IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS)

Volume 22, Issue 10, Ver. 9 (October. 2017) PP 27-31

e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845.
www.iosrjournals.org

The Essence of Al-Balāghah (Rhetoric) To Arabic and Yoruba

Languages
Dr KamilAdeleke ADEYEMI,
Department of Religious Studies,Faculty of Arts,Ekiti State University,P. M. B. 5363,Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti
State,Nigeria.

ABSTRACT: It is obvious that there is language contact among many people and nation. The growth of a
language depends on the development of the people that use the language. Therefore, it is observed that the
secret behind the care of the language of a nation and its development, is how it spreads. Among the
cornerstones of science of Arabic Language is Arabic Rhetoric (Al-Balāghah). It is used to describe an oratory
power in a speaker or an author. It also shows the places of art beauty in literature. Rhetoric is as important as
semantics, as it touches many aspects of semantics such as language and beyond. This study highlights the
importance of Arabic Rhetoric as one of the cornerstones of Arabic Language and its reflection on other
languages.

Keywords: Arabic Language, Arabic Rhetoric, Essence of Al-Balāghah, Semantics, Yoruba Language.
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Date of Submission: 07-10-2017 Date of acceptance: 27-10-2017
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I. INTRODUCTION
Merriam (2017) defines Rhetoric (Al-Balāghah) as the art of speaking or writing effectively as a means
of communication or persuasion1. Wikipedia (2017) defines it as the art of discovering all available means of
persuasion2. Therefore, it is regarded as the most important single work on persuasion.
Hornby (2015) also states that it is a body of rules to be observed by a speaker or writer in order that he
may express himself with eloquence3. The Arabs in the pre-Islamic and post-Islamic eras have not lagged
behind in this aspect in using Rhetoric in language study. Abubakre (1984:4), explains that the critical
consciousness of the attentive audience demonstrated by some notable Arabic is worth mentioning4. Also the
audition of poems by Arabs at their annual fairs of Ukāz, DhulMajāzandDhatu’Irq and selection of the classic
odes as Mu’allaqāt (selected poems hanged on the door of the Kacabah during the pre-Islamic era), are also
noteworthy. Hussein (2006:1), observes that Arabic Rhetoric explores the history, disciplines,orderand
pragmatic functions of Arabic speech acts5.
The importance of Arabic Rhetoric is also perceived in many areas in the Qur’ān. For instance, when
the Qur’ān (Q. 24:39), says “... As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts,
which the man perched with thirst mistakes for water...”6. It indicates how the Qur’ān uses palpable things to
describe the abstract concepts so as to facilitate understanding. This aspect is one of the Arabic Rhetoric called
At-Tashbīh (simile). Today, many scholars in the field are trying to show the effectiveness of Rhetoric in
standard Arabic Language and in local variants (Lahjāt).

II. DEVELOPMENT OF ARABIC RHETORIC (AL-BALĀGHAH)

Rhetoric, as a separate study was not known to the Arabs during the pre-Islamic era, but always
manifested in their literature which showed them to be fluent and eloquent. Rhetoric is called
badic(wonderful)which is synonymous to Balaghāh. That is why Ibn-Muctazz (d.1296 A. H.) called his book al-
Badicthat contains all aspects of al-Balaghāh (Rhetoric). It was also named al-Bayān (the Explanation), but all
contains all aspects of al-Balaghāh as well until when it was separated later-on by other scholars in this field.
(Abbas 2015:11)7.
In Nigeria, among the erudite scholars who wrote extensively on the development of Arabic Rhetoric is
Abubakre in his book: Bayān in Arabic Rhetoric (An Analysis of the Components of the Core Balaghāh). In this
book, he sheds more light on the development of Arabic Rhetoric. According to him, Arabic Rhetoricians are
fond of referring to an episode during which Abu cUbaydah (d. 207 A. H.) was asked by one Ibrahim b. Isma cil
al-Kātib to comment on the Qur’ānic verse (Q. 37:65) 8. On this day, Abu cUbaydah decided to write a book on
all similar literary expressions contained in the Qur’ān and called his book, Majāzul-Qur’ān. IbnQutaybah (d.
276 A. H.) also wrote a book called Ta’wīluMushkili-l-Qur’ān.

