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ARABIC literature, PALESTINIAN poets, POSTMODERNISM (Literature), POSTCOLONIALISM, and PALESTINE

This article responds to the relative neglect of reading Mahmoud Darwish from a postmodern perspective. Inspired by postmodern theory, we suggest that Darwish after Oslo agreements in 1993 seeks to have a displaced and dialectical encounter with the collective identity; he utilizes a transition from being into becoming, from filiation into affiliation, knowing that this transition mirrors rifts, ruptures, and fractures in the Palestinian historical and geopolitical conditions in the post-Oslo era. By looking at poems written after the Oslo Accords, which were described by Bashir Abu-Manneh as "the root cause of the disintegration and liquidation of Palestinian agency," we argue that Darwish's persona manifests the postmodern intellectual who is tempted to leave the collective and expatriate himself to hone an independent self and thought that provides a fresh perspective and a new understanding of Palestinian collectivity. While Darwish's pre-Oslo poetry expressed a collective voice, identification, and commitment to the national narrative, after Oslo, he gets more personal and, perhaps, detached from and critical of the nationalist political entities and narratives. Building on theoretical insights from both postcolonial and postmodern intellectuals, we also articulate ways in which the dialectical relation between postcolonialism and postmodernism appears in Darwish's poetry. We find that the persona at times combines, and at other times, fluctuates between, singularity and multiplicity, certainty and suspicion, the collective and the personal, place and space, tradition and innovation, while seeking revision, transition, contingency, dynamism, fluidity in the contemporary, post-Oslo time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vowels, Reading, Semitic languages, Arabic literature, and Literature reviews

The purpose of the present review is to examine the studies that tested the role of short vowels in reading Arabic. Most of the studies are reviewed in this paper and two contradicted data are presented: data that support positive contribution of short vowels in reading Arabic, and the other data that reject the assumption that short vowels contribute to the quality of reading, and suggest that these short vowels do not add any positive contribution and maybe the opposite; short vowels hinder reading in Arabic orthography. The results are criticized indicating some methodological problems and suggestions for further studies are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ARABIC literature, MIDDLE Eastern literature, CHILDREN'S literature, and LITERARY prizes

This study explores the impact of the political uprisings in the Middle East, known as the Arab Spring, on Arabic YA literary books. It is based on a content analysis of the Etisalat Book Award's shortlisted entries for the period 2012–2016. It is argued that both children's and YA literature of the Arab World subsequently became more open about discussing political and social events. While it could be argued that warfare and political instability have proved fruitful in providing material for stories, generally this fiction represents an optimistic trend, advocating peace as a healthy alternative to war. The findings of this article should enable all those interested in both children's and YA literature to discover more authentic, literary, Arabic YA books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humanities and the Arts, Languages and Literature, Specific Literatures, Humaniora och konst, Språk och litteratur, Litteraturstudier, Ecocriticism, ecological literacy, eco-literacy, Arabic literature, Egypt, the Nile, Literature, and Litteraturvetenskap

This article explores a way in which an urban society in the Arab world may respond to an ecosystem by acquiring a measure of ecological literacy (eco-literacy) in a short story by an Egyptian author. Guided by David W. Orr’s concept of ecological literacy (1992) and eco-literacy (Amy Cutter Mackenzie and Richard Smith, 2003) we observe in which way this short story expresses awareness of ecological interrelatedness and an attitude of care and stewardship towards nature. With Christopher Manes (1996) and Don Kulick (1917) we  argue that an environmental ethics which speaks on the behalf of nature and empathetic engagement with life beyond the human emerge.

