Fakihat al-Khulafa wa Mufakahat al-Zurafa

Fakihat al-Khulafa wa Mufakahat al-Zurafa (Fruit of the Caliphs and Entertainment of the Refined) is an Arabic literary and didactic work composed by the historian and man of letters Ibn Arabshah (791–854 AH / 1389–1450 CE) Majallat al-Risala+1. Written in the tradition of wisdom literature and mirror-for-princes fables, the book employs animal parables and human tales to impart moral counsel, political wisdom, and principles of just governance Majallat al-Risala+1.

Frame Narrative and Structure

The book is structured into ten chapters (abwab) organized around a central frame story Majallat al-Risala+1. The tales are presented on the authority of Shaykh Abu al-Mahasin Hassan, who relates them from a sage named Habib Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…. Habib is depicted as the youngest son of a king who left six brothers; when one became ruler, the others obeyed him until envy arose among them Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…. Choosing withdrawal, Habib sought permission from his royal brother to live in seclusion and compose a book encompassing various branches of wisdom Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…. When a suspicious minister questioned Habib's loyalty and motives, the king convened the dignitaries and scholars of the realm, before whom Habib recited his parables and exhortations in ornate rhymed prose, producing the contents of the book's ten chapters Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l….

Contents and Themes

Each of the ten chapters contains extended primary narratives interwoven with digressive episodic sub-stories Majallat al-Risala:

• Chapter One: Discusses the king of the Arabs and contains four main narratives: the tale of the ancient Persian ruler al-Dahhak; the story of Qabus ibn Wushmgir, the Ziyarid ruler of Tabaristan and Gorgan, and his assassination by his associates; the narrative of the Sasanian king Bahram Gur and the maiden who captivated him; and the fable of the jackal and the donkey Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l….
• Chapter Two: Contains the counsels of the king of the non-Arabs (Ajam), including the account of the son of the Sultan of Babylon and his deceitful uncle Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l….
• Chapter Three: Features the story of the Khaqan of the Turks and his ascetic son-in-law Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l….
• Chapter Four: Relates tales concerning humankind and the world of the jinn and demons Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l….

Other sections include animal fables, such as the anecdotes of the king of beasts (the lion) and his courtiers, the prince of foxes and the chief of hyenas Majallat al-Risala. The overall themes revolve around righteous governance, the ruler's duty to treat subjects with justice, the condemnation of vile character traits, and the necessity of shrewdness, foresight, and sound administration (husn al-tadbir) Majallat al-Risala+1.

Literary Style and Influences

The work draws heavily on the tradition of animal fables initiated in Arabic by Ibn al-Muqaffa in Kalilah wa-Dimnah, as well as works like Sulwan al-Muta', though Ibn Arabshah created original narrative plots Majallat al-Risala+1. Stylistically, Ibn Arabshah blended the fable narrative method with the rhetorical and ornate rhymed prose (saj') characteristic of the maqamat genre, particularly the styles of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani and al-Hariri Majallat al-Risala.

Editions and Translations

The book was edited and published with a Latin translation by the German Orientalist Georg Wilhelm Freytag in two volumes at Bonn (1832 and 1852) under the title Fructus Imperatorum et Jocatio Ingeniosorum Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…. In the Middle East, it was printed several times in Egypt, including editions at Bulaq (1276 and 1290 AH), Matba'at Sharaf (1300 and 1303 AH), and al-Matba'ah al-Maymaniyyah (1307 AH), as well as in Mosul (1869 and 1876 CE), where it was printed alongside Kalilah wa-Dimnah Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.