Islamic Impression on Literary Criticism in The Sadr Al-Islam Era (The Early Islamic Period)

Abstract

The Jahiliya era tended to produce literary works that carried tribal fanaticism or themes that were not in accordance with Islamic norms and principles. On the other hand, the sadr al-Islam period experienced a shift in literary themes from the previous era, and this change also influenced the method of literary criticism which began to refer to Islamic values as the standard of criticism at that time. This study aims to explore the standardization and characteristics that define literary criticism in the sadr al-Islam period. This study uses a library research method using the technique of observing, sorting, and noting as a systematic data collection technique. The results of the study show that literary criticism in the sadr al-Islam period experienced a significant transformation of literary works or the desired standardization in producing these literary works. If measured based on its standards, then in this period literary works were predominantly influenced by the standardization of Islamic teachings. The themes of literary works during this period were mostly centered on four main themes: al-madh (praise), al-hijā’ (satire), al-ḥamāsah (heroic poetry), and ar-rithā’ (elegy or lamentation). The methods of literary criticism during the sadr al-Islam period still adopted the traditions and methods of criticism from the Jahiliya era which were based on the intuitive dimension (emotional intuition), subjective, immersive, and the innate tastes of Arab society itself. However, the main point of literary criticism during the sadr al-Islam period tended to lie in the meaning of the words used in literary works.