AL-Majma

A Lifetime Journey From a Village in the World to a World in a Village: A Cultural Criticism Study of Nimer Morqos’s Autobiography: ʾAqwā min al-Nisyān

2025-02-20T09:48:26+00:00

This article examines the autobiography of the author Nimer Morqos, ʾAqwā min al-Nisyān [Stronger than Oblivion], published in 2000, from the perspective of cultural criticism. This autobiography interlinks with the journey of the Arab masses in Palestine, as well as the journey of the Communist Party, from the mid-1930s until the late 1970s. Morqos’s autobiography also serves as a voice for the oppressed and the marginalized against the domination of unjust offensive power and a new voice that exposes both the flaws and strengths of old traditions and viewpoints. As such, the study divides the author’s life into four organically interconnected stages: childhood and curiosity, posing questions and seeking answers, finding solutions that quench the author’s thirst, and applying these solutions despite the cost. These stages are further analyzed based on two main themes: the question of justice versus power and the question of the new negating and replacing the old.

By adopting contextual analysis and examining Morqos’s autobiography from the perspective of cultural criticism, the study aims to answer two main questions. First, How did the author’s awareness transition from the confines of the local small village to the global vastness of the world? Second, Was the author seeking answers for himself only or for others as well? The study sheds light on the important stations that the author paused at in his life journey, crystallizing his awareness and preparing him to embrace a local-global thought and approach to writing. It also shows how the author’s quest for answers was to find the path to solving both his and other people’s problems and liberate himself and others from the predicaments of oppression.

Adunīs and al-Mutanabbī: Formulas of Rejection and Rebellion: al-Kitāb as an Example

2025-02-20T09:36:44+00:00

This article examines Adunīs’s book al-Kitāb: Ams, al-Makān, al-Ān [The Book: Yesterday, the Place, Now] and his state of state of rejection and rebellion against his role model al-Mutanabbī. Adunīs’s sense of rejection and rebellion in this book revolves primarily around al-Mutanabbī’s attitudes towards war in general, and the one against the Romans, more particularly. This critical state of rejection and rebellion plays a crucial role in shaping the identity of al-Kitāb, further reflecting an important aspect of Adunīs’s critical intellectual agenda. Accordingly, this study examines Adunīs’s stance against al-Mutanabbī by exploring the rules of intertextuality and their functioning in Adunīs’s book al-Kitāb: Ams, al-Makān, al-Ān. It also looks at the sites where Adunīs identifies with verses from al-Mutanabbī’s poetry. By inspecting both content and style, this study aims to clarify how the book’s poetry style is structured in a way that is harmonious with its content as well as al-Mutanabbī’s own verses, and it assesses how the book’s style and content reinforce Adunīs’s critical state of rejection and rebellion against al-Mutanabbī.

Sufi Discourse in Ahmed Sowilam’s Poetry

2025-02-20T06:46:29+00:00

This study aims to examine the relationship between contemporary Arabic poetry and Sufism. Many contemporary Arab poets incorporate Sufism into their poetry, raising several questions that the current study seeks to answer. What motivates contemporary Arab poets to incorporate Sufism into their poems? Is the adoption of Sufi discourse a product of the poets’ own life experiences, which they attempt to portray in their poetry akin to early Sufis, or is it a reflection of the contemporary understanding of Sufism as a sanctuary? What are the points of resemblance between the struggles of early Sufi poets and contemporary poets who incorporate Sufi discourses? This comparative study attempts to answer these questions by looking at the poetry of Ahmed Sowilam, a contemporary Egyptian who incorporates Sufi poetry and discourses throughout his collections. The current study further examines the way Sufi concepts, ideas, and notions have been employed by contemporary poets such as Ahmed Sowilam to shed light on the sites of resemblance and departure between early and contemporary Sufi discourses.

