Literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by speakers of the Arabic language. It does not include works written using the Arabic alphabet but not in the Arabic language such as Persian and Urdu literature. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a word meaning "to invite someone for a meal" and implies politeness, culture and enrichment. Arabic literature emerged in the 6th century, with only fragments of the written language appearing before then. The Qur'an, from the 7th century, had the greatest and longest-lasting lasting effect on Arabic culture and literature. Al-Khansa, a female contemporary of Muhammad, was an acclaimed Arab poet.
Read more about this topic: Arab Culture
Famous quotes containing the word literature:
“One of the necessary qualifications of an efficient business man in these days of industrial literature seems to be the ability to write, in clear and idiomatic English, a 1,000-word story on how efficient he is and how he got that way.... It seems that the entire business world were devoting its working hours to the creation of a school of introspective literature.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“Despite your best efforts, you could not invent a better police force for literature than criticism and the author’s own conscience.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)