The Book of Adornment in the Rhetorical Arts

Content

Kitāb al-tarṣīʻ fī ʻilm al-maʻānī wa-al-bayān wa-al-badīʻ (The book of adornment in the rhetorical arts) is primer on Arabic rhetoric. The author, ‘Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad Salīm al-Kīlānīlal-Iskandarānī, states he will be “brief, useful, and simple.” In this he is largely successful. Kitab al-tarsi’ was printed at the government press in Damascus in 1922, presumably for use in schools, although there is no evidence that it formed part of the official syllabus. A note on the title page says that the book was distributed “for love of the Prophet,” from which it can be inferred that the author financed the printing himself. Al-Kilani treats ‘ilm al-balaghah (rhetoric) in its traditional divisions of al-ma’ani (clear expression), al-bayan (use of tropes), and badi’ (embellishment and beautiful style). He states at the outset that the goal of communication is al-fasahah (eloquence), that is, expression that is free of fault, distraction, and infelicity. Little is known about al-Kilani other than that he was a Syrian Islamic scholar who was born in Alexandria (also called Alexandretta, present-day Iskenderun, Turkey) and lived in Damascus. In addition to works on language, he wrote a rebuttal of the Protestant criticism of the Qur’an. He is perhaps best known for his refutation of the doctrines of Wahhabism contained in Al-Nafkhah al-Zakiyah (The refreshing breeze) and al-Minhah al-Ilahiyah (The divine gift), which he advertises in a note at the end of this volume.

Extent and format

19 items

Physical characteristics

33 pages ; 22 centimeters

Written in

Arabic in Arabic script

Type

Book

Access & Reference

Original held at

Qatar National Library

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

12971

History of this record

Date(s)

1922 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Arabic languageRhetoric

Places

Syrian Arab RepublicDamascus

People & organisations

ʻAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad Salīm al-Kīlānī Iskandarānī

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The Book of Adornment in the Rhetorical Arts, Qatar National Library, 12971, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/qnlhc/12971> [accessed 25 April 2024]

Link to this record

https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/qnlhc/12971

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