Examining the Authorship of Nahj al-Balāgha: Between Ali Ibn Abi Talib, al-Sharif al-Radi, and al-Sharif al-Murtad

2025-02-20T06:51:58+00:00

The book Nahj al-Balagha is a collection of sermons, letters, adages, commandments, and etiquettes, divided into 238 sermons, 79 treatises, and 489 sayings. People following the Shiite sect regard it as a crucial text for teaching and learning, and they attribute it to Ali Ibn Abi Talib. Yet, the book’s real author is still disputed among Sharia scholars. While some attribute it to Ali Ibn Abi Talib, others claim that al-Sharif al-Radi is the book’s actual author, whereas another group attribute it to al-Sharif al-Murtada. This study employs a comprehensive approach to investigate and analyze the book’s authorship. It involves a detailed literary and historical analysis, examining primary sources, scholarly works, and critical literature to explore the real author of the text. It compares the content of the book with other authenticated works belonging to the potential authors in order to identify similarities and differences. By evaluating the style, language, and themes of Nahj al-Balagha, as well as reviewing historical documents and manuscripts, the study aims to trace the text’s origins and transmissions. In doing so, it addresses the significant critiques and controversies surrounding the text, enhancing our understanding of its historical and literary significance. The study further contributes to the ongoing discourse on the book’s authorship, providing more clarity on the topic and promoting additional scholarly research.

The Language of Commercial Advertising in the Jordanian Newspaper Al-Waseet: A Functional Study of Applied Linguistics

2025-02-20T06:58:28+00:00

This study focuses on commercial advertising as communication messages whose formal components and structural formats comply with the intentions of the speaker as well as the conditions of the addressees. Commercial advertising operates in specific social contexts, which determine the strategies and tools that advertising designers employ to spread their persuasive, sometimes even misleading, messages to consumers. By defining the nature of commercial advertising messages and their communicative aspects and linguistic components, this study examines the linguistic strategies advertisers use to achieve the utilitarian purpose of language in the context of commercials. Moreover, the study employs the functional approach to language, which explains linguistic phenomena by looking at the communicative functions of language use in various contexts. It traces this in a recent issue (1109, 2021) of Al-Waseet newspaper, which specializes in commercial advertising, and it explores how instructive, directive functions were employed in many of the advertisements published by the newspaper. That is, the language used in Al-Waseet’s commercial advertisements was found to have an instructive function that is stylistically directed to achieve the goals of excitement, persuasion, enjoyment, and influence.

A Dualistic Approach to Good and Evil between Children’s Literature and Cinematic Art: The Folk Tale as an Example

2025-02-20T07:05:50+00:00

This scholarly article presents a nuanced examination of the dichotomy between good and evil as depicted in children’s literature and cinema. It delves into the analysis of two renowned folk tales from global heritage that have been reimagined into children’s narratives and cinematic adaptations. Specifically, it explores the story of “Jack and the Beanstalk” (JM, 1997), which inspired the film “Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story” (2001), as well as the story of “Sleeping Beauty” (JM, 1997), which served as the basis for the film “Maleficent” (2014). This study elucidates the transformative power of cinematic art in interpreting and reshaping narratives to align with a distinct cinematic perspective on the duality of good and evil. Consequently, it posits a discourse on how cinema presents a contemporary outlook on this dichotomy, prompting a reevaluation of how children’s literature tackles such existential issues. These issues, rooted in philosophy, ethics, and intellect, often transcend the understanding and perception of young audiences. The films, nonetheless, offer a modernized viewpoint distinct from the original textual versions of the stories, with the new adaptations reflecting more contemporary societal developments and ideologies.

Recognition of the Authoritative among Arab Grammarians: An Analytical Study in Applied Models

2025-02-20T07:16:28+00:00

The current study investigates one of the most argumentative techniques that Arabic grammarians have relied on in their debates, namely objecting statements. Objecting statements in Arabic grammar are divided into three categories: recognition of the authoritative, non-recognition of the authoritative and conditional recognition. The study specifically looks at the effects of the recognition of the authoritative and its forms in Arabic grammar and the extent to which Arabic grammarians have used this technique in a way that benefits from the analogies of logic, theology, and Islamic jurisprudence. The main question that this study attempts to answer is: What is the effect of the recognition of the authoritative as a technique of argumentation and persuasion in reversing intellectual perceptions and expanding students’ perceptions? The importance of this study lies in the fact that the recognition of the authoritative technique has often been used to defend a specific idea, doctrine, or sect – as a way to show opponents the flaws in their arguments in order to switch their views through the use of evidence and conclusive proof. By using a descriptive-analytical approach, this study shows how the recognition of the authoritative is important for teaching Arabic grammar because it helps students enhance their debate skills and develop their argumentation and persuasion skills, further improving their abilities to engage in dialogues, discussions, and research.

