Persian, not Arabic, was the classical literary language of late-medieval Islam

Evidence

The major centers of Islam in the late medieval and early modern periods, the centers of both political and cultural power, such as India, Central Asia, Iran, Turkey, were all part of this Iranian civilization. Al­ though much of it spoke various forms of Turkish, as well as other local lan­ guages, their classical and cultural language was Persian. Arabic was of course the language of scripture and law, but Persian was the language of poetry and literature. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 277

Categorization

• SHARE: Good tidbit for anyone studying Persianate culture or Islamic history — the fact that Persian, not Arabic, held literary sway across India, Turkey, and Central Asia surprises most non-specialists.