David DiMeo is an associate professor and director of the Arabic program at Western Kentucky University and has taught Arabic for over twenty years. He holds a PhD from Harvard University and an MA from Princeton University. He is the author of Taha Hussein’s The Days: A Guided Study for Arabic Learners (AUC Press, 2022) and co-author of The Travels of Ibn Battuta: A Guided Arabic Reader (AUC Press, 2016). He hosts the podcast The Golden Age of Islam. Inas Hassan has a PhD and an MA in Arabic linguistics from Alexandria University in Egypt and is assistant teaching professor and coordinator of the Arabic program at Loyola University Maryland. She is co-author of The Travels of Ibn Battuta: A Guided Arabic Reader (AUC Press, 2016).

"DiMeo and Hassan’s anthology of Classical Arabic texts is an accessible and entertaining textbook for the advanced Arabic student. It covers a wide range of topics and styles and the helpful vocabulary lists and comprehension questions are perfect for self-study."—Adam Talib, The American University in Cairo"This text will be a boon to the teacher of Classical Arabic. Not only does it contain a wide range of authentic texts, all with abundant support materials, but it also devotes attention to matters of culture and to skills such as analysis and presentation. It is a welcome addition to the resources currently available for the Classical Arabic classroom."—Kay Heikkinen, The University of Chicago

• Introduction Lesson One: Biography of the Prophet—Ma’mar Ibn Rashid Lesson Two: Adab—Al-Jahiz Lesson Three: Philosophy—Al-Kindi Lesson Four: Ethnicity in Islam—Ibn Qutayba Lesson Five: Government and Leadership—Ibn ‘Abd RabbihLesson Six: Anthropology and Religion—Al-BiruniLesson Seven: Education—Ibn SinaLesson Eight: Religion vs. Philosophy I—Al-GhazaliLesson Nine: Religion vs. Philosophy II—Ibn RushdLesson Ten: Impressions of Europeans—Usama Ibn MunqidhLesson Eleven: Women in the Caliphal Court—Ibn al-Sa’i Lesson Twelve: Travel Literature—Ibn BattutaLesson Thirteen: History—Ibn KhaldunLesson Fourteen: Popular Storytelling—The Arabian NightsLesson Fifteen: Fantasy and Adventure—Sindbad the Sailor Lesson Sixteen: Moral Literature—Ibn al-Muqaffa Lesson Seventeen: The Maqamat—Al-Hariri Lesson Eighteen: Philosophical Novel—Ibn TufaylLesson Nineteen: Satire—Abu Al-‘Alaa’ al-Ma‘arriLesson Twenty: Animal Rights—Ikhwan al-Safa’Glossary of Vocabulary TermsResources for Further Study