This research aims at the controversy of meaning between the reader and the poet in the book of Abu Al-Ala Al-Ma’arri (Zajr Al-Nabih).The controversy of meaning stems from the premise that the dialectical meaning cannot be determined from a single point of view, as we say: it is easier for the reader to determine the meaning of the text from its origin, or it is easier for the poet to explain the meaning of the text than his critic. This conclusion is reached by looking at the results of the two parties with no bias. For this reason, the research presents a general theoretical statement of the meaning of the reader ad the meaning of the poet. The discussion is then carried out on the book of Zajr Al-Nabih, and its texts are divided into three classes: a class which has no potential for controversy in the meanings, a class with a potential of an apparent controversyو and a third class which may be of a controversial meaning and needs exact interpretation. The three classes are studied analytically to explain the two readers’ perspectives at the end.

The research concluded the following: Abu Al-Ala proved that his reader does not have the correct tools to critically analyze and judge his texts, and this clearly appeared when he dealt with texts with no tendency to controversy, which can be clarified by fine-reading and this enabled him to confront the problematic texts with the experienced critics, and then contented himself with throwing ready-made judgments on them.