The Abbasid caliphate was the longest reigning caliphate in the history of Islamic civilization. The reign of the Abbasid caliphate began in 132H but collapsed in 656H. The turbulent situation that has plagued the Abbasids has prompted some authors to produce literary works in various genres, both prose and poetry. Among them was Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa’ who shifted his focus towards translating the Kalilah Wa Dimnah (KWD) book from Persian to Arabic. This effort is aimed at educating Abbasi leaders and communities by channeling moral values through the KWD book. This work is considered a masterpiece because it contains significant content based on moral values and guidance conveyed implicitly through the voices of animal characters. A total of five stories in the book of KWD was analyzed based on the moral values highlighted by Imam al-Ghazali. The eight aspects of these moral values are identified and classified based on four essential elements namely al-Hikmah (wisdom), al-Syaja'ah (courage), al-'Iffah (purity) and al-'Adlu (justice). The results of this study indicated that the author aligned al-Hikmah elements with the wisdom of setting strategies and the ability to trigger accurate thoughts. Meanwhile, Al-Syaja'ah elements were in line with the values of bravery in overpowering the enemy as well as inferiority. The al-'Iffah elements were in line with mutual aid values as opposed to maliciousness. The al-'Adlu element was next in line with unconditional love and generosity values. It can be concluded that these four elements contributed to translating the values contained in the KWD and in turn served as a guide to the general readership of leaders in exercising their responsibility to their communities in the pursuit of developing a harmonious society.
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Authors’ biodata
Corresponding Author
Pabiyah Toklubok is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang. She obtained her PhD in Literature from the International Islamic University Malaysia, IIUM. Her area of specialisation is Comparative Literature: Arabic –Malay, and her research interests are Malay and Arabic literary works focusing on comparative elements.
Tel no: +60193970995
Email: pabiyah@upm.edu.my
Co-authors
Kamariah Kamarudin is an Associate Professor at the Department of the Malay Language, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang. Her area of expertise is Modern Malay Literature specifically on novels while her research interests are Malay literary works and Islamic Literature. She has won various literary awards at national levels such as the National Academic Award in 2019.
Tel no: +60122121882, email: kkamaria@upm.edu.my
Zaitul Azma Zainon Hamzah is an Associate Professor at the Department of the Malay Language, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang. She currently holds the position as Head of the Malay Language department. Her area of specialisation is Semantics and Pragmatics, and she has published works in her area focusing on politeness in language.
Tel no: +6012 2729088, email: zazh@upm.edu.my
Raihan Marzuki is a language instructor at the Centre for Languages and Cultural Diplomacy,
Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia. She obtained her PhD in Arabic Language from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang. Her research interests are in Arabic Language and Literature, Applied Linguistics and Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language.
Tel no: +601127164298, email: raihanmarzuki@yahoo.com
In-Text Citation: (Maon, Hassan, & Jamaluddin, 2020)
To Cite this Article: Toklubok, P., Kamarudin, K., Hamzah, Z. A. Z., & Marzuki, R. (2020). Understanding the Elements of Developing a Harmonious Society in the Literary Masterpiece of Kalilah wa Dimnah. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 10(11), 1-14.
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