RESOURCES OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE

AND LITERATURE

Gabriel Oussani, D. D.

The Arabic tongue, although in its historical career and literary development one of the latest of the Semitic languages is, nevertheless, on account of its comparatively archaic character, its richness, and theprodigious literature it has produced, justly considered to be not only the most important of the Semitic tongues, but also among the fore-most human languages in general. Its grammar is remarkably scientific, logical, and rich in forms; its syntax is most elaborate, and the beauty and harmony of the language are as captivating as its poetry is original and charming. The Arabic vocabulary is extravagantly rich, and the enormous Arabic literature, covering almost every branch of human science, sacred and profane, is so bewildering that it has hardly been surpassed or even equalled in any other language, ancient or modern. A large amount of this literature, comprising thousands of volumes, has already been published, and some of it translated, in the East and in the West; but by far the greater part has been either entirely lost, or still lies in manuscript form in hundreds of private and public libraries, collections, museums and mosques in Asia, Egypt Europe, and America.

The boundless vocabulary and wealth of synonyms of the Arabiclanguage is proverbial. We are told, for example, that an Arab philologist wrote a book on the 500 names given to the "lion;" another gives 200 words for "serpent," Firuzabadi, the Arabian Webster, is said to have written a sort of supplement on the words for "honey" and to have left it incomplete at the eightieth word; we are also told that there are over 1,000 different terms in Arabic for "sword." The well known German scholar De Hammer Purgstall wrote a book on thedifferent Arabic words for "camel" and found them to be not less. than 7544. An Arabic lexicographer claimed that the vocabulary of Arabic contains 12,305,412 words (?). Apart from these exaggerations, and considering the fact that the majority of the so-called Arabic "synonyms" were originally adjectives or epithets, dialect-forms and poetical contortions, it must still be admitted that in richness of diction.

Arabic is without a peer in any langauge. The importance of Arabic for the comparative study of Semitic grammar and philology is as great as that of Sanscrit for Indo-European philology. It has preserved many of the primitive Semitic forms of speech which have either completely or partially disappeared from its sister languages; and while it is not altogether safe to affirm that Arabic, in its classical form,. represents the nearest possible approach to primitive Semitic speech, still on the whole it has preserved more of the features and forms of that. primitive speech than either Assyrian, Canaanitish, or Aramaic. Its value for the study of Hebrew and the Old Testament in general is so evident that it scarcely needs to be insisted upon.

As a literary language Arabic does not date farther back than the 5th or 6th century of the Christian Era, and the earlier history of this. important branch of Semitic speech is involved in much obscurity. In fact, until the discovery of the so-called South-Arabian inscriptions, little or nothing was known in regard to it. From these and other inscriptions it clearly appears that the Arabs of North and South Arabia had reduced their language to writing at a much earlier time than was. formerly supposed, some of the southern inscriptions dating from the 10th century B. C. The North-Arabian or so-called Thamudic inscriptions, thus far discovered, are comparatively few and of littleimportance. Those found in N. W. Arabic, or Safa, (hence called Safaic) are greater in number; but those discovered in Southern Arabia, mainly by the Austrian traveler, Edward Glaser, are much more numerous and are of considerable historical and linguistic importance. These exhibit four principal dialects. Minnean, Sabean, Hadramautic, and Catabanian. Although the two latter are at present repre ented by very few texts, their dialectic peculiarities are quite clearly marked and it can be asserted that both the Hadramautic and Catabanian are more closely related to the Minnean than to the Sabean. The Minnean and the Sabean dialects, of which numerous monuments exist, exhibit strongly marked differences in regard to grammer and vocabulary. These differences can be explained, at least in part, on the ground of the greater age of the Minnean as compared with the Sabean. It is also to be noted that, while the grammatical peculiarities of the Minean point to an older period of linguistic development, the vocabulary of Sabean is more closely related to that of classical Arabic. As is the case with all Semitic systems of writing, except the AssyroBabylonian, the South Arabian alphabet does not represent the vowels,

and, therefore, a detailed knowledge of the forms of these dialects is rendered difficult.

All at once, in the 6th century of the Christian Era, we meet with a perfectly developed Arabic language, surprisingly rich in forms and vocabulary, and by reason of its extreme flexibility, singularly adapted to the requirements of poetic composition. This phenomenon, which has no parallel in any other language, cannot be accounted for as a spontaneous and sudden transformation. It must have been the result of a gradual development, extending over a very long time. 'The period embracing the 6th and 7th centuries of our Era, marks the real golden age of Arabic poetry; all subsequent poetical productions are imitations of these admirable ante-Islamic models.

But it is an error, as Noldeke has already pointed out, to suppose that the language of the ancient Arabic poets was the language of ordinary life; still less does the Koran exhibit the language in its spoken form. Ancient Arabic poetry is marked throughout by a certain tendency to artificiality and mannerism, and in order to obtain an idea of the ordinary language of the ancient Bedouins, we must have recourse to the prose of the ancient traditions (Hadiths), the genuine accounts of the deeds of the Prophet and of his companions, and the stories concerning the battles and adventures of the Bedouins in the heathenish period and in the earlier days of Islam. The formation of this "dialectus poetica," in which only poetical compositions were written, and in which purer forms were used and colloquial expressions were avoided, marks a noble effort and a splendid achievement on the part of the ante-Islamic Arabs, and is mainly due to their frequent yearly gatherings in certain public places or markets, of which the fair of 'Ukad was the most famous. This fair was not only a great market open annually to all the tribes of Arabia, it was also a sort of literary gathering whither the warrior poets resorted to celebrate their exploits in rhyming verses, and peacefully to contend for the prize. It was at these gatherings that the various dialects of Arabia became fused into a literary language, the language of poetry which afterwards became the standard dialect now known as classical Arabic.

