View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Unisa Institutional Repository 1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARABIC ESSAY AND SHORT STORY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF MUAFĀ LUFĪ AL-MANFALŪĪ By ACHMAT AHDIEL JAPPIE submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject ARABIC at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF Y DADOO NOVEMBER 2007 Statement ‘that dissertation is my own work’ I declare that the dissertation “The Development of the Arabic Essay and Short Story with Particular Reference to the Contributions of Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī” is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. Achmat Ahdiel Jappie The Development of the Arabic Essay and Short Story with Particular Reference to the Contributions of Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī by A.A.Jappie Master of Arts degree Arabic Promoter: Professor Yusuf Dadoo Summary The dissertation firstly looks at how the Arabic essay and short story developed in Egypt since the beginning of the nineteenth century. Then a discussion follows on the life and contribution of the Egyptian author, Muafā Lufī al- Manfalūī, as representative of this literary evolution. The general influences on Egyptian literature are discussed, and the general development of Arabic prose from 1850 onwards is then detailed, including the efforts to save Arabic literature from stagnation and degeneration. Following this, the focus is on the origins of the essay and short story. This leads to dealing with the growth and advancement of the essay and short story, together with the revival of the Arabic heritage and how the Arabic novel came into being. Then Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī’s biography, environmental circumstances and personalities that influenced his writings are focused on. Afterwards, the core discussion is al-Manfalūī’s seven literary works, and his ideas and opinions as reflected in his writings. In conclusion, the relevance of his writings and an appraisal of his literary contributions are detailed. Commonly used terms: Arabic essay; Short story; Intellectual life; Arabic heritage; Literature; Printing press; Newspaper; Writing style; Translation; Reformation; Western civilization; Development; Culture; Classical Arabic; Islam 2 The Transliteration System of Arabic Words Used is as Follows: Consonants: ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب أ a b t th j Kh d th r Z s sh ي ه و ن ﻢ ﻞ ك ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض ` gh f q k l m n w h y Long Vowels: ﱢ إي أﻮ ﺁ ā ū Ī Short Vowels: ־ُ ־ِ ־َ a I u Dipthongs: ־َ ى ־َ و Au Ai ٌ ٍ ًً , double letter hamza) (tanwin) an in un) ء (shadda) ّ 3 The Development of the Arabic Essay and Short Story with Particular Reference to the Contributions of Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī Introduction Chapter 1: General Influences 1.1 Significant Events 1.1.1 Life in Egypt before 1800 1.1.2 Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Campaign 1.1.3 The Beneficial Effects of the French Campaign 1.1.4 Muammad `Alī’s Contribution 1.1.5 The Beginning of the Growth of Nationalism 1.1.6 The English Occupation 1.2 European Intellectual Life and the Arabic Heritage 1.2.1 Arab Intellectual Life 1.2.2 European Intellectual Life 1.2.3 The Two Streams Become One 1.3 The Printing Press and Newspapers 1.3.1 The Discovery of the Press 1.3.2 Literature before the Press 1.3.3 The Effects of the Press 1.3.4 Libraries 1.3.5 The Improvement in Transport 1.3.6 The Publication of the First Newspapers and Magazines 1.3.7 The Simplification of Writing Styles 1.3.8 The socialization of literature 4 Chapter 2 : The general development of Arabic prose 2.1 The Chains and Shackles of Badī` (Metaphorical Style) and Saj` (Rhymed Prose) 2.1.1 The Attempts to Connect with the West 2.1.2 The Continuation of Badī` and Saj` 2.1.3 The Revival of Egyptian Literature 2.2 The Movement to Free Literature from its Chains 2.2.1 The Birth of a Public Opinion and Nationalistic Thought 2.2.2 Going Back to the Roots: Arabic and Islamic Turāth (Heritage) 2.2.3 The Formation of Bilateral Relations and Translations 2.2.3.1 The Suez Canal 2.2.3.2 The Syrian-Lebanese Connection and Translations 2.2.4 Freedom through the Press 2.2.4.1 Democratization of Literature and Freedom to Write 2.2.4.2 Public Literary Opinion and Freedom of Political Expression 2.2.5 The Need