News of fools and the naive

The Arab heritage is filled with many texts that document humor and news that people used to pass among themselves; they mock them, and aspects of their social life appear in a satirical form. The jurist and historian Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi, who lived in the 6th Hijri / 11th century AD, collected a group of those anecdotes and jokes that are specific to fools and the naive, thus retreating from collecting the news of the intelligent; as he saw that something is known by its opposite. And this knowledge is more effective in encouraging good conduct, not to mention the joy and happiness it brings to the soul. The author begins by explaining the meaning of foolishness, mentioning its types and the different synonyms for it, as well as the characteristics of the fool, starting from those premises to an exciting flight with those Arabs who set the example in foolishness; men and women, original fools and wise people who were captivated by foolishness and turned to it, regardless of their scholarly or political standing. Among them were narrators and hadith transmitters, and among them were naive rulers and princes, even judges, writers, and poets.