Stingies, Paperback Book, By: Al-Jahiz

The Misers by Al-Jahi. In this book, you can do three things: present a funny argument, know a nice trick, or make a rare and wondrous benefit. You can laugh at it if you want, and have fun if you get bored of seriousness. Al-Jahi portrayed the misers in a realistic, sensual way, which was exaggerated in some places. He derived it from his environment, his acquaintances, and those he heard about, especially in his town of Marv, the capital of Khorasan. He revealed their psyches and analysed them in a logical and humorous way. He depicted their movements and actions, their suspicious looks, their tricks and the secrets of their homes, their natures and behaviours, informing the readers of their secrets and their inner beings, not condemning their actions but displaying the way they were economical and keen on money. Al-Jahi divided his book into short comic stories, which narrate an incident or news of the miserly people in the words of an intrepid knight or caliph and his ministers, the common people, slave girls and concubines, vagabonds and the wicked. Al-Jahi wove through his words the fabric of his society at that time, using colloquial words used during the period of his writing, documenting a rich picture of his society.