al-Jahiz
- Died
- 255 AH
- Born in
- Basra
Abu Uthman al-Jahiz (c. 150–255 AH / 767–869 CE) was an Arab prose author, polymath, and Mu'tazila theologian based in Basra, recognized as a leading figure in classical Arabic literature and adab .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Amr ibn Bahr ibn Mahbub al-Kinani al-Laythi, and he was affiliated as a client (mawla) to Abu al-Qalammas Amr ibn Qal' of the Kinani branch of Banu Fuqaym . His grandfather, named Fazara (and in another report Mahbub), was of African descent and worked as a camel driver . He was given the nickname al-Jahiz (and was also called al-Hadaqi) due to his prominent, protruding eyes .
Al-Jahiz was born in Basra; reports place his birth around 150 AH, while other sources mention 148 AH, 155 AH, 160 AH, or 163 AH . In his youth, he lived in modest conditions and sold bread and fish along the canals of Sayhan in Basra .
Education and Public Career
In Basra, al-Jahiz studied Arabic lexicography and poetry under al-Asma'i, Abu Ubayda Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna, and Abu Zayd al-Ansari, grammar under al-Akhfash al-Awsat, and speculative theology (kalam) under the Mu'tazilite scholar Ibrahim al-Nazzam . He also heard hadith from Abu Yusuf and Thumama ibn Ashras, and acquired rhetorical expression directly from Bedouin Arabs at the Mirbad market of Basra .
Al-Jahiz traveled frequently to the Abbasid capitals of Baghdad and Samarra, and also journeyed to Damascus and Antioch alongside the courtier al-Fath ibn Khaqan . In Baghdad, he served for a time as a deputy to Ibrahim ibn al-Abbas al-Suli in the chancery (diwan al-rasa'il) . During the reign of al-Mutawakkil, he was summoned to tutor the caliph's sons, but the caliph found his physical appearance unpleasing and dismissed him with a payment of ten thousand dirhams .
Earlier, al-Jahiz had maintained close ties with the vizier Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Zayyat; after the vizier's downfall, al-Jahiz was arrested and brought in chains before the chief judge Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad, who pardoned him following his eloquent defense . Among those who transmitted from him were his nephew Yamut ibn al-Muzarra', Abu al-Ayna', and the hadith scholar Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud .
Thought and Scholarship
Al-Jahiz headed a distinct branch within the Mu'tazilite theological school known as the Jahiziyya . He held individual doctrines, including the positions that all knowledge is necessary (daruri) rather than generated by human action, that human agency is confined to will (irada), and that the denizens of Hell are not subjected to perpetual conscious torment but eventually assimilate into a fiery nature .
He was widely noted for his dedication to reading, and contemporaries reported that he would rent entire booksellers' shops overnight to study every available manuscript from beginning to end . His extensive work Kitab al-Hayawan (The Book of Animals) combined zoological observations, natural philosophy, and Arabic poetry with reflections on divine wisdom in creation . In Kitab al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin (The Clarification and Exposition), he analyzed Arabic rhetoric, oratory, and literary theory, which Ibn Khaldun cited as one of the four foundational texts of Arabic adab . His satirical work Kitab al-Bukhala (The Book of Misers) documented the behavior, dialogue, and rationalizations of stinginess through narrative prose .
Standing and Criticism
Biographers and historians widely commended al-Jahiz for his prose mastery and eloquence; al-Mas'udi noted that no preceding or succeeding author was known to surpass him in eloquence .
Conversely, traditionalist scholars expressed reservations about his reliability and theological orientation. The grammarian Abu al-Abbas Tha'lab stated that he was neither trustworthy nor reliable . Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi noted his vast erudition and sharp intellect, but criticized his facetiousness, loose religious practice, and tendency to invent anecdotes, while adding that he narrated very little prophetic hadith .
Illness and Death
In his later years, al-Jahiz suffered from hemiplegia on one side of his body and severe gout on the other . When visited by al-Mubarrad, he described his condition by explaining that half of his body was paralyzed and the other gout-ridden, and that even the touch of a fly brought him pain due to having lived past the age of ninety .
