Renewing the Memory of Abu al-Alaa

Taha Hussein established a distinctive critical school, adopting objectivity as its style and the scientific method as its approach and tool. He believed that any critical reading of texts required the critic to be familiar with the life of the author under study, the details of their environment, and the political, economic, and cultural circumstances that prevailed in their era. Humans are not separate from their surroundings; rather, they are integrated with their circumstances, influenced by their community, and influencing it in return. The author applied this approach in his study of the great poet Abu al-Alaa al-Ma'arri, not content with a dry narration of his birth, the details of his upbringing and life, and his literary works. Instead, he presented a comprehensive study of al-Ma'arri's time and the various events that reflected in his literature. Thus, this book became a comprehensive literary history of al-Ma'arri's era, life, and literary output.