al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf

al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf (The Rare Gifts and Elegance) is an Arabic literary and poetic work composed by the scribe Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Tamimi al-Darimi (d. 378 AH / 988 CE), featuring figurative verses, calligrams, and embedded religious, ethical, and medical maxims.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf+1

Background and Purpose

The author, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Mughith ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Tamimi al-Darimi al-Katib, composed the work in response to an epistle requesting a collection of strophic poetry (al-shi‘r al-muwashshah) and shaped verse designed in the form of cypresses and trees.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf Al-Darimi observed that earlier authors had largely neglected this particular craft, and he set out to compile a concise book incorporating visual designs that could be read from multiple angles as standalone verse.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf

Structure and Content

The text integrates literary devices, popular proverbs, debates, anecdotes, and well-known prophetic traditions into visual illustrations representing wild animals, birds, cypresses, and branching trees.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf These figurative poems contain secondary texts inscribed within their lines in red ink.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf

In the preserved recension edited by the copyist Muhammad ibn Khasbek al-Ashrafi, the scattered internal texts were extracted and organized into seven thematic chapters to facilitate reading:al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf

1. Chapter One: Interpretation of selected Quranic verses (fi tafsir ba‘d ayat min al-Qur’an al-‘Azim).al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf+1
2. Chapter Two: Selected prophetic hadiths (fima warada min al-hadith al-sharif).al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf
3. Chapter Three: Traditions of the early generations (fima warada min al-athar al-manif).al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf
4. Chapter Four: Tender admonitions (fi al-mawa‘iz al-raqiqah).al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf
5. Chapter Five: Aphorisms and wisdom sayings (fi al-hikam al-aniqah).al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf
6. Chapter Six: Medical advice and health observations (fi al-tibb al-latif).al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf
7. Chapter Seven: Subtle witty remarks and anecdotes (fi al-nukat al-daqiqah).al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf

Transmission and Manuscripts

The transmission of the text is documented through the account of the copyist Muhammad ibn Khasbek al-Ashrafi, who collated two different manuscript traditions of the work:al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf

• An illustrated copy dated 8 Dhu al-Hijjah 598 AH, which recorded that it had been transcribed from a worn prototype completed in Rajab 378 AH.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf This version contained 18 tree-shaped poems (ash‘ar mushajjarah) and 16 expanded broken-form poems (ash‘ar maksurah mabsutah), alongside illustrations of animals and birds.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf+1
• A second copy preserved in the royal treasury of the Rasulid dynasty of Yemen, which contained the thematic poetry but omitted the drawings of beasts, birds, and tree calligrams.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf

Upon collation, the two manuscripts shared 36 poems in common, with 112 unique poems in the first exemplar and 110 unique poems in the Rasulid exemplar.al-Tuhaf wa al-Zuraf+1