Arabic Literature: The Great Books of Adab

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What the word adab covers

In classical Arabic, adab does not mean "literature" in the modern sense but the culture of the cultivated man: what one must have read, be able to quote and know how to say in order to hold one's place. Hence the particular form of these books, which mix verse, anecdote, oratory, letters and points of language in a single volume. Reading them means entering the language through usage, after entering it through rule. That is why adab comes at the end of the course: it presupposes nahw, sarf and part of balagha.

The pillars of the classical tradition

Al-Jahiz: Al-Bayan wa al-tabyin, a summa on eloquence and speech, and Al-Bukhala on misers, where social observation carries the narrative. The liveliest prose of the third century AH.
Al-Mubarrad: Al-Kamil fi al-lugha wa al-adab, a commented collection of verse, speeches and reports, long studied as a textbook.
Ibn Qutayba: Adab al-katib, written for the chancery secretary, and 'Uyun al-akhbar, arranged by theme.
Ibn Abd Rabbih: Al-'Iqd al-farid, the great Andalusian anthology in twenty-five "books".
Al-Qali: Al-Amali, dictations transmitted in sessions, the model of the genre.
Al-Isfahani: Al-Aghani, a monument preserving poems, their authors and the circumstances of their composition together.

The maqamat and artistic prose

The maqama is a distinctly Arabic genre: a short narrative in rhymed prose (saj'), built around a narrator and a silver-tongued hero, conceived as a display of lexical virtuosity. Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani invented it; al-Hariri brought it to its peak with his fifty maqamat, a text so dense that it is only usefully read with a commentary. Alongside it, artistic prose includes epistles, treatises on style and, in a class of its own, Risalat al-ghufran by Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri. To these should be added Kalila wa Dimna, adapted from Pahlavi by Ibn al-Muqaffa': animal fables that became one of the first models of clear Arabic prose.

The modern age

The Nahda produced a new prose, more direct yet classical in language: Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafi'i and his Wahy al-qalam, Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti, then Taha Husayn, whose Al-Ayyam has become the reading text par excellence for the advanced learner. This is often where non-native speakers enter Arabic literature: short sentences, accessible lexicon, and the register stays high.

Where to start, by level

After two years of Arabic: Kalila wa Dimna in a vowelled edition, then Nahda prose.
Solid intermediate: Al-Bukhala, thematic anthologies, annotated selected texts.
Advanced: Al-Bayan wa al-tabyin, Al-Kamil, al-Hariri's maqamat with commentary.

The other language sciences

Adab is read after the tools: Arabic grammar (nahw) and morphology (sarf) to hold the sentence, rhetoric and eloquence (balagha) to appreciate the style of al-Jahiz or al-Hariri. And since half of these compendia consists of verse, Arabic poetry is their direct complement. Overview: Arabic.

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What exactly does the word adab cover?

In the classical tradition, adab is not literature in the modern sense but the culture of the cultivated man: what one must have read and be able to quote. Hence the form of these books, mixing verse, anecdote, oratory and points of language in a single volume.

What level is needed to read these works?

It depends on the title, and the gap is wide. Kalila wa Dimna in a vowelled edition is accessible after two years of serious Arabic; Al-Bukhala requires a solid intermediate level; al-Hariri's maqamat and Al-Bayan wa al-tabyin are advanced texts. The level is stated on every listing.

What is a maqama?

A short narrative in rhymed prose, built around a narrator and a silver-tongued hero, conceived as a display of lexical virtuosity. Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani invented the genre and al-Hariri brought it to its peak with fifty maqamat. The text is so dense that it is only usefully read with a commentary.

Should I read classical adab before modern prose?

No, the reverse works better. Nahda prose — al-Rafi'i, al-Manfaluti, Taha Husayn — keeps a high register with shorter sentences and a more accessible lexicon: that is the comfortable way in, before going back up to al-Jahiz and the maqamat.

Are these religious books?

They are works of language and literary culture, not of religious sciences. They have a place in a classical curriculum because they train the language in which religious texts are written, but their subject is different. The Islamic sciences sections are separate.

Do you stock verified editions?

Yes, and it matters particularly for classical adab, whose texts circulate in very uneven versions. Every listing states the publisher, the name of the scholar who established the text where there is one, the presence of notes and the print quality.

Arabic Literature