Abu Uthman Amr bin Basr al-Fuqaymi al-Basri
al-Jahiz (160-255/776-869)
Sometimes quoted as one of the first to develop a Darwinian
scheme of evolution, Abu 'Uthman 'Amr b. Bahr al-Fuqaymi al-Basri al-Jahiz was
the most talented Arab prose writer of the third century Hijra. He wrote works
of adab, Mua`tazili theology as well as politico-religious polemics. Born at
Basra (ca. 160/776), he owes his nickname, Jahiz (meaning with a projecting
cornea) to a deformation of the eyes.
Early in his life, he became part of a group of young people
who gathered in at the main mosque of the Basra, then the center of the Islamic
intellectual tradition, to discuss a wide range of questions. These young men
attended lectures delivered by the most learned men of the day on philology,
lexicography and poetry.
Al-Jahiz’s wit and memory soon took him to the drawing rooms
of the aristocracy and his command of Arabic language made him a favourite of
the learned. The most important issues of his times were the theological
questions dealing with the harmonization of faith and reason. Likewise, in
politics, question of the qualification for the office of the Caliph was of
foremost importance. Known for his penetrating observations of human nature, al-Jahiz
lived a very intense social life combined with a vast reading of books of all
kinds. Some of his works attracted al-Ma`mun’s attention and this led to his
arrival in Baghdad where he made a strong impression on the intellectual elite.
From that point onward, he made frequent and long sojourns in Baghdad but his
hometown, Basra, left such a deep imprint on his life that it remains a
continuous thread throughout all his works.
Towards the end of his life, suffering from hemiplegia, he
retired to Basra where he died in Muharram 255/December 868-January 869. Almost
200 works are attributed to al-Jahiz. They include two broad categories:
Jahizian adab, intended to entertain and instruct the reader, and more serious
works where he deals with topics of his times.
His chief work in the first category is
Kitab al-Hayawan (ed. Harun, Cairo n.d, 7 vols.), which is generally quoted in
support of the claim that he had developed a scheme of Darwinian evolution, is
actually not a bestiary but a genuine anthology based on narratives concerning
animals. Often the narrative of this wonderful prose leads off into theology,
metaphysics, sociology, embryonic theories and to the questions of evolution of
species and the influence of climate on animal psychology. But these, one must
recall, are not based on biology. These are imaginative journeys, with no
science to support the claims made in the narrative.
In addition to the Kitab al-Hayawan, which al-Jahiz left
incomplete, we have Kitab al-Bighal (ed. Pellat, Cairo 1955), Kitab al-Bayan
wa’l-tabyin (ed. Harun, Cairo 1367/1948-50, 4 vols, and other editions), both of
which are an inventory of what have been called the “Arabic humanities”,
designed to stress the oratorical and poetic ability of Arabs. His Kitab al-Bukhala
(ed. al-Hadhiri, Cairo 1948 and other editions; Ger. tr. O. Rescher, Excerpt in
Fr. tr. Ch. Pellat, Paris 1951), is a portrait gallery of Arabs which highlights
the generosity of Arabs, remains unparalleled in Arabic literature. Filled with
acute observations, light-hearted skepticism, a comic sense and satirical
narrative, this admirable portrayal of human types and society describe several
social groups (schoolmasters, singers, scribes…), but always within the bounds
of decency--except in the case of Kitab Mufakharat al-dhawari wa’l-ghilman (ed.
Pellat, Beirut 1957), dealing with a delicate subject, which is marred by
obscenity. However, for the majority of literate Arabs al-Jahiz remains
something of a jester; his place as such in legend can undoubtedly be attributed
in part to his fame and his ugliness, which made him the hero of numerous
anecdotes; but it must also be attributed to a characteristic of his writing
which could not but earn him the reputation of being a joker in a Muslim world.
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