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 The Essence of Al-Balāghah (Rhetoric) To Arabic and Yoruba Languages

Among the greatest contributions of Qur’ānic Studies to Arabic Rhetoric was the work of az-
Zamakhsari known as al-Khashshaf which is mainly on the exegesis of the Qur’ān and partly Balaghāh
(Rhetoric). He and others like him in this field tried to make the Arabs understand the eloquent compositions
both in the Qur’ān and in literary works generally. The high standard of this study as it is now, were not
achieved in a day.
Abubakre (1989:4-8), notes that the literary assessment in those early work of Rhetoric is not
analytical. They focused on general literature than real Rhetoric on its modern sense. The edge which al-Jurjāni
(d. 1077AD) has laid in this two works, Dalāilu-l-icjāz and Asrārul Balāghah, which are probably near the
zenith of any individual’s endeavour in the study of Arabic Rhetoric of his time. He explained that al-Jurjāni
devoted a good deal of each of the books to al-Bayān and al-Macāni (two of the the three major branches of
Arabic Rhetoric)9. He has been recognized by many Arab Rhetoricians as one who systematised these two
branches of Arabic Rhetoric.
The development of the traditional Arabic Rhetoric appears to have reached its apogee with the work
of as-Sakkaki (d. 1229AD)10. The task of final systemisation of the branches of Arabic Rhetoric nearly in the
form we have today is by this author. He was believed to have introduced and codified the third branch of
Balāghah i.e. al-Badicwhich he referred to as Muhassinatu-l-lafz (the beautifiers of the utterance). Abubakre
concluded that “All works which followed it were further elucidations and comments written by other
scholars”11.
Now that Arabic Rhetoric has reached its peak, as-Sakkaki (1983:65) asserts that traditional Arabic Rhetoricians
have divided Balāghah into three categories:
(i) Al-Bayān: It refers to a body of knowledge which enables the user(s) of a language to express one and
some meaning and nuances in different structures which vary as to clarity in expressing the intended
meaning. It consists of tashbīh (simile), majāz (figure of speech), kināyah (metonymy) and
isticārah(metaphor).
(ii) Al-Macān: It is an act of successfully conveying intended ideas by skilful combination of precise words at
relevant or suitable context of situation.
(iii) Al-Badic: The other name for this is Muhassinatu-l-lafz (the beautifiers of the utterance). It is a way of
beautifying the utterances and meanings with kind of beautifiers among the prettiness of pronunciation.
(Abubakre 1989:9)12.

III. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BALĀGHAH AND SEMANTICS

There are many areas in which Arabic Rhetoric are related to semantics. Abdus-Salām (2008:368-371)13
mentions seven areas in which the duo relate to each other. It is preferable to use Abubakre’s illustration to
explain these areas.
1. ConceptualMeaning: He said that it is logical, cognitive and with denotative content because it can been
tested and marked like other branch of linguistics e.g. wamā min dābatin fi lard, walātāirinyatīru bi
janāhaylibillaumamun am thālukum…. (There is not an animal that live on earth, or being that flies with its
wings without communities like yours… Q. 6:38).
2. Reflected Meaning: This is what is communicated through association with another sense of the same
expression e.g.
(i) Inna balawna hum, kamabalawnaas’habaljannah… (We have tried them as we have tried the people of the
garden…, Q. 68:17).
(ii) As’habuljannati hum fihakhālidūn… (The people of paradise will abide there forever…, Q. 10:26).

Theuse of the word Jannah in the first verse refers to specific garden, the owners of which were tried
by Allah. Since the meaning normally comes to mindat the mention of the word al-Jannah is paradise, the
as’hab(the people) of which are supposed to have passed the stage of balā (trial). The use needs some historical
explanation of the specific people intended as as’hab.
The second example is the word which communicates what can be associated with lexical item. It
refers to the people who have succeeded to dwell in the paradise in hereafter. If a homonym is given as in the
second verse, it is natural to first associate the notion in the second verse to such an entry.
3. Collocation Meaning: This is what is communicated through association with words tend to occur in the
environment of another words. This becomes clear when the differences in collocation meaning are
contrasted. For instance, the anomalous collocation in the line of poetry fromal-Balāghah by al-Busari (d.
1295AD) is identified: ‘jā,atlidacwatihil’ashjārusājidatan; tamshīilayhiclāsāqin bi lāqadamin’ (the trees
come, in response to his call, bowing down; they walked to him on a stem without a leg).
This type of poetry requires some stylistic and theological explanation to make some to an uninitiated receptor.
Abubakre (1989:95), describes it as the area of style just like the use of double mixture by Shakespeare in one of
his plays that trees will move on their stems. The result is majāz (figure of speech) in Arabic Rhetoric14.

