The Arab world has a vibrant and rich literary scene. Al Majalla picks out some choice titles in our fortnightly round-up of the latest Arabic books, which aims to highlight some trends and thinking in the Arab world.
The Arabic Language – Where To?
By: Hamza bin Qublan Al-Muzaini
Publisher: Kunooz Al-Ma’rifah Publishing – Jordan
In an increasingly open and multilingual world, is the Arabic language becoming estranged within its own cultural and geographical heartlands? The question is pertinent because Arabic is not just seen as a tool for communication but as a vessel of identity and a repository of collective memory.
Al-Muzaini’s book looks at the debates around Arabic, confronting the dominant narratives through a range of essays and studies written in other languages that address similar questions.
“Loving Arabic and belonging to it does not necessitate claiming its superiority over other languages,” the author notes. Arabs are far from alone in claiming linguistic superiority, but some proponents “have gone beyond reason, making assertions that verge on myth,” the author says. His book seeks to disprove these claims, arguing that Arabic “does not require” them.
Four articles (all originally written in English) explore contemporary Arab attitudes towards their language and consider its future development. Two are by Charles Ferguson: Myths About the Arabic Language, which examines beliefs held by some Arabs regarding their language’s superiority, as does Let Them Produce a Surah Like It.
In John Eisele’s essay Myth, Value, and Practice in the Representation of Arabic, the author traces the longstanding coexistence of Classical Arabic and regional dialects, while Gibran Khalil Gibran’s essay The Future of the Arabic Language (first published in 1923) raises strikingly relevant concerns. Little has changed more than a century on.
The Frontiers of Knowledge in Science, History, and the Mind
By: AC Grayling
Translator: Ibrahim Al-Qaadouni
Publisher: Dar Al Saqi – Lebanon
Human knowledge has vastly expanded in recent history, but what we have uncovered thus far is but a fragment of what could have been discovered had scientists and philosophers ventured down different paths of inquiry. In his introduction, translator Ibrahim Al-Qaadouni says: “One of the most pressing questions about today’s frontiers concerns whether the directions they point toward are truly the correct ones.”
The publisher says this book is a “journey to the very edge of human understanding” and an “adventure through the realms of science, history, and psychology”. Fusing philosophy with history, Grayling surveys humanity’s extraordinary progress in understanding both the universe and the self, asking what we know—and what remains unknown.
The translator says: “Our ancestors knew a great deal—not just for thousands, but for millions of years—though the term ‘knowledge’ in their context carried a distinctly different meaning.” The earliest known stone tools, for instance, were crafted 3.3 million years ago. Back then, knowledge was practical, Grayling says: shelter-building, mastering fire, cave art, plant and animal domestication, the transport of megaliths, irrigation canals, textile weaving, pottery, bronze casting, iron smelting, and so on.
This book is “an invitation to explore the depths of human knowledge and confront the challenges that lie ahead,” says the publisher, adding that it will “shake your ideas and stimulate your intellect”.
Marrakesh: A French Mission’s Journey to the Sultan’s Land
By: Adolphe Marcet
Translator: Mostafa Al-Wariaghli
Publisher: Arab Cultural Centre – Lebanon
In the 19th century, much of the Arab world was under Ottoman rule, but Morocco stood apart as an independent state, having seceded from the Umayyad Caliphate in 788 AD. Comprising vast areas ruled by a sultan, the country captured the attention and ambition of European powers.
Described by the publisher as a “document”, this book recounts the diplomatic mission to Marrakesh in 1882 of French orientalist Adolphe Marcet, after the French ambassador in Tangier allowed Marcet to accompany him as he presented his credentials to His Sharifian Majesty, the Sultan.
Marcet learns that Europe’s eyes had turned to Africa, with competing powers—driven by imperial ambition—racing to claim influence over a region long described as barren and isolated. The banner of civilisation, he notes, was already fluttering along the coastline, and he believed there would be a steady advance into Africa’s interior.
For Marcet, Morocco was still largely untouched by aggressive colonial expansion, but it was coming under increasing scrutiny. Explorers ventured into its remote interior, diplomatic missions sought to engage the Moroccan government, and the press covered these developments extensively, leading to interest from lawmakers overseas.
“In the spring of 1882,” he writes, “I was fortunate to travel through Morocco and to penetrate—alongside a French mission—into one of its principal cities, a city about which very little was known, and which lay deep within the country’s interior.”
He said the “observations I gathered during this journey may hold some value, given the growing interest in the future of this ancient African empire. This is my only reason for publishing them—and my only excuse as well”.
How to Become a Translator
Compiled and Edited by: Kazem Khalaf Al-Ali
Publisher: Abjad Foundation – Iraq
At first glance, this book may appear to be an instructional manual—and it certainly fulfils that function—but it is also a rich compilation of insights and reflections on the art and practice of translation. Written by professional translators who also lecture at Arab universities, it features 20 essays exploring various dimensions of translation.
Some include anecdotes, including one about cultural nuance from translator Ahmad Faleh. “I remember translating a marriage contract into English, where I rendered the term ‘بكر’ (Bikr) as ‘virgin', which aligns with the concept in our society and culture,” he recalls. A close acquaintance informed me that a British consulate advisor in Basra... recommended using the term ‘single’ or ‘unmarried’ instead.”
The difference in languages is not the most significant factor in translation,” Faleh explains. “What truly enriches the understanding of a translated text is awareness of the cultural differences between peoples, nations, and civilisations.”
Haseeb Elias Hadeed says translation is “an intellectual and creative endeavour that depends on the acquisition of conceptual content and the ability to convey it”. The process is “complex, intricate, and highly delicate,” says Hadeed, with no one-size-fits-all method. “Different situations require different types of translation that correspond to the specific discipline being addressed.”
Through its essay-based format, the book provides aspiring translators with clear and practical insights, shedding light on the profession’s challenges, nuances, and rewards.
The Event and the Meaning: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Disappointment
By: Paulos Khoury
Translation: Dr Basel Al-Zein and Dr Al-Mahdi Moustaqim
Publisher: Istifham Publishing and Distribution – Egypt
This deeply philosophical work by a Lebanese author confronts an existential dilemma familiar to anyone seeking meaning in life but without success. Paulos Khoury argues that abandoning the hope of ever attaining true freedom means it then becomes essential to re-evaluate ourselves not as moving towards completion but rather as resisting it.
For him, we move through the world striving but never quite reaching what we long for, perpetually falling short of fulfilment. The only viable response, he suggests, is to embrace disappointment because reality consistently fails to align with expectations. This gap remains unbridged, preventing the self from achieving full realisation.
What obstructs us? Why must we pass through the world in order to reach beyond it? Could we not attain completeness by transcending the dominion of time altogether? The author explores several possible responses to this existential dilemma, incorporating religion, metaphysics, and realism.
