Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is Also known as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Capital city
of Saudi is Riyadh and the Official Language is Arabic the Religion is
Islam and their Present king Abdullah the National animal is Camel and
the National Food is Kabsa

Arab is a state in Western Asia with a land area of approximately

2,150,000 km2 or 830,000 sq mi, and 5th largest state in Asia and also
2nd largest state in Arab world, Saudi was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud,
their government system is Absolute Monarchy, Saudi Is also called "The
Land of Two Holy Mosques, with a total population of 28.7 million (20
million are Saudi nationals and 8 million are foreigners)

Petroleum was discovered in the year 1938, and it is the world's second
largest oil reserves and sixth largest gas reserves, Saudi was a high
income economy in the world bank, and also 4th highest military
expenditures in the world, Saudi was considered as regional and middle
power
Education
The Education in Saudi Arabia is free, and it was composed of three
systems: elementary, intermediate and secondary, the large part of the
educational system is devoted for Islam, and the curriculum on Saudi
schools teaches science and technology, religion, medicine and military
services
History of Saudi Arabia
The Arabs are supposed to descent from Shem, the son of Noah,
commonly known as Semites.
Saudi was divided into two parts, North and South due to opposition of
two kindred races who are different in character and lifestyle.
The people of Yemen or Arabia Felix are first mentioned in history as the
inheritors of an ancient civilization as the owners of fabulous wealth such
as spices, golds, and precious stones, which ministered to King Solomon,
in the 7th century it became the cradle of Islam and the first center of
the caliphate

Arabia soon become a peripheral region in the Muslim world during the
Umayyad period, Muawiyah I, the first Umayaad caliph, took an interest
on his native Mecca, Under Muawiyah's Marwanids successor, Mecca
became the adobe of poetry and music,Under Yazid I, Abd Allah bin alZubair's revolt had made Syrian troops to Mecca,During 747, a Khardjit
rebel from Yemen tried to defeat Mecca but was defeated by Marwan II
From the 10th century until the 20th century, the Hashmite Sahrifs of
Mecca maintained a state that is the most developed state during that
time which is Hejaz, Hejaz was one of the major Islamic empires during
that time along with Abbasids of Baghdad, and the Fatimids, Ayyubids,
and Mamluks of Egypt, the first state in Saudi Arabia was established in
1744 which are Mecca and Medina
By 20th century, Saudi Arabia was ruled by Ottoman empire.
By 1916, because of the encouragement of Britain and France, who were
against the Ottomans during world war I, the sheriff of Mecca, Hussein
bin Ali, did a pan-Arab rebolt against the Ottoman empire for
independence.
By 1918, the Ottoman empire was defeated and by 1932, two kingdoms
Hejaz and Najd were united as "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"
Arabic
the sole or joint official language in twenty independent middle eastern
and African states,
arabic is also the language of islams holy book koran, and arabic has
been an official language in the united nation since January 1, 1974
Fun Facts about modern Arab
Arabs are part of an ethnic group, not a religion. Arabs were around long
before Islam, and there have been (and still are) Arab Christians and Arab
Jews. In general, youre an Arab if you 1) are of Arab descent (blood), or 2)
speak the main Arab language (Arabic).
Not all Arabs are Muslim. There are significant populations of Arab Christians
throughout the world, including in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Northern Africa
and Palestine/Israel.
Islam is a religion. A Muslim (roughly pronounced MOOSE-lihm) is someone
who follows the religion. So you wouldnt say someone follows Muslim or is
an Islam, just as you wouldnt say someone follows Christian or is a
Christianity.

