On Pre-Islamic Poetry by Taha Hussein
Taha Hussein’s groundbreaking book On Pre-Islamic Poetry (1926) sparked one of the fiercest intellectual debates in the modern Arab world.
Applying Descartes’ method of doubt, Hussein set out to critically examine poetry attributed to the pre-Islamic era and concluded that much of it was fabricated—composed after the rise of Islam for political or religious purposes.
Key Ideas of the Book
Questioning the authenticity of pre-Islamic poetry
Hussein argued that the surviving body of pre-Islamic poetry does not reflect the true religious or social life of the Arabs before Islam.
Instead, it mirrors the realities of Muslim society after the advent of Islam. The genuine remnants are scarce and unreliable as historical sources for the pre-Islamic age.
He also raised doubts about how such diverse Arabic dialects could have been unified in a single body of poetry with consistent meters and rhymes—especially when even the Qur’an itself faced issues of variant readings due to dialectal differences.
Doubts about the existence of pre-Islamic poets
Hussein questioned the very historical existence of poets such as Imru’ al-Qais and Ṭarafa ibn al-‘Abd, suggesting that their verses were invented later and retroactively attributed to them.
He based this claim on linguistic and stylistic analysis that revealed contradictions with the supposed realities of pre-Islamic Arabia.
Reasons for poetic fabrication
According to Hussein, the forging of poetry stemmed from political motives (such as tribal rivalries during the Umayyad period) and religious ones (using poetry to affirm prophecy or interpret the Qur’an).
Grammarians and Qur’anic commentators also played a role in fabricating verses to support their views.
Skepticism toward religious narratives
The book provoked outrage for its skepticism toward certain religious stories—most notably the tale of Abraham and Ishmael migrating to Mecca. Hussein suggested this account may have been a later invention, intended to link Arabs to Jewish and Islamic traditions.
Reactions and Controversy
The book was met with fierce backlash from al-Azhar scholars and leading writers. Hussein was accused of heresy and of undermining religious foundations. Legal cases were filed against him, but the court acquitted him, ruling that he had not intended deliberate offense.
The book was withdrawn from circulation, with its most controversial chapters removed. It was later republished under a new title, On Pre-Islamic Literature.
Thinkers such as Mustafa Ṣādiq al-Rafi‘i and Muhammad Lutfi Jum‘a wrote rebuttals, including the polemical work Under the Banner of the Qur’an.
Significance of the Book
Despite the uproar, On Pre-Islamic Poetry stands as a pioneering attempt to apply modern critical and scientific methods to Arab literary heritage.
It opened the door to rethinking inherited cultural and religious traditions. Yet, pre-Islamic poetry continues to be taught in Arab curricula as an authentic cornerstone of Arabic literature.
For the original summary in Arabic
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