There is a small remnant of pre-Islamic poetry, but Arabic literature predominantly emerges in the Middle Ages, during the Golden Age of Islam. Imru' al-Qais was a king and poet in the 6th century, he was the last king of Kindite. He is among the finest Arabic poetry to date, as well sometimes considered the father of Arabic poetry. Kitab al-Aghani by Abul-Faraj was called by the 14th-century historian Ibn Khaldun the register of the Arabs. Literary Arabic is derived from Classical Arabic, based on the language of the Quran as it was analyzed by Arabic grammarians beginning in the 8th century. thumb|upright|Khalil Gibran was a writer, poet and visual artist; he is best known as the author of The Prophet, has since become one of the best-selling books of all time, having been translated into more than 100 languages A large portion of Arabic literature before the 20th century is in the form of poetry, and even prose from this period is either filled with snippets of poetry or is in the form of saj or rhymed prose. The ghazal or love poem had a long history being at times tender and chaste and at other times rather explicit. In the Sufi tradition the love poem would take on a wider, mystical and religious importance.
There is a small remnant of pre-Islamic poetry, but Arabic literature predominantly emerges in the Middle Ages, during the Golden Age of Islam. Imru' al-Qais was a king and poet in the 6th century, he was the last king of Kindite. He is among the finest Arabic poetry to date, as well sometimes considered the father of Arabic poetry. Kitab al-Aghani by Abul-Faraj was called by the 14th-century historian Ibn Khaldun the register of the Arabs. Literary Arabic is derived from Classical Arabic, based on the language of the Quran as it was analyzed by Arabic grammarians beginning in the 8th century. thumb|upright|Khalil Gibran was a writer, poet and visual artist; he is best known as the author of The Prophet, has since become one of the best-selling books of all time, having been translated into more than 100 languages A large portion of Arabic literature before the 20th century is in the form of poetry, and even prose from this period is either filled with snippets of poetry or is in the form of saj or rhymed prose. The ghazal or love poem had a long history being at times tender and chaste and at other times rather explicit. In the Sufi tradition the love poem would take on a wider, mystical and religious importance.