Al-Jāhiz and his Treatise Keeping Secrets and Holding the Tongue

Marek M. DZIEKAN

Katedra Bliskiego Wschodu i Północnej Afryki, Wydział Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politologicznych, Uniwersytet Łódzki, ul. Narutowicza 59a, 90-131 Łódź, Poland , Poland



Abstract

The article comprises a Polish translation of the Arabic treatise Kitnan as-sirr wa-hafz al-lisan [Keeping Secrets and Holding the Tongue] by Abu Usman al-Jāhiz, an Arabic intellectual of the turn of the 9th century. The treatise is an interesting example of medieval Arabic-Muslim paraenetic literature, and the reflection it offers addresses ethics, philosophy and theology, as seen from the Eastern perspective. The translation of the treatise is preceded by an introduction providing the basic information on al-Jāhiz and the circumstances in which the text in question was written. Its historical and cultural context is also discussed.

Translated by Dorota Chabrajska

Keywords:

al-Jāhiz, Arabs, Islam, ethics, mystery, not speaking and silence, paraenetic literature




Published
2020-01-16


DZIEKAN, M. M. (2020). Al-Dżahiz i jego traktat O zachowywaniu tajemnicy i powstrzymywaniu języka. Ethos. Kwartalnik Instytutu Jana Pawła II KUL, 29(1 (113). Retrieved from https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/ethos/article/view/5311

Marek M. DZIEKAN 
Katedra Bliskiego Wschodu i Północnej Afryki, Wydział Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politologicznych, Uniwersytet Łódzki, ul. Narutowicza 59a, 90-131 Łódź, Poland