The present work is a critical edition of Ibn Baba's mal an-nadim, (part 1) 9 with Introduction (2), Summary (3) and Annotations The Ra's mal an-nadim. is a literary compendium composed in 501/ 1108 by Abu l-Abbas Ahmad b. Ali b. Baba of Qashan. The present edition is the first and is based on two manuscripts in Istanbul (Mss. S. and N. ) which are assumed to have been transcribed in the early 11th/16th and 12th/18th centuries respectively. It consists of facts and information about diverse aspects of the Arab-Islamic culture and was compiled to edify the reader and to serve as essential background knowledge for the nadims or "boon-companions". The present writer has classified the contents of his work (originally falling under about 120 headings), in seven major chapters.