By The Arabic School
Adab is the literature of the Arabic language, its poetry and prose. It is where every science of Arabic is put to use, and where a reader grows from understanding sentences to enjoying them.
Knowledge, not a science
Classical scholars counted Adab as knowledge rather than a science, because it has no fixed rules and no one can exhaust it. It is gained by reading and memorising. Its fruits are good character, from which it takes its name, the power to compose verse and prose, enjoyment, and the ability to quote the right line at the right moment.
The four stages
Stage 1
Main reading: Mufīd uṭ-Ṭālibīn, an anthology of short Arabic prose for students. Alongside: Madārij al-Qirāʾah, Level 1.
Stage 2
Main reading: Nafḥat al-ʿArab. Alongside: Madārij al-Qirāʾah, Level 2, with selections from al-Qirāʾah al-Rāshidah.
Stage 3
Main reading: al-Naẓarāt of al-Manfalūṭī, with selections from Mukhtārāt min Adab al-ʿArab and Manthūrāt min Adab al-ʿArab. Alongside: Madārij al-Qirāʾah, Level 3.
Stage 4
Main reading: al-Muṭālaʿah al-Tawjīhiyyah. Alongside: Madārij al-Qirāʾah, Level 4, and the poetic evidence (shawāhid) for the rare words of the Qurʾān.
Poetry alongside
Poetry runs alongside the prose. Two poems we teach in full are Lāmiyyat al-ʿArab of al-Shanfarā, one of the purest surviving examples of pre-Islamic Arabic, and Nahj al-Burdah of Aḥmad Shawqī, his celebrated poem in praise of the Prophet ﷺ. Memorise some of each. Poetry fixes words in the tongue with their context.
How to read a literary text
- Read the text itself, not a summary of it.
- Read line by line. Parse the difficult lines.
- Note the rhetoric: why a word was chosen, why an image works.
- Keep the vocabulary worth keeping in your log, with full tashkīl.
Where to start
If you want the history first, our Introduction to Arabic Literature takes you from the Jāhiliyyah to the modern age. Free PDF histories of Arabic literature are on our Adab resources page.
Study with The Arabic School
See all our Arabic literature courses.
For the full map of the sciences, the two classical routes and the texts for every level, download the free guide, Learning Arabic: Skills and Systems. You can also see all our courses and prices or book a one-to-one class.