Holly Kaulius Ben De Witte 01:195:201 Section 02 The Misers Penny pincher, cheapskate, and tightwad are all

terms that are used to describe people that are reluctant to spend money. These people seem to avoid even the basic necessities in order to save an extra dollar. In addition to the previous terms, they are also known as misers, and their foolish acts have been portrayed in entertainment throughout time. Literature is one common type of amusement that discussed misers. Different methods of literature are used in order to portray these greedy people; al-Jahiz, an Arabic author from the late 700s to the early 800s, used a collection of satirical anecdotes to emphasize his opinions towards these selfish people. The Misers is a collection of various stories written by al-Jahiz that pokes fun at greedy ways that are evident in human nature. Each story analyzes a different person, explains their greedy behavior, and demonstrates exactly why it is a bad thing to be a miser. One story in particular, The Story of al-Hizami, goes to extreme lengths to emphasis the miserliness of the main character, whom al-Jahiz states is the most miserly man Allah ever created (al-Jahiz 48). In this story, animal skins with date syrup were divided amongst several men. It would be expected for a miser to gladly take these gifts; however, al-Hizami refused. No one could figure out why he did not take the gifts, him being such a miser. When confronted, al-Hizami states that the loss incurred in (selling) them would come to many times the profit, and, in my opinion, to accept them whould have led to a backward step (al-Jahiz 52). He then went on to discuss, in great length and detail, all of the complications accompanying accepting the skins would bring onto him and his wallet. al-Hizami claims that he will need to hire people to transport the skins; these people would then demand food and money. If he makes them into date-wine, then he will need pots, water, and to hire people to make it. It is then a possibility that the serving girl in charge of it will ruin her dress, and then he will have to pay to get it cleaned. Then, if the wine turns out badly, he will not make any profit at all, and his money will go to waste. He continues on and on, listing various scenarios and what could go wrong and cost him more money in each case. al-Jahiz emphasizes the ridiculousness of al-Hizami's behavior by making him babble endlessly about minute details relating to the skins and what could happen to them. al-Jahiz does this to emphasis how miserly the man is; how he will go through any extreme just to save a small amount of money. This method of making al-Hizami talk and talk shows that his reasoning for not excepting the skins is a bunch of nonsense; it shows that miserliness is a waste of time and energy. This method also shows that misers never have a solution to their miserliness, and that it is a curse that humans are stuck with. According to Muslim tradition, you are supposed to take any gifts that are given to you. He shows that misers go against Allah by having al-Hizami refuse the gift. alJahiz shows his misers betraying Allah, and through this, he makes it known to his audience that being a miser is a sin. While it may be a part of human nature to be greedy, a truly devout Muslim would go against their miserliness in order to be a better person. al-Jahiz uses humor when expressing his beliefs in miserliness. This makes the stories easier to read, thus appealing to a larger audience. Therefore, he is able to get his point across to more people.

al-Jahiz is an Arabic author that demonstrates the miserliness of human beings in his collection of short stories, The Misers. He uses humor to portray the misers' actions in a way that is entertaining for all different types of viewers. In one short story, he discusses a man that refuses a gift, thus going against Allah and common courtesy in general. To explain the mans actions and show how mundane they are, al-Jahiz discusses the mans explanation through countless details. This method of anecdotes and humor was a successful tactic for al-Jahiz, as his story is still being read today, almost 1500 years later.