Plagiarism as a Dynamic in Innovation and Inventiveness This intervention runs against the common misreading of plagiarism as theft, pure and simple. It draws attention not only to the most visible critiques, like those by al-Hatimi, Ibn Rashiq, Abd al-Aziz al-Jurjani, al-Askari, and later ibn Wakīᶜ, Ibn Nubata, and al-Nawaji. It also directs attention to peripheral names whose contribution makes up no small portion of a cultural script over many centuries. The buildup of this movement does not end with the accusations levelled at al-Mazini, who happened to be a pioneer in poetic innovation. In other words, this movement could not have secured so many contributions had it not been central to a culture that has as its focal point of interest the seeming polarization between originality and imitation. In between polarized spaces, there are voices that think of literary production as an intertext that is made up of words that work in turn as navigational apparatuses. This contribution argues a case for plagiarism as a dynamic propelled by many incentives and desires that aim at innovation and betterment