AWEJ. Special Issue on Literature No.2 October, 2014 Pp.96 -105
Non-Religious Themes in Nigerian Poetry of Arabic Expression: A Study of Selected Poems from Isa Abubakar’s Al-Suba’iyyāt
Hamzat I. Abdulraheem
Department of Languages & Literary Studies
Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria
Abstract
The study of Arabic in Nigeria has always been associated with the religion of Islam. The use of Arabic language for literary expression has therefore been appreciated from the perspective of its religious value. Contemporary Nigerian users of Arabic have however diversified their areas of human interests which had led to the production of literary works in Arabic that have little or nothing to do with the religion of Islam. These include national and global issues in the three major genres of literature, namely: Poetry, Prose and Drama. One of the most leading Nigerian poets in Arabic is Isa Abubakar who has two collections of poems to his credit. The first is Ar-Riyadh (the Gardens) while the second one is named Al-Suba’iyyāt which means Odes comprising seven line each. This article intends to study four poems in the second collection that touch on national and global issues from the perspective of a Nigerian Poet using Arabic for expression. The study includes translation and appreciation of, and commentary on each poem. This is in addition to a short biography of the poet and a general review of the work.
Keywords: Nigerian Literature, Suba’iyyāt, Ruba’iyyāt, Poetry, Arabic