al-Balagha al-Safiya fi al-Maani wa al-Bayan wa al-Badi
- Author died
- 1429 AH
- Editions
- Al-Maktabah al-Azhariyyah li-al-Turāth
al-Balagha al-Safiya fi al-Maani wa al-Bayan wa al-Badi (The Pure Rhetoric on Semantics, Figures of Speech, and Embellishments) is an Arabic rhetorical textbook authored by the Egyptian scholar and Azharite professor Hasan Ismail Abd al-Raziq (d. 1429 AH / 2008 CE), dedicated to the three traditional branches of Arabic rhetoric .
Background and Purpose
In his introduction, Abd al-Raziq explains that he drew the material of the book directly from foundational classical Arabic sources . He emphasizes that early rhetorical authorities had solidly established the principles of the discipline—culminating indisputably with al-Khatib al-Qazwini—leaving little room for a twentieth-century scholar to claim unprecedented theoretical innovation . Accordingly, the author frames his contribution as an effort to clear away the pedagogical heaviness and scholastic obscurity accumulated during later centuries, presenting classical rhetoric in a clear, fluid, and engaging style to assist students and serve the study of the Quranic text .
Scope and Structure
The book is structured around the historical development and primary divisions of Arabic rhetoric:
- Historical Development: The work begins by tracing the origins of rhetorical criticism from pre-Islamic literary traditions and gatherings through the revelation of the Quran and early Islamic discourse, leading to the codification of the discipline in the Abbasid era . It highlights milestones such as Abu Ubayda Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna's Majaz al-Quran, early studies on stylistic figures by Ibn al-Mu'tazz, the foundational theories of Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani in Dala'il al-I'jaz and Asrar al-Balagha, and Abu Ya'qub al-Sakkaki's tripartite classification in Miftah al-Ulum .
- Ilm al-Maani (Semantics and Syntax): Covers sentence structures, contextual appropriateness, and the functional nuances of grammatical constructions.
- Ilm al-Bayan (Figures of Speech): Explores the methods of expressing a single intended meaning through varying degrees of descriptive clarity, including simile (tashbih), metaphor (isti'ara), and metonymy (kinaya) .
- Ilm al-Badi (Embellishments): Deals with semantic and phonological stylistic figures and ornamentation.
Publication
The work was published in Cairo by al-Maktaba al-Azhariyya li-l-Turath in 2006 (1427 AH) as a single volume containing 376 pages .
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