This year, Alhamdulillāh, we had the opportunity to study ‘Durūs-Ul-Balāgah’, a book compiled by a group of Egyptian scholars, with our respected teacher, Mawlānā Muhammed Ma’az Sahib.
This subject entails understanding the eloquence and comprehensiveness of the Arabic language, known as Balāgah (Arabic Rhetoric). We learn the different rulings as to how and when Balāgah can be incorporated in the Arabic language, hence, enabling us to derive the full intended meanings from the
holy Qur’ān and other Arabic literature.
To briefly illustrate, Balāgah is categorised in 3 parts;
1. ‘Ilm-Ul-Ma’āni (Semantics)
This is a sub-science of Balāgah that discusses the appropriate method and wording required to create sentences depending on one’s current context, situation, circumstances and also, the audience that is being addressed.
2. ‘Ilm-Ul-Bayān (Eloquence)
This second sub-science of Balāgah specialises in different methods to relay the same meaning through various ways with an intended indication to it.
3. ‘Ilm-Ul-Bad’ī (Rhetorics)
This final sub-science is dedicated to improving and enhancing speech in the Arabic language by utilising certain concepts. It is of two types;
a) Ma’nawī (Semantic) – This refers to concepts such as puns (wordplay), exaggeration and more.
b) Lughwī (Linguistic) – This refers to concepts such as anagrams, rhyming, quoting, etc.
Our class thoroughly enjoys this lesson as it has provided us with skills that allow us to take full benefit
from the Qur’ān and the Arabic language as a whole. Whenever we read Arabic literature, Alhamdulillāh,
we can identify the rules applied, consequently being able to derive a richer, more detailed and enhanced
meaning from the text.
