The Arabic Poetry and Its Literary Influence on the Works of Amin al-Din Balyani al-Kazrouni

Abstract

Influence and interaction represent the most significant concept in comparative literature, indeed forming the basis of its subjects across different schools of thought, even though these schools may differ in their explanations of its occurrence, its methods, and the historical connections stemming from it. Considering the period of Balyani’s life, during which the Arabic language was relatively prevalent, this Persian-speaking poet was by no means deficient in Arabic. In other words, Sheikh Amin al-Din al-Balyani was proficient in both Persian and Arabic, which enabled him to surpass his contemporary poets in terms of literature, poetry, and style. Balyani represents a rare and distinct case in both Arabic and Persian poetry, where his profound knowledge of Arabic literature is reflected in his poems, whether through his use of Arabic meters and words, or by incorporating meanings and literary ideas inspired by the Quran and Arabic poetry. He was a bilingual poet par excellence, successfully blending Persian and Arabic originality, influenced by the structure and style of Arabic poetry, to present a rich poetic model filled with meanings and imagery that bridge two ancient literary cultures. He also authored a diwan of poetry comprising three thousand verses, including magnificent Arabic and Persian poems. His Arabic poems encompass ghazals, odes, shorter pieces, and verses. His diwan contains Arabic poems that include allusions, affirmations, and proverbs, as well as various individual words. In total, Balyani’s Arabic poems include 13 ghazals, 3 odes, and 2 shorter pieces. In this article, through a study of Balyani’s diwan, we clearly see the influence of the Arabic language and its literature on the poet and his poetic style, which we detail in this research. We also discussed the four skills of the poet and demonstrated his mastery in the skill of Arabic writing after studying and analyzing his verses.