Sayd al-Khatir | Imam Ibn al-Jawzi

This book is an excellent distillation of Ibn al-Jawzi's thought and life experience, as he wrote it in a late stage of his life, after he had experienced and tested life, gained knowledge and practiced it as a student, professor, and preacher, practiced authorship in its various forms, mixed with all kinds of people, high and low, and knew how to deal with each. Therefore, the reader of this book embarks on a deep intellectual journey. It encompasses all aspects of life, as if they were different shaped beads in a necklace, crafted by the hand of an experienced and discerning jeweler, resulting in something delightful to the souls and eyes. Imam Ibn al-Jawzi spent more than twenty years compiling this book. This is characteristic of books of thoughts, as the author recorded his thoughts and opinions on the daily events he witnessed, little by little.

As for Ibn al-Jawzi's style, it is obvious in a book authored by him after such experience and practice in research and writing, to express thoughts that occurred to him, experiences from which he benefited, and expertise he wanted to present, that these thoughts would come in an easy and accessible style, with fascinating and elegant phrasing, and carefully chosen expressive words, or what eloquent speakers call "the easy yet inimitable." The reader of this book experiences the depth and transparency of the thoughts, without encountering ambiguity, riddles, or terms difficult to understand. The allusions and hints used by Ibn al-Jawzi in his thoughts appear in their proper places, clear and strong, neither confusing the astute reader nor challenging the intelligent reader. They are illuminated and clarified by what precedes and follows them, imprinting them in the reader's mind and heart with their rhetorical dimension and expressive power. In summary, these thoughts express what is within one's soul in an easy style, but no one else can formulate them at the rhetorical level achieved by Ibn al-Jawzi.