Introduction

Part I: The Pre-Islamic Period (Jahiliyya)

The Mu'allaqat
Ode of Imru al-Qais
Ode of Labid
Ka'b Bin Zuhair, Su'ád is gone
al-Aswad Bin Yafur, Ode from the Mufaddaliyat
al-Khansa, Lament for My Brother
al-Tirrimah, In the Heart of the Desert
Jamil, Oh, That Youth's Flower Anew Might Lift its Head
Katari of Mazin, To His Own Soul
'Umar Ibn Abi Rabi'ah, Blame Me No More, O Comrades!

Part II: The Islamic Age

The Holy Qur'an
The Opening
Surah XIX: Mary
Surah LIX: Exile
Surah LXXXIX: The Dawn
Hadith, Selected Sayings
Shaybani's Siyar, The Islamic Law of Nations

Part III: The Ummayad Dynasty

al-Akhtal, Youth Departed but Often I Enjoyed It
al-Farazdaq, Let all weep for al-Hajjáj
Jarir, al-Farazdaq Visited the Folk of Hijaz
Abd al-Hamid al-Katib, The Art of Secretaryship
Ibn al-Muqaffa, The Rabbit and the Elephant
Ibn Ishaq, The Prophet's Mission
Bashshar Ibn Burd, Will No Emissary Be Found

Part IV: The Abbasid Dynasty

Rabia al-Adawiya, O My Joy and My Desire and My Refuge
Abu Nuwas
Four Things
Thou Scolder of Grape and Me
The Great Offence
Hurry, for the Beergardens are Blooming
Abu'l Atahiya
Vanity: To Harun al-Rashid
Surely Shall Fate Disjoint the Proudest Nose
Virtue Cast an Eye at Me Coming
al-Jahiz, The Book of Proof: Concerning Asceticism
Abu Tammam, In Praise of the Caliph Mu'tasim
al-Buhturi, Bodies of Water Like Horses
Ibn Qutayba, Extracts from Uyun al-Akhbar
Ibn al-Rumi
The Chess Champion
The Compromise
He Defends Himself
al-Tabari, The Battle of Badr
al-Hallaj, Three Qasidas
al-Razi, The Repelling of Grief
al-Farabi, The City and the Household
al-Mutanabbi
Parting Has Just Taught Our Eyelids Separation
Shame Kept My Tears Away
Couplet
How Glows Mine Heart
Naught Kills the Noble like Forgiveness
My Songs Gave Eyes to the Blind, Ears to the Deaf
An Induction
Here is the Final Stretch
Abu Firas al-Hamdani
Thy Fiercest Foe is One Thou Dost Not Fight
Grief Amasses, Patience Scatters
al-Tawhidi, Arabs and Non-Arabs
al-Kalabadhi,The Sufi Doctrine of Vision
al-Hamadhani, The Assembly of Qazmin
al-Ma'arri
From the Diwan
From the Lazumiyat
'Tis Said That Spirits Remove by Transmigration
In the Casket of the Hours
Thou Art Diseased in Understanding and Religion
Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
Concerning the Temporal Origin of the Soul
Epistle of the Soul
On Prophecy
al-Hariri, The Assembly of Damascus
al-Ghazzali
The Beginning of Guidance
The First Duty of Brotherhood
Ibn Rushd (Averroes)
The Law Makes Philosophic Studies Obligatory
Ibn Tufayl
Hayy Admires the Work of the Creator
Playing with Fire
Ibn Arabi
The Wisdom of Virtue in the Word of Luqman
Whoso Knoweth Himself ...
Selections from Tarjuman al-Ashwaq
Ibnu'l Farid
The Meeting
Lo, From Behind the Veil Mysterious
Ibn Khallikan, Ja'far and al-Rashid

Part V: al-Andalus - Arab Spain 195

Ibn Hazm
Of Fidelity
Of Betrayal
Anxiety
Twice Times Then is Now
Ibn Zaydun, Poem to Wallada
al-Mutamid, The Moon, The Stars, and a King
Abu'l Hasan Ali ibn Hisn, The Pigeon
Abus Salt, The Incense Burner
Ibn al-Faras, Moon of Beauty
Ibn Said, The Guardians
Ibn Maimon (Moses Maimonides), Guide for the Perplexed
Solomon ibn Gabirol, The Ethics of Solomon Gabirol

Part VI: The Age of Depression

Ibn Battuta, Across North Africa
Ibn Khaldun
Three Extracts from Muqaddimah
A Sign of Royal Authority
The Romance of Antar
Antar Summoned From Mecca To Rescue Shas
'Abla's Treasure Restored
The Arabian Nights
The Story of the Envier and the Envied
Men in the Judgment of their Wives
Adventure of the Caliph Haroon al-Rusheed

Part VII: al-Nahda - Renaissance of Arabic Literature

Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, The Virtues of the Arabs
Ahmad Shawqi
From Act I of Majnun Layla
The Feast of Time
An Andalusian Exile
Hafiz Ibrahim, Elegy to Mustafa Kamil
Khalil Mutran, The Arab Awakening
Ilya Abu Madi
Envoi
Life and Love
Gibran Kahlil Gibran
The Poet
From a Speech by Khalil the Heretic
Ameen Rihani
Light 302
Supplication: A Prayer
Mikhail Naimy
A New Year
Comrade!
Taha Hussein
An Egyptian Childhood
From The Stream of Days
Abbas al-Aqqad, Drinking Song
May Ziadah, Rejoice
Mahmud Taymur, The Fare
Tewfiq al-Hakim, Song of Death

Part VIII: Modern Arabic Literature

Abu al-Qasim al-Shabi
I Weep for Love
To the Tyrant
Naguib Mahfouz, An Unnerving Sound
Khalil Hawi, The Bridge
'Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati, Apology for a Short Speech
Salah 'Abd al-Sabur, The Tatars Attacked
Mahmoud Darwish
Pride and Fury
Promises from the Storm
Adonis, Iram the Many-Columned
Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, A City Without Rain
Yusuf al-Khal, The Deserted Well
Muhammad al-Fayturi, Sorrow of the Black City
Nazik al-Mala'ika
Who Am I?
Five Hymns to Pain
Mona Fayad, Whisper
Salma al-Khadra al-Jayyusi
Without Roots
In the Casbah
Fudwa Tuqan
A Prayer to the New Year
In the Flux
Mai Sayigh, Departure
Nizar Qabbani
Bread, Hashish and Moonlight
Poems
May Rihani, The Wedding of My City
Antoine Raad, A Poet's Treasure
Henri Zoghaib, This Is The Now

Notes
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
About the Editors

Desert Songs of the Night

1500 Years of Arabic Literature