A Brief Review of Abu Mazi's Literary Activity

Abstract

Abstract. One of the most famous names in Arabic Mahjar Literature, the literary creation of Abu Mazi
continues to be the focus of researchers. Since the thoughts and ideas that the poet wants to put forward in
both his lyrical and verse stories are interpreted in different ways by literary scholars, it is of great interest
for literary scholars to analyze his thoughts engraved in his poetic works. The scholars who said that the
poet's literary heritage is two-stage were right in their claims. Because the differences between Abu Mazi's
personality before and after the migration have left their mark on his literary legacy. Abu Mazi's literary
heritage consists of lyrical poems and verse stories. However, we can boldly say that among the poet's poems, there are also poems whose poetic quality is not very high. It is no coincidence that writers such as
Taha Hussein and Mikhail Nueima criticized his poems. There have also been literary figures who have
accused him of plagiarism. In addition, among the critics, it is possible to find writers such as Zuheyr Mirza,
who say that the poet's knowledge of the Arabic language is insufficient. Abu Mazi presents his thoughts in
his poems in such a way that the reader has difficulty accurately determining whether he is a pessimistic or
optimistic poet. It is no coincidence that whether he was a pessimistic or optimistic poet has caused great
debate among Arab literary scholars. While some consider him a pessimist, others consider him a completely
optimistic poet, and still others consider him an optimistic poet with a touch of pessimism. This shows that
Abu Mazi was a very skilled poet in keeping his thoughts secret. In addition to all this, what his religious
beliefs were has also caused great controversy. While some consider him a deist poet who denies the afterlife
and does not follow any religion, others have assumed that he was a believer and an ascetic. Abu Mazi's
political thoughts are also reflected in his poems. Although we see him declaring his aloofness from politics,
the reality is that Abu Mazi was not indifferent to the political events of his time, and in particular, he
harshly criticized the policies of the Ottoman Empire. Also, some of his poems make it clear to us what
socio-political concept the poet adopted.
Keywords: Mahjar literature, Iliyya Abu Mazi, poetry, verse, Arabic literature