The Ten Maqamat of Abd al-Rahim al-Abbasi (d. 963 AH): A Semiotic Study

Abstract

This study examines the ten Maqamat of Abd al-Rahim al-Abbasi (d. 963 AH) from a semiotic perspective, aiming to analyze the discursive structures, narrative actions, and explore the social, cultural, and political values embedded in the texts. The Maqama is a distinctive Arabic prose genre that combines prose and poetry, characterized by fixed characters and diverse protagonists, in addition to clear artistic features that make it a rich model for literary analysis.

The research begins with the definition of the Maqama linguistically and technically, where the term denotes a council or a group of people, while its technical meaning refers to literary tales with a coherent structure including events, characters, and situations, blending seriousness with humor, allowing the researcher to explore the interaction between text and social and cultural context. The Maqama developed since the fourth century AH by Badi‘ al-Zaman al-Hamadhani, flourished with al-Hariri, and reached an advanced stage in the writings of Abd al-Rahim al-Abbasi in the tenth century AH, reflecting the historical, social, and political context of his era, particularly during Ottoman rule in Egypt after the fall of the Ghurid state.

The ten Maqamat provide a vivid picture of social classes, daily life, architectural structures, and intellectual and cultural interests of that period, highlighting the relationship between literature and social and political values. The study employs a semiotic approach to analyze the texts, focusing on narrative actions, general roles of characters, and the critique of self and society, contributing to understanding the mechanisms of meaning formation in literary discourse.

The study concludes that Abd al-Rahim al-Abbasi’s ten Maqamat represent a comprehensive model of Arabic prose literature, combining artistic originality with cultural and social significance, emphasizing the importance of studying this genre to understand the development of classical Arabic literature and its continuing influence on later literary practices.