A Brief History of Arabic Literature

The dates of ancient works are obviously wildly approximate. See Steve Moore: "The Novel" for synopses of the ancient narratives. "Mu'allaqat" (5##) [p] "Mufaddaliyat" (5##) [p] Zuhayr/Zuhair ibn Abi Sulma (520): "Poems" (5##) [p] Imrul Kais/ Imru Al-Qais (5##): "Qasida Odes" (5##) [p] Abid ibn al-Abras (5##): "Diwan" (5##) [p] Tarafah ibn al 'Abd ben Sufyan ben Malik al Bakri/ Tarafa (5##): "Diwan" (5##) [p] Ziyad ibn Muawiyah al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani (535): "Poems" (604) [p] Maymun ibn Qays al-A'sha (5##): "Poems" (6##) [p] Abu Aqil Labi-d ibn Rabi-'ah Labid (560): "Poems" (6##) [p] Antarah ibn Shaddad (580): "Poems" (6##) [p] Adi ibn Zayd (5##): "Poems" (60#) [p] Umayya ibn Abi's-Salt (5##): "Poems" (60#) [p] Tumadir bint Amru al-Harith bint al-Sharid Al-Khansa (6##): "Funeral Elegies" (6##) [p] + Shanfara (6##): "Odes" (6##) [p] + Taabbata Sharran (6##): "Poems" (6##) [p] Hassan Ibn Thabit (6##): "Poems" (674) [p] Ghiyath ibn Ghawth al-Taghlibi Al-Akhtal (640): "Poems" (710) [p] Hammam ibn Ghalib Abu Firas al-Farazdaq (641): "Poems" (732) [p] Umar ibn Abi Rabiah (644): "Poems" (719) [p] + Jarir ibn Atiyah (6##): "Poems" (728) [p] Ghaylan ibn Uqbah (696): "Poems" (735) [p] Zaid bin Thabit (610): "Quran" (634) [p] + Abdul Rahman bin Ismail al-Khawlani/ Waddah al-Yaman (6##): "Poems" (708) [p] Abdullah Ibn Dhadawayh ibn al-Muqaffa (706): "Kalila wa Dimma/ Kalila and Dimna" (760) Bashar ibn Burd (714): "Poems" (784) [p] Abbas Ibn al-Ahnaf (750): "Poems" (809) [p] Abu Nuwas al-Hasan ben Hani al-Hakami (756) : "Poems" (810) [p] + Abu al-Alahijah (7##): "Poems" (828) [p] Abu Uthman Amr Ibn Bahr al-Kinani al-Fuqaimi al-Basri Al-Jahiz (776): "Kitab al-Bukhala/ Book of Misers" (8##) [h] Habib ibn Aus Abu Tammam (805): "Poems" (845) [p] Allah al-Buhturi (820): "Poems" (897) [p] Abd Allah ibn Muslim Ibn Qutaybah (828): "Uyun al-akhbar" (8##) [h] Ahmad Ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri (8##): "Kitab Ansab al-Ashraf/ Book of the Genealogies of the Noble" (8##) [h] Abu abd-Allah Muhammed el-Gahshigar/ al-Jahshiyari (8##): "Alf Layla wa-Layla/ The Book of One Thousand and One Nights" (9##) [first collection] Ibn ar-Rumi (836): "Poems" (896) [p] Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarir ibn Yazid ibn Kathir al-Tabari (839): "Tarikh al-Tabari/ Tafsir al-Tabari" (9##) [h] Abu al-Mughith ibn Mansur Al-Hallaj (858): "Poems" (922) [p] Ibn Al-Mutazz (861): "Poems" (908) [p] "Nahj al-Balaghah/ The Road to Eloquence" (9##) [h] Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (897): "Kitab al-Aghani/ Book of Songs" (9##) [p] Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi (905): "Poems" (965) [p] + Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (930): "al-Imta' wa l-Muanasa/ Enjoyment and Conviviality" (10##) [h] Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Miskawayh (932): "Tahdhib al-Akhlag" (9##) [h] Abu Firas al-Hamdani (932): "Poems" (968) [p] Muhammad al-Muqaddasi (946): "Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Marifat il-Aqalim/ The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions" (98#) [h] Sahnun ibn Sa'id ibn Habib at-Tanukhi (95#): "Mudawwana" (9##) [h] Sahnun ibn Sa'id ibn Habib at-Tanukhi (95#): "al-Faraj bad al-shidda" (9##) Badi al-Zaman al-Hamadha-ni (968): "Maqamat" (10##) [p] Muhammad Ibn Abbad al-Mutamid (1040): "Poems" (1095) [p] Abu Ala Al-Maari (973): "Poems" (1057) [p] + Abu Muhammad Ali ibn Hazm (994): "Tawq al-hamamah/ The Dove's Neckring" (10##) [h] Abu Muhammad Ali ibn Hazm (994): "Al-Fisal fi al-Milal wa al-Nihal" (10##) [h] Ahmad ibn Zaidun (1003): "Diwan" (1070) [p] Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021) : "Keter Malkhut/ The Kingly Crown" (105x) Al-Hariri (1054): "Maqamat/ The Assemblies of al-Hariri" (10##) [p] + Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (1056): "Ihya Ulum-Id-Din/ Revival of Religious Learnings" (10##) [h] Yehudah/Judah Halevi (1075): "Kitab al-Hujjah wal-Dalil fi Nusr al-Din al-Dhalil/ Sefer ha-Kuzari" (11##) [h] Muhammad ibn Quzman (1078): "Poems" (1160) [p] Abu Bakr ibn Tofayl/ Tufail/ Tufayl (Spain, 1105): "Hayy Ibn Yaqzan/ Alive son of Awake" (1182) + Abu Ltahir Muhammad al-Saraqusti (11##): "Maqamat" (1143) [p] Ali izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir (1160): "al-Kamil fi at-Tarikh/ The Complete History" (12##) [h] Ibn Arabi (1165): "Fusus al-Hikam/ Seals of Wisdom" (12##) [h] "Sirat Antar/ The adventures of Antar" (12##) [p] Shaykh Umar ibn Al-Farid (1182): "Poems" (1235) [p] + Ahmad al-Tifashi (12##): "Nuzhat al-albab fi-ma la yujad fi kitab/ Delight of Hearts Concerning What will Never Be Found in a Book" (12##) [h] Busiri (1211): "al-Kawakib ad-Durriya fi Madh Khayr al-Bariya/ Celestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation" aka "Qasida al-Burda/ Poem of the Mantle (12##) [p] + Muhammad ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (1292): "Rawdat al-muhibbin wa-nuzhat al-mushtaqin/ Meadow of Lovers and Diversion of the Infatuated" (13##) [h] Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta (1304): "Rihla" (13##) [h] "Alf Layla wa-Layla/ The Book of One Thousand and One Nights [final collection]" (13##) + "Sirat Faris al-Yaman al- Malik Sayf Dhi Yazan/ The Adventures of Sayf" (13##) [p] Abu Zayd Abdu r-Rahman ibn Khaldun (1332): "Muqaddimah" (1378) [h] Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi (13##): "Al-rawd al-Atir fi Nuzhati'l Khatir/ The Perfumed Garden" (14##) [h] Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq (1805): "al-Saq 'ala al-saq fi ma huwa al-Faryaq/ Leg over Leg" (1855) Muhammad Taher Haki/ Tahir Haqqi (18##): "Adraa Denshawi/ Adhri Dinshawdi/ The Maiden of Dinshway" (1909) Georgy Zeidan/ Zaidan (Lebanon, 1861): " Abu Muslim Al Khorassani" (19##) Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi (Iraq, 1863): "Poems" (1936) [p] al-Muwaylihi/ al-Mahwili (Egypt, 1868): "The Hadith of Issa ibn Hisham" (1906) Ahmed Shawqi (Egypt, 1868): "Masraa Kliyubatra/ The Death of Cleopatra" (1929) [t] Ahmed Shawqi (Egypt, 1868): "Majnun Layla/ The Name of a Famous Ghazal Poet" (1931) [t] Ahmed Shawqi (Egypt, 1868): "Amirat al-Andalus/ The Spanish Princess" (1932) [t] Ahmed Shawqi (Egypt, 1868): "Nahj al-Burdah/ In the Path of Burdah" (1910) [p] + Khalil Mutran (Egypt, 1870): "Poems" (1949) [p] Hafiz Ibrahim (Egypt, 1871): "Poems" (1932) [p] Maaruf al Rusafi (Iraq, 1875): "Poems" (1945) [p] Khalil Gibran (Lebanon, 1883): "Poems" (1931) [p] Hasan Haykal/ Hussein Heikal/ Hasnin