With his distinctive style of rich, complex, yet easy-to-understand linguistic structures, Al-Jahiz brings together in this book the virtues and vices of things. He mentions social customs and human traits, such as intelligence, cunning, eloquence, and foolishness, as well as feelings such as patriotism, and other qualities, actions, and indications that can carry both good and evil. The reader will find all of this in the narrative style that Al-Jahiz was unique in, and the way he divided it up set a new style that later writers followed. It is thus a book that contains distinguished linguistic creativity, historical anecdotes, imaginative jokes, and social situations presented in the best possible way, about the era in which the Arab genius Al-Jahiz lived.

الجاحظ (776–868) أديب ومفكر عربي من البصرة، يُعد من أعظم كتاب العصر العباسي. اشتهر بأسلوبه الساخر وبموسوعته «الحيوان» وكتابه «البيان والتبيين»، التي جمعت بين الأدب والفكر والعلوم.