Fann al-Sira
- Author died
- 1424 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Thaqafa
Fann al-Sira (The Art of Biography) is a critical literary study by the Palestinian-Arab scholar and literary critic Ihsan Abbas (d. 1424 AH / 2003 CE), examining the historical evolution, theoretical components, and artistic dimensions of biography and autobiography in both Arabic and Western literature .
Composition and Scope
Written in Beirut and completed on June 1, 1956, the work was published that same year by Dar al-Thaqafa in approximately 176 pages . Abbas designed the study around a selective rather than exhaustive methodology, choosing accessible examples to avoid burdening the reader with extensive classifications of traditional biographical dictionaries (maʿajim al-siyar) and biographical registers (kutub al-tabaqat) .
In his preface, Abbas addresses the modern cultural context, observing that contemporary society is shifting rapidly toward collective orientation, which diminishes hero worship and alters common perceptions of individual prominence; he argues, however, that individual human experience and the artistic modes of expressing it remain enduringly valuable .
Method and Contents
The book combines historical overview with analytical criticism of selected literary models, comparing traditions across Arabic and Western letters and noting that the evolutionary trajectory of biography is clearer in Arabic literature .
Its treatment spans several core topics:
- Historical origins: The emergence of biography out of historical documentation, where it began among ancient peoples such as the Chinese, Egyptians, and Assyrians as records of royal deeds and warfare, before developing within Islamic civilization .
- Development among Muslims: The evolution of Islamic biographical writing from classical historical recording toward the mature artistic biography (al-sira al-faniyya) .
- Constituents of artistic biography: An inquiry into the literary elements, psychological insights, and narrative structures required for biography as a creative art .
- Autobiography: A comparative study of autobiographical writing (al-sira al-dhatiyya) in both Eastern and Western traditions .
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