Ihsan Abbas
- Died
- 1424 AH
- Born in
- -
Ihsan Abbas (1338–1424 AH / 1920–2003 CE) was a Palestinian literary scholar, critic, and editor of classical Arabic texts who taught at several universities across the Arab world .
Early Life and Education
Abbas was born in the village of Ayn Ghazal in Palestine in 1920 . He received his secondary education at the Arab College in Jerusalem, graduating in 1941, and subsequently taught literature in Palestinian secondary schools . He then pursued higher education in Egypt at Cairo University (then the Egyptian University), where he earned his doctorate from the Department of Arabic Language in 1954 .
Academic Career
Abbas began his university teaching career in Sudan at Gordon Memorial College and subsequently at the University of Khartoum . In 1961, he joined the American University of Beirut, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages, Director of the Center for Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, and Editor-in-Chief of the scholarly journal al-Abhath . He later moved to Jordan, joining the faculty of the University of Jordan in Amman .
Alongside teaching, Abbas advised numerous universities on graduate program planning and participated in international and regional conferences on Arabic literature, Islamic studies, and classical heritage . He held memberships in the Arab Academy of Damascus and the Indian Scientific Academy .
Scholarly Contributions
Abbas produced a prolific corpus comprising scholarly monographs, textual critical editions of classical manuscripts, translations, and over seventy research papers and book reviews . In 1963, he published Shi'r al-Khawarij (The Poetry of the Kharijites), an anthology that brought together early Kharijite martial and ascetic verse from manuscript and printed sources alongside critical commentary . He also documented his life and career in an autobiography titled Ghurba al-Ra'i (The Shepherd's Estrangement), published in 1996 .
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List of Works
Malamih Yunaniyya fi al-Adab al-Arabi (Greek Features in Arabic Literature) is a comparative literary study exploring the presence, reception, and transformation of ancient Greek literature, philosophy, and mythology within classical Arabic prose and poetry.
Tarikh al-Adab al-Andalusi: Asr Siyadat Qurtuba (History of Andalusian Literature: The Era of Cordoban Supremacy) is a study of Andalusian Arabic poetry and prose examining literary production from the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula through the collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba.
Shi'r al-Khawarij (The Poetry of the Kharijites) is an anthology and critical study of early Kharijite verse. The collection brings together the scattered revolutionary, ascetic, and martial poetry of the Kharijite movement from early Islamic history into a single scholarly edition.
Fann al-Sira (The Art of Biography) is a critical literary study examining the historical evolution, theoretical components, and artistic dimensions of biography and autobiography in both Arabic and Western literature.
Tarikh al-Adab al-Andalusi (Asr al-Tawaif wa al-Murabitin) (History of Andalusian Literature: The Era of the Taifas and the Almoravids) is a critical and historical study of Andalusian literature. Published in 1962, it forms the second installment in a multi-part series on Andalusian literary history, following the volume on the era of Cordovan supremacy.
Shadharat min Kutub Mafquda fi al-Tarikh (Fragments from Lost Books on History) is a scholarly compilation that reconstructs lost Arabic historical and literary texts from citations preserved in surviving classical works. Focus is placed on thirty lost titles, gathering and arranging scattered fragments alongside scholarly commentary, transmission chains, and author details to recover buried historical material and demonstrate the extent of historical writing absent from surviving heritage.
Badr Shakir al-Sayyab: Dirasah fi Hayatihi wa Shi'rihi (Badr Shakir al-Sayyab: A Study of His Life and Poetry) is a critical and biographical monograph examining the life, psychological trajectory, and poetic development of the Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab. Utilizing oral testimonies, personal correspondence, and primary documents, the book integrates chronological progression, psychological inquiry, and artistic evolution to assess the poet's work against its historical background.
al-Arab fi Siqilliya (The Arabs in Sicily) is a historical and literary study examining the political, social, and cultural history of Muslims in Sicily alongside the development of Sicilian Arabic poetry. Structured into three main books, it covers the island's Islamic era under autonomous Muslim rule, the conditions of Sicilian Muslims under Norman rule, and the critical analysis of Sicilian Arabic verse across both periods.
Ittijahat al-Shi'r al-Arabi al-Muasir (Trends in Contemporary Arabic Poetry) is a critical study examining the intellectual, psychological, and thematic currents of modern Arabic verse. Restricting its focus to the thirty years preceding its composition, the work avoids rigid political classifications in favor of exploring the psychological depths of modernist poetry, analyzing central themes such as myth and symbolism, historical counter-narratives, and alienation and identity.
Tarikh al-Naqd al-Adabi inda al-Arab (History of Literary Criticism among the Arabs) is a comprehensive study of classical Arabic literary criticism from the late second century AH to the eighth century AH, covering figures from al-Asma'i to Ibn Khaldun across both the Islamic East and West. Using a chronological framework, it provides an intellectual history drawing on printed literature and primary manuscripts, incorporating both applied textual critics and theoretical thinkers.