Jamharat Khutab al-Arab fi Usur al-Arabiyya al-Zahira
- Author died
- 1395 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Ilmiyyah
Jamharat Khutab al-Arab fi Usur al-Arabiyya al-Zahira (Compendium of Arab Orations in the Flourishing Eras of Arabic) is a three-volume anthology of classical Arabic speeches, orations, and testaments compiled and edited by the Egyptian scholar Ahmad Zaki Safwat (d. 1395 AH / 1975 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
Safwat completed the compilation across three years of continuous research in Cairo, dating the introductions to its three volumes between Rabi' al-Thani 1352 AH (July 1933 CE), Rajab 1352 AH (November 1933 CE), and Dhu al-Qi'da 1352 AH (March 1934 CE) . He conceived the anthology to preserve and organize Arabic oratorical prose from the classical periods, ranking its eloquence directly below the Quran and Hadith . The work was intended both as a practical manual for students of literature seeking to refine their eloquence and style, and as a comprehensive primary reference for literary historians studying Arabic rhetorical development .
Structure and Contents
The compendium is arranged chronologically across three main volumes, followed by a multi-part thematic appendix (Dhayl al-Jamhara) :
- Volume 1: Pre-Islamic orations and testaments (al-Asr al-Jahili), alongside the speeches and addresses of the early Islamic period (Asr Sadr al-Islam) .
- Volume 2: Orations and public addresses from the Umayyad era (al-Asr al-Umawi) .
- Volume 3: Orations delivered during the early Abbasid era (al-Asr al-Abbasi al-Awwal) .
The third volume concludes with the Dhayl, which is organized into five specialized sections:
- Orations of Andalusian and North African figures (Khutab al-Andalusiyyin wa-l-Maghariba) .
- Speeches and wills of unknown era or attribution .
- Bedouin prose and folk eloquence (Nathr al-A'rab) .
- Marriage and betrothal sermons (Khutab al-Nikah) .
- Speeches of orators who became faltering or tongue-tied (Man urtija 'alayhim), together with humorous and rare oratorical anecdotes .
Editorial Method and Sources
Safwat applied a comparative editorial methodology to the collection. Where multiple transmissions of a speech existed, he harmonized differing recensions into a single cohesive reading, recording alternative versions whenever substantial variations occurred . He vocalized difficult terminology, corrected scribal distortions found in classical manuscripts, provided introductory historical backgrounds detailing the circumstances surrounding each oration, and added extensive linguistic and philological commentary explaining rare words .
To avoid overburdening the work with texts already assembled in well-known monographs, Safwat included only selected passages from specialized anthologies such as al-Sharif al-Radi's Nahj al-Balagha (concerning the speeches of Ali ibn Abi Talib) and Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur's Balaghat al-Nisa' . His primary sources included classical literary, adab, and historical works such as al-Jahiz's al-Bayan wa-l-Tabyin, al-Mubarrad's al-Kamil, Abu al-Faraj al-Isbahani's Kitab al-Aghani, Ibn Abd Rabbih's al-Iqd al-Farid, al-Tabari's Tarikh al-Umam wa-l-Muluk, Ibn al-Athir's al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, al-Qalqashandi's Subh al-A'sha, and Abu Ali al-Qali's al-Amali .
Following the completion of Jamharat Khutab al-Arab, Safwat authored a four-volume sister collection devoted to classical epistolary prose, titled Jamharat Rasa'il al-Arab fi Usur al-Arabiyya al-Zahira .
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