A novel is a type of prose longer than a story that mirrors the real life of an individual and can make emotional states such as joy and sadness, as well as the occupations experienced by society, suitable for the reader’s imagination. The novel, which is constantly changing and developing, has been in use since the seventeenth century. It is a way of narrating human suffering, trauma, joy and emotional states or the invasions experienced by society in accordance with the individual’s imagination.

This genre, the first examples of which were written in the West during the 17th century, has its counterpart in Arabic literature. Literary works of this genre were written in almost every region of Arab geography. Although the development of the novel in the Arab world has been hampered by political obstacles, it can still offer unique examples in every genre.

In this study, we will examine two works of Ayman al-ʿAtūm, who wrote two novels in the genre of prison literature, a literary genre called prison literature, in which prisoners in prisons write their prison diaries, the events they go through, and the tortures they experience. The general theme of works written in this genre is freedom, exhaustion, despair, and resistance. Almost all societies have written works that can be considered as examples of prison literature. Because the prison environment affects people deeply, the written works are realistic, sympathetic, and emotional.

In the West, Boethius’ “Consolatio”, Dante’s “La Divina Commedia”, Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Kihote”, and in Arabic literature, Sunu’llah Ibrahim’s “Sharaf”, Munif’s “Şarku’lMutevassıt”, Majid Suleyman’s “Tuyûru’l-atme”, Mustafa Khalifa’s “Kavgaa” are works of this kind. In our language, Orhan Kemal’s “72nd Ward” and the works of Nazim Hikmet, Sabahattin Ali, and many other writers can be cited as examples.

The author Ayman al-ʿAtūm is Jordanian. He was educated in Jordan, where he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in Arabic. He was imprisoned as a political prisoner. In addition to his prose works about his prison diaries, he also wrote poetry. He represents Islamist identity in his works. He clearly demonstrated this by quoting verses from the Qur’an in his works. The author, who wrote his first novel in 2012, has since written 17 novels. He determined the titles of his novels by quoting verses from the Qur’an.

The two works “Yā Sāhibeyi’s-Sijn and Yesmeūna Hasīsehā” will be discussed thematically. These novels have their own unique style in terms of both fiction and content. Both the titles of the novels and their internal titles are quoted from Qur’anic verses. The novel ‘Yā Sāhibeyi’sSijn’ was published in Beirut in 2012. In his novels, he observes the harmony between time and space and uses a poetic style that is filtered through the human soul. He wrote about the troubles he encountered during his eight months in prison. His first literary work was the novel Yā Sāhibeyi’s-Sijn, in which he wrote his prison diaries. It can also be considered a prison diary. The language of the novel is characterized by the harmony of time and place and a poetic language filtered through the world of the human psyche. The novel was banned by the Jordanian Department of Publications and Publishing because of its content, and sparked controversy upon its release due to the spread of its fame in the Jordanian political and cultural milieu and the openness of social media.  

There is no chronological order in the narration of events. His detailed description of the events can impact the reader. Despite these detailed descriptions, the reader cannot understand whether the doctor is a member of the Ikhwan or not. In terms of fiction, sometimes he is and sometimes he is not. This arouses a curiosity in the reader.

The main event of this novel revolves around his imprisonment for a poem he rewrote during a poetry night. Then he describes the conditions of the three prisons he was thrown into and the harassment and suffering he encountered there. He also discusses the psychological conditions of the people he met, helping readers to understand what human beings experience. After being released from prison, he took a long time to adapt to life outside. After his release from prison, he wrote his works.

The author states that what he describes in “Yesmeūna Hasīsehā” corresponds to only one-tenth of what he experienced in real life. For example, she stated that the prisoners had the same utensils for eating, drinking, and meeting their needs. This situation, which causes internal reckoning among prisoners, has a profound effect on the reader. In addition, the attempts to force the prisoners to accept the crimes they did not commit through various tortures express the resistance of the prisoners. In terms of narrative structure, “Yesmeūna Hasīsehā” is written in the genre of memoir, in which the protagonist’s life events are recounted between 1980-1997. There is no chronology in the narrative. These events coul d have been corroborated by living witnesses and chronologically arranged. Although the style of the novel is appreciated by the reader, the descriptions can become tedious at times. Although these descriptions are tedious, they are enough to leave an impact on the reader’s psyche. Over the course of 365 pages.

In his novels, to which the author added his mastery of poetry, he dealt with topics such as the days he spent behind prison walls, persecutions, torture, friendships, science, ideas, patriotism, and family. He also informs the reader about Islam through quotations. It is intended to encourage the reader to obtain more information about the Qur’an by researching the curiosity that will arise in them through verse quotations.

Since the writing of the author’s novels coincided with a time period known as the Arab Spring, he wanted to convey his own views to the reader. With the style he chose in his works, he wanted to emphasize the effectiveness of a civil resistance movement, no matter how much political authorities try to intimidate it.

The themes in his novel are freedom, resistance, and decay. He characterizes freedom this way; “-yes, freedom is what one dies for. Freedom is not savored from any food or event. Freedom is life.” 

After all, he says to the Resistance; “when souls leave their bodies, they leave behind a desolate and worthless home. All value is for the soul, and the soul is not from these oppressors, it is in the hands of the Merciful, blessed is the one who had that soul, blessed is the one who had that soul. It was not pawned to some mercenary executioners.”