*Contents*

1. Introduction ................................................. 3

2. Transliteration ........................................... 17

3. Islamic proper names .................................. 19

4. Islamic dates ............................................... 21

5. The koran: scripture and literature ...... 22

- meccan chapters ........................................ 34

- medinan chapters ...................................... 46

6. Early arabic poetry ................................... 52

- the odes of amru al-qays, labid, and tarafah ........ 54

- poems from early anthologies .................... 61

7. Proverbs ....................................................... 63

8. The age of the caliphs [632-1050]

- historical summary .............................. 69

- ibn al-muqaffa: the monkey and the tortoise ......... 73

- ibn ishaq: the prophet mohammed ............. 79

- the new poets ........................................... 84


- al-jahiz: clever sayings ............................. 91

- al-jahiz: flies and mosquitoes ................... 94

- al-hallaj: the crucifixion of a mystic ......... 96

- rudaki: two poems ................................... 105

- al-mutanabbi: lauds ................................. 107

English