Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī - by Al-Hariri of Basra

Written between 1054 and 1122 by the Arab scholar and poet Abū Muḥammad al-Qāsim ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥarīrī, this renowned collection of 50 maqamat (rhymed prose assemblies) chronicles the exploits of the eloquent trickster Abū Zayd al-Sarūjī and his companion al-Ḥārith. Renowned for its linguistic acrobatics, puns, and rhythmic prose, it satirizes human folly, poverty, and scholarship, surpassing al-Hamadhani's model in complexity and becoming a pinnacle of classical Arabic adab (belles-lettres).