Al-Jahiz died in Basra in 255 AH (869 CE), during the caliphate of al-Mu'tazz, having lived past ninety years of age . Other accounts record his death in 250 AH or 256 AH . According to biographical reports, his death occurred when piles of books collapsed upon him .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Rasail al-Adabiyya (The Literary Epistles) is a collection of twenty-one thematic treatises arranged, annotated, and introduced in a modern compilation by Dr. Ali Abu Milhim. Forming part of a three-part classification of surviving epistles into political, theological, and literary corpora, the collection approaches adab in the classical sense of moral conduct and the transmission of knowledge through educators and books rather than modern belles-lettres.
al-Mukhtar fi al-Radd ala al-Nasara (The Select Refutation of the Christians) is an early Islamic polemical treatise written to defend Islamic theology and address Christian theological objections against the Quran. Composed in response to an inquiry regarding debates with Christians, the work assists readers facing theological challenges that had created confusion among Muslim youth and the lay public.
al-Taj fi Akhlaq al-Muluk (The Crown on the Ethics of Kings), also known as Akhlaq al-Muluk, is an Arabic courtly protocol and mirrors-for-princes manual. It systematically outlines royal etiquette, palace customs, and the obligations and demeanor expected of monarchs, their courtiers, and royal companions.
al-Bursan wal-Urjan wal-Umyan wal-Hawlan (The Lepers, the Lame, the Blind, and the Cross-Eyed) is an adab and biographical work dedicated to the history, poetry, and lore of prominent figures affected by physical disabilities, bodily defects, and chronic conditions. It illustrates Arab cultural and literary attitudes toward individuals with bodily afflictions, documenting societal respect and how figures such as poets, knights, and leaders took pride in their conditions.
Al-Mahasin wal-Addad (The Merits and Their Contraries) is an Arabic adab anthology that presents the positive and negative dimensions of a wide variety of human traits, behaviors, and cultural themes. Belonging to the genre of narrative compilation (adab al-riwaya), it gathers sayings, historical anecdotes, proverbs, and poetic citations across approximately sixty thematic chapters exploring paired or antithetical subjects.
Kitab al-Hayawan (The Book of Animals) is an encyclopedic Arabic work of literature, natural history, and theology. Comprising seven volumes, it blends zoological lore, Arabic poetry, philosophical inquiry, and theological reflection on divine wisdom in creation.
al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin (The Clarification and Exposition) is a foundational treatise on Arabic rhetoric, eloquence, and oratory. Regarded as one of the earliest comprehensive treatments of literary criticism and rhetoric in Arabic literature, the work examines the principles of expression, public speaking, poetry, and linguistic aesthetics.
al-Bighal (The Mules) is a zoological and literary treatise examining the nature, biological hybridity, social utility, and cultural lore of mules.
Kitab al-Bukhala (The Book of Misers) is an Arabic literary prose work that investigates the behaviors, social customs, and psychological justifications of stinginess through narrative anecdotes and letters.
al-Tabsira bi al-Tijara fi Wasf ma Yustazraf fi al-Buldan min al-Amtiya al-Rafia wa al-Alaq al-Nafisa wa al-Jawahir al-Thamina (Insight into Commerce in Describing Choice Goods, Precious Rarities, and Costly Gems Found Across Lands) is an economic and commercial treatise. It serves as a practical guide to merchandise, outlining the characteristics, appraisal methods, counterfeiting tests, and geographic origins of luxury trade commodities, precious stones, textiles, scents, and animals circulating in the markets of the Abbasid Caliphate.
This work is a corpus of thematic treatises addressing theology, politics, social ethics, and literary debates.
This work is a collection of ten surviving treatises on governance, statecraft, and political controversies.
This theological-political treatise presents and defends the doctrine of the Uthmaniyya faction regarding the imamate and the superior merit of Abu Bakr over Ali ibn Abi Talib.