Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: William G. Crampton, Smithsonian 

Handbooks: Flags (New York: DK Publishing, 2002).

folklore

Folklore in the Islamicate lands encompasses 

a rich and varied body of oral and written lit-

erature. In the q

Uran

, several terms are used 

to denote the narrative accounts of prophets 

and other didactic tales: qassa, haka, haddatha, 

khabara, and naba-a. These words indicate the 

relating of news or passing on of information, 

often with specific reference to the sayings and 

doings of exemplary figures. The word ustura 

also appears in the Quran with the pejorative 

connotation of the superstitious tales believed 

by the credulous and sinful. The same semantic 

range appears in the 

hadith

 literature. It seems 

clear that there were active storytelling tradi-

tions extant in the Hijaz (the western region 

of the Arabian Peninsula) from before the time 

of  m

Uhammad

 (d. 632) that may have accom-

panied the rich tradition of pre-Islamic poetry. 

In addition to early Arabian traditions, Islamic 

folklore has been profoundly influenced by the 

storytelling traditions in other parts of the world, 

particularly those linked to the region via the 

Silk Road. Indian, Chinese, Turkish, and Persian 

stories have greatly enriched Arabic folklore. 

Since at least al-Muhassin ibn al-Tanukhi’s 10th-

century collection of anecdotal tales, al-Faraj 

baad al-shidda (Joyous Relief after Hardship), 

there have been efforts to compile and classify 

the various types of Arabic narratives. Another 

famous work was Muhammad Awfi’s Jawami 

al-hikayat wa-lawami al-riwayat (Collection of 

stories and illustrious tales), a 13th-century col-

lection of some 2,000 Persian narratives.

Among the classificatory categories, hikaya is 

perhaps the most common term used to denote 

the range of fictional narratives, encompassing 

didactic tales with ethical and moral functions, 

etiological tales and fables, heroic ballads and 

legends, and fanciful stories of the supernatural. 

These works include the Tutinama and Kalila wa 

Dimna, two cycles of fable that were translated 

into Arabic from Sanskrit literature. The Gulistan

of Saadi (d. ca. 1291) is perhaps the greatest 

example of Persian hikaya literature. The sira

denotes a biographical account that may range 

from the life of Muhammad to the Sirat Bani Hil-

lal, a long oral epic poem describing tribal wars 

and genealogical heroes of b

edoUin

s that remains 

one of the most popular tales in e

gypt

 and the 

Middle East. The qissa came through Persian and 

Turkish literature to signify biographical legends 

such as the Hamzanama (The tale of Hamza), 

love stories such as Layla wa Majnun and Shi-

rin-Farhad, and hagiographical tales of 

prophets

and 

saints

 such as the Qisas al-anbiya or the 

Menaqib-i Haji Bektash. The most famous collec-

tion of Arabic folklore is, of course, Alf Layla wa-

Layla (The Thousand and One Nights, or  a

rabian

n

ights

), a tremendous gathering of tales with 

Asian, Middle Eastern, and European origins. 

However, this collection was actually reimported 

to the Middle East from the French traveler Jean 

Antoine Galland’s publication Les mille et une 

nuits, which he began to publish in 1704. Some of 

the tales are of Arab origin, but many also appear 

to be the inventions and collections of Galland 

and later editors. The cycle was reintroduced into 

the Arab world in the early 19th century and has 

gained popularity.