Shia Muslims are similar to Roman Catholics in Christianity. They have a

strong clerical presence via Imams and promote the idea of going through
them to practice the religion correctly. Sunni Muslims are more like
Protestant Christians. They dont really focus on Imams and believe in
maintaining a more direct line to God than the Shia.
People from Iran are also known as Persians, and they are not-Arabs.
Arabs are Semites. Weve all heard the term anti-Semitism being used
often to describe Arabs. While antisemitism does specifically indicate hatred
for Jews, the word Semite comes from the Bible and referred originally to
anyone who spoke one of the Semitic Languages.
According to the Bible, Jews and Arabs are related [Genesis 25]. Jews
descended from Abrahams son Isaac, and Arabs descended from Abrahams
son Ishmael. So not only are both groups Semitic, but theyre also family.
Sunni Muslims make up most of the Muslim world (roughly 90%).1
The country with the worlds largest Muslim population is Indonesia.
The rift between the Shia and Sunni started right after Muhammads death
and originally reduced to a power struggle regarding who was going to
become the authoritative group for continuing the faith.
Arabic literature
the writing, both prose and poetry, produced by writers in
the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is "Adab", which
is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and which implies politeness,
culture and enrichment.
History of Literature in Saudi Arabia
The Heroic Age (500-622)
Arabic philologists shared that early Arabian literature had no
poetry other than verses being spoken by some person
Qasdas and long poems were first recited during the "Abd alMuttalib" period which is the first half of the sixth century.
Old Arabic primitive meter was a loose iambic form called rajaz
Rajaz consists of short rhyming lines which was probably developed
out of brief communicatory utterance in rhymed prose
Qasda, during this period, was popular.
It is an ancient Arabic word and form of writing poetry, often
translated as ode, passed to other cultures after the Arab Muslim
expansion.
Muffaddlyat, which derived from the poet Mufaddal, is a collection
of 126 odes and fragments which was compiled 726-784
The 126 literary pieces were distributed by 68 poets during that
time

 During this period, Song of Revenge by Ta'abbata Sharr and AshShanfar (which was translated to English) is considered one of the
best and know poems
Song of Revenge
Nor exults he complains he; silent bears whate'er befalls
him,
Much desiring, much attempting; far the wanderings of his
venture.
In one desert noon beholds him; evening finds him in another;
As the wild ass lone he crosses o'er the jagged and headlong
ridges
Swifter than the wind unpausing, onward yet, nor rest nor
slackness,
While the howling gusts outspeed in the disrance moan and falter
Light the slumber of his eyelids, yet too heavy all he deems it;
Even watchful for the moment when to draw the bitter faultchion,
When to pludge it in the heart-blood of the many-mustered foemen
The Age of Expansion
(A.D. 622-750)
Muhammad ibn 'Abdallh is one of the members of the clan Quarish which
was an aristocrat. During that time, he had many followers in Mecca because
of his teachings.
After his death, his followers complied his discourses in a single volume
which is known as the Koran.
The Koran is a very important volume for the Arabs because they believe
that the revealed words came from God and sent it to Prophet Muhammad
through and angel named Gabriel
The Koran expresses its theological and philosophic concepts in terms of
symbolic action and description.
Here is an example of the earliest passage of Koran, which are accordingly,
brief and semi-lyrical exhortations and warnings:
When the sky is split and the stars are scattered,
When the seas are loosed and the graves are exposed,
A soul shall know what it has wrought in advance and what is left behind.

The Koran was very influential for the development of Arabian literature, and
the ideas, rhythms and language of the Koran mostly influenced other
Arabian literary pieces, the Koran was very influential for the development of
Arabian literature, the ideas, rhythms and language of the Koran mostly
influenced other Arabian literary pieces, Koran become like a bible-like or law
book for the Arabians.
New types and themes of poetry emerged during this period. One example
for this is the ghazal which is a love-lyric type of poem.
An example of ghazal which came from Omar ibn Ab Rab'a's (d.c. 720)
verses:
Ah for the throes of heart sorely wounded!
Ah for the eyes that have smit me with madness!
Gently she moved in the calmness of beauty,
Moved as the bough to the light breeze of the morning.
Dazzled my eyes as they gazed, till before me
All was mist and confusion of figures.
Never had I sought her, and never had she sought me;
Fated the hour, and the love, and the meeting!
The Golden Age
(A.D. 750-1055)
From A.D. 750 to 813
The earliest Arabic prose known during this period is Epistles by Abd alHamd b. Yahy (d.750),Al-Khalil (d.791), an Arab from Oman, worked
out a complex metrical theory because of his basis on ancient poetry.
From AD. 813 to 945
'Amr b. Bahr was a known writer during this period and especially for
Arabic literature, his known works are "Book of Animals", "The Boast of
the Blacks over the Whites", "The Merits of the Turks" and more, he is
known for being smart, having a new style for Arabic literature and
imaginative. His essays and masterpieces were an influence to Arabic
literature.
From A.D. 945 to 1055
During this period, the art of muwashshah was born, Muwashshah is a
poem where the regular Arab meters were generally employed, the lines

were broken up into sections of different length which rhymed internally

throughout the poem.
Here is an example of a muwashshah which consists of the meter ab ccc
ab ddd ab & c. Ten syllables to each rhyming segment. The first ab was
repeated after each reccurence except the last

