Arabic literature

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Read Next

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

poem. A poet in a Heian period kimono writes Japanese poetry during the Kamo Kyokusui No En Ancient Festival at Jonan-gu shrine on April 29, 2013 in Kyoto, Japan. Festival of Kyokusui-no Utage orignated in 1,182, party Heian era (794-1192).

World Poetry Day

Discover

Adolf Hitler (Nazi, nazism, German leader).

9 Things You Might Not Know About Adolf Hitler

The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses

African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.

Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Young boys working in a thread spinning mill in Macon, Georgia, 1909. Boys are so small they have to climb onto the spinning frame to reach and fix broken threads and put back empty bobbins. Child labor. Industrial revolution

The Rise of the Machines: Pros and Cons of the Industrial Revolution

Eid al-Fitr

Solar Eclipse, Eclipse, Solar Flare, Outer Space, Astronomy

What Causes Lunar and Solar Eclipses?

Arts & Culture

Arabic literature

Written by Roger M.A. Allen

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

world distribution of Islam

See all media

Category: Arts & Culture

Key People:: Ibn al-ʿArabī; al-Ghazālī; Ameen Rihani; Naguib Mahfouz; Mahmoud Darwish

Related Topics:: qaṣīdah; rāwī; ghazal; Arabic literary renaissance; mas̄navī

See all related content →

Arabic literature, the body of written works produced in the Arabic language. The tradition of Arabic literature stretches back some 16 centuries to unrecorded beginnings in the Arabian Peninsula. At certain points in the development of European civilization, the literary culture of Islam and its Arabic medium of expression came to be regarded not only as models for emulation but also, through vital conduits such as Moorish Spain and Norman Sicily, as direct sources of inspiration for the intellectual communities of Europe. The rapid spread of the Islamic faith brought the original literary tradition of the Arabian Peninsula into contact ...(100 of 18772 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.