Ghurar al-Khasais al-Wadiha
- Author died
- 718 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyah
Ghurar al-Khasais al-Wadiha (The Prominent Marks of Evident Virtues, in full: Ghurar al-Khasais al-Wadiha wa-ʿUrar al-Naqais al-Fadiha) is an adab and ethical anthology by the Egyptian bookseller and man of letters al-Watwat (632–718 AH / 1235–1318 CE), devoted to praiseworthy qualities and their contrasting vices .
Authorship and Purpose
The author, Jamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Yahya al-Ansari al-Kutubi, was of Marw origin and Egyptian birth, working in Cairo as a copyist and bookseller (warraq) . In the introduction, al-Watwat opens with praise of the tongue as the manifestation of human intellect and states that he composed the work after observing how human dispositions diverge and incline toward different ends . His stated aim was to assemble a comprehensive collection on praiseworthy traits and their blameworthy opposites (al-mahamid wa-l-madhamm) that would serve as a companion for the discerning reader, gathering choice material from earlier literary anthologies and belles-lettres .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into sixteen major chapters (abwab), each further subdivided into distinct sections (fusal) . The structure pairs virtues with their opposing flaws or examines a specific trait from multiple angles through anecdotes, poetry, epistolary excerpts, and proverbs . Among its chapters are:
- Chapter Two: on baseness (al-luʾm) .
- Chapter Three: on intellect (al-ʿaql) .
- Chapter Four: on folly and foolishness (al-humq) .
- Chapter Five: on eloquence (al-fasaha) .
- Chapter Ten: on stinginess (al-bukhl) .
- Chapter Eleven: on courage and bravery (al-shajaʿa) .
- Chapter Twelve: on cowardice and flight (al-jubn) .
Abridgments and Publication History
An abridgment of the work was made under the title Khasais al-Ghurar wa-Nafais al-ʿUrar .
The full text was printed several times in Cairo, including an edition at Bulaq in 1284 AH (473 pages), an edition by al-Matbaʿa al-Sharafiyya in 1299 AH, and an edition by al-Matbaʿa al-Adabiyya al-Misriyya in 1318 AH (304 pages), the latter featuring Ibn Hudhayl's ʿAyn al-Adab wa-l-Siyasa in the margin . Although early printed editions frequently gave the author's name truncated as "Ibrahim ibn Yahya", manuscripts—including an autograph volume held in Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya—establish his full name as Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Yahya .
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