The theory of frame narratives emerged to discuss modern Western fictional prose, often using the Thousand and One Nights as a prime example. However, the Arabic literary tradition, especially before the age of print, provides a rich field to explore and expand this concept. Since the eighth century CE, Arabic writers and storytellers have created and transformed numerous famous frame tales that should be considered part of World Literature, such as Kalīla and Dimna, The Book of Sindbad/The Seven Viziers, and The Tale of Barlaam and Josaphat. This insight argues that "framing" can used to highlight the dynamic relationships within textual production. By discussing four notions of textual or artistic framing – frame tale, mise en reflet/en série, paratext, and parergon – through examples like Kalīla and Dimna, the Thousand and One Nights, and the Biography of the Prophet Muḥammad (al-Sīra al-nabawiyya), this study aims to reconceptualise the framing metaphor as a programmatic term denoting complex narrative texts.