في الشعر الجاهلي

With these words, Dr. Taha Hussein opened this book, which was first published in 1926. This is a new approach to researching the history of Arabic poetry, never attempted before in our society. I almost trust that some will criticize it angrily, while others will visit it with admiration. The book’s content raised strong opposition because Dr. Taha Hussein adopted the principle of Cartesian doubt in studying pre-Islamic poetry, departing from the traditional inherited critical style and adopting a new critical approach. This faced severe opposition from scholars of Al-Azhar at that time, leading to accusations against the author’s beliefs and the withdrawal of the book from the markets for some modifications. This controversial issue, along with others, resulted in Dr. Taha Hussein’s dismissal from the university. The book returns to you, dear reader, the intellectual conflicts of the Enlightenment era, where you will find several books contending against it, like ‘Under the Banner of the Qur’an’ by Al-Rafii and ‘Refuting a Book on Pre-Islamic Poetry’ by Muhammad Farid and Jad. These critiques are, at the very least, an acknowledgment of the value of this book.