Ahmad Matlub
- Died
- 1439 AH
- Born in
- -
Ahmad Matlub (d. 1439 AH / 2018 CE) was an Iraqi scholar of Arabic rhetoric, literary criticism, and lexicography, and a professor at the University of Baghdad, known for studies such as Asalib Balaghiya and al-Balagha 'inda al-Sakkaki.
Academic Career and Scholarly Contribution
Matlub served as a professor of rhetoric and literary criticism at the College of Arts at the University of Baghdad. His scholarship centered on Arabic rhetoric (balagha), the history of literary criticism, and the historical development of critical and rhetorical terminology. In his pedagogical approach, he maintained that renewal in rhetorical studies required a thorough grounding in classical formulations and traditional examples rather than abandoning foundational heritage.
Alongside his analytical writings—such as his reference work Mu'jam al-Mustalahat al-Balaghiyya wa-Tatawwuruha (Dictionary of Rhetorical Terms and Their Development)—Matlub was active in textual scholarship, collaborating with scholar Khadija al-Hadithi on editing classical manuscripts concerning rhetoric and the inimitability of the Quran (i'jaz al-Qur'an).
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List of Works
Asalib Balaghiya (Rhetorical Styles, subtitled al-Fasāḥa wa-l-Balāgha wa-l-Maʿānī) is a work on Arabic rhetoric and syntax. Originating as a series of university lectures for undergraduate students of the Arabic language, the book serves as a companion volume to Funūn Balāghiyya, focusing on eloquence, rhetoric, and the science of meanings (ʿilm al-maʿānī) through classical source material and traditional examples.