Most literary researchers agree that the novel entitled Faridah Hanom (1926) represents the first Malaysian novel. Nevertheless, the novel has long been debated by scholars for its authenticity. As Egypt is used as its background setting throughout the novel, there seem to be some polemical arguments as to whether the novel is originally written by the author, or whether it is merely a translation of the famous Arabic novel Zainab. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the Arabic novel Zainab on the Malaysian novel Faridah Hanom. Based on the results obtained, it is found that the Arabic novel Zainab has had a heavy impact on the emergence of the Malaysian novel Faridah Hanom, primarily in terms of theme, characterization, plot, setting and arising conflicts. As such, it seems quite plausible that the novel Zainab has inspired Malaysian writer Shiekh Sayyed Al-Hadi to adapt some of the elements into his literary work Faridah Hanom. � IDOSI Publications, 2013.