Journal of Arabic Language & Literature

Abstract Literature has long served as a mirror of human society, reflecting the ongoing interaction and mutual influence. Therefore, the concepts, meanings, and sometimes the structures of a literary work undergo metamorphosis alongside societal changes. Given this dynamic interaction between society, culture, and literature and the knowledge it offers the researcher and reader about each period, it is necessary to examine the achievements of each literary period to understand its facets better. Abd al-Rahman Yusuf’s critical and protest-oriented works serve as a poignant case study in this regard. This research investigates the content of Yusuf’s poetry and his engagement with his contemporary world, moving beyond a purely descriptive approach to analyze the profound impact of the surrounding environment on his poems. The findings show that his society’s sociopolitical conditions deeply influence the poet. With a vigilant and empathetic mind, and by eschewing complex rhetoric or excessive poetic artifices, he directly critiques critical issues, including poverty, class conflict, the massacre of innocent people, the looting of national capital, rampant corruption within Egyptian society, systemic failures of the legal system, the torture and unjust imprisonment of citizens, as well as sectarianism and divisiveness. These concerns, which predominantly affect the lower classes, have significantly contributed to the popularity and resonance of his poetry. At times, the poet expresses the height of pain and suffering through profound mockery, ridicule, and scorn, ensuring that even the highest figures in the government system are not immune to his sharp, stinging tone. Ultimately, beyond criticizing society and describing its bitter realities, the poet seeks to uncover the root causes of these problems and cultivate a resilient, fighting spirit among the Egyptian people.

Abstract Feminist criticism, a 20th-century intellectual and cultural movement, has created a new branch of contemporary literary criticism called Gynocriticism, emphasizing gender equality and the representation of women's experiences. Since then, literary works have been analyzed through two major approaches: "Images of Women" and "Gynocriticism." Elaine Showalter, an American critic and theorist, developed a framework for analyzing women writers’ works based on four dimensions: biological, linguistic, psychoanalytical, and cultural. The research aims to clarify the position of women in patriarchal societies and the importance of the struggle to eliminate gender inequality. Based on Showalter's theory, this research uses a Gynocriticism to analyze the novel Adrakaha Al-Nisyan (Overtaken by Forgetfulness) by Sana Sha'lan, a contemporary Jordanian-Palestinian writer. This study explores the dimensions of women’s representation and femininity in this work. This study used a descriptive-analytical method. The results show that Shaalan recalls the female body as a cultural text, and through it, challenges the dominance of the patriarchal system. On a linguistic level, the author breaks the boundaries of male language by creating a feminine, emotional, and sometimes protesting language, giving women an independent voice by expressing silent experiences. On a psychoanalytic level, the narrative of the heroine's illness and forgetfulness is a metaphor for a woman's effort to escape from collective memory, repression, and rebuild her identity. On a cultural level, Shaalan also criticizes social and institutional structures, showing how society shapes women's bodies and minds within the framework of domination. Adrakha al-Nasyan reflects women's writing and women’s position in society, bringing women's voices from the margins into text through a multilayered narrative and opening a new horizon for a feminist reading of contemporary Arab literature.

Abstract Individualistic psychology in literary criticism aims to uncover characters’ underlying psychological structures by examining the origins of their fears, traumas, suppressed desires, and emotional responses. This method links the human psyche and the literary text, offering insight into a character’s motivations and inner conflicts. A key concept in individualistic psychology is the inferiority complex, coined by Alfred Adler, who argues that such feelings stem from early childhood frustrations and unmet needs. According to Adler, when individuals feel unrecognized or devalued, they may develop chronic anxiety about the future, often manifesting through compensatory mechanisms, either constructive or destructive. The novel Al-Ashya’ Laysat fi Amakiniha (Things are not in their places) by Huda Hamed offers a compelling narrative framework for exploring themes of racial discrimination, social domination, and the hidden wounds inflicted by cultural traditions and societal expectations. Based on Adler's theory, this study analyzes the inferiority complex in the novel’s three main characters: Amal, a victim of social inequality and whose compensation from studying leads to destructive relationships; Mohsen, a "discouraged child" resulting from parental domination who moves from isolation to emotional-caregiving compensation; and Mani, who creates an imaginary persona through distancing and faces its collapse. The research findings reveal that these compensations are often unstable and rather than healing psychological wounds, often perpetuate feelings of worthlessness, frustration, and passivity. Therefore, the narrative simultaneously represents individual traumas and mirrors social and family pressures that shapes the characters' psychological and identity crises.