Heikhal (Egypt, 1888): "Zaynab" (1914) Taha Husain/ Taha Hussein (Egypt, 1889): "Adib/ A Man of Letters" (1935) Abbas Mahmoud el-Akkad (Egypt, 1889): "al-Abkariat" (19##) Ahmad Zaki Abu Shadi (Egypt, 1892): "Poems" (1955) [p] Mahmud Taimur (Egypt, 1894): "Nida al Maghul" (19##) Maryam "Mayy" Ziyade (Lebanon, 1895): "Poems" (1941) [p] Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Ahl al-Kahf/ The People of the Cave" (1933) [t] + Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Shahrazad/ Scheherazade" (1934) [t] Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Ughniyyat Al Mawt/ Death Song" (1950) [t] Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Al Aydi Al Na`imah/ Soft Hands" (1954) [t] Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Al Sultan Al Hair/ The Sultan Perplexed" (1960) [t] Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Al Safqah/ The Deal" (1956) [t] Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Ya Tali Al Shajarah/ The Tree Climber" (1962) [t] + Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Masir Sersar/ The Fate of a Cockroach" (1966) [t] Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt, 1898): "Bank Al Qalaq/ Anxiety Bank" (1967) [t] Abou-Al-kacem Echebbi/ Abu Al Qassim Al Shabbi (Tunisia, 1909): "Poems" (1934) [p] Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt, 1911): "Zuqaq al-Midaqq/ Midaq Alley" (1947) Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt, 1911): "Bayn al-Qasrayn/ Palace Walk" (1956) + Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt, 1911): "Awlad Haratina/ Children of Gabalawi" (1959) + Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt, 1911): "Thartharah fawq al-Nil/ Chitchat on the Nile" (1966) Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt, 1911): "Miramar" (1967) + Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt, 1911): "Hikaayaat Haretna/ Tales of Our Quarter/ Fountain and Tomb" (1988) Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad (Lebanon, 1911): "Death in Beirut" (1972) Nazik Al-Malaika (Iraq, 1922): "Qararat al-Mawja/ Bottom of the Wave" (1957) [p] Nazik Al-Malaika (Iraq, 1922): "Tree of the Moon" (1968) [p] + izar Tawfiq Kabbani (Syria, 1923): "Poems" (1998) [p] Abdal-Wahhab/Abdul Wahab al-Bayati (Iraq, 1926): "Abariq Muhashshama/ Broken Pitchers" (1954) [p] Abdal-Wahhab/Abdul Wahab al-Bayati (Iraq, 1926): "Sifr Al-faqr wa al-Thawra" (1965) [p] + Abdal-Wahhab/Abdul Wahab al-Bayati (Iraq, 1926): "Poems" (1999) [p] Badr Shakir al-Sayyab (Iraq, 1926): "Rain Song" (1960) [p] + Yusuf Idris (Egypt, 1927): "Al-Haram/ The Sin" (1959) Al-Tayyib Salih (Sudan, 1929): "Season of Migration to the North" (1966) + Al-Tayyib Salih (Sudan, 1929): "Urs al-Zayn/ The Wedding of Zein" (1969) Ali Ahmad "Adonis" Said (Syria, 1930): "Afghani Mihyar ad-Dimashqi/ Songs of Mihyar the Damascene" (1961) [p] + Ali Ahmad "Adonis" Said (Syria, 1930): "Mufrad bi-Sighat al-Jam/ Singular in the Plural Form" (1975) [p] ++ Ali Ahmad "Adonis" Said (Syria, 1930): "Desire Moving Through Maps of Matter" (1987) [p] Ali Ahmad "Adonis" Said (Syria, 1930): "The Pages of Day and Night " (1994) [p] Ali Ahmad "Adonis" Said (Syria, 1930): "al-Kitab/ The Book" (2002) [p] + Ali Ahmad "Adonis" Said (Syria, 1930): "Tanaba/ Prophesy" (2003) [p] Zakaria Tamer (Syria, 1931): "The Neighing of the White Steed" (1960) Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt, 1931): "Emra'a Enda Noktat el Sifr/ Woman at Point Zero" (1975) Abdul Rahman Munif (Iraq, 1933): "Mudun al-Milh/ Cities of Salt" (1989) + Muthaffar Al Nawab (Iraq, 1934): "The Rail and Hamad" (1969) [p] Mohamed Choukri (Morocco, 1935) "Al Khubz al-Hafi/ For Bread Alone" (1972) + Mohamed Choukri (Morocco, 1935) "Zaman Al- Akhtaa aw Al-Shuttar/ Time of Mistakes or the Streetwise" (1992) Ghassan Kanafani (Palestine, 1936): "Rijal Fish-shams/ Men in the Sun" (1963) Sonallah Ibrahim (Egypt, 1937): "Tilka al-ra'ihah/ The Smell of It" (1966) Sonallah Ibrahim (Egypt, 1937): "Al-Lajnah/ The Committee" (1981) Sonallah Ibrahim (Egypt, 1937): "Dhat/ Zaat" (1992) Mohammed Khair-Eddine (Morocco, 1941): "Soleil Arachnide" (1969) [p] Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine, 1941): "Uhibbuki aw la Uhibbuki/ I love you I love you not" (1972) [p] Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine, 1941): "al-Nasheed al-jasadi/ The Music of Human Flesh" (1980) [p] + Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine, 1941): "Ahad 'asher kaukaban/ Eleven Planets At The End Of The Andalusian Scene" (1992) [p] + Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine, 1941): "Ward aqall/ Fewer Roses" (1986) [p] Saadallah Wannous (Syria, 1941): "An Evening's Entertainment for the Fifth of June" (1967) [t] Saadallah Wannous (Syria, 1941): "The Adventure of the Head of Mamlouk Jaber" (1970) [t] + Hanan al-Shaykh (Lebanon, 1945): "Misk al-ghazal/ Women of Sand and Myrrh" (1989) Elias Khoury (Lebanon, 1948): "al-Jabal al-Saghir/ Little Mountain" (1977) Elias Khoury (Lebanon, 1948): "Abwab al-Madinah/ The Gates of the City" (1981) + Elias Khoury (Lebanon, 1948): "Bab Al-Shams" (1998) Ibrahim Al-Koni/Kuni (Libya, 1948): "al-Tibr/ Gold Dust" (1990) Ibrahim Al-Koni/Kuni (Libya, 1948): "Anubis" (2002) + Hoda Barakat (Lebanon, 1952): "The Tiller of Waters" (2000) + Hoda Barakat (Lebanon, 1952): "Hajar al-Dahik/ The Stone of Laughter" (1990) Hoda Barakat (Lebanon, 1952): "Ahl el-Hawa/ People of Love" (1993) Ahlam Mosteghanemi (Algeria, 1953): "Memory in the Flesh" (1998) Nouri al-Jarrah (Syria, 1956): "The Boy" (1982) [p] Alaa al Aswani (Egypt, 1957): "Imarat Yaacoubian/ The Yacoubian Building" (2002) Khaled Khalifa (Syria, 1964): "Madih al-Karahiya/ In Praise of Hatred" (2006) + Khaled Khalifa (Syria, 1964): "Al-mawt 'Amal Shaq/ Death Is Hard Work" (2016) Khaled Khalifa (Syria, 1964): "Lam Yusil 'Alayhum Ahad/ No-one Prayed Over Their Graves" (2019) Iman Mersal (Egypt, 1966): "Mamarr mu'tim yasluh lita'allum al-raqs/ A Dark Alley Suitable for Dance Lessons" (1995) [p] Iman Mersal (Egypt, 1966): "al-Mashy Atwal Waqt Mumkin/ Walking as Long as Possible" (1997) [p] Iman Mersal (Egypt, 1966): "Jughrafiya Badila/ Alternative Geography" (2006) [p] + Adania Shibli (Palestine, 1974): "Minor Detail" (2020) Jokha al-Harthi (Oman, 1978): "Sayyidat el-Qamar/ Celestial Bodies" (2011) + Rajaa al-Sanei (Saudi Arabia, 1981): "The Girls of Riyadh" (2005) Dima Wannous (Syria, 1982): "Kursi/ The Chair" (2008) Dima Wannous (Syria, 1982): "Khaifoun/ The Frightened Ones" (2017) TM, ®, Copyright © 2006 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved.