Prose writer, poet, linguist, translator, journalist, publisher, one of the founders of the modern Arabic novel Ahmad Faris al-Shidyak (c. 1804-1887) belongs to the generation of literary enlighteners who wrote in Arabic in the middle of the XIX century. The book intertwines the traditions of Eastern and European literature. Al-Shidyak pays tribute to the traditional genres of ri? hla (travel description), poppy? ma (rogue novel) of classical Arabic literature, as well as satire of Rabelais, Stern, Swift and romantic painting in the spirit of Lamartine and Chateaubriand. The author proclaims two main goals of his book: to acquaint the reader with curiosities (gara'ib) and rare turns (nav? dir) of the Arabic language; sing women, show all their advantages and disadvantages. The interpretation of the title of al-Shidyak's book "As-Sak "al-sak fi ma huva al-Faryak" as "Step by step after al-Faryak" belongs to A.E. Crimean. Here, for the first time, a Russian translation of the novel is published, which was specially performed by V.N. Kirpichenko.