KALÎLA WA DIMNA’ AS A GENRE OF ARABIC LITERATURE: A BRIEF STUDY

As a literary genre Kalîla wa Dimna plays an important role in the realm of Arabic literature; it was translated into Arabic by the distinguished essayist ‘Abd All?h Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ (d.756 A.D.) from the book Kalile va Dimne written in the Middle Persian Pahlavi language. As a resident of Basra, ‘Abd All?h Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ was well versed in Persian language; but he learnt Arabic and became expert in Arabic literature. In course of times, his work Kalîla wa Dimna has been considered as a masterpiece work of Arabic prose literature. In fact, the prose style of Kalîla wa Dimna has achieved the utmost acclamation in the domain of Arabic literature. Some animals and birds are personified in the story of this book to teach moral education for governors and rulers in the country.