Al-Arabi was founded by the Government of Kuwait in an effort to establish a magazine that emphasizes Arabic literature.

The monthly magazine has always been financially supported by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information which is the main regulatory body of media in the country.

[2] Since its first days, the magazine has addressed various important issues in both the Arabic and international communities dealing with all aspects of life.

Many of the articles published were contributions from well-known authors, artists and poets; such as Abbas el-Akkad, Nizar Qabbani, Sa'id al-Afghani, Abdul Hadi Altazi, Ihsan Abbas, Yusuf Idris, Salah Abdel Sabour and Dalal Almutairi.

The magazine stopped briefly for seven months during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait from August 1990 to February 1991.