Moroccan literature

Ruins of the Roman theatre at Lixus, an archeological cite near L'ara'ish

Morocco has been associated with Phoenician mythology, as a temple to Melqart was found in the vicinity of Lixus.[4]

Morocco also played a part in the Greco-Roman Mythology. Atlas is associated with the Atlas Mountains and is said to have been the first king of Mauretania.[5] Also associated with Morocco is Hercules, who was given the 12 impossible tasks including stealing "golden apples" from the garden of the Hesperides, purported to have been in or around Lixus.[6][7]

Juba II, King of Mauretania, was a man of letters who authored works in Latin and Greek.[8] Pliny the Elder mentioned him in his Natural History.[8]

Little is known of the literary production in the time of the Exarchate of Africa.[9]

According to Abdallah Guennoun's an-Nubugh ul-Maghrebi fi l-Adab il-Arabi (النبوغ المغربي في الأدب العربي Moroccan Excellence in Arabic Literature), Moroccan literature in Arabic can be traced back to a Friday sermon given by Tariq ibn Ziyad at the time of the conquest of Iberia.[10][11] For part of its history, Moroccan literature and literature in al-Andalus can be considered as one, since Morocco and al-Andalus were united under the Almoravid and Almohad empires. Additionally, a number of Andalusi writers went to Morocco for different reasons; some, such as Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, Maimonides, Ibn al-Khatib, and Leo Africanus were forced to leave, while others, such as Ibn Rushd, went in search of opportunity.

Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi, a Muslim scholar of Masmuda Amazigh ancestry and a grandson of one of the conquerors of al-Andalus, was responsible for spreading Maliki jurisprudence in al-Andalus and the Maghreb and is considered the most important transmitter of Malik ibn Anas's Muwatta (compilation of Hadith).[12][13]

