Sinnimar
سِنِمَّار
The builder who raised al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadir for al-Nu'man ibn Imri' al-Qays over twenty years; when the king marvelled and feared him, Sinnimar boasted 'had I wished, I could have made it turn with the sun' — and was thrown from its highest balcony, begetting the proverb 'he was repaid Sinnimar's reward' 1.
At a glance
- Era
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Sinnimar, a builder whom al-Umari mentions in "Masalik al-Absar". He built al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadir for al-Nu'man ibn Imri' al-Qays, and completed them in twenty years 2.
The saying of Sinnimar
al-Umari reports that al-Nu'man stood over the building and admired it. Sinnimar said to him: "If I wished, I could make it turn with the sun, I would do it." Al-Nu'man ordered him thrown from the top of its battlements, and so he became a proverb: "He was repaid the reward of Sinnimar". His relation with al-Nu'man ibn Imri' al-Qays is mentioned in the same source 2.
Connections
- Related to
- al-Khawarnaq· al-Nu'man ibn Imri' al-Qays
People and things also explored
Sources
- Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar — al-Umari (1924 printing), p. 230
- Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar — al-Umari (1924 printing), p.230
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Sinnimar”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/sinnimar/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.