What ¿Isa ibn Hisham Told Us

With What ¿Isa ibn Hisham Told Us, the Library of Arabic Literature brings readers an acknowledged masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Mu¿ammad al-Muwayli¿i, this exceptional title was first introduced in serialized form in his family's pioneering newspaper Mi¿bä al-Sharq (Light of the East), on which this edition is based, and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and its mordant wit, What ¿Isa ibn Hisham Told Us was embraced by Egypt's burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of Egyptian school students.Bridging classical genres and the emerging tradition of modern Arabic fiction, What ¿Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is divided into two parts, the second of which was only added to the text with the fourth edition of 1927. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the book relates the excursions of its narrator ¿Isa ibn Hisham and his companion, the Pasha, through a rapidly Westernized Cairo at the height of British occupation, providing vivid commentary of a society negotiating-however imperfectly-the clash of imported cultural values and traditional norms of conduct, law, and education. The "Second Journey" takes the narrator to Paris to visit the Exposition Universelle of 1900, where al-Muwayli¿i casts the same relentlessly critical eye on European society, modernity, and the role of Western imperialism as it ripples across the globe.Paving the way for the modern Arabic novel, What ¿Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is invaluable both for its sociological insight into colonial Egypt and its pioneering role in Arabic literary history.A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Table of ContentsMi?ba? al-sharq 80, November 9, 1899 2Mi?ba? al-sharq 87, January 4, 1900 18Mi?ba? al-sharq 88, January 11, 1900 34Mi?ba? al-sharq 89, January 18, 1900 50Mi?ba? al-sharq 90, January 25, 1900 68Mi?ba? al-sharq 91, February 8, 1900 82Mi?ba? al-sharq 92, February 15, 1900 96Mi?ba? al-sharq 103, May 11, 1900 118Mi?ba? al-sharq 104, May 18, 1900 136Mi?ba? al-sharq 105, May 25, 1900 150Mi?ba? al-sharq 106, June 1, 1900 162Mi?ba? al-sharq 107, June 8, 1900 182Mi?ba? al-sharq 116, August 17, 1900 192Mi?ba? al-sharq 117, August 34, 1900 224Mi?ba? al-sharq 118, August 31, 1900 242Mi?ba? al-sharq 121, September 21, 1900 260Mi?ba? al-sharq 123, October 5, 1900 272Mi?ba? al-sharq 126, October 26, 1900 284Mi?ba? al-sharq 130, November 23, 1900 298Mi?ba? al-sharq 133, December 14, 1900 314Mi?ba? al-sharq 192, February 14, 1902 330