Idrissid Period

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Arabic culture
Architecture Styles Islamic Architecture Architecture of ancient Yemen Nabataean architecture Umayyad architecture Abbasid architecture Fatimid architecture Moorish architecture Mamluk architecture Moroccan architecture Features Ablaq Alfiz Arabesque Arabic dome Banna'i Gardens Girih Horseshoe arch Howz Hypostyle Islamic calligraphy Islamic geometric patterns Islamic interlace patterns Iwan Liwan Mashrabiya Mocárabe Moroccan riad Mosaic Multifoil arch Muqarnas Nagash painting Qadad Reflecting pool Riwaq Sahn Socarrat Tadelakt Vaulting Voussoir Windcatcher Yeseria Zellige Types Albarrana tower Alcazaba Alcázar Bab Bazaar Caravanserai Dar al-Shifa Hammam Kasbah Madrasa Maqam Mazar Mosque Medina quarter Qalat Ribat Sebil Shadirvan Souq Tekyeh Well house Zawiya
Art Styles Art of ancient Yemen Nabataean art Umayyad art Abbasid art Moorish art Fatimid art Mamluk art Types Arabic calligraphy Arab carpet Arabic embroidery Arabic hardstone carving Arabic garden Arabic glass Arabic graffiti Arabic ivory carving Arabic Metalwork Arabic miniature Palestinian wood carving Arabic pottery Features Arabesque Arabic geometric patterns Arabic interlace patterns Banna'i Damascus steel Damask Girih tiles Hedwig glass Kiswah Mocárabe Muqarnas Pseudo-Arabic Zellige
Gastronomy Khalij (Arabian Peninsula) Arab Mashriq (Levant) Mawset (Egypt) Mawset (Sudan) Arab Maghreb (North Africa)
Dress Headwear Agal Battoulah Haik Keffiyeh Litham Madhalla Taqiyah Tantour Tarboush (fez) Turban Clothing Abaya Bisht Burnous Djellaba Durra'ah Fouta towel Izaar Jellabiya Kaftan Macawis Robe of honour Sirwal Takchita Thawb Tiraz
Music Theory Arabic maqam Arab tone system Algerian scale Rhythm in Arabic music Taqsim Jins Lazma Teslim Quarter tone Arabic musical instruments Arabic music theorists Great Book of Music Genres Arabic pop Arabic hip hop Arabic rock Arabic jazz Classical Arab music Opera Al Jeel Khaliji Raï Art music Andalusian classical music Andalusi nubah Bashraf Dawr Dulab Layali Malhun Maqam al-iraqi Mawwal Muwashshah Qasidah Qudud Halabiya Sama'i Tahmilah Taqsim Waslah Folk Ataaba Algerian Raï Bedouin Chaabi (Algeria) Chaabi (Morocco) Egyptian folk Fann at-Tanbura Fijiri Gnawa (North Africa) Liwa Mawwal Mezwed Samri Sawt Shaabi Zajal
Dance Al Ayala Ardah Belly dance Dabke Deheyeh Guedra Hagallah Khaleegy Liwa Mizmar Ouled Nail Raqs Sharqi Samri Shamadan Schikhatt Tahtib Tanoura Yowla Zār
Literature Language Old Classical Modern Prose Epic literature Saj (ryhmed prose) Maqama Love in Arabic literature Arabic erotic literature Arabic Grimoires Literary_criticism Arabic short story Tabaqat Tezkire Rihla Mirrors for princes Islamic Quran Tafsir Hadith Sīra Fiqh Aqidah Poetry Anthologies Poets Genres Madih Hija Rithā' Waṣf Ghazal Khamriyyah Tardiyyah Khawal Fakhr Hamasah Forms Diwan Qasida Muwashshah Urjūza Mathnawi Rubaʿi Nasīb Riddles Kharja Zajal Mawwal Nabati Ghinnawa Humayni Modern Arabic poetry Arabic prosody Beit Ṭawīl Madīd Basīṭ Kamil Wāfir Hazaj Rajaz Ramal Munsariħ Khafīf Muqtaḍab Mujtathth Muḍāriʿ Sarīʿ Mutaqārib Mutadārik National literatures al-Andalus Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia U.A.E. Yemen
Science Arabic chemistry Arabic astrology Arabic astronomy Arabic geography Arabic Golden Age Arabic mathematics Arabic medicine Arabic psychology Arabic technology
Philosophy Early Arabic Philosophy Islamic Aristotelianism Islamic Platonism Islamic Logic Kalam Sufi philosophy Farabism Avicennism Averroism Identityism Theoretical mysticism Concepts Al-aql al-faal Aql bi-l-fi'l Al-Insān al-Kāmil Dhati Peace Arcs of Descent and Ascent Asabiyyah Haal Irfan Nafs Qadar Qalb Wahdat al-mawjud Texts Liber de Causis The Theology of Aristotle Al-isharat The Book of the Apple Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity The Incoherence of the Philosophers The Incoherence of the Incoherence Hayy ibn Yaqdhan Theologus Autodidactus On the Harmony of Religions and Philosophy Muqaddimah Sicilian Questions Fusus al-Hikam
Mythology Ababil Atlantis of the Sands Bahamut Beast of the Earth Book of Idols Book of Wonders Buraq Dandan Falak Ghoul Hinn Houri Ifrit Iram of the Pillars Jinn Karkadann Kujata Luqman Magic carpet Marid Mount Qaf Nasnas One Thousand and One Nights Qareen Qutrub Roc Shaddad Shadhavar Shams al-Ma'arif She-Camel of God Wāḳwāḳ Zulfiqar Zarqa al Yamama Fictional Arab people Aladdin Abdul Alhazred Ali Baba Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad Battal Gazi Hayy ibn Yaqdhan Kara Ben Nemsi King Marsile Layla and Majnun Othello Palamedes Princess Jasmine Ra's al Ghul Sindbad Talia al Ghul
Spirituality North Arabian deities Allah Al-‘Uzzá Al-Lat Manāt Dushara Chaabou Manaf Nuha Al-Kutbay Asira Awal Azizos Bajir Quzah Manāt Manāt A'ra Abgal Aglibol Al-Qaum Atarsamain Baalshamin Bēl Hubal Suwa' Theandrios Wadd Malakbel Orotalt Ruda Sa'd Yarhibol Isāf and Nā'ila South Arabian deities Almaqah Amm Anbay Athtar Salman Dhat-Badan Haubas Ta'lab Qaynan Basamum Dhul Khalasa Haukim Nasr Sīn Ya'uq Yaghūth Yatha

Sebta, Tangier, Basra (a settlement founded by the Idrissids near al-Qasar al-Kebir), and Asilah were important cultural centers during the Idrissid period.[10]

University of al-Qarawiyyin

al-Qarawiyiin University (est. 859) is considered one of the most important institutions in the history of Moroccan literature

Fatima al-Fihri founded al-Qarawiyiin University in 859. Particularly from the beginning of the 12th century, the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fes played an important role in the development of Moroccan literature, welcoming scholars and writers from throughout the Maghreb, al-Andalus, and the Mediterranean Basin. Among the scholars who studied and taught there were Ibn Khaldoun, Ibn al-Khatib, Al-Bannani, al-Bitruji, Ibn Hirzihim (Sidi Harazim) and Al-Wazzan (Leo Africanus) as well as the Jewish theologian Maimonides and the Catholic Pope Sylvester II.[16][17] The writings of Sufi leaders have played an important role in literary and intellectual life in Morocco from this early period (e.g. Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili and al-Jazouli) until now (e.g. Muhammad ibn al-Habib).[18]

Almoravid

The writings of Abu Imran al-Fasi, a Moroccan Maliki scholar, influenced Yahya Ibn Ibrahim and the early Almoravid movement.[19]

A plaque at the burial place of the Poet King Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, interred 1095 in Aghmat, Morocco.

From 1086, Morocco and al-Andalus, with its rich literary tradition from the Umayyads, formed one state under the Almoravid dynasty. The cultural interchange between Morocco and al-Andalusi rapidly accelerated with this political unification, and Almoravid sultans stimulated culture in their courts and in the country. This process began when Yusuf Bin Tashfiin, upon taking control of al-Andalus after the Battle of az-Zallaqah (Sagrajas), exiled al-Mu'tamid Bin Abbad, poet king of the Taifa of Seville, to Tangier and ultimately Aghmat.[20]

The historian Ibn Hayyan lived the end of his life in the Almoravid empire, as did Al-Bakri, author of Roads and Kingdoms. Ibn Bassam dedicated his anthology adh-Dhakhira fî mahâsin ahl al-Gazira (الذخيرة في محاسن أهل الجزيرة) to Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar and al-Fath ibn Khaqan his Qala-id al-Iqyan (قلائد العقيان) to Yusuf ibn Tashfin.

In the Almoravid period two writers stand out: Ayyad ben Moussa and Ibn Bajja. Ayyad is known for having authored Kitāb al-Shifāʾ bīTaʾrif Ḥuqūq al-Muṣṭafá.[21]

Marinid

Illustration from the 14th century courtly romance 'Hadîth Bayâd wa Riyâd' (the story of Bayad and Riyad)

Abulbaqaa' ar-Rundi, who was from Ronda and died in Ceuta, composed his qasida nuniyya "Elegy for al-Andalus" in the year 1267; this poem is a rithā', or lament, mourning the fall of most major Andalusi cities to the Catholic monarchs in the wake of the Almohad Caliphate's collapse, and also calling the Marinid Sultanate on the African coast to take arms in support of Islam in Iberia.[29]

During the reign of the Marinid dynasty (1215–1420) it was especially Sultan Abu Inan Faris (r. 1349–1358) who stimulated literature. He built the Bou Inania Madrasa. At his invitation the icon of Moroccan literature Ibn Batuta returned to settle down in the city of Fez and write his Rihla or travelogue in cooperation with Ibn Juzayy. Abdelaziz al-Malzuzi (-1298) and Malik ibn al-Murahhal (1207–1300) are considered as the two greatest poets of the Marinid era. Historiographers were, among many others, Ismail ibn al-Ahmar and Ibn Idhari. Poets of Al-Andalus, like Ibn Abbad al-Rundi (1333–1390) and Salih ben Sharif al-Rundi (1204–1285) settled in Morocco, often forced by the political situation of the Nasrid kingdom. Both Ibn al-Khatib (1313–1374) and Ibn Zamrak, vizirs and poets whose poems can be read on the walls of the Alhambra, found shelter here. The heritage left by the literature of this time that saw the flowering of Al-Andalus and the rise of three Berber dynasties had its impact on Moroccan literature throughout the following centuries.[30]

The first record of a work of literature composed in Moroccan Darija was Al-Kafif az-Zarhuni's al-Mala'ba, written in the period of Sultan Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman.[31]

The possession of manuscripts of famous writers remained the pride of courts and zawiyas throughout the history of Morocco until the modern times. The great Saadian ruler Ahmed al-Mansour (r.1578–1603) was a poet king. Poets of his court were Ahmad Ibn al-Qadi, Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali. Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari lived during the reign of his sons. The Saadi Dynasty contributed greatly to the library of the Taroudannt. Another library established in time that was that of Tamegroute—part of it remains today.[32] By a strange coincidence the complete library of Sultan Zaydan an-Nasser as-Saadi has also been transmitted to us to the present day. Due to circumstances in a civil war, Sultan Zaydan (r.1603–1627) had his complete collection transferred to a ship, which was commandeered by Spain. The collection was transmitted to El Escorial.[33][34]

Some of the main genres differed from what was prominent in European countries:

• Songs (religious poetry but also elegies and love poems)
• biographies and historical chronicles like the "Nuzhat al-hadi bi-akhbar muluk al-qarn al-hadi" of Mohammed al-Ifrani (1670–1745), and the chronicles of Muhammad al-Qadiri (1712–1773).
• accounts of journey's like the rihla of Ahmed ibn Nasir (1647–1717)
• religious treatises and letters like those of Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823) and Ahmad Ibn Idris Al-Fasi (1760–1837)

Famous Moroccan poets of this period were Abderrahman El Majdoub, Al-Masfiwi, Muhammad Awzal and Hemmou Talb.

Three generations of writers especially shaped 20th-century Moroccan literature.[35] The first was the generation that lived and wrote during the Protectorate (1912–56), its most important representative being Mohammed Ben Brahim (1897–1955). The second generation was the one that played an important role in the transition to independence with writers like Abdelkrim Ghallab (1919–2006), Allal al-Fassi (1910–1974) and Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi (1900–1963). The third generation is that of writers of the sixties. Moroccan literature then flourished with writers such as Mohamed Choukri, Driss Chraïbi, Mohamed Zafzaf and Driss El Khouri. Those writers were an important influence on many Moroccan novelists, poets and playwrights that were still to come.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was also a refuge for writers from abroad, such as Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams, Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac.

In 1966, a group of Moroccan writers founded a magazine called Souffles / أنفاس Anfas (Breaths) that was prohibited by the government in 1972, but gave impetus to the poetry and modern fiction of many Moroccan writers. Since then, a number of writers of Moroccan origin have become well-renowned abroad, such as Tahar Ben Jelloun in France or Laila Lalami in the United States.

• Otto Zwartjes, Ed de Moor, e.a. (ed.) Poetry, Politics and Polemics: Cultural Transfer Between the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, Rodopi, 1996, ISBN 90-420-0105-4
• Monroe, J. T., Hispano-Arabic Poetry During the Almoravid Period: Theory and Practice, Viator 4, 1973, pp. 65–98
• Mohammed Hajji, Al-Haraka al-Fikriyya bi-li-Maghrib fi'Ahd al-Saiyyin (2 vols; al-Muhammadiya: Matbaat Fadala, 1976 and 1978)
• Najala al-Marini, Al-Sh'ar al-Maghribi fi 'asr al-Mansur al-Sa'di, Rabat: Nashurat Kuliat al-Adab wa al-Alum al-Insania, 1999 (Analysis of the work of the main poets of the age of Ahmed al-Mansour)
• Lakhdar, La vie littéraire au Maroc sous la dynastie alaouite, Rabat, 1971
• Jacques Berque, "La Littérature Marocaine Et L'Orient Au XVIIe Siècle", in: Arabica, Volume 2, Number 3, 1955, pp. 295–312

• Nadia Ghanem, 180+ Books: A Look at Moroccan Literature Available in English; In arablit.org (2020)
• Poetry International Web, Morocco
• Abdellatif Akbib, Abdelmalek Essaadi, Birth and Development of the Moroccan Short Story, University, Morocco
• Suellen Diaconoff, Professor of French, Colby College: Women writers of Morocco writing in French, 2005 (Survey)
• The Postcolonial Web, National University of Singapore, The Literature of Morocco: An Overview
• M.R. Menocal, R.P. Scheindlin and M. Sells (ed.) The Literature of Al-Andalus, Cambridge University Press (chapter 1), 2000
• Said I. Abdelwahed, Professor of English Literature English Department, Faculty of Arts, Al-Azhar University Gaza, Palestine, Troubadour Poetry: An Intercultural Experience
• In Spanish: Enciclopedia GER, P. Martsnez Montávez, "Marruecos (magrib Al-agsá) VI. Lengua y Literatura." retrieved on 28 February 2008

• Culture of Morocco
• Music of Morocco
• Pallache family (rabbinical writings)