RELIGION & science, ARABIC literature, MIRACLES (Islam), and HERMENEUTICS

ARABIC literature, COLLECTORS & collecting, COLLECTIONS, and HADITH

The study of ḥadīth scholarship, even if concentrating ḥadīth corpus, or even extracting the transmission of ḥadīth collections, has faced growing criticism. Many scholars of ḥadīth have no lack of confidence about the preservation of ḥadīth collections, while others have thoughtfully been sceptical. The discussion of the “authenticity” of authorship of ḥadīth collections, Arabic literature furnishes with a chain of transmitters for texts made about the past. Alongside both famous Ṣaḥīḥayn of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, Ibn Ḥibbān al-Bustī (d. 354/965) - a scholar from Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan - compiled at least one gigantic ḥadīth collection usually regarded as the last collection of this ‘Ṣaḥīḥ movement’. Among the eighty-plus works that Ibn Ḥibbān’s biographers say he wrote is his famous ḥadīth collection named “al- Musnad al-Ṣaḥīḥ ʿalā al-Taqāsim wa al-Anwāʿ min ghayr wujūd qaṭʿ fī sanadihā walā thubūt jarḥ fī nāqilīhā.” The Ṣaḥīḥ, like the many existing ḥadīth compilations, was handed down to succeeding generations by chains of authority. What follows is an explanatory study of the transmission of Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān in post-hadith compilation literatures to which his fame is principally due. A library-based research which focuses on descriptive analytical method is used in this study. This study also aims to examine some conceptual grounds for the exploration by looking into the literary dimension of hadith literatures. Explaining the transmission of Ibn Ḥibbān’s Ṣaḥīḥ is demanding despite his noble status which is required in recognizing that the early and canonical ḥadīth collection was very limited in dissemination. Conclusion of this study notes that the availability of transmission is central for the assessment of the well-preserved book and the role of isnād and certain ḥadīth literatures are vital in transmitting and preserving the Ṣaḥīḥ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CHRONOLOGY, ARABIC literature, INTELLECTUAL history, ABBASIDS, and ARCHIVES

The contributions to this Special Issue of the Journal of Abbasid Studies show that the later third/ninth to the early fifth/eleventh century witnessed the output of a variety of voluminous books, not only in the Arabic-Islamic tradition, but in chronologically parallel cultures as well. For an overall understanding of the writerly culture of the era, further exploration of the organisation of information and the development of tools to locate data is called for. My epilogue offers a step in this direction against the backdrop of fourth/tenth-century caliphal administration and the organisation of archives on the one hand, and a comparison with the later and much more studied Mamluk writerly culture on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ARABIC literature, PATRIOTISM, and SOCIAL reality

Tawifq Al-Hakim is one of the most prominent Egyptian luminary and a visionary writer who has left his creative mark in modern Arab literature particularly in the field of theater as he plays the most prominent role as the sole founder of this field in which his influence is continued to this day. In his prolific literary works he deals with many themes that reflect the political and social reality of Egypt and show special interest in developing patriotism supporting the principles of justice, equality, freedom and consolidating democracy. One of Al-Hakim literary innovation (which strengthens his literary standing) is embodied in his inspiration for the themes of his many plays from the heritage of Egypt in its different eras. Thus, his play Al Sultan Al-Hair (The Sultan's Dilemma) is inspired by the popular history of the fifteenth century during the Mamluk Sultans era. The protagonist of the play, the Sultan, is put in a very critical situation that requires him to solve the biggest crises that encounters his reign by choosing one of the two suggestions to overcome it. The problem lies in the burden entailed by his choice and that he must bear on his own. He has to choose between applying the law which means being sold in a public auction (the Chief Cadi's suggestion) or relying on power and terrorizing the people (the Vizier's suggestion). The paper sheds light on the conflict between the law and power, the justifications provided by each party, the rational for the Sultan's preference for one of them and the consequences of his performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CAIRO Genizah, ARABIC literature, ISLAMIC apologetics, and GENIZAH

The Cairo genizot (plural of Geniza) provide not only new Arabic literary texts but also new contexts. This study explores different kinds of context by presenting several examples of Arabic literary material found mostly in the Ben Ezra Geniza (BEG). The examples include three tales that also appear in the Arabian Nights literature, a Judeo-Arabic fragment of a Šīʿī kitāb al-ğafr , a Muslim historical work dealing with Muḥammad's letters to foreign rulers, a playful romantic polemical exchange between a Jewish man and a Christian woman and more. Thinking about different kinds of context is one of the ways to reconnect the study of the documentary and the literary genizot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ARABIC literature, ARTISTIC creation, LITERARY form, SPACETIME, and ETHICS

