Uqala al-Majanin lil-Darab
- Author died
- 392 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashāʼir
'Uqala' al-Majanin (Arabic: عقلاء المجانين للضراب, also titled 'Uqala' al-Majanin wa-al-Muwaswisin, lit. 'The Wise Madmen and the Obsessed') is a short treatise of Arabic belles-lettres (adab) by the Egyptian hadith scholar Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Isma'il al-Darrab (d. 392 AH / 1002 CE) .
Subject and Content
The work compiles anecdotes, poetic verses, and wise utterances attributed to individuals considered mad, eccentric, or afflicted by obsessive melancholia (muwaswisun) who nevertheless voiced sharp spiritual insights, admonitions, and eloquent speech .
Among the figures featured in the compilation are:
- 'Ulyan al-Majnun, including his encounters in Kufa with the ascetic Ata' al-Sulaymi and his discourse on the mystical dessert of the knowers (faludhaj al-'arifin), as well as his admonitions overheard by the judge Hafs ibn Ghiyath .
- Bahlul, particularly his brief counsel to Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah regarding kings and their palaces and graves .
- Wabis al-Muwaswas and Hamman al-Muwaswas, recording their poetic expressions concerning their state of mind and inner distraction .
- Ghawrak al-Majnun, recording his verses clarifying that his condition was driven by love rather than genuine insanity, as well as his grief over departing pilgrims .
- Ibn Abi Malik, a mentally impaired man in Kufa noted for speaking correctly, who reproached a worshipper for turning his attention away while praying .
- Sa'dun al-Majnun, featuring his encounters with al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad in the desert and his visits to ruined graveyards .
Method and Transmission
Al-Darrab arranged the treatise using the classical hadith methodology, transmitting the accounts with full chains of narration (isnads) from his teachers, such as Ahmad ibn Marwan, al-Hasan ibn Rashiq, and Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah al-'Isami .
Manuscript Tradition and Publication
A manuscript copy of the treatise is preserved in the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (MS Majami' 3756, fols. 7–14) . The text was edited by Ibrahim Salih and published in Damascus by Dar al-Basha'ir in 1424 AH / 2003 CE as the twentieth installment of the Nawadir al-Rasa'il series .
Answer updated