one of the finest writers in Arabic of all time, described as "the sultan of style" and the very symbol of literary ability. He was a native of the city of Basra in southern Iraq, then the commercial and intellectual center of the recently established Abbasid caliphate and the crucible where Islamic culture crystallized and assumed its form. Jahiz is characterized by wit, satire, irony, and a wide-ranging erudition pinned to sharp observation of character. His language is agile and vigorous, lucid and precise. It is formally literary but inspired by the rhythms of ordinary speech. Digression and anecdote are commonplace as he passes seamlessly from the serious to the entertaining (and back again) for the pleasure of his readers.

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