This The Shabáb wa’sh-Shayb as a direct source of the Jawámi‘. work of Abú ‘Abdi’llah Muḥammad b. ‘Imrán b. Músá b. Sa‘íd b. ‘Abdi’llah, one of the great Mu‘tazilite writers, generally known by his patronymic and nisba as al-Marzubání, who lived between 296 or 297-378 or 384 A. H. = 908/9 or 910-988/9 or 994 A. D., like most of his other writings, which are now lost and very little known beyond scrappy accounts in various biographical and bibliographical works*, forms one of the direct sources of al-‘Awfí, as he emphasises its importance and directs the attention of his patron-wazír towards his own special endeavour and erudition in utilising such works in his compilation*. Fortunately, a small portion of this work is preserved for us in the Jawámi‘, in the chapter “On the Account of Longevity in Animals”: (D. ff61b-64b. IV. xv. 1947-61), from which we can partly judge the nature of its contents.

A A short account of its author, al-Mar­zubání. contemporary and reliable account of al-Marzubání is given by Ibnu’n-Nadím who survived him and speaks of him as the last of the proficient and veritable authors amongst the “Akhbáriyyún” whom he had seen, and enumerates about fifty of his works on different subjects, among which the Shabáb wa’sh-Shayb is said to contain nearly 300 folios. Then as-Sam‘ání, giving an account of his accomplishments in literature and Tradition, with a list of those from whom he acquired the latter, recounts the extreme regard of ‘Adhudu’d-Dawla for him, and the immense provision which al-Marzubání had at his house for learned men who used to lodge with him, and his habit of drinking date-wine and writing enormously, and lastly remarks about the Mu‘tazilite tendencies in his works. Then Ibn Khallikán adds that he was the first to collect the Díwán of the Caliph Yazíd b. Mu‘áwiya, a fact which, in spite of his strong Shí‘a tendencies, indirectly reveals his extreme sense of appreciation for exquisite Arabian poetry.

As Its identifica­tion and rela­tion to other similar works. regards the identification and the full contents of this work our information is very scanty. Prof. Brockelmann has altogether omitted the works of al-Marzubání; even Ign. Goldziher, while tracing the influence of Abú Ḥátim Sahl b. Muḥammad as-Sijistání’s (d. 250 A. H. = 864 A. D.) Kitábu’l-Mu‘ammarín*, does not say anything about al-Marzubání’s work in this connection, and passes on to other later works, either bearing similar titles or contents. Amongst these he first mentions the work of ‘Alí b. al-Ḥusayn ash-Sharíf al-Murtadhá*, the famous Shí‘a divine (d. 436 A. H. = 1044/5 A. D.), entitled ash-Shiháb fi’sh-Shaybi-wa’sh Shabáb* as the first one particularly devoted to the Mu‘ammarún-literature, and conjectures that it probably has an implied reference to the Kitábu’sh-Shaybi-wa’sh Shayb of Abú Bakr ibn Khayr (?); but, apparently, this title originated from al-Marzubání and was adopted by these later writers.

The Its contents, importance, and preserved portion. contents of this work are indicated in a general way by the division in the title itself, that of “Shabáb” and “Shayb”, and by this division it is to be understood that, at any rate, a part of the work was devoted to those who died young; but from the account given by al-‘Awfí and the extracts in the Jawámi‘ and the actual agreement of most of the cited verses with those in the unique and earliest extant Kitábu’l-Mu‘ammarín, it is certain that this work lies directly in the line of literary semi-historico-biographical works called the “Mu‘ammarún” or the accounts of the long-lived, and it is most probable that it is directly influenced by as-Sijistání’s work. Its value lies mostly in the pedigrees, in the oldest citations from the pre-Islamic poets regarding the events of their own lives, and in the revelation of some of the Jáhiliyya traditions, notwithstanding the incredible number of years these people are said to have lived. Along with others, these fourteen sketches, some of which are devoid of all biographic infor­mation except the name and the age, are analysed in the Table of Contents (Pt. IV, ch. xx) and parallel references are given to the biographies in the Kitábu’l-Mu‘ammarín, which affords an excellent opportunity of emending the corrupt text of these anecdotes even in the oldest Mss. of the Jawámi‘.

This Difficulties in the identifica­tion of this source. is one of those sources of the Jawámi‘ that cannot be identified properly for the following reasons: firstly, its title* is uncertain owing to different readings in the Mss.; secondly, the name of the author is not mentioned; thirdly, it is variously designated by later authorities*; fourthly, several other works* of similar titles and contents were written by different authors between the 4^th and 6^th century A. H.; fifthly, there is only one anecdote which is borrowed from it with acknowledgment; and lastly, the verification of the facts mentioned in it is extremely difficult owing to the obscurity and doubtful reading of the name of the person, Zayd b. Sa‘na*, with whose conversion the anecdote is connected, even though according to Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalání it was related by many important traditionists. This anecdote is arranged in the chapter on ‘Ḥilm’ in illustration of the extraordinary self-control and clemency of the Prophet towards a Jew, named Zayd [b.] Shu‘ba* or Shí‘a or Sa‘ba or Sa‘na, a friend of ‘Abdu’llah b. Salám, who, after having read and verified the various attributes of the Prophet in the Tawrát, wanted to test the description “that his clemency will outstrip his anger and that the rudeness of the ignorant will only increase his clemency”*, and with this motive he offered a loan and demanded payment from him before it was due, using strong provocation and casting a slur upon his reputation on the occasion of a public funeral; upon which ‘Umar enraged at his insolence wanted to finish him off there and then, but the Prophet forbade him and asked him to pay twenty measures extra as penance for his threat; and thereby the Jew, con­vinced of the Prophet’s meekness, repented and accepted Islám, (D. f105b. II. iv. 1231). The anecdote is related by ‘Abdu’llah* b. Salám b. al-Ḥárith, also a convert from the Banú Qaynuqá‘, the account of whose conversion together with similar stories is given in almost every work of Tradition; but this Zayd’s conversion* is not traceable to Ibn Hishám, al-Wáqidí, Ibn Sa‘d, al-Bukhárí or aṭ-Ṭabarí.

