USE OF THE FIGURE OF AL-ḤUSAYN IN CONTEMPORARY ARABIC POETRY

Contemporary Arab poets have used the figure of al-Ḥusayn as a symbol of injustice, sacrifice, solitude and alienation. The usages of this figure in today's Arabic poetry are quite similar to those of the figure of Christ, for example the tragic end which both suffered, al-Ḥusayn's martyrdom and Christ's crucifixion, or the struggle between truth and falsehood. The present paper examines the use of al-Ḥusayn the works of a selection of representative Arab poets and shows this usage at three levels: the human level in general, the national level and the level of the individual.