Keywords: The Qur'an; Hadith; "ShamayiliMuhammadiya"; "Siyrat-an-nabi"; the Seer; the Shabeel; the Maqam; the Compassionate; perfect; "Khamsatul -- mutahayyirin"; "Holoti Sayyid Hasan Ardasher"; "HolotiPahlavan Muhammad"; teaching; wisdom; narrative; virtue; labor; rest; body; spirit; ability; intelligence; knowledge; need; craftsman; owner; worthy; time; wrestler; wrestling; oriental; trend; friend; coach; music; theory; practice; mature; scholar; melody; ghazal; classification; instrument; talent; voice; charm; fan; mind; sympathy; disposition; eagerness; learning; description; hero; word; art; sphere; perfection; person; knowledgeable; harmonious; human; heart; purity; nerves; calm; taste; goodness; life; love; thinker; poetry; writing; fluency; seriousness; prose; theme; subtle; singer; musician; dervish; Sufi; admiration; scene; fame; creation; status; new; pattern; quotation; cultural; educational; environment; mysticism; beautiful; character; ideas; interpretation; poet; consciousness; emotion; influence; certainty; property; Khurasan; Samarkand; Iraq; folk; soul; beauty; thirst; wave; Mawlano Tuti; logic; youth; dream; state; breath; progress; zeal; courage; understanding; skill; genealogy; documentation; criteria; problem; complexity; genre; discussion; society; animals; herbs It is true that the works on which our discussion is based contain valuable information on the biography and creativity of NuriddinAbdurahman Jami, Sayyid Hasan Ardasher, Pahlavan Muhammad, and they also play an important role in the memoirs of the author. Alisher has always viewed his personality as "poor", "hokeyvashufarumoya", "particle-hugging", "godly and careless cook", "poor businessman", "poor business" Navoi did not pencil to write his autobiography in the works of "Hamsatulmutahayirin", "Holoti Sayyid Hasan Ardasher", "HolotiPahlavon Muhammad". [Extracted from the article]

littérature arabe (XXe et XXIe siècles), autofiction, Égypte, Occident, identité, décentrement, savoir, représentation, Arabic literature (20th and 21st centuries), Egypt, West, identity, decentralisation, knowledge, and representation

Cet article porte sur l’occidentalisme dans Amrikanli, un automne à San Francisco, publié au Caire en 2003, et traduit en français en 2005. L’écrivain Sonallah Ibrahim y montre comment le déplacement peut conduire à une sorte de dislocation dans le langage et l’être. La confrontation avec l’espace américain amène le héros/narrateur, un professeur égyptien d’Histoire invité dans une université californienne, à remettre en question les représentations de soi et de l’autre, et à examiner la production des savoirs en Occident et dans le champ arabe.
This article focuses on Westernism in Amrikanli, an autumn in San Francisco, published in Cairo in 2003, and translated into French in 2005. The writer Sonallah Ibrahim shows how displacement can lead to a kind of dislocation in language and being. The confrontation with the American space leads the hero/narrator, an Egyptian professor of History invited to a Californian university, to criticize the representations of self and of other people, and to examine the production of knowledge in the West and in the Arab field.

ROYAL houses, PHYSICIANS, and ARABIC literature

This article discusses the phenomenon of dynasties of Jewish physicians in the Late Middle Ages in Egypt and Syria. Based on Muslim Arabic historiographical literature on the one hand, and Jewish sources such as Genizah documents on the other, this paper reconstructs fourteen dynasties of Jewish physicians that were active in the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517). Examination of the families reveals that the most distinguished dynasties of court physicians were of Jewish origin, and had to convert to Islam during the Mamluk period. Moreover, the office of the "Head of the Physicians" was occupied mainly by members of these convert Jewish dynasties. This situation stands in stark contrast to the pre-Mamluk period, in which dynasties of unconverted Jewish court physicians flourished. However, Jewish sources reveal that dynasties of doctors who were also communal leaders continued to be active also during the Mamluk period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ARABIC literature, AESTHETICS, ENGLISH language, and TRANSLATIONS

This essay examines Richard Francis Burton's The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (1885–1888), an English translation of the Arabic Alf Laylah wa-Laylah stories that was enormously popular in its own time and continues to be widely admired today – despite the fact that Burton plagiarized extensively from the work of another translator. I argue that Burton's Nights is neither a faithful nor an original translation of the Arabic stories, but rather an English text whose aesthetic enjoyment is proffered as an affective engagement with the literary aesthetics of the source text, translated through Burton's own pleasurable experiences of Arabic literary language. Framing the reception of Burton's Nights , through the Arabic concept of ṭarab , as a process of iterative cycles of pleasure that move between the translator and his readers, I contend that what makes Burton's Nights enjoyable to read also makes it scandalous to the world literary system within which it has circulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]