Maqamat al-Suyuti

Maqamat al-Suyuti is a collection of twenty-nine literary epistles (rasa'il) in the maqama genre composed at various times by the Egyptian polymath al-Jalal al-Suyuti (849–911 AH / 1445–1505 CE) al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-…+1.

Structure and Contents

The collection comprises twenty-nine individual maqamas covering religious, polemical, geographical, and descriptive themes al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-…+1:

1. Saji'at al-Haram (on Mecca and Medina)
2. Al-Maqama al-Sundusiyya (on the parents of the Prophet)
3. Al-Lazawardiyya (on the death of children)
4. Al-Maqama al-Dhahabiyya fi al-Humma (on fever)
5. Al-Kawi fi Radd Tarikh al-Sakhawi
6. Al-Mizhariyya
7. Al-Mustansiriyya
8. Maqamat Uli al-Albab
9. Fi Mas'alat al-Half (on the question of swearing oaths)
10. Al-Wardiyya
11. Al-Miskiyya
12. Al-Tuffahiyya
13. Al-Zumurrudiyya
14. Al-Fustuqiyya
15. Al-Yaqutiyya
16. Bulbul al-Rawda
17. Al-Lu'lu'iyya
18. Al-Bahriyya
19. Al-Durriyya
20. Al-Fattash 'ala al-Qashshash
21. Al-Istinsar bi-al-Wahid al-Qahhar
22. Al-Dawaran al-Falaki 'ala Ibn al-Karaki
23. Sahib Sayf 'ala Sahib Hayf
24. Al-Kullajiyya fi al-As'ilah al-Najiyya
25. Qam' al-Mu'arid fi Nusrat Ibn al-Farid (in defense of Ibn al-Farid)
26. Al-Fariq bayn al-Musannif wa-al-Sariq (distinguishing an author from a plagiarist)
27. Turuz al-'Imama fi al-Tafriqa bayn al-Maqama wa-al-Qumama
28. Rashf al-Zulal min al-Sihr al-Halal (also titled Maqamat al-Nisa', depicting scholars across multiple disciplines describing their wedding nights through the terminology of their respective sciences)
29. Al-Lafz al-Jawhari fi Radd Khubat al-Jawjari Majallat al-Risala+1.

Themes and Style

The maqamas incorporate rhymed prose (saj'), dramatic dialogues, allegorical debates (munazarat), and scholarly riddles Majallat al-Risala+1. In al-Maqama al-Wardiyya, al-Suyuti stages an allegorical assembly of aromatic plants—including the rose, narcissus, jasmine, willow (ban), violet, eglantine, water lily, myrtle, basil (rayhan), and henna flower (faghya)—competing for sovereignty before submitting to the basil Majallat al-Risala+1. Similarly, al-Miskiyya presents a dispute among four perfumes: musk, ambergris, saffron, and civet Maqamat al-Suyuti. Other pieces, such as Bulbul al-Rawda, provide descriptions of Rawdat al-Miqyas island in Cairo, while works like al-Kawi and al-Dawaran al-Falaki serve as sharp polemical rejoinders against contemporary scholars and rivals Majallat al-Risala+1. In several compositions, al-Suyuti emulates the riddle-laden style of al-Hariri, posing obscure linguistic and juridical questions followed by detailed explanations Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l….

Publication History

The collection was published in a lithograph edition in Egypt in 1275 AH al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-…. A selection of twelve maqamas was printed in Constantinople at Matba'at al-Jawa'ib in 1298 AH al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-…. It was also published in Cairo by Maktabat Ibn Sina under the title Maqamat al-Suyuti al-Adabiyya al-Tibbiyya, edited with commentary by Muhammad Ibrahim Salim al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-….