Sadness and Loss in Abdel Nasser Saleh’s Poetry Collection Lā Budda min Ḥaifā

2025-02-20T07:45:30+00:00

Abdel Nasser Saleh is one of the most prominent contemporary Palestinian national poets. He is known for the great and distinguished value of his poetic literary production, all produced under the yoke and prisons of the occupation. Sadness and loss take central positions in his poetry, especially in his last poetry collection, Lā Budda min Ḥaifā [Haifa is a Necessity]. The collection contains new and old poems, which have been written over the last forty years of Abdel Nasser Saleh’s life. Many of the poems are addressed to his friends and family whom he had lost either through prison, death, or migration. The use of the words death and loss and their implications have deep connotations throughout the collection, and they are employed in a way that provokes the reader to relate to his existential state of sadness and despair. This study analyses the poems that appear in Abdel Nasser Saleh’s collection, Lā Budda min Ḥaifā, by employing a descriptive and analytical approach focusing on the themes of sadness and loss.

Modernist Narration and its Techniques in Rajāʾ ʿĀlem’s Novel Khātam

2025-02-20T07:51:08+00:00

Khātam [Ring] is an Arabic feminist novel published in 2001 by the Saudi novelist Rajāʾ ʿĀlem. The novel serves as a reflective, self-conscious, and objective mirror depicting the reality of women in the Arabian Gulf society. In this novel, ʿĀlem attempts to address the reality of Gulf women, in general, and Saudi women, more particularly, positioning herself as an advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. She exposes various opposing social, political, and legal stances between men and women and among women themselves. She does so by narrating the story of Khātam, who cannot determine her gender due to early physical deformity, leading her to live between the worlds of both femininity and masculinity. The author employs this oscillation between conflicting worlds to present the issue of women’s struggle with and among themselves, on the one hand, and their struggle within their male-dominated society, on the other.

Khātam demonstrates a mature feminist attempt by Rajāʾ ʿĀlem to employ modernist narration as an expression of Saudi women’s struggle within their restrictive environment. Throughout the novel, ʿĀlem employs modernist narrative techniques and narrative forms such as autobiographies, diaries, journalist writings, legal investigations, and other novels. Khātam is rich in symbols and allegories that contribute to addressing complex feminist issues using a condensed language with modernist characteristics that aim to liberate the novel from the constraints of traditional narration. This study aims to analyze ʿĀlem’s novel and her use of modernist narration and its techniques, revealing the key social and gender-related issues that this feminist novel aims to shed light on.

A Room of One’s Own: Writing as a Concept in the Liberatory Discourse of Arab Women Poets

2025-02-20T07:55:42+00:00

This study explores the concept of writing as developed by contemporary Arab Women poets engaged in Liberatory discourse, further examining how this discourse is constructed through their poetic techniques. The study looks at the span of three decades, from the early 1970s to the early 21^st century – a period that is characterized by significant Liberatory literary transformations. Within this period, three distinct patterns of Liberatory discourse appear to reflect the poets’ understanding of writing within the poems themselves – i.e., through a meta-poetic lens, with each poem reflecting upon itself. By analyzing selected poems forming “rooms of writing,” akin to Virginia Woolf’s concept of a “room of one’s own,” the study offers critical readings of the following works: Taḥaddī [Challenge] by the Algerian writer Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Waqafāt [Pauses] by the Iraqi poet Wafaa Abd Al-Razzaq, and Ana Waḥdī al-Qiṭṭa Hunā [I, Alone, Am the Cat Here] by the Emirati poet Maisoon Saqr.

Demonstrative Pronouns in Palestinian Dialects: A Grammatical-Lexical Study

2025-02-20T08:04:00+00:00

This grammatical-lexical study focuses on analyzing Palestinian dialects, particularly in terms of demonstrative pronouns. It examines how the Palestinian use of demonstrative pronouns differs from classical Arabic in terms of phonetics, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary. Unlike previous studies, this research specifically delves into the grammatical-lexical linguistic aspects of demonstrative pronouns, highlighting their significance within the context of different Palestinian dialects. The study employs a combination of descriptive and analytical approaches to explore all the demonstrative pronouns used by Palestinians, including recordings of oral interviews with elderly generations. Additionally, it looks at how the oral and written forms of these demonstrative pronouns vary between the different Palestinian dialects. While most demonstrative pronouns are pronounced similarly across the different dialects, the word hunāk (meaning ‘there’) is pronounced differently depending on the speaking group. Often, the difference in pronunciation is accompanied by a change in vowels and letters– shortening or swapping vowels/letters, for example, replacing the kāf (the sound ‘k’) with qāf (the sound ‘q’). In addition, while most demonstrative pronouns are spelt differently in the different dialects, they all share the common starting letter h. This is because many Palestinian dialects still use Canaanite demonstrative pronouns, such as hān (meaning ‘here’). Nevertheless, the way Palestinians conjugate demonstrative pronouns in sentences aligns with the conjugation rules of classical Arabic.

