Al-Hariri of Basra, born in Basra in present Iraq, is best known for writing Maqamat al-Hariri (The Assemblies of al-Hariri), a virtuosic display of saj', consisting of fifty anecdotes written in stylized rhymed prose, which was once memorized by heart by scholars, and Mulhat al-i'rab fi al-nawh, an extensive poem on grammar.

The most famous translation of his maqamat was a German version by the poet and Orientalist Friedrich Rückert as Die Verwandlungen von Abu Serug and sought to emulate the rhymes and wordplay of the original.

Some of his other works include a book on errors of expression in Arabic, Durrat al-ghawwās fī awhām al-khawass.

The Assemblies of al-Hariri recounts in the words of the narrator, al-Harith ibn Hammam and al-Hariri's several encounters with artist Abu Zayd al-Saruji.