As Probable authorship. regards the authorship of this work, most of the authorities enumerated above agree that the Kitábu-Sharafu’n-Nabí* or Nubuwwa was written by the famous preacher Abú Sa‘d ‘Abdu’l-Malik b. Abí ‘Uthmán Muḥammad b. Ibráhím al-Khargúshí* an-Níshápúrí (d. 407 A. H. = 1016 A. D.). His work is extant both in the Arabic original and in a Persian translation, and Ahlwardt* and Rieu* have given full accounts of it; but unfortunately from the accessible Br. Mus. Ms. [Or. 3014] nearly half of the chapters are missing, and similarly the Persian Translation* [Ancien Fonds Persan 82 Bib. Nat.] by Najmu’d-Dín [correctly Zaynu’d-Dín*] Maḥmúd [b. Muḥammad] b. ‘Alí ar-Ráwandí, the maternal uncle of the author of the Ráḥatu’ṣ-Ṣudúr, contains only 61 chapters out of the original 90; so that this anecdote is found in neither of these two Mss.

But Anecdote traceable to the Dalá’ilu’n-Nubuwwa of Abú Nu‘aym al-Iṣbahání. in the Kitáb Dalá’ilu’n-Nubuwwa* [Or. 3012 Br. Mus.] of the Ḥáfiẓ Abú Nu‘aym Aḥmad b. ‘Abdu’llah b. Aḥmad b. Isḥáq al-Iṣbahání (b. 336 A. H. = 948 A. D. d. 430 A. H. = 1038 A. D.), the famous author of the Ḥilyatu’l-Awliyá’*, this anecdote occurs under the heading of the Account of the Prophet in the Older Books, on ff45b-46b, with little variations from the version given in the Jawámi‘. The name of the Jew occurs nearly seven times as Zayd b. Sa‘na, and at the end it is added that Zayd witnessed many battles with the Prophet and died fighting in the Battle of Tabúk* (in 9 A. H.); for this reason this Zayd cannot be identified with Zayd b. al-Luṣayt* or al-Luṣayb of the Banú Qaynuqá‘, who according to Ibn Hishám* and others was one of the calumniators of the Prophet and died a Munáfiq; and further Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalání* distinctly calls him Zayd b. Sa‘natu’l-Khayr al-Isrá’ílí.

This An account of the author of this work. is one of those works utilised by al-‘Awfí in the Jawámi‘ on subjects con­nected with natural history and is now apparently lost. Very little is known about its real contents or its author, Sharafu’z-Zamán Ṭáhir al-Marwazí, beyond a few incidental references and dates, placing him in Marw and connecting him with the Sultan Maliksháh Saljúqí who reigned between 465-85 A. H. = 1072-92 A. D.. His long connection with Marw, most probably his native town, as his nisba also indicates, is apparent from the fact that four out of seven citations are local incidents, in two of which dates are also mentioned; once in 448 A. H. = 1056/7 A. D. he witnessed a feat of a Bedouin and in 478 A. H. = 1085/6 A. D. he treated, also in Marw, an elephant of Maliksháh. And again his attachment to the court of Maliksháh, probably as a physician, can also be inferred from the request and reward of the Sultan to him for having explained the cause of sexlessness and abnormalities in both sexes.

The Borrowed anecdotes. following are the anecdotes in which either a reference to the author occurs or the Ṭabá’i‘u’l-Ḥayawán of Sharafu’z-Zamán Ṭáhir al-Marwazí is mentioned as the source.

(1)	Abnormal features in a girl and duality of sex, as related by the author in his book, (D. f59b. IV. xiv. 1936).
(2)	A deformed but skilful woman seen by the author in Marw, (D. f60a. IV. xiv. 1939).
(3)	The author’s explanation of sexlessness at the request of Maliksháh, (D. f61a. IV. xiv. 1944).
(4)	A Bedouin seen in Marw by the author in 448 A. H. who overtook horsemen by his characteristic swift-footedness and recovered his clothes with which they wanted to run away, (D. f69a. IV. xvii. 1969).
(5)	The great age of an elephant and some observations, (D. f80b. IV. xxi. 2009).
(6)	The story of a spiteful elephant that killed the son of a certain Muḥammad Fílawí in Marw during the reign of Maliksháh I, (D. f81b. IV. xxi. 2010).
(7)	How the author temporarily stopped the bleeding of a wound in the breast of an elephant of Maliksháh I in Marw in 478 A. H., (D. f81b. IV. xxi. 2012).