Abstract Trauma is a profound psychological and emotional wound that arises from the experience of painful events and shocking incidents. The growing prevalence of such experiences has made trauma one of the defining existential conditions of modern humanity. Abdullah Al-Baradouni (1929–1999), the prominent Yemeni poet and man of letters, endured numerous painful and distressing experiences throughout his life. These experiences profoundly shaped his personality and contributed to the development of trauma within him. Adopting a descriptive-analytical method and an interdisciplinary approach combining literary studies and psychoanalysis, the present study examines the poetic corpus of Abdullah Al-Baradouni to address two fundamental questions: which life experiences played the most central role in the formation of the poet’s trauma, and how are the consequences of this psychological suffering reflected in his poetry? The findings reveal that factors such as blindness, imprisonment, the loss of loved ones, familial poverty, and childlessness all contributed significantly to the formation of trauma in Al-Baradouni’s life. These experiences manifest throughout his poetry as loneliness, despair, sorrow, confusion, and pessimism. Structural analysis further demonstrates that this wounded worldview is systematically embedded in the texture of his poetic language. The frequent use of the first-person voice, recurrent rhetorical questions, and sorrow-laden symbolism all testify to the dominance of the poet’s wounded consciousness over his poetic expression. The study concludes that Al-Baradouni’s melancholic style and distinctive mode of expression should not be regarded merely as aesthetic or literary choices; rather, they constitute an inevitable response to his profound experiences of trauma and suffering.

Abstract In modern novels, space has evolved beyond a physical backdrop into an active element that shapes identity and narrative meaning. Drawing upon Gaston Bachelard's phenomenology of space, this research explores the role of space in Naguib Mahfouz’s novel, Khan al-Khalili. The core problem of the study is how narrative spaces, particularly the house, drawers, chests, corners, and the dialectics of inside and outside, represent and organize the characters' lived experiences, memory, and imagination. Utilizing a qualitative-analytical method based on a phenomenological reading, the study extracts descriptive spatial propositions from the novel’s text to analyze them. In this approach, space is viewed not as a background, but as a dynamic factor shaping the actions and inner worlds of the characters. Findings indicate that the house in Mahfouz’s novel serves as the focal point for memory and the psychological continuity of the characters. Elements such as drawers and chests act as physical and mental repositories for safeguarding secrets and hidden experiences. Corners provide opportunities for introspection and the reconstruction of internal experiences in the face of failure. At the same time, the dialectic of inside and outside illustrates how characters' experiences form at the boundary between mental sanctuary and social pressure. Ultimately, this research shows that space in this novel is a meaning-making mechanism that, through poetic spatialization, contributes to the development of character identity and the narrative’s phenomenological richness.

Abstract Letter 31, addressed to Imam Hasan (peace be upon him), is one of the most significant Islamic texts, containing Imam Ali’s (peace be upon him) moral, educational, political, and economic instructions, including significant ideological and behavioral themes, and can be examined from many angles and can be used as a model for many intellectual and practical systems. This study uses Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) model to examine the structures of power, ideology, and mechanisms of discourse influence. The research adopts a qualitative approach based on textual and linguistic content analysis. The findings indicate that Imam Ali (peace be upon him), through key concepts such as justice, fear of God, the ruler’s responsibility, and the people’s rights, constructs a moral and political discourse that legitimizes political authority while critiquing unjust practices. This letter recommends respecting people’s rights and avoiding oppression, and highlights linguistic structures that reinforce moral and social norms, indicating a balance between power and responsibility. Furthermore, the analysis shows that this letter, beyond conveying ethical messages, establishes a critical discourse on the political and social conduct of its time and presents ideal behavioral patterns for governance. This study highlights that Critical Discourse Analysis serves as an effective tool for uncovering the hidden dimensions of power and ideology in religious and historical texts, thereby deepening our understanding of the influence of religious texts on society and culture.