The Development of the Arabic Language in the Medieval Period

The history of the development of the Arabic language and literature is one of the most remarkable stages in the evolution of the world's major languages. In short span of time since the revelation of Islam, Arabic emerged, in spite of many problems and challenges, to occupy an enviable position in a wide area of the Middle East, throughout North Africa, and for a time in Spain. It is remarkable that Arabic developed and expanded in a short time as a literary language of great religio-cultural significance. A close examination of the historical circumstances under which Arabic emerged and developed gives us insight into the factors which enabled the growth of one of the great languages of the world. During the period of Arab's conquest, Arabic language and Islam were introduced to the vanquished states at the same time. In this environment, Arabic was a kind of the attacker, and had to compete with the existing languages which held a great cultural heritage. As a result, through such a adjustment and adjustment period, Arabic developed from a dialect of the nomadic to the language of the empire as a means of expression and thought at the eighth century. This situation has continued without shaking later when Arab countries confronted serious political divisions and even experience of a decline. Paradoxically, Arabic enjoyed the most golden age when the empire had been divided into some Arab states, and played a role of the major link between the emerging Muslim countries at the time of the collapse. Thus, Arabic contributed to the unity of the Muslim countries and also to the persistence of Arab people. In addition, Arabic recorded the fortunes of the Muslim communities and its achievements as well. What made Arabic its rapid evolution, in spite of political changes at that time, is that Arabic had a function as a literary language unifying religions, languages in the empire. In surveying the subject of this research, tracing in the development of the Arabic language in the medieval period, three main periods can be discerned. The first period covers the years of the Umayyads(661-750). The second period covers the rule of the Abbasids(750-1258). Despite the general and political vicissitudes of this long period, the status of Arabic grew tremendously. It became not only a language of state and religion over a vast empire, but also the vehicle of an abundant literature. The third period covers the status of Arabic and its development process in Andalus.