz and
Nejd regions were merged to form the kingdom of Saudi
Arabia in 1932, which was an absolute monarchy ruled by
Sharia.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ibn-Saud
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Religion: Islam
• Capital: Riyadh https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Saudi-
Arabia
• Language:Arab
• Economy: Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest nations in the
world. It occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula and 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.
Jannette P. De la Cruz https://www.arabnews.com/node/1785516/saudi-arabia

Cultures and Traditions
• 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.
• Large, extended families: live together, and nepotism is
encouraged.
• Alcohol consumption: nightlife are forbidden.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabian-women-file-petition-over-14-500-signatures-end-male-guardianship-a7332436.html
• Pork: considered unclean and is prohibited. The primary reason
for Muslim abstaining from eating pork and pork products, and that
is, that God has forbidden it. Islam is a holistic religion that
recognizes the interconnectedness of spiritual, emotional, and
physical health. What person eats and drinks has a direct bearing
on their overall health and well-being.
https://www.askislampedia.com/home/-/wiki/English_wiki/_Answering_Allegations
_Pork/pop_up;jsessionid=9D5DE593B75303F7D91B4069F90EE154
• Storytelling: is another favorite form of artistic expression, but in
keeping with Islamic law, guidelines govern public performances,
and artist can’t make “graven images.” Hand lettered Qurans are
considered sacred art that’s to be respected and kept safe for
generations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKk9-8VoJKM
Arabian Literature
• Arabian Literature is rich and varied, mostly made of poems,
anecdotes, tales or romances, historical accounts and
philosophies.
• Arabs possessed a highly develop poetry transmitted orally from
generation to generation.
• The written literature, began to be known with the collection of
Quran, the sacred book of Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_epic_literature
Historical Period
• 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)
• Arabic prose literature was limited primarily to grammatical
treatise, commentaries on the Quran, 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.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451853
• Abbasid Period (A.D. 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. It is certain that the Persian influences
contributed significantly to this development.
• For example:
• Translation for Persian, such as those of Ibn al-Muqaff’,
led to a new refinement in Arabic prose called adab,
often sprinkled with poetry and utilizing rhyme prose
(saj’), the style of Quran. The greatest masters of adab
were Al jahiz and Al Hariri.
• An invented type of folk literature, exemplified in ”The
Thousand and One Nights” (popularly known as The
Arabian Night), drew upon the recitations of wandering
storytellers called rawis.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/449101
Capital in the "Beveled Style"
• Modern Period (19th Century Present)
• Arabic literature declined during the Ottoman Turkish
domination, however the Renaissance Period took place, so
then Arabs revived their classical genres and they came into
contact to Western Literature and Civilization.
• The 20th Century witnessed the real birth of modern Arabic
Literature.
• Short story and Novel came to being in this period.
The Koran or Qur’an (The Reading)
• It is the sacred scripture of Islam. The Quran is the holy book for
Muslims, revealed in stages to the Prophet Muhammad over 23
years.
• It contains some basic information that is found in the Hebrew
Bible as well as revelations that were give to Muhammad. The
text is considered the sacred word of God and supersedes any
previous writings.
https://www.slideshare.net/JennyOh17/arabian-literature
• It contains 114 chapters or suras, arranged, except for the
opening, approximately according to length, beginning with longer
chapters. Termed as the glorious and wonderful, describes the
absolute truth, healing mercy, light and guidance of God to
people’s everyday lives. Has great contribution with the Arabian
Literature.
https://zawiyafellowship.com/product/the-sacred-message-of-the-holy-quran/
Comparison between Bible and Qur’an
https://widiutami.com/gambar/bible-and-quran-similarities/
The Arabian Nights
• Also called “The Ten Thousand and One Night” is a large
collection of stories, mostly of Arabian, Indian, or Persian origin,
written in Arabic between 14th and 16th centuries.
• The Arabian Nights is a collection of tales from the Islamic Golden
Age, compiled by various authors over hundreds of years. Though
each collection features different stories, they are all centered
around the frame story of the sultan Shahrayar and his wife,
Scheherazade.
Jannette P. De la Cruz https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93101.The_Arabian_Nights

• The Arabian Nights uses common motifs:
• magic and fantasy,
• flying, and
• a rise from poverty to riches and a fall back down again.
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/315322411381034112/
• The Arabian Night Stories:
• Alladin’s Lamp
• Alladin’s Lamp tells of a peasant boy who is tricked by an evil
magician into retrieving a magic genie lamp from a cave.
However, Aladdin outsmarts him, keeping the lamp for himself.
Through the genie’s power, Alladin grows rich and marries the
sultan’s daughter. When the magician steals the lamp back,
Alladdin and his wife thwart and kill the villain. The
magician’s brother then
attemps to avenge the
dead man, but equally
defeated, so that Alladin
lives happily ever after.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45436313-arabian-nights
• The Fisherman and the Jinni
• “The Fisherman and the Jinni” tells the story of a fisherman
whose nets retrieve a yellow jar from the sea. He opens it to
release a dangerous genie, who has been trapped for hundreds
of years and had decided to kill the man who rescues him. The
fisherman tricks the genie into returning to the jar, and then tells
him the story of “The Vizier and the Sage Duban,” detailed
below. After the story, the genie promises to reward the
fisherman, and indeed shows him a magic lake full of strange
fish. The fisherman sells the fish to the sultan, who explores the
area of the lake to meet a sad prince who had been turned half
stone. He helps the prince, and then rewards everyone involved.
https://www.slideshare.net/KyokoMurillo/arabian-nights-report
• The Lady and her Five Suitors
• The story of the lady and her five suitors was all about a lady
who's husband went to a business trip and never returned.
The lady then decide to fall inlove again. Unfortunately, his
lover was sent to jail. In order for her lover to be set free, she
went to four of the most powerful men on the land- the Kazi,
Wali, Wazir, and King. As she approached each men to make
a release note for her husband, all of them demanded to be
with her for a day in exchange of the release note. This made
her think of an effective strategy to get rid of her suitors. She
asked a carpenter to make a cabinet with five compartments.
The cabinet was then delivered the next day.
As each visitor arrived, he was given food and clothes. When
someone knocks on the door, the lady suddenly panics and
hides her suitor inside each compartment of the closet. The
suitor then follows her with the fear that it would be her
husband who is knocking.
• Suddenly, the carpenter arrived and had a dispute over the
lady regarding the size of the cabinet. She then pushed her
into the fifth compartment and locked the door. She went to
the jail to give the release note made by the king for her. She
then went away with her lover leaving her suitors trapped
inside the cabinet. The suitors were released by the neighbors
after urinating on each other. They told the neighbors about
who they were because of the clothes they were wearing.
Key Takeaways
• Arabian Literature began to be know with collection of Qur’an
in 17th Century A.D.
• The Arabian possessed a highly developed poetry,
composed of recitation and transmitted from generation to
generation.
• The most famous examples 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.
If you have some concerns
concerning the module, please bring
them up with your professor for
clarifications and further
discussions.
This ends the lesson. Meet
you online next time. Thank
you.

Arabian Literature

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Module 3

Jannette P. De la Cruz https://www.arabnews.com/node/1785516/saudi-arabia

Capital in the "Beveled Style"

Jannette P. De la Cruz https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93101.The_Arabian_Nights

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