The Silver Age

(A.D. 1055-1258)
One of the greatest literary figures during this period was Al-Ghazli
(1059-1111), his literary works are known for having relation to religion.
His works were Manqidh (Rescuer from Error) and Ihy' 'Ulm ad-Dn
(The Revivfication of the Religious Sciences')
Bah' ad-Din Zuhair (d. 1258) was best known of the court poets during
this period, his works are marked by simplicity of language, absence of
flunkery, and genuine depth of feeling

Shortly after 1154, a Sicilian exile named Ibn Zafar is a writer dedicated
to one of the Arab governors a book of essays under the title Consolation
Philtres for the Man of Authority, the essays contained expositions and
verses from the Koran. A more original feature is that the latter, though
based on incidents of Arabic and Persian history, are elaborated by the
introduction of fictitious characters.
Ibn Zafar also wrote a number of other works of belles-lettres which
some of them are still preserved in Paris.
The Age of the Mamluks
(A.D. 1258-1800)
A popular literature during this time was created and that was under the
title Arabian Nights,it was then eventually a collection of tales recognized
as forming Thousand and One Nights.
Different story-tellers made up the tales of nights with different
materials, including folk-lore elements, the literary masterpiece
Thousand and One Nights became popular not only in Saudi but also
internationally.
Modern Arabic Literature
During the 19th century, a revival took place in Arabic literature, along
with much of Arabic culture, and is referred to in Arabic as "al-Nahda",
which means "the Renaissance". This resurgence of writing in Arabic was
confined mainly to Syria, Egypt and Lebanon until the 20th century when
it spread to other countries in the region
Throughout the 20th century, Arabic writers in both poetry and prose
have reflected the changing political and social climate of the Arab world
in their work.
There are many contemporary Arabic writers, such as Mahmoud saeed
(Iraq) who wrote Bin Barka Ally, and I Am The One Who Saw (Saddam
City).
Other contemporary writers include Sonallah Ibrahim and Abdul Rahman
Munif, who were imprisoned by the state for their anti-government work
Non-fiction writers and academics have also produced political polemics
and criticisms aiming to re-shape Arabic politics, Some of the best known
are Taha Hussein's The Future of Culture in Egypt, which was an

important work of Egyptian nationalism, and the works of Nawal elSaadawi who campaigns for women's rights.
Poetry
Beginning in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as part of what is now
called "the Arabic renaissance" or "al-Nahda", poets like Francis
Marrash, Ahmad Shawqi and Hafiz Ibrahim began to explore the
possibility of developing the classical poetic forms. Some of these
neoclassical poets were acquainted with Western literature but mostly
continued to write in classical forms, while others, denouncing blind
imitation of classical poetry and its recurring themes,sought inspiration
from French or English romanticism
Excerpt from Francis Marrash's Mashhad al-ahwal (1870), translated
by Shmuel Moreh
Mention no longer the driver on his night journey and the wide striding
camels, and give up talk of morning dew and ruins.
I no longer have any taste for love songs on dwellings which already
went down in seas of [too many] odes.
So, too, the ghada, whose fire, fanned by the sighs of those enamored of
it, cries out to the poets: "Alas for my burning!"
If a steamer leaves with my friends on sea or land, why should I direct
my complaints to the camels?
The next generation of poets, the so-called romantic poets, had begun to
a far greater extent to absorb the impact of developments in Western
poetry, and felt constrained by neo-classical traditions which the previous
generation had tried to uphold. The Mahjari poets were emigrants who
mostly wrote in the Americas, but were similarly beginning to experiment
further with the possibilities of Arabic poetry. This experimentation
continued in the Middle East throughout the first half of the 20th century
The early modern period
The Mamluk period saw the flourishing of the Sufi master and
poet 'A'isha al-Ba'uniyya (d. 1517), who was probably the Arabicspeaking world's most prolific female author before the twentieth
century. Living in what is now Egypt and Syria, she came from the alBa'uni family, noted for its judges and scholars, and belonged to the
'Urmawi branch of the Qadiriyya order. 'A'isha composed at least
twelve books in prose and verse, which included over three hundred
long mystical and religious poems

The twenty-first century

Contemporary Arabic-language women's literature has been strongly
influenced by the diaspora of Arabic-speakers, who have produced
writing not only in Arabic but also in other languages, prominently
English, French, and German