Q: Discuss the contribution of Al Jahiz in various fields of literature.

Introduction:-
His full name was ‘Abu Usman Umro Bin Behr Al-Jahiz, born in Bsara. He was a famous Arab scholar, believed to have been an Afro-Arab of East African descent. He was an Arabic prose writer and author of works on Arabic Literature, biology, zoology, history early Islamic philosophy, Islamic psychology etc.
He spent a life of 100 years where he saw many ups and downs yet he was the most glaring personality of Arabic literature as he has been designated the title of ‘Imam ul Adab’ in a book of Al Qairwani. The name of that book is ‘Al Umda’

Contribution:
He contributed a lot in Arabic literature. Although the number of works he produced during his lifetime range in supposed number from one hundred and forty to three hundred and fifty, Al-Jahiz certainly wrote enough to change what was acceptable to write about in Arabic literature from the ancient themes of the nomadic life, to any topic that inquiring minds care to explore on the written page.
Not only did the scholarly works of Al-Jahiz change the very face of Arabic literature, but they also paved the way for scientific discoveries that were fleshed out more than a thousand years after his death, in the work of Charles Darwin and other Evolutionary Biologists of the nineteenth century, a world away in Europe.
Books:
Some say he wrote one hundred and forty works, others cite the number three hundred as an estimated figure, and still others say that the works cannot ever be numbered since so many have been lost during the twelve hundred years since his era. His books have been praised by ‘Ibn Al Amid’ in these words “ the books of jahiz teach us knowledge and duty” .One such undeniable fact is the overwhelming prolificness that characterizes Al-Jahiz’s remarkable body of contributions to Arabic Literature. Some of his books are given as under:
I – kitab al Haivan (About animals):
The Kitab ul Haiwan is an encyclopedia of seven volumes of anecdotes, poetic descriptions and proverbs describing over 350 varieties of animals. It is considered as the most important work of Al-Jahiz.
II – Kitab al Bukhala(book of Misers):
It is a collection of stories about greedy. Humorous and satirical, it is the best example of Al-Jahiz’s prose style. It is an insightful study of human psychology.

III – Kitab al Biyan wal tbeen (Arabic culture and literature):
Kitab al Biyan wal tbeen is one of his last works in which he approached various subjects such as epiphanies, rhetorical speeches, sectarian leaders, princes as well as giving a sardonic treatment to foolish and crazy people. This book is considered one of the earliest works in Arabic literary theory and literary criticism.
Translator:
He was a prolific intellectual and translator. He translated the works of Persian and Greece in Arabic.
Leader in Prose:
When we see the second group of prose writers, without any doubt and dispute, Jahiz was the leader of this group.
Literary tradition:
Another contribution of Al Jahiz is that he was the first who started to pen down the literary tradition in Abbasid era. This was done by him because of the reason that many non Arabic crept in because of the territorial expansion. Mistakes and flaws in the Arabic of non indigenous people were avoided by Al Jahiz by ensuring what was pure Arabic work.
Conclusion:
It can be seen from the long life of al-Jahiz, that he was no doubt the product of the Golden age of Abbasid rule which, as Nicholson says, was marked by a great intellectual development. Al-Jahiz has long been a source of literary and intellectual inspiration for the generations of Arab writers that have followed in his wake.