for Ilāh (Reformation) 2.2.6 The Flowering of Nationalism and the Creation of Fertile Literary Activity 2.2.7 The Language Debate: fuā (Classical) vs. `āmmiya (Colloquial) and a New Style 2.2.8 New Forms of Literature and its Authors and Topics 2.2.8.1 The Maqāla (Essay) 2.2.8.2 The Khiāba (Sermon / Oratory Discourse) 2.2.8.3 The Qia (Short Story) 2.3 An Egyptian Literature and Literary Standard of Criticism are born 2.3.1 Political Freedom 2.3.2 The Literary Debates and the Personalities Involved 2.3.3 An Egyptian Literature is Born and Bred in Egypt 5 2.4 The New Life: The Arab East and the West become one 2.4.1 Total Westernization and Intellectual Progress 2.4.2 Other Fields of Progress 2.4.3 The Role of Translations 2.4.4 The Role of Journalism in the Creation of a New Language 2.4.5 The Negative Effects of the News Media Chapter 3 : The Growth and Advancement of the Maqāla and Qia 3.1 The Society and Literature 3.2 The Khiāba ( Public Sermon / Oratory Discourse) 3.2.1 The Political Khiāba 3.2.2 The Judiciary and Social Khiāba 3.3 The Maqāla (Essay) 3.3.1 The Origin of the Maqāla 3.3.2 The Political Maqāla 3.3.3 The Literary and Social Maqāla 3.4 The Qiia (Short Story) and Uqūa (Novel) 3.4.1 The Origins of the Qia and Uqūa 3.4.2 The Maqāma (Rhythmic Prose) 3.4.3 The Move towards the Western Qia 3.4.4 Translations 3.4.4.1 The Reasons for Translating Aqāī during that Period 3.4.4.2 General Characteristics of the Translations 3.4.4.3 The Translation of Books 6 3.4.5 The Role of `Abd Allāh Nadīm, Adīb Isāq, the Arabic Heritage and the Muhajirun 3.4.6 The Egyptianizing of Qaa 3.4.7 The Evolution of the Maqāma and Qia 3.4.8 The Social Qia 3.4.9 The Historical Qia 3.4.10 The Qia becomes Fully Arabic 3.4.11 Topics of the Earlier Maqālāt and Qaa 3.4.12 Egyptian Women of Letters 3.5 The Masraiyya (Play) Chapter 4: Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī Introduction 4.1 His birth, lineage and formative years 4.2 His working career 4.3 His Personal / Private life and Family 4.4 His Appearance, Manners and Habits Chapter 5: Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī’s Social Relationships, Culture and Reputation Introduction 5.1 Al-Manfalūī and Imām Muammad `Abduh 7 5.2 Al-Manfalūī and Sa`ad Pāsha Zaghlūl 5.3 Al-Manfalūī and Shaikh `Alī Yūsuf 5.4 His Culture and Education 5.5 His Fame and Reputation with Readers Chapter 6: The Literary Compositions of Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī Introduction 6.1 Al- Naarāt (Philosophical Reflections) 6.2 Mukhtārāt al-Manfalūī (Al-Manfalūī ’s Selections) 6.3 Magdalene 6.4 Al-`Abarāt (The Tears) 6.4.1 Al-Yatīm (The Orphan) 6.4.2 Al-Shuhadā’ (The Martyrs) 6.4.3 Al-Thikrā (Memoirs) 6.4.4 Al-Hāwiya (The Abyss) 6.4.5 Al-Jazā’ (The Reward) 6.5 Fī Sabīl al-Tāj (For the sake of the Crown) 6.6 Al-Shā`ir (The Poet) 6.7 Al-Faīla (Moral Excellence or Virtue) 6.8 Al-Manfalūī’s Poetry Chapter 7: Al-Manfalūī’s Ideas and Opinions Introduction 7.1 Al-Manfalūī and Politics 7.2 His Understanding of Social Justice 7.3 His Opinion about Western Civilization 7.4 His Opinion about Eastern Civilization 7.5 Al-Manfalūī and Religion 7.6 His Opinions about Education 7.7 Al-Manfalūī and the Arts 7.8 Al-Manfalūī and Peace 7.9 Al-Manfalūī and the Female Sex The Relevance of al-Manfalūī ’s writings 8 Chapter 8: An Appraisal of Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī’s Literary Works Positive remarks Negative Criticism An Answer to his critics Conclusion 9 The Development of the Arabic Essay and Short Story with Particular Reference to the Contributions of Muafā Lufī al-Manfalūī Introduction Through the mighty instrument of language a human being can change his / her environment. S(he) can communicate not only factual information, but can pass this information on to succeeding generations who can reap the benefits of this knowledge and experience of the past. S(he) can convey thoughts and emotional experiences through the written word, and does so in a manner that is aesthetically satisfying to him- or herself and in an artistic form. To make it meaningful to his / her readers s(he) not only records, but contemplates and interprets the experience. When an artistic form is created through the medium of language, it is known as literature. The study of literature cannot be dismissed as a pastime for the dilettante, or as an escape from life’s problems, … On the contrary, in literature we are confronted with the most fundamental issues in life.