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 The Essence of Al-Balāghah (Rhetoric) To Arabic and Yoruba Languages

4. Connotative Meaning: It is what is communicated by virtue of what languagerefers to. For instance, rajul
in Arabic can be marked in conceptual meaning as a human, an adult, a male and a prophet, excluding
female. Connotative meaning is what is communicated by reference in language. The word rajul manifests
its connotative meaning in the following verse: ‘ataqtulūnarajulananyaqulārabbiya Allah… (Will you kill a
man simply because he says: My Lord is Allah, Q. 40:28) 15.
5. Affective Meaning: This is whatis communicated of the feelings and attitudes of the producer of language.
A statement may communicate anger, affection, sympathy, disgust, care or concern. An example on
affection is: innakalacalākhuluqincazīm (you are indeed of lofty moral conduct, Q.68:4)16. Prophet
Muhammad was commended by Allah for his good conduct as being indeed.
6. Stylistic Meaning: This is what is communicated of social or other circumstances of language use. It is the
way to express an opinion by employing imagery, simile, metaphor or metonymy. This may even be
expressed in unacceptable manner to another social group e.g. Ī csābncUmar, a Bedouin says:
Mālakumtaka’ka‘tuncalayyakataka’ ka’kumcalādhijinnatin? Ifranqicucanni(Why did you assemble over me
as you assemble over one possessed by Jinn? Disperse from me).
This statement is considered an anomalous because gharābah (not clear enough) of the collocation lexemes.
For instance, in anotherway to make it clearer, the same statement can simply put as follows:
Limādhaijatamactumcalayyakaijtimācikumalamajnūn? Inṣarifūcanni (This one has the same meaning as the one
above).
7. Thematic Meaning: This is what is communicated by the way in which the message is organised in terms
of order and emphasis. It involves the choice in the arrangement of or re-arrangement of a synonymous
sentence. For instance:
(i) Nāma-l-Walad (the boy slept).
(ii) Al-Waladunāimun (the boy is asleep).

The first statement is a verbal sentence that is useful forreoccurrence and something to be renewed in
Arabic Rhetoric. The second statement is a nominal sentence that is useful for continuance and something that is
well fixed in Arabic Rhetoric. The aforesaid seven points have shown direct link between semantics and Arabic
Rhetoric (Balāghah).

IV. USE OF BALĀGHAH IN YORUBA LANGUAGE

Every nation has its own vernacular(s) spoken by their natives. In Nigeria, among the famous
vernaculars is Yoruba Language. There are many areas in Arabic Rhetoric that can also be found in Yoruba
Language.
For instance, among the components of Balāghah is al-Bayān (Explanation/Elocution). Its definition,
according to Abubakre (1989:3)17 refers to a body of knowledge which enables the user of literary language to
express himself with meanings and nuances in different structures which vary as to clarity in expressing and the
intended meaning. According to Adeyemi (2006:28-34), it consists of tashbīh
(simile),isticārah(metaphor),majāz (figure of speech) andkināyah (metonymy)18. All these areas can be found in
Yoruba vernacular. To mention but a few, the following examples can be shown in many areas of Balāghah in
Yoruba Language:

(a) Tashbīh (Simile):

(i) Ojuorundudu bi aro (the sky is as black as dye).
(ii) Oburu bi esu (he is wicked like the devil).
In the last two examples, the mushabbah (resemblance) are Ojuorunand O (for “he”). Mushabbahbihi
(resemblance with it) are aro and esu. Waj’ush-shabah (face of similarity) are dudu and buru while
Ādātutashbīh(particle used for similarity) are bi in the sentences.
Also, these two sentences can be viewed from other side under the classes of tashbīh based on its two sides.
The first sentence is onTashbīhucMahsusbilmahsūs (to compare non-palpable thing with palpable thing) because
both Mushabbah (resemblance) and Mushabbahbihi(resemblance with it) are perceivable through at least one of
the senses and the Mushabbahbihi is only perceivable through mind.

