RESOURCES940), who compiled his encyclopedia from eastern sources which were
available in Spain. The reliability of his information is questionable,
but he appears to have preserved much of what would otherwise have
been lost. The same applies to the Kitab ai-bad' wa-t-ta'rtkh of al-
Mu!ahhar ibn Tahir al-Maqdisi (fl. ca. 355/966), which was edited
with a French translation in six volumes by C. Huart (Paris, 1899-
1919). The Kitab al-fihrist of Abii l-Faraj MUQammad ibn I~haq ibn
MUQammad ibn ISQaq an-Nadim (d. 380/990-91) presents authors
and their works organized by subject. It is an invaluable source for
identifying some of the early works that have not survived, especially
those by sectarian Muslims and by non-Muslims. The canonical edition
is that by G. Fliigel (Leipzig, 1871-72). A two-volume English trans-
lation by B. Dodge is called The Fihrist of al-Nadtm: A Tenth-Century
Survey of Muslim Culture (New York, 1970).
Miscellaneous information can also be found in eleventh-century
compilations such as the Lata'if al-ma'arif of 'Abd al-Malik ibn Mu-
Qammad ath-Tha'alibi. This text was edited by I. al-Abyari and H.
K. a~-Sayrafi (Cairo, 1960) and it has been translated into English by
C. E. Bosworth as The Book of Curious and Entertaining Information
(Edinburgh, 1968).
Poetry and Poets
Arabic poetry is potentially a primary source for information on
the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries. The poems ascribed to poets
who are said to have lived in these centuries purport to commemorate
events, express feelings, and allude to current customs. However, be-
cause of the problems of transmission and interpretation and charges
of false attribution, it is not wise to take poetry at face value. Nor is
it wise to ignore it entirely, since the fragments of poetry embedded
in the narrative historical tradition may, in fact, be authentic. For
instance, the D'iwan (Baghdad, 1965), or collected poems, of 'Adi ibn
Zayd al-'Ibadi would be invaluable primary material if it could be
verified that they were an authentic expression of a Christian Arab
poet of late pre-Islamic Hira. If the poems are only a representation
of what later poets and compilers circulated under his name, then we
at least know what kind of poetry was thought to be attributable to
him. We appear to be on surer ground with the poets of the Marwani
period whose expressions probably tell us what their audiences wanted
to hear. The poems by 'Ubaydullah ibn Qays ar-Ruqayyat (d. ca. 85/
704) in praise of Mu~'ab ibn az-Zubayr were edited by N. Rhodo-