Time Terms in the Diwan of Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib (An Analytical Study

This research deals with the poet’s personality and literary culture, defining the concept of time and its images in Arabic poetry in its various literary eras, and employing the term time and its various forms and connotations. In pre-Islamic era, poets used it in a mythical way and gave it a purely divine character. As for the Islamic poets, they removed that ideological element from time and its forms. The researcher infers from Ibn al-Khatib’s collection that he excelled in using various artistic mechanisms. Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib was influenced by his surroundings in employing the theme of time in his poetic texts, which varied in their topics. The image of time in his poetry was shaped by various influences in the era and in the environment (Social, religious, political) and their presence varied in the poetic text. The theme of time is evident in his poetry through the word eternity as well. The poet also employed time in the context of openness as an indication of real time, while in the context of closure he used eternity as an indication of internal time.