Islam's advent is an important factor in the unification of all Arab tribes around
a single religious ideology and their formation as a nation. An Islamic state-caliphate
is established in the Arabian Peninsula, governed by religious principles. Another
important event was the beginning of the Futuhat. In 878, the island of Sicily was
occupied by the Aghlabis. Who were the Aghlabis that conquered Sicily? Their
ancestor was one of the Arab nobles entrenched in Khorasan who helped the
Abbasids in the rebellion against the Umayyads and brought them to power. Thus,
the Arab–Sicilian literature was formed in Sicily during a period of about 200
years.The most famous representative of this literature is Abul-Qasim Ali ibn Jafar
ibn al-Qatta. Although the sources do not provide extensive and detailed information
about the scope of the writer, it is known that he was born in Sicily, then moved to
Egypt and died there. Historical sources mention a number of Ibn al-Qatta's works,
the most famous of which is “al-Durra al-Khatira fi Shuara al-Jazira” (The Precious
Pearl on the Poets of the Island). This anthology includes 20,000 poems by 170
poets. However, in this copy of the publication, not 170, but only 106 poets'
biographies are reflected. “Al-Durrah's” anthology covers all periods of Arabic
poetry originating in Sicily. The examples of poetry reflected in the anthology are
diverse in terms of genre. The most common examples of poetry are ghazals.Then
come the genres of khamriya, wasf, madhiyyah, lamentation, and asceticism. There is
very little satire in the work.