The Muslim Council of Elders' Pavilion at the Cairo International Book Fair 2024 presents to its visitors the book "The Truth of Al-Jaḩiz as a Thinker," authored by Professor Dr. Suleiman Suleiman Khamis, one of the scholars of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif. The book unveils new perspectives on the personality and methodologies of Al-Jaḩiz.

This study narrates an important chapter in the series of seeking and revealing the truth, studying one of the outstanding thinkers of the Mu'tazila, Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Jaḩiz (d. 255 AH). The author sheds light on intellectual aspects that have not received sufficient attention from researchers before, being the first to explore, study, and analyze these dimensions. Previous studies on Al-Jaḩiz primarily focused on the literary aspects of his works.

Through the book, Al-Jaḩiz is not seen as an imaginary figure as previously perceived. Instead, his perception represents a conscious and comprehensive reading of his knowledge, ideas, articles, and perspectives. The author maintains a balanced approach, devoid of biases, focusing on uncovering these overlooked intellectual aspects rather than succumbing to denominational prejudices that limit knowledge. 

The study is organized into three chapters. The first chapter introduces Al-Jaḩiz, detailing the scientific and cultural context of his era, his birth, upbringing, education, culture, and opinions from both admirers and critics. The second chapter explores Al-Jaḩiz's realistic and critical methodology, discussing observation, experimentation, testimony of others, and the application of critical methods to analyzing the work of others. The author highlights Al-Jaḩiz's early outlines of an experimental methodology, his inclination towards observation and experimentation in many of his natural and ethical research. The third chapter delves into the key issues addressed by Al-Jaḩiz, such as the necessity of knowledge, the act of printing, attributes, purifications, ethics, and behavior. The author offers a different cognitive formation for these issues compared to previous attributions to Al-Jaḩiz in earlier works.

The Muslim Council of Elders' pavilion at the Cairo International Book Fair features a diverse collection of publications, along with a series of seminars, activities, and events focused on promoting the values of peace and mutual coexistence among all humanity.

The pavilion is located alongside the Al-Azhar pavilion in Hall 4 at the Egypt International Exhibition and Conference Center in the Fifth Settlement in Cairo.