8vo. 528 pp., Arabic text within borders, edited & introduced by Tahir al-Jaza’iri, contemporary half-calf, title gilt on raised spine, first & last few pages slightly soiled & foxed, ink stain to lower outer edges, otherwise copy in good condition, published at Jaridat Bayrut, Beirut, 1311 A. H. / 1893.

Synopsis

Abu Yahya ibn Nubbata (946?-984/5), was a preacher at the court of Sayf  al-Dawla in Aleppo. He used to compose sermons for political occasions, and also for both secular and religious festivals. His major speeches were written from the beginning of 959 onwards; he often composed to exhort the population to support Sayf al-Dawla in the war against the Byzantines and his speeches aroused great enthusiasm. They contain references to contemporary events, for example the taking of Aleppo by the Byzantines in 962, the measures taken for the defense of Mayyafarikin, the arrival in that town of volunteers from Khurasan, the assassination of Nicephorus Phocas in 969, etc.
Ibn Nubbata’s sermons were collected and arranged together with some sermons by his son Abu Tahir Muhammad and by his grandson Abu-L-Faraj; collected circa 1223, they have been printed in various editions, of which one of the best known is the Beirut edition”. (Encyclopaedia of Islam – vol. 3 p.900).