Abstract Title of the Study: Literary Anecdote in Ab? ?Al? al-Q?l??s Kit?b al-Am?l?: An Analytical and Descriptive Study Academic Degree: Masters Researcher: Mohammed Saeed Al-Qarni The study deals with literary anecdote (al-khabar al-Adab?) in the book of Al-Am?l? by Ab? ?Al? al-Q?l?. It consists of a prolog elaborating on the term khabar which is then followed by three chapters and a conclusion. A list of the bibliography and an index are then provided. The first chapter deals with the sources of the literary anecdote which are investigated in two sub-sections: 1) narrators of the literary anecdote, and 2) the literary anecdote between orality and writing. As for the second chapter, it deals with the elements of the literary anecdote and is also divided into two sub-sections: 1) chain of authorities (isn?d), and a study of their importance and benefit, 2) the main body of the anecdotes by studying the link between them, their contents and purposes. As for the third chapter, it is concerned with the narrative structure of the anecdote and it investigates some concepts and concerns regarding the technical study based on the theory of narrative, as well as showing examples of the literary anecdotes of al-Am?l?. Then, the narrative pillars of the anecdote are studied, and finally this chapter is concluded by the investigation of the elements of the narrative in the anecdote starting with the preface, then narrator, the character and ended by the narrative environment with its elements of spatial location and temporal dimension. The study found some important results which include the following: 1- The term „literary anecdote? can be defined as "narration of a real event occurred in the past , narrated by narrators for the purposes of benefiting and entreating or either of them". 2- Most of the narrators cited by al-Q?l? are from amongst famous and trustworthy imams of language and literature. 3- The oral style is dominant in the narration of the anecdotes which comes in line with the context of that time. 4- The chain of authorities and transmitters is considered to be a main element in the literary anecdote, and the establishment of it as well as the text is the main features of the literary anecdote make it distinct from other narrative texts. The most important purpose for the chain is to give evident and clearly attributed accounts. 5- The literary anecdotes in al-Am?l? are characterized by their correlation and the diversity of their texts and contents. Most of these anecdotes have one theme especially in the poetry, and their purposes are mostly entertaining. 6- The literary anecdote has the two pillars of the narrative namely: It has a story and it states the method of its narration. 7- The literary anecdote also has most of the elements of narrative structure; the preface, the narrators, the characters and the spatial and temporal environment. 8- The book of l-Am?l? is still need a more proper and thorough annotation in order to explain the unusual terms, and to distinguish between the similar of nicknames and agnomens as well as to include the supplements of Al-Bakr? and Al-Mayman? in the main textas they are vital for the interpretation of thetext