Introduction to the Study of Ibn Qutayba's 'Uyun al-Akhbar

Ibn Qutayba (828-889) is one of the most important writers of medieval Arabic literature. He is the author of several books of Adab, a classic genre of prose cultivated among the Arabs in the Middle Ages. This paper refers to this outstanding figure of medieval times and is an approach to the study of one of his main works: the compendium of Adab (belles-lettres) entitled as „Uyūn al-Akhbār (Sources of information). It includes some preliminary notes by way of introduction about the life and the work of the author, a special reference to the cited book, and an appendix with the English translation of an Arabic text selected and taken from the „Uyūn alAkhbār.

Keywords: Ibn Qutayba, Adab, Medieval Arabic Literature, Classical Arabic Prose, Abbasid times.