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1. The Secrets of Metaphor in Rhetoric
- Description:
- Abstract: This book is a modern scholarly edition of the seminal work by al-Jurjani (died circa 1078) on Arabic rhetoric, Asrar al-balaghah fi ‘ilm al-bayan (The secrets of metaphor in rhetoric), especially the branch called al-bayan (use of metaphor and figures of speech), of which he is considered the founder. In the classical context, ‘ilm al-balaghah (rhetoric) is divided into three interconnected arts, al-ma’ani (clear expression); al-bayan; and badi’ (embellishment and beautiful style). Al-Jurjani’s study of the stylistic and psychological importance of metaphor received widespread acceptance by classical Arabic writers and remains a source of discussion and research in modern linguistics. The work is carefully organized. After defining a particular figure of speech and pointing to its differences from other types of metaphor, al-Jurjani gives examples from leading poets such as Abu Nuwas (756-814) and al-Mutannabi (915-65) and from proverbs and sayings. He then dissects the passages with reference to the morphology of the tropes. This edition, by no means the only published rendering of known manuscripts, was edited by the Lebanese-Egyptian reformer and publicist Muhammad Rashid Rida. Rida was a prominent exponent of a modern Islam, which he believed should acknowledge its scriptural roots while adapting to Western modes of expression. Neither Rashid Rida (as he is commonly called) nor his elder associate, Muhammad ‘Abduh, were known for their textual scholarship, so this text edition is not often cited in standard bibliographies. In his introduction, Rida mentions that his interest in Asrar al-balaghah derived from a desire to rescue contemporary Arabic letters from what he termed the “sickness” that had afflicted the language since the fifth century AH (12th century), and the study of which had become merely “another of the languages taught in schools.” He discussed this problem with ‘Abduh. Together they searched for and had copied several manuscripts of al-Jurjani’s work in Medina, Tripoli (Lebanon), Baghdad, and Istanbul. The present edition is the fruit of Rida’s comparison of the texts and contains extensive footnoting of variant readings and unusual words and other explanatory commentary. The book was published in Cairo at the al-Taraqqi Press.Physical description: 357 pages ; 25 centimeters
2. Explaining al-Khansa’ in Delightful Stanzas
- Description:
- Abstract: This book is a printed collection of the verse of Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥarth ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah entitled Anis al-Julasāʼ fī Sharḥ Dīwān al-Khansāʼ (Explaining al-Khansa’ in delightful stanzas). Known to history as al-Khansā’ (she of the snub-nose or of resemblance to a gazelle), the author is regarded as one of the leading poets of late pre-Islamic Arabia. After meeting the Prophet Muhammad, who is said to have admired her poetry, she became a Muslim. Contemporary and subsequent appreciation of her poetry owed much to the power of her panegyric laments. Her two brothers were killed in tribal strife before her conversion to Islam. After her conversion, her four sons died in battle for the new faith. Her Diwan (Collected poems) has been reprinted numerous times. In a flowery introductory paragraph, the editor of this 1895 edition, Father Louis Cheikho, states that the poetry of al-Khansa’ “ignited envy in the souls of [male] Arab poets and lifted the heads of all women in pride.” Cheikho began his study of her work with an earlier compilation published in 1888. The importance of this edition lies not only in its presenting a more complete compilation of her poetry and of classical commentary on it; the book also offers an intimate look at the methods used by a prominent Orientalist in tracing lost manuscripts, critically comparing them, and providing commentary that elucidates the text with comprehensive historical, literary, and lexical references. Cheikho was a teacher of the distinguished Russian Arabist I.Y. Kratchkovsky, who wrote in his memoirs about his surprised delight and later disappointment at discovering that both he and his mentor were working on the same pre-Islamic Arab poet.Physical description: 256 pages ; 24 centimeters
3. The Pillar Regarding Creation and Critique of Poetry
- Description:
- Abstract: This book is a printed edition of Al-‘Umdah fi Sina’at al-Shi’r wa-Naqdih (The pillar regarding creation and critique of poetry), a foundational text of Arabic literary criticism. The author, Ibn Rashīq al-Qayrawānī, covers poetic history and prosody up to his lifetime in 11th century Qayrawān, the center of intellectual life in Tunisia, then called Al-Ifriqiya. The work is universally known as Ibn Rashiq’s Al-‘Umdah (The pillar). It is also cited as Al-‘Umdah fī maḥāsin al-shiʻr wa-ādābih. Scholarly judgment of Al-‘Umdah holds that although it is not a groundbreaking theoretical work, it is a major reference for and compendium of the religious, social, and stylistic debates regarding poetry from the earliest days of Islam. This edition is in two volumes, “corrected” (i.e., edited) by Muhammad Badr al-Din al-Na’sani al-Halabi. Publication of the work was financed by Muhammad Kamal al-Na’sani and Muhammad ‘Abd al-‘Aziz. It was printed at al-Sa’adah Press in Cairo and distributed from the al-Khanji bookstore. These individuals and organizations were all part of the well-developed printing and publishing trade in early-20th century Cairo. The same editing and publishing team cooperated to bring other classical literary works into print. A biography of Ibn Rashīq (believed by some to have been born in the town of Muhammadiyah where his father was a goldsmith) appears as front matter. A picture of Ibn Rashīq appears on the Tunisian 50 dinar banknote.Physical description: 2 volumes ; 25 centimeters
4. The Interpreter of Arabic Literature and Its History
- Description:
