Classical Arabic Literature Podcast

Al-Mutanabbi

Al-Mutanabbi was born in Kufa in 915 CE, and packed his 50 years of life with politics, religion and poetry. Al-Mutanabbī’s career saw him travel from Kufa to Baghdad, Syria, Egypt and Iran as he sought patronage at the courts of warlords and potentates or service in the retinue of local elites and bureaucrats, and he also spent time in the deserts of Iraq. He died at the hand of bandits in 965 CE.

Kalilah wa Dimnah

Kalilah wa Dimnah is a foundational work in Classical Arabic Literature despite the fact it was originally composed in Sanskrit, making its way through Middle Persian and Syriac to be translated into Arabic in the middle of the 8th century CE. At the heart of the book are the discussions between the two jackals of the title, Kalilah and Dimnah, who tell tales within tales with moral and political lessons, involving animal leaders and their advisors discussing and illustrating the consequences of actions and decisions.

Abu Nuwas

Abu Nuwas was born around 756 CE and died in 815, after a long and colourful career as a poet, travelling around the Muslim world in search of patronage. His work was as varied as his fortunes, and he has left behind poetry on love and hunting, praise and invective, asceticism and - perhaps most famously - wine.

The Quran

The Qur’an is the foundational text of Islam. It remains a reference point for the Arabic language, still referred to for questions of grammar. It is a source for law, politics, war and peace. It contains guidance on social norms such as gender roles and social behaviour, and knowledge from mathematics and astronomy to biology. It has been an artistic resource inspiring centuries of reciters and calligraphers. This is all on top of its central position in the devotional practice of Islam – believers study the Quran, with many throughout history memorising it in its entirety as a key part of their education. But what is of particular in this podcast, dedicated to Classical Arabic Literature, is the Quran as a literary work.

Hayy Ibn Yaqzan

Al-Andalus of the 12th century was a tumultuous time politically, and a rich time intellectually. One of our major sources for the intellectual currents of the day was Hayy ibn Yaqzan, written by the physician Ibn Tufayl, an allegorical tale which proved enduringly popular through centuries, languages and cultures. It tells the story of a boy growing up in complete solitude on a deserted island, learning through experience about the world, entirely on his own, without guidance or texts, and thereby discovering the laws of nature and spirituality. By means of this frame, Ibn Tufayl introduces a series of philosophical, medical, moral and spiritual themes, many discussed in this episode. Reading: Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan: A Philosophical Tale. Translated, with an introduction and notes, by Lenn E. Goodman https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo25938805.html [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo25938805.html]