The Maqamat of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani

The Book of Maqamat is considered the most famous work of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani, who is credited with laying the foundations of this art form and opening its doors wide for many later writers.

The Maqamat is a collection of short stories of varying lengths that combine prose and poetry. Its hero is a fictional character named Abu al-Fath al-Iskandari, known for his deceit, adventures, eloquence, ability to compose poetry, and his skillful escape from predicaments, in addition to being a lively comedic character who brings smiles to faces and laughter from the depths. The adventures of this character, which evoke wonder and admiration, are narrated by another fictional character named Isa ibn Hisham.

This work significantly contributed to the widespread fame of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani due to the wealth of information it contains, benefiting all readers from different backgrounds and interests. He wrote it with an educational purpose, thus it abounds in eloquent styles, beautiful vocabulary, and prosody. He also sought to gain favor with Prince Khalaf ibn Ahmad, so he included praise, especially evident in the Hamdani Maqama and the Khamriya Maqama. He varied and diversified his style, using simple language, delicate phrasing, and short rhymed prose without any effort or difficulty.