Dayr Hizqil
دير هزقل
A Syrian monastery given over to the mad; al-Mubarrad told how he entered it asking its monks for a lunatic of pleasant speech to laugh with his companions over, and was shown a raised iwan where they were graded each to the measure of his affliction; Di'bil ibn Ali named it in satire of Abu Ubbad, al-Ma'mun's secretary 1.
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Overview
The Monastery of Hizqil is a monastery in Syria for the mentally ill. 1
The account of al-Mubarrad
Al-Umari reports from al-Mubarrad that he went in and asked its monks about a madman with a pleasant way of speaking, who would make them laugh. They pointed to a high hall, and he spent the evening with the man in charge of their affairs, and he saw their ranks according to the degree of their afflictions. 1
Di'bil ibn Ali also mentioned it in his satire of Abu Abbad, the secretary of al-Mamun. 1
Sources
- Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar — al-Umari (1924 printing), p. 344
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Dayr Hizqil”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/building/dayr-hizqil/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.