Preface; Chronology; 1. An essay on precedents and principles; 2. The contexts of the literary tradition; 3. The Qu'ran: sacred text and cultural yardstick; 4. Poetry; 5. belletristic prose and narrative; 6. Drama; 7. The critical tradition; Guide to further reading.

The Arabic Literary Heritage describes a cultural tradition of literary texts in Arabic from the fifth century A.D. to the present day. After two preliminary chapters on principles and contexts, there are chapters devoted to the Qu'ran as literature, poetry, belles-lettrist prose, drama, and criticism. The volume as a whole, which contains extensive quotations in English translation, a chronology and a guide to further reading, makes a major non-Western literary tradition newly accessible to students and scholars in the West.