Manifestations of the Ottoman Sultans’ Care for Jerusalem in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries AH

2025-02-20T08:52:54+00:00

Muslim rulers throughout the ages have given Jerusalem great attention and special care. This is due to the sacred status that the city enjoys in the Quran and other Islamic scriptures and teachings. Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered a sacred place of worship, and it has been treated as such by all Islamic rulers, including the Ottoman Sultans, who followed the guidance of their predecessors and gave the city of Jerusalem considerable attention. Ottoman Sultans singled out the city for their care and protection, and their interest in it resembled their interest in Mecca and Medina as Islamic holy cities. This interest had begun many decades before they conquered Arab regions, and they showed this through sending gifts to their rulers and/or people, as well as arranging for reciters to read the Quran in their main mosques. This study explores the Ottoman Empire’s interest in and care for the city of Jerusalem in the tenth and eleventh centuries. It specifically examines the politics of care by assessing the Ottoman Sultans’ frequent visits to the city, how they granted it an important position in the administrative divisions of the Levant, and how they established urban facilities under their supervision, protection, and financial support as a way to ensure their presence in Jerusalem.

The Artistic and Intellectual Structure of Muhammad Ali Saeed’s Novel Nawwar al- ʿAlat

2025-02-20T09:00:11+00:00

Nawwar al-ʿAlat [Dandelion Blossoms] is a contemporary Arabic novel written by the Palestinian author Muhammad Ali Saeed. It highlights the various Palestinian experiences in Israel nearly three decades after Oslo. Analyzing the dramatic elements and narration techniques found in the novel demonstrates how the novel’s author exaggerates the stereotyping of his fictional characters and their proximity to reality. As this study shows, the novel’s characters are dominated by simplicity and flatness, and so is the plot, which is neither complex nor stimulating. Nevertheless, what distinguishes Nawwar al-ʿAlat is its narrative techniques and the way the author manipulates time and structure throughout the novel. The structure is clearly controversial and contradictory, following the principle of causality, especially when discussing the rise and fall of social classes. In addition, the dramatization found in the plot serves as a symbolic message aimed at reconciling the connection between Palestinians and their homeland, further demonstrating the author’s optimism towards positive change, peace, and the end of violence and extremism.

Employing Mythical, Religious, and Historical Symbolism in Poetry: The Fall of Baghdad as a Case Study

2025-02-20T09:06:59+00:00

This study deals with the phenomenon of the intense use of mythical, historical, and religious symbolism in contemporary Arabic poetry. By examining various samples of poems written after the fall of Baghdad in 2003, the study explores traditional symbolism employed in contemporary Arabic poetry and curricula. It looks at symbolism as mythical, historical, and religious concepts and their technical poetic achievements, further examining contemporary poems through the intertextual symbols employed in them. Since such traditional symbols are not abstract, positive or negative concepts, their value is far from absolute significance and relevance to the reader. Furthermore, when incorporating symbolism in poetry, poets often use two opposing practices, i.e., setting the poem’s rhythm superficially and loosening the content in depth. This makes the incorporation of symbolism a difficult and complex task. As such, the current study also explores the disparity in skills among contemporary poets who employ traditional symbolism in their poetry

Enhancing Students’ Oral Proficiency through the Integration of Songs:

2025-02-20T09:19:04+00:00

This study explores the impact of integrating songs into language instruction to improve students’ oral proficiency. The study focuses on understanding how the teaching of songs contributes to students’ oral skills, further enhancing their overall linguistic abilities. It employs qualitative methods and design, including in-depth interviews with fifteen Arab teachers who work in a small town in northern Israel. Seven overarching themes emerged from the findings, all of which highlight the benefits of teaching and learning songs as a tool for enhancing oral proficiency, especially when tailored to students’ particular skill levels. While the study presents positive outcomes of song teaching, it acknowledges its limitations, including the small, localized participant sample and reliance on subjective experiences. Future research is encouraged to broaden the sample size and include participants from diverse geographical locations for a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.