Ilm al-Arud wa al-Qafiya
- Author died
- 1396 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Nahḍah al-‘Arabiyyah
Ilm al-Arud wa al-Qafiya ("The Science of Prosody and Rhyme") is a textbook on Arabic metrics and rhyme by the Egyptian literary scholar Abd al-Aziz Atiq (d. 1396 AH / 1976 CE). Originating as university lectures, the work presents a systematic pedagogical study of classical Arabic poetic meters, scansion, and rhyme theory alongside practical exercises .
Composition and Purpose
The book originated as a series of lectures delivered by Atiq to first-year undergraduate students in the Department of Arabic Language at Beirut Arab University . Atiq prepared the text to present prosodic topics in a way that simplifies technical terminology and clarifies elements that shape poetic musicality . Maintaining that theoretical mastery of metrics requires practical application, he incorporated numerous selected examples and textual citations from both ancient and modern Arabic poetry .
Structure and Contents
The book opens with a preliminary introduction addressing the foundation of prosody by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, the importance of metrics for poets and Arabic language specialists, the phonetic connection between prosody and music, prosodic notation (al-kitaba al-arudiyya), prosodic syllables (al-maqati al-arudiyya), metric feet (al-tafail), and scansion (al-taqti) .
The core subject matter is organized into the following major divisions:
- Poetic Meters (Awzan al-Buhur): A comprehensive analysis of the sixteen classical meters: al-Tawil, al-Madid, al-Basit, al-Wafir, al-Kamil, al-Hazaj, al-Rajaz, al-Raml, al-Sari, al-Munsarih, al-Khafif, al-Mudari, al-Muqtadab, al-Mujtathth, al-Mutaqarib, and al-Mutadarak. Each meter is accompanied by targeted practical exercises, followed by a dedicated section on metric mnemonic keys (mafatih al-buhur) .
- Rhyme (al-Qafiya): An examination of rhyme letters—including the primary rhyme consonant (al-rawiyy), al-wasl, al-khuruj, al-ridf, and al-tasis—as well as unconstrained and bound rhymes (al-mutlaqa wa-l-muqayyada), rhyme vowelings (harakat al-qafiya), and rhyme defects (uyub al-qafiya) .
- Metrical Alterations and Circles: Detailed discussions of metrical deviations and defects, covering compound licenses (al-zihafat al-muzdawaja), prosodic defects (al-ilal al-arudiyya), divisions of defects, and defects that function like licenses, concluding with the classical metric circles (dawa'ir al-arud) and general review exercises .
Publication
The work was issued in Beirut by Dar al-Nahda al-Arabiyya .
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