al-Bursan wal-Urjan wal-Umyan wal-Hawlan
- Author died
- 255 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al Jeel
al-Bursan wal-Urjan wal-Umyan wal-Hawlan (The Lepers, the Lame, the Blind, and the Cross-Eyed) is an adab and biographical work by al-Jahiz (d. 255 AH / 869 CE) dedicated to the history, poetry, and lore of prominent figures affected by physical disabilities, bodily defects, and chronic conditions .
Title and Composition
The manuscript preserves the title Kitab al-Bursan wal-Urjan wal-Umyan wal-Hawlan on its opening page in a hand distinct from the body text, whereas the scribe’s original colophon at the end of the manuscript reads Kitab al-Bursan wal-Umyan wal-Urjan wal-Hawlan . In early scholarly tradition, it was also referred to by shorter titles such as Kitab al-Bursan or Kitab al-Urjan .
al-Jahiz composed the work before his later book al-Bayan wal-Tabyin, in which he cross-references his detailed discussion of lame poets leaning on walking sticks back to his treatment in "Kitab al-Urjan" . In the preface, al-Jahiz addresses an interlocutor who asked him to compose a book listing the lame, lepers, blind, deaf, and cross-eyed, and mentions that he chose to write it after rejecting the method of al-Haytham ibn Adi .
Purpose and Method
al-Jahiz criticized al-Haytham ibn 'Adi's earlier treatise for merely enumerating names and serving as a register of shortcomings and faults (mathalib) . In contrast, al-Jahiz intended his work to illustrate Arab cultural and literary attitudes toward individuals with bodily afflictions, documenting how Arab society treated them with respect and how the afflicted themselves—including poets, knights, and tribal leaders—often took pride in their conditions in verse .
Alongside biographical anecdotes, the author weaves in linguistic, physiological, and medical discussions . In his section on leprosy, he details its various types, names, causes, and traditional remedies such as dyes and cauterization . He also engages in typical adab digressions, discussing human and animal gaits, physical crookedness, and oddities .
Structure and Contents
The book is structured around extended thematic sections that group historical figures and literary materials by specific conditions:
- Lepers (Kitab al-Bursan): Biographies and verses of noblemen, leaders, and poets afflicted with leprosy, including those who openly expressed pride in it, such as al-Harith ibn Hillizah al-Yashkuri, Ibn Habna', Bula'a ibn Qays, and Suwayd ibn Abi Kahil, as well as entries on individuals nicknamed after leprosy and parents of leprous figures .
- The Lame (Kitab al-Urjan): Figures noted for lameness, including monarchs and leaders such as al-Harith al-A'raj, Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, and Musa ibn Nusayr . This section incorporates discussions of walking styles—including the gaits of women, the elderly, ascetics, and animals—as well as descriptions of physical crookedness .
- Other Afflictions: Dedicated chapters covering dropsy (istisqa'), hunchbacks (hadab), twisted necks (waqas), facial paralysis (laqwah), and hemiplegia (falaj) .
Reception and Editions
The work was utilized and cited by classical authors:
- Ibn al-Mu'tazz (d. 296 AH) cited al-Jahiz's inclusion of the poet Abu al-Khattab al-Bahdali among the lame in Tabaqat al-Shu'ara' .
- Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi quoted from it extensively in Thimar al-Qulub .
- al-Sharif al-Murtada referenced it in his Amali regarding Bishr ibn al-Mu'tamir .
- Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani cited the work in al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah .
A primary manuscript copy of the book is preserved in the General Library in Rabat (al-Khizanah al-Ammah) . Modern critical editions include those edited by Muhammad Mursi al-Khuli (published in Cairo, 1392 AH / 1972 CE) and Abd al-Salam Muhammad Harun .
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