What You Heard Is What You Wrote: Dynamic Readings of ʿilm and adab Narratives in the Islamicate World

Abstract This article explores how the concepts of ʿilm and adab (knowledge and exemplary behavior) merged in formative Arabic literature and reached Al-Andalus. Originating in a proto-Sunni cultural milieu, different works were recycled across the Islamic world, giving rise to new literary adaptations and patterns of meaning. With the use of computational analysis, the data has revealed juxtaposed reuse practices. This contribution has found that early Andalusi works initially mirrored Eastern sources, gradually transitioning into a more specialized form of knowledge and performance, based on the legitimization of the authority of scholars during the challenging Taifa period.