al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya

al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya (The Long-Lived and Last Testaments) is a classical Arabic work of adab, history, and poetry by the Basran philologist and grammarian Abu Hatim al-Sijistani (d. 248 AH / 862 CE) al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya+1. It is considered the earliest dedicated compilation to assemble the lore, poetry, and deathbed counsels of long-lived figures from the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah) and early Islam al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya+1.

Structure and Contents

The work is organized into two sequential parts preserved together in the manuscript tradition al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya:

• Kitab al-Mu'ammarin (Book of the Long-Lived): Forms the larger first section, documenting the biographies, reported lifespans, sayings, and verses of ancient and Arab centenarians (mu'ammarun) al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya. It opens with accounts of ancient figures such as al-Khidr—identifying him on the authority of Abu Ubaydah, Abu al-Yaqzan, and Muhammad ibn Sallam al-Jumahi as the longest-lived human—as well as reports regarding Adam and Noah via Ibn Ishaq al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya. It records reports of figures from pre-Islamic and early Islamic times who lamented the infirmities of old age, physical decline, and the fading of their youthful leadership al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya+1.
• Kitab al-Wasaya (Book of Testaments): The second section contains selected Arabic testaments, wills, and deathbed exhortations attributed to figures from the Jahiliyyah, the early Islamic period, and the Umayyad era al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya. al-Sijistani arranged it immediately after the centenarians' lore as a natural thematic extension of their life experience and wisdom al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya.

Transmission and Sources

The book was transmitted from al-Sijistani by Abu Rawq Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Bakr al-Hazzani (whose nisba was sometimes miscopied in later sources as al-Hamdani) al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya. Much of the poetic material collected in the work derives from southern Arabian tribes (the Himyarites) and pre-Islamic desert environments, preserving historical details about obscure tribal conflicts, genealogies, and name vocalizations al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya+1.

Reception and Influence

The text served as a foundational source for subsequent generations of scholars who compiled chapters on longevity in adab and biographical literature al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya+1. Ibn Durayd cited its reports in al-Ishtiqaq, and it was utilized and quoted by al-Sharif al-Murtada in Ghurar al-fawa'id wa-durar al-qala'id, al-Raghib al-Isfahani in Muhadarat al-udaba', Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in al-Isabah fi tamyiz al-sahabah, and Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi in Khizanat al-adab al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya+1.

Editions

Kitab al-Mu'ammarin was edited by Ignaz Goldziher (Leiden, 1899; reprinted in Cairo, 1325 AH / 1907 CE) Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…. Both parts (al-Mu'ammarun wa al-Wasaya) were published together from manuscript No. 2014 Tarikh at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah in Cairo, edited by Abd al-Mun'im 'Amir (1961) al-Muammarun wa al-Wasaya+1.