# Coptic Christian Literature in Arabic

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/coptic-christian-literature-in-arabic — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-02)

Copto-Arabic literature encompasses Arabic writings and translations associated with Coptic Christianity, including history, theology, biblical commentary, liturgical texts, and religious poetry.[^1][^2][^3]

## Historical development

Coptic Christian literature in Arabic, commonly called Copto-Arabic literature, developed as Arabic increasingly entered Egyptian administrative and daily life; works by notable Coptic writers date from the tenth century onward.[^1]

After the seventh-century Arab conquest, Coptic continued in administration for some decades, and bilingual documents appeared with Coptic and Arabic in parallel columns.[^1] In 705, the administration decreed the exclusive use of Arabic in government offices and accounts, making proficiency in Arabic important for Coptic scribes and tax collectors.[^1]

## Historical and theological writing

Sawirus ibn al-Muqaffa‘, bishop of Ashmunayn, was a prominent Coptic writer to whom the beginnings of the *History of the Patriarchs* are attributed.[^5] His other writings included *Kitab al-Majami‘*, concerning the ecumenical councils, as well as works on the Incarnation, biblical interpretation, church traditions, liturgy, heresies, fasts, and feasts.[^2]

The *History of the Patriarchs* was continued by successive compilers, including Mawhub ibn Mansur ibn Mufarrij, Yuhanna ibn Sa‘id ibn Mina al-Qulzumi, Patriarch Mark III, and Yusab, bishop of Fuwwah.[^6]

The surrounding Arabic Christian literary environment also included authors outside the Coptic Church.[^5][^7] Sa‘id ibn al-Bitriq, known as Eutychius, was the Melchite patriarch of Alexandria and author of *Kitab al-Tawarikh*; Sawirus wrote a response to his criticism of Coptic belief.[^5][^2] Coptic manuscript transmission likewise included histories by Melchite and West Syrian authors, demonstrating that circulation among Copts did not necessarily imply Coptic authorship.[^7]

## Medieval encyclopedic works

The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were the peak of medieval Copto-Arabic writing.[^8] Ibn Kabar, whose life extended into the opening decades of the fourteenth century, compiled *Kitab Misbah al-Zulmah fi Idah al-Khidmah*, an encyclopedia of Coptic religious knowledge and traditions organized into twenty-four sections.[^9]

Ibn Siba‘’s *Al-Jawharah al-Nafisah fi ‘Ulum al-Kanisah* treated biblical history, the rise of Christianity, church offices, liturgical instruments, feasts, fasts, and burial offices.[^10]

## Translation and worship

As Arabic increasingly replaced spoken Coptic, ecclesiastical authorities translated religious literature so that congregations could understand it.[^8] This process took place broadly in the later medieval period, although a precise date is difficult to establish.[^8]

Examples of religious publications include *Kitab al-Khulaji al-Muqaddas*, edited by Habib Jirjis, and *Kitab al-Turuhat wa-al-Absaliyyat*, a collection of church songs edited by Qummus Bakhum al-Baramusi and ‘Iryan Faraj; the latter illustrates publication in both Coptic and Arabic.[^11]

## Poetry and later reception

A manuscript in the Coptic Patriarchate in Cairo preserves 149 poems on moral and religious subjects in simple literary Arabic by Anba Bistawrah, known as al-Hariri.[^3] It was copied in March 1709 by Ibrahim ibn Sulayman al-Najjar al-Miri for the mu‘allim ‘Awad al-Mahallawi and offered to the hegumenos ‘Abd al-Masih.[^3]

Copts apparently did not know the Christian apology attributed to ‘Abd al-Masih ibn Ishaq al-Kindi during the Middle Ages, although they possessed other Arabic Christian apologies.[^12] Coptic familiarity with this work developed in the nineteenth century, and Cairo editions of 1885 and 1912 enabled writers such as Qummus Sarjiyus to use it.[^12]

## Manuscript evidence

The Arabic Christian manuscript tradition is a principal source for medieval Coptic culture.[^4] Identifying Coptic provenance can require paleographic examination; assessment of manuscripts in the National Library, Paris, therefore considers copying and circulation among Copts rather than authorship alone.[^4][^7]

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 275)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 276)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 15)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 186)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 275)
[^6]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 277)
[^7]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 186)
[^8]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 284)
[^9]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 282)
[^10]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 284)
[^11]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 285)
[^12]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 16)