Preambles to Arab constitutions serve multiple purposes. Like preambles elsewhere, they may be ceremonial, interpretive, or substantive, or a mix of the three. Preambles can help us comprehend the country’s historical and social roots, what the people’s or State’s aspira-tions are, or how the government will interact with other States. Rooted in comparative consti-tutional research, and building on the work of McKenna, et al, Ginsburg, et al, and Orgad, this paper examines and analyzes the constitutional preambles of ten Arab countries. That analysis makes clear that a number of factors influenced the ten preambles, and the constitutions themselves—decolonization, revolutionary ideals, and Islam, to name just three. While each preamble is, of course, unique, there are often similarities across the Arab world and themes that are shared globally, the presence of big ideas rather than focusing on minutiae, often-times setting a marker for a fresh start, and declaring an identity. This paper addresses a number of questions. First, what do the preambles tell us about the individual country—its history, culture, or society? Flowing from that question, does the preamble build on the historical roots and context, the ethnic, tribal, or other identities and at-tachments of the citizens? Are there religious or political/revolutionary ideals guiding the con-stitution and the State? Second, does the preamble give us insights into the nature of the State and government? And building on that, does the government purport to be a democracy, a the-ocracy, a monarchy? How important are civil and political, or economic, social, and cultural rights? Third, are the aspirations included within ultimately fulfilled? Thus, does the reality of the government and State measure up to the wording of the preamble? And, finally, is the pre-amble a substantively integral part of the constitution, i.e. are there legal obligations found in the preamble itself, such as would be found in the actual body/articles of the constitution? Preambles are not just afterthoughts or meaningless prefaces. They are an integral part of the constitution and tell us a great deal about a country. The ten preambles discussed herein and the answers to the questions above reinforce those assertions.