[2] It is generally conceded that the early ancestors of Levantine dialectical poetry were the Andalusian zajal and muwashshaḥah, brought to Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean by Moors fleeing Spain in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
[6] Adnan Haydar, a scholar specializing in Arabic language and literature,[7] cites Ibn Manzur's 14th century lexicon Lisan al-Arab in attributing the meaning of "to raise the voice in singing" to the root verb zajala.
[2] Most scholars see the Andalusi Arabic zajal as a form of expression adapted from Romance languages' popular poetry traditions into Arabic—first at the folkloric level and then by lettered poets such as Ibn Quzman.
Its roots may be as ancient as Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, but various similar manifestations of zajal can be traced to 10th- to 12th-century Moorish Spain (Al-Andalus), and specifically to the colloquial poet Ibn Quzman (Cordoba, 1078–1160).
[citation needed] Many Near Eastern, Arabian and Mediterranean cultures (including Greece, Algeria, Morocco, Spain and southern France) had, or still have, rich semi-improvised, semi-sung colloquial poetry traditions, which share some traits with Lebanese zajal, such as the verbal duel (e.g. the jeu parti of the troubadours), the use of tambourines or other minimalist percussion instruments, and a chanting chorus of men (Reddadi, in Lebanese) who repeat key verses or refrains recited by the poets.
The statement that none of the extant oral poetry traditions can rival Lebanese zajal in its sophistication, metric variety, extended lineage, and continued evolution may be arguable, but it is hard to contest the fact that none of them enjoys its ardent popularity.
The format of the modern Lebanese zajal evening was set in the 1930s mostly by the master poet Assad Al-Khuri Al-Fghali (1894–1937), known as Shahrur Al-Wadi (Merle of the Valley), who is also credited with introducing many innovations in form and genre.
Both kinds of metrics in zajal are subject to fluid alteration by musical accentuation and syncopation[8] which is possible due to the colloquial's malleability and its inherent allowance (like Syriac) to erode inflections and internal voweling.
Traditionally cosmopolitan communities (e.g. the Sunnis, Greek Orthodox and Armenians of the littoral cities) have had relatively little affinity for zajal and have produced, with some notable exceptions, few important zajjali.
This linguistic duality has sparked debates within Lebanon's multi-ethnic and multi-sectarian society regarding whether the colloquial language can serve as an acceptable literary medium, leading to divisive opinions on the matter.
The relegation of the colloquial literature, including zajal, to a sub-literary class was further solidified by the rise of pan-Arabism in the 1950s and 60s at a time when the Lebanese schooling system witnessed its widest expansion and standardization.