- Abstract: Al-Wasit fi-al-Adab al-‘Arabi wa-Tarikhih (The interpreter of Arabic literature and its history) is a textbook in Arabic literature approved for use by the Egyptian Ministry of Education in the various schools under its jurisdiction, namely all teacher-training institutes and secondary schools. The authors were religious and literary figures. The better known of the two, Shaykh Ahmad al-Iskandarī, was born in Alexandria, pursued his studies at al-Azhar, and became a teacher in the schools of al-Fayyūm and other areas around Cairo. He was appointed to the faculty of Cairo University and was elected to the prestigious Arabic Language Academy. He was the author of several textbooks, including a history of Abbasid literature. Shaykh Mustafa ‘Anani appears also to have been a teacher, although not a great deal is known about where he lived and worked. He was the author of a work on the 11th-century Andalusian poet Ibn Zaydun, first published by Dar al-Ma’arif in 1899 and subsequently updated. The current work is the first edition of al-Wasit. It became a standard text in the Arabic curriculum. As is usually the case with Dar al-Ma’arif publications, the book is of a high standard of scholarship and production. The authors cover the history of Arabic literature in all its aspects: poetry, prose, historical narrative, rhetoric, and so forth from pre-Islamic times to their own day. As an important reference in the field, it is supplemented by al-Iskandarī’s multivolume, Muntakhab min Adab al-‘Arab (Selections from Arabic literature), published in Cairo 1944−54.Physical description: 288 pages ; 25 centimeters
5. History of Arab Literature
- Description:
- Abstract: Jirjī Zaydān was born in Beirut, Lebanon, into a Syrian Orthodox family of modest means. After a mediocre experience at local schools, he moved to Egypt to study at al-Qaṣr al-ʻAynī medical college, but he abandoned medicine in favor of a literary and publishing career. He founded Dar al-Hilal printing and publishing house and in 1892 brought out the weekly al-Hilal magazine, which continues publication to this day. Al-Ahram newspaper and al-Hilal became the most long-lived and influential media advocates for Egyptian national causes and modernizing progress based on Western models. Zaydān was one of the most influential media figures of his generation. With Zaydān as editor, publisher, and contributor, al-Hilal reached a wide regional audience. His commitment to national pride, intellectual curiosity, and energetic entrepreneurship derived from the book Self-Help by the Scottish author Samuel Smiles, which had been translated into Arabic in 1886. Zaydān did not limit himself to popular journals. His History of Arabic Literature consists of four volumes, of which the first two volumes are presented here bound together and covering the pre-Islamic period to the 11th century. In his support for modernization, Zaydān ran afoul of some contemporaries who claimed he was a Mason. The work is illustrated with graphics from European sources. Each volume has a table of contents and a price list of Zaydān’s books available for sale, in person or by mail order. These up-to-date features of bookmaking give this work a modern feel quite different from the manuscript tradition or the early works of the Bulaq Press.Physical description: 1 book containing volumes 1 and 2 ; 24 centimeters
6. Literary Essays by Classical Arab Authors
- Description:
- Abstract: Jesuit scholar Louis Cheikho was born in Mardin, Turkey, and educated at the Jesuit school in Ghazīr, Lebanon. He remained associated with the seminary and its successor institution in Beirut, Université Saint-Joseph, throughout his life. Cheikho studied in Europe and eventually gained a world-wide reputation as a Semitist and authority on Eastern Christianity. Al-Machriq, the journal he founded in 1898, is a principal resource for scholars in these fields. It is supplemented by Melanges de l’Université Saint-Joseph and Proche-Orient Chrétien from the same publishers. The work presented here, ‘Ilm al-Adab (Literary essays by classical Arab authors), is the second of two volumes containing commentaries of leading authorities on rhetoric and public discourse, such as Averroes, Avicenna, and Ibn Khaldūn. The second half of the work is devoted to poetics. Cheikho opens the subject by discussing comments by Averroes on Aristotle. From there he covers the various goals of the poet, such as praise, persuasion, apology, and ridicule, giving examples of each. Despite his stature as a scholar, Cheikho has been criticized for some aspects of his work, which is seen by some as marred by parochialism and bias. ‘Ilm al-Adab is carefully printed with complete vowel pointing, footnotes, and indexing.Physical description: 1 book, volume 2 ; 20 centimeters
7. An Introduction to the Study of the Eloquent Speech of the Arabs
- Description:
- Abstract: Muqaddama li dirāsat balāghat al-ʻArab (An introduction to the study of the eloquent speech of the Arabs) is a work on Arabic literature or belles lettres. The author, Aḥmad Ḍayf, was an instructor at the Egyptian University (later renamed the University of Cairo). The book was intended for students at the university and was to serve as a study guide for their understanding of literary eloquence. It includes a brief description of the modern Arabic literary movement. Other topics covered are belles lettres and society, and the different categories of Arabic poetry, such as the poetry of the jāhilīya period, literally “the poetry of ignorance.” This pre-Islamic poetry is a major source for classical Arabic grammar and vocabulary, and the poems that have survived are held by some to be among the finest Arabic poetry of all time. Ḍayf also includes a survey of literary criticism in France from Pierre de Ronsard (1524−85) to Boileau (Nicholas Boileau-Depréaux, 1636−1711), both of whom were poets as well as critics. Dayf also discusses later literary critics, such as Hippolyte Taine (1828−93) and Ferdinand Brunetière (1849−1906). The book was issued by the publishing house of al-Sufūr in Cairo in 1921.Physical description: 187 pages ; 25 centimeters