Sobriety & Mirth: A Selection of the Shorter Writings of Al-Jāhiz

This collection gathers the shorter writings of Al-Jāhiz, a leading figure of Islamic literary culture, whose pieces address matters of moral and social concern. The tone is consistently moral, and humour and wit lighten it throughout.

The subjects range from singing women and the pleasures of girls and boys to worldly life and the afterlife, drinking and drinkers, envy, and the claim that the front is better than the back. The pieces are short and lively, so the collection reads easily in sections.

The series is the Kegan Paul Arabia Library, and the catalogue notes that the work was first published in 2001. Published by Routledge in 2016 as edition 1, with 318 pages and ISBN-13 9781138982116.