(b) Istcārah (Metaphor):

(i) Ojonluilu(the rain is beating a drum): It is impossible for the rain to beat any drum. Hence, it is used
metaphorically to show how the rain falls down heavily.
(ii) Akoeniyan(a man palm tree branch): The literal meaning of this should not be intended because a man is
different from tree or part of it. Rather it is used to expresses the meaning of a person whose power is like
that of a branch of palm tree. Therefore, inistcārah, indicates that all the components of tashbīh (simile)
have disappeared at verbal level, but the additional requirement of a qarīnah (marker) is satisfied in the

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 The Essence of Al-Balāghah (Rhetoric) To Arabic and Yoruba Languages

metaphoric expression by the phrase meaning. The type of this istcārah(metaphor) is regular in Arabic
Rhetoric as direct or explicit since it is a first degree metaphor.

(c) Majāz(Figure of Speech):

(i) Ye Oba wo (to check the king).
(ii) Yi owopada (to turn the hand).
(iii) Fi orileonaile (heading towards home).

The first example shows one of the parts of maāz’ulmursal (free figure) in Arabic Rhetoric, the
semantic connection of which is based on mujawarah (intimacy). Yewo which properly means check is not
intended but to ask divination on a certain matter for the king.The second example is based on al-Āliyyah (being
tool of) this use of a word whose literary meaning denotes on instrument to connote the work performed by that
instrument.
The third example is based on al-Juz’iyyah (being a part of). This means that a wordori(head) literarily
indicates a part of a certain whole is figuratively used to refer to that whole because a head alone cannot walk
unless with the other parts of the body.

(d) Kināyah (Metonymy):

(i) Ta terunipa (kicking off thick the cloth): This is a metonymy to express the death of a person. It means that
such person has abandoned the thick cloth used for sleep owing to his/her death.
(ii) Fi aakekoori (to hang an axe on the head): It is a metonymy that express a strong refusal to accept
something. Therefore, the two examples show the possibility of having an utterance of Kināyah which
cannot, for consideration, be given its, literal meaning.
(iii) Nina Ojalojuopon (to trade on bowl):This refers to a person traded with sooth-sayer called Ifa Priest. The
Kināyah (metonymy) here is based on nisbah (imputation).
(iv) Ju’baehoro (to salute the rabbit): The obvious meaning is not what is intended here. What is intended is to
express a person who runs fast as if he is a rabbit because among the best runners in the animal kingdom is
rabbit.

V. CONCLUSION
Having discussed Arabic Rhetoric (Balāghah) and its importance, it is apparent that traditional Arabic
Rhetoricians have divided Balāghahinto three parts. They are al-Bayān, al-Macāni and al-Badic. The attention
of the scholars had been called by the Qur’ān particularly to the value of al-Bayān while other parts of it are
indirectly stated. The entire Suratur-Rahman (Q. 55) is a striking examples for the effectiveness of al-Bayān. It
is the only chapter in the Qur’ān where a verse is employed as a refrain in a successive but harmonious and
euphonious manner with tremendous added value to the semantic and stylistic effectiveness in its context of
occurrence. This beautiful knowledge is not restricted to Arabic alone, it has a strong link to other linguistic
values such as semantics and Yoruba Language which have been taken as examples in its stylistic effectiveness
in this paper.
Lastly, Ab Rahman et-al (2013:524) shed more light on the importance of Arabic Rhetoric that the
teaching aspects of the Balāghahis to avoid defects that occur mostly in Arabic Language as a result of the
mixing of Arabs and their interaction with other people. Its importance also reflects on the critical aspects of the
development of literary criticism based on Arabic as it is spoken of, Rhetoric is also regarded as a benchmark in
determining the deficiency and excess of a text in a language19.

REFERENