Anwar al-Rabi fi Anwa al-Badi
- Author died
- 1119 AH
- Editions
- Anwar al-Rabi fi Anwa al-Badi
Anwar al-Rabi fi Anwa al-Badi (The Lights of Spring on the Types of Rhetorical Devices) is an extensive Arabic work on rhetoric (ilm al-badi) by the scholar, poet, and grammarian Ibn Ma'sum al-Hasani (1052–1119 AH / 1642–1707 CE; other reports give 1117 AH or 1120 AH) . The book consists of a comprehensive commentary (sharh) written by the author to explicate his own badi'iyyah—a rhetorical panegyric ode composed in praise of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
Origin and Composition
Ibn Ma'sum states in his preface that he originally planned to author a comprehensive prose compendium covering the entirety of badi', having reviewed forty earlier works cataloged by Ibn Abi al-Isba' as well as thirty additional treatises written before and after him . However, he fell severely ill for an extended period . During this illness, he saw a vision in a dream in which the Prophet ﷺ requested a panegyric and promised him recovery from his ailment . In response, Ibn Ma'sum turned away from an independent prose manual and instead composed a badi'iyyah poem celebrating the Prophet ﷺ, which he subsequently expanded into this voluminous commentary .
Structure and Poetic Form
The foundational poem of the work is composed in the basit meter and consists of 145 verses . It incorporates 151 rhetorical devices, which may be counted as 140 if various subcategories of paronomasia (tajnis) are treated as a single category; the first seven verses alone incorporate twelve rhetorical devices . The opening line of the ode is:
حسن ابتدائي بذكري حيرة الحرم ... له براعة شوق يستهل دمي
"My auspicious beginning by mentioning the bewildered lover of the Sanctuary / holds an ingenuity of yearning that sheds my blood."
In constructing the ode, Ibn Ma'sum followed the model of Izz al-Din al-Mawsili and Taqi al-Din Ibn Hijjah al-Hamawi by committing to tawriyah (double entendre) on the name of each rhetorical device within the verse itself, ensuring that the title of the device is embedded in each poetic line .
Content and Method
In the commentary, Ibn Ma'sum defines each rhetorical figure lexically and technically, tracing the historical treatment of the term across earlier rhetorical literature . He illustrates every device using proofs from the Quran, prophetic traditions, and classical as well as later Arabic poetry .
The work also adopts a comparative approach: alongside his own verses, Ibn Ma'sum cites and contrasts verses from earlier badi'iyyah odes, critically evaluating the poems of predecessors such as Safi al-Din al-Hilli, al-Mawsili, and Ibn Hijjah al-Hamawi, and assessing their technical execution .
Printings and Editions
The book was printed in India in 1304 AH / 1887 CE . A modern critical edition was edited by Shakir Hadi Shakir and published in Najaf at Matba'at al-Nu'man (1388–1389 AH / 1968–1969 CE) .
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