Saj'
Saj‘ () is a form of rhymed prose in Arabic literature. It is named so because of its evenness or monotony, or from a fancied resemblance between its rhythm and the cooing of a dove. It is a highly artificial style of prose, characterized by a kind of rhythm as well as rhyme. Saj‘ is used in sacred literature, including parts of the Quran, and in secular literature, such as the One Thousand and One Nights. Saj‘ is also used in Persian literature, in works such as Saadi's partly prose, partly verse, book the Golestān, written in 1258 CE. Description It is a species of diction to which the Arabic language peculiarly lends itself, because of its structure, the mathematical precision of its manifold formations and the essential assonance of numerous derivatives from the same root supplying the connection between the sound and signification of words. A History of Muslim Philosophy, Book 5 says: This common literary medium which developed out of the North Arabic, coinciding with the steady decline of the economic, political and cultural influence of the South, was leavened mainly in Hirah with the accompaniments of material and religious civilization as augmented with currents - Judaic, Christian,