Sifat Sahib al-Dhawq al-Salim
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- Dar Ibn Hazm
Sifat Sahib al-Dhawq al-Salim (Arabic: صفة صاحب الذوق السليم, "The Description of the Possessor of Sound Taste") is a literary treatise and maqama by al-Jalal al-Suyuti (849–911 AH / 1445–1505 CE) contrasting refined human temperaments with their unrefined and ignoble opposites across various social classes and professions.
Title and Attribution
The treatise is recorded under several variant titles in manuscript catalogs and bibliographies, most notably Kitab fi Sifat Sahib al-Dhawq al-Salim wa-al-Maslub al-Dhawq al-La'im ("The Book on the Description of the Possessor of Sound Taste and the Mean One Stripped of Taste") and al-Dhawq al-Salim wa-Didd Dhalika al-Maslub al-Dhawq al-La'im. It is also cataloged as Risalat al-Dhawq al-Salim wa-al-Dhawq al-Maslub al-La'im. Although composed in the form of a maqama, al-Suyuti reportedly did not affix his own name directly onto the text. Copies of the treatise are preserved in manuscript collections including the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus, the Azhar Library, and Dar al-Kutub in Cairo.
Premise and Structure
The work opens with an exposition defining sound taste (al-dhawq al-salim) as the product of sharp intelligence (al-dhaka' al-mufrit), which in turn stems from abundant intellect (al-'aql al-za'id). The author characterizes the archetype of sound taste as upright in temperament, humble, forgiving, generous without patronizing reminders, sociable, and attentive to others' needs, while the archetype of superior intellect is tranquil, free of malice, and mindful of God. In contrast, their negative counterparts are delineated as hypocrites, foolish individuals devoid of discernment, and ignoble men who gravitate toward fault and vice.
The body of the text proceeds through structured, antithetical portraits pairing the ideal person of refined taste against their tasteless, corrupted counterpart within specific social ranks and vocations:
- Rulers and Military Ranks: Contrasts the just, generous, and vigilant ruler with the tyrannical, ruinous monarch; the noble prince and the upright soldier skilled in chivalric arts with the predatory commander and highway-robbing soldier; and the cultured Turk who values scholarship with the degenerate youth who engages in gambling and street brawl.
- Religious and Administrative Functionaries: Contrasts the trustworthy legal witness (shahid), the accurate, upright scribe (katib), the knowledgeable muezzin versed in celestial coordinates and prayer times, and the compassionate pulpit preacher with their deceitful, incompetent, and oppressive counterparts.
- Literary and Social Personae: Juxtaposes the eloquent, learned poet proficient in rhetorical embellishments against the plagiarizing versifier with broken meters; the charming, witty parasite (tufayli) against the crude party-crasher; and the affable, good-natured commoner and loyal servant against their dishonest, foul-mannered opposites.
- Musicians and Performers: In a dedicated section on musical entertainment (Bab al-Tarab), contrasts master lute players ('awwadun), flute players (nayat), and singers who understand rhythm, melodic modes (maqamat such as Rast, Iraq, and Isfahan), and poetic meter with tone-deaf, discordant vocalists who disrupt gatherings.
Style
The work is composed throughout in rhythmic rhymed prose (saj'), incorporating proverbs, verses of poetry, and humorous colloquial expressions typical of late Mamluk literary satire.
Answer updated