SÄ«rat DalÄl wa-KamÄl is an (illustrated) folktale from the 17th century that highlights the intersections between history, literature, and art. It serves as a true mirror of social history, laden with names of crafts, industries, and professions in the narrator's society. The tale also includes titles, names of government, administrative, and military positions, as well as terms from daily life, all of which represent a wealth of authentic historical information. This emphasizes the importance of folk tales in serving history as evidence, support, and definitive documents that assist the historian who can interpret them and delve into the underlying movement within these folk traditions. This undoubtedly broadens the scope of historical research and opens new avenues for acquiring historical knowledge, while also underscoring the significance of mentalities, as they are the most suitable means for reflecting the presence of history in the present. The narrator speaks to the audience in a way that resonates with what they like to hear, using terminology they understand, all within a framework of values and ethics that the audience adheres to. On the other hand, the folk tale selects a historical figure and reinterprets them within a popular context that meets the needs of the community and explains history in favor of the peopleâthe true makers of history. History is made by the people and stolen by rulers from ancient times, as documented in the records of kings and rulers, and in the writings of historians who lived under their rule or close to them.
Amr Moneer has a PhD (2007) in Medieveal History and Myths Studies. He is a University Professor and an author of multiple publications that were published as books and peer-reviewed articles. His reseaech interstes include Medieval History, Manuscript studies, Mamluk, Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations, Myth and History, Medieval Mediterranean, and folklore. He won the Ibn Battuta Prize for Travel Literature in 2010, and the Al-Kasso Prize in 2014.
Entesar Abdelaziz Moneer, Associate Professor of General Linguistics, College of Arabic Language, Umm Al-Qura University, is interested in linguistic studies, linguistics, linguistic applications, language teaching for non-native speakers, and theater studies.
Farag Qadri Khudayri Muhammad Al-Fakhrani has a PhD (2002) specializing in the study of popular literature, with a focus on the relationship between Hebrew and Arabic popular literature. He works on classifying popular motifs in both Hebrew and Arabic literature in Egypt. He is the head of the Department of Oriental Languages at the Faculty of Arts, South Valley University, Egypt.
Graduate students and those interested in folk literature and history. In addtion to scientific institutions, oriental institutes, and Arab and Western universities and libraries.