al-Amthal - Muarij
- Author died
- 195 AH
- Editions
- al-Amthal - Muarij
al-Amthal (The Proverbs) is an early compilation of Arabic proverbs by the Basran philologist and genealogist Muarrij al-Sadusi (d. 195 AH / 810 CE; also reported 198 AH) . It is a concise work documenting traditional paremiological lore and vernacular usages from Bedouin informants .
Content and Sources
The book is small in size compared to later comprehensive paremiological collections . In recording its proverbs, al-Sadusi relies directly on several Bedouin and philological authorities, including Abu Khalid al-Kilabi, Abu al-Khansa', Abu al-Daqish, Makkuzah, and Abu Hisham al-Bajali .
Manuscript and Publication
The work survived in a single manuscript preserved at the El Escorial Library (MS 170/6, 17 folios), copied in the fifth century AH and bearing an audition note (qayd al-sama') dated 492 AH .
It has been published in two modern critical editions:
- Edited in one volume by Ahmad Muhammad al-Dubayb, published in Riyadh at Matabi' al-Jazirah in 1390 AH / 1970 CE .
- Edited by Ramadan 'Abd al-Tawwab, published in Cairo in 1391 AH / 1971 CE .
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