Furthermore, at the time of the Prophet, the dialect of the tribe of Koraish, which had already acquired a certain supremacy, was fixed by the Koran as the future literary language of the whole nation. Had it not been for this circumstance, we might have known Arabic in the form of half a dozen languages, differing from one another almost as

widely as the modern languages of northern India or the members of the Romance group.

From the time of Mohammed down to our own days Arabic, as a literary and as a spoken language, has continued to hold an almost absolute supremacy over all Western Asia. As a spoken language,. it is very difficult to define its boundaries. In certain countries,. Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia it holds exclusive sway; in others, like Tunis, Algeria, Morocco, and many other Berber states and tribes, it is the tongue most commonly used. It is also spoken in Malta, in certain towns of Persia and India, by about fifteen different. tribes of Northeastern and Northwestern Africa, in some parts of the Sahara, and even by some tribes in Southern and in Equatorial Africa. These various Arabic dialects are not only very different from classical Arabic, but they also differ from each other as much as the various Romance languages; and, consequently, men from Mesopotamia, Morocco, and the interior of Arabia for example, understand one another with difficulty, if indeed at all.

Native Arabic writers divide the history of their literature into two periods; the pre-Islamic and post-Islamic; the first covering the period preceding Islam, the second extending from the time of Mo-hammad (VII century, A. D.) down to our own day.

This division, based merely on an irrelevant religious event, is unsatisfactory; but for our present purpose it can safely be adopted. The literary productions of the first period, the real golden age of Arabic poetry, consist exclusively of poetical compositions, in which the language is pure, the diction elegant, the imagery original and striking, and the art of versifying and rhythm unsurpassed.

Ante-Islamic, or better, ancient Arabic poetry has come down to us in several later collections; principal among them are: (1) The Seven Mu'allakat or "Hanging Poems," so called according to Moslim tradition, from the fact that on account of their excellence, they were hung up in some public temple, but in all probability the word means simply "Poems written on parchment." They were collected by Al-Hammad (VIII century A. D.), and attributed to the poets Imru'ul, Quais, Tarafa, Zoheyr, Lebid, 'Amr ibn Kulthum, Harith ibn Hillizal and 'Antara respectively, (according to some, the last two poets should be Nabigha and Al A'sha instead); (2) The "Mufaddaliyyat" poems, collected by Al-Mufaddal, about the VIII, century A. D.; (3) AlHamasa poems collected by the poet Abu-Tammam of the IX century A. D.; (4) The Hudailite poems, attributed to several poets of the

Hudail tribe, S. W. of Mecca, and collected about the IX century, A. D.; (5) The Giamharat Ash'ar ul 'Arab, (IX-X centuries A. D.); (6) The famous Kitab ul Aghani i. e. "the Book of Songs," collected by Abul Faraj of Isfahan, and consisting of 21 volumes; and finally (7) a few other collections of lesser extent and value and of doubtful origin. The main topic of these numerous poetical compositions are wars, razzias, tribal and personal vendettas, personal bravery, love, woman and wine. The most illustrious of the poets of this period, besides the nine mentioned above, are 'Alqama, Muhalhil, Ta'-abbata— Sharran, Shanfara, 'Urwa ibn al Ward, Dhu'l Asba'al 'Adwani, 'Abid ibn al Abras, Hatim of Tay, 'Umayya ibn abul-Salt, Ka'b ibn Zuhair, the poetess Al Khansa, famous for her elegies, and many others, some of whom like Samau'al (Samuel), 'Adi ibn Zaid and others were either Jews or Christians. These two religious sects, as we know, had already :some flourishing settlements in Yemen, Ghassan, Hira, and other parts of Arabia. But the thesis lately advanced by the Jesuit scholar, L. Sheikho, of the Catholic University of Beirut, Syria, viz. that the majority of these ancient Arabian poets were Christians, has met with little support from occidental scholars.

The second period properly begins with the "Koran" and the Hadiths or "oral traditions," covering Mohammed's life and deeds and those of his companions.

In this second period of the history of Arabic literature three distinct epochs are to be distinguished: (1) The "Umayyad period," running from the extinction of the Medina Caliphate and the successful revolt of Moawiya, down to the establishment of the Abbaside Caliphate, i e., from 660 to 750 A. D.; (2) the "Abbaside period," running from the establishment of the Abbaside Caliphate to the fall of Bagdad and the overthrow of the Abbaside dynasty by the hands of the Mongols, i. e., from 750 to 1258 A. D.; (3) the "Osmanli" or "modern period," which carries us down to the present time.

During the Umayyad period, in which Islam for the first time came into contact with the Graeco-Syrian world and civilization, Arabic literature is mainly represented by several poets, some of whom rank among the best. Such are the Christian poet, Al-Akhtal, of the tribe of Taghlib, who became court-poet of the Umayyads in Damascus (A. D. 710), and who is looked upon by the majority of Arabic literateurs as the greatest post-Islamic poet; Farazdaq, of the tribe of Tamim (641-728), famous for his satires; Jarir, of Yamama, the favorite poet of his time (A. D. 728), Kuthayyir of Hijaz; Dhul