"Intertextuality in the Poetry of Saad Sabahi: The Poetry of Ahl al-Bayt (Peace Be Upon Them) as a Model"

Abstract

Intertextuality constitutes a central aesthetic mechanism in the poetic experience of Saad Sabahi, functioning not merely as a stylistic device but as a foundational structure that shapes the epistemological and symbolic dimensions of his poetry. Sabahi draws upon an extensive network of religious, Qur’anic, hadith-based, historical, Sufi, and cultural references, along with mythological, philosophical, and literary allusions, to construct multilayered poetic texts whose meanings unfold through dynamic interactions between past and present. Through analytic readings of selected poems, this study demonstrates Sabahi’s ability to reactivate sacred and historical narratives by transforming them from their original contexts into modern poetic frameworks that generate renewed forms of awareness and reinterpretations of reality. Rather than employing citation or incorporation as mere imitation, Sabahi uses intertextuality as a strategy for reconstructing meaning and producing a symbolic discourse that transcends temporal boundaries. His poetry reflects a distinctive spiritual and doctrinal vision in which the figures of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) emerge as embodiments of truth, justice, light, and divine knowledge, framed through poetic images that draw on Qur’anic concepts such as certainty, guidance, and illumination, as well as Sufi notions like fanā’ (annihilation) and fayd (divine emanation). Consequently, the poetic text becomes an open interpretive space that relies on the cultural competence of the reader to decipher its interwoven layers. The findings affirm that intertextuality in Sabahi’s work is not ornamental, but a generative poetic principle that enriches modern Arabic poetics and expands its semantic and aesthetic horizons.