Research on the book One Thousand and One Nights

Book of One Thousand and One Nights

One Thousand and One Nights is a book that contains a large collection of diverse stories, including legends, news of kings, news of common people, thieves and exploiters, goblins, and jinn, and some of them were narrated on the tongues of animals. These stories carry within them the characteristics of popular literature that... The listener enjoys these stories and is drawn towards them.

Divisions of the book One Thousand and One Nights

It is not easy to determine the author of the book One Thousand and One Nights, as the stories contained in it are folk stories and legends that were transmitted through previous generations to a group of different civilizations, and there must be a reference or group of references to which the person who told these stories referred, but he narrated them in his own style. Accordingly, the origins of the book can be divided into several groups, as follows:

Indian and Persian stories

It is the first group of stories contained in the book, and it is called Hazar Afsana, meaning a thousand myths. They are fabricated fairy tales, woven by their authors in order to get close to the kings and amuse them. Some historians believe that these stories were narrated by a girl named Scheherazade to King Shahrayar, as this king was getting married. From a girl every night and killing her on the same night, so Scheherazade told interesting stories to Shahrayar until the night ended and she was saved and he did not kill her. These stories are a continuous series, so that in each story there is a key to the next story. Among these stories are the story of the merchant with the goblin, the story of Ardashir and the life of Souls, the story of the hunter with the goblin, the story of the enchanted ebony horse, the story of Bassem and the Jewel of Samandalia, the story of Qamar al-Zaman, the son of King Shahraman and Princess Baddour, the story of Saif al-Muluk and Badi’ah al-Jamal, and the story of Hassan al-Basri.

Al-Baghdadi group

This collection includes Arab folk tales that were inherited from generation to generation, and tales composed by Muslims in the Abbasid era, in addition to some historical incidents. Each story in this part stands on its own. These stories depicted the bliss and luxury experienced by the people of Basra, and what lovers encounter in their love, and tales This collection is the story of Ali bin Bakkar and Shams al-Nahar, and the story of Anas al-Wujud and the roses on his sleeves.

Egyptian group

The book One Thousand and One Nights reached the Egyptians in the fifth century AH, so they began to add Egyptian and Levantine stories to it due to the connection between the Levant and Egypt at that time, because this country fell under the rule of the Fatimids. This collection is divided into two parts, an old section that ends in the fifth century, and is distinguished by its polite style in writing. Words and phrases, and his topics revolve around adventures, morals, wars, and conflicting emotions, and among his stories are Jowder the merchant and his brothers, and Ali Shar with Zumurrud the slave girl, and another section is a hadith that ends in the tenth century, and he is known for his poor style and bold expressions, and his events revolve around thieves and crooks, and stories of Sufism. Which spread at the time, and among his stories were Zainab the impostor, Ali al-Zaybak and Delilah the impostor.

News group

It is a collection of news about past history and contemporary history. It also talks about the wonders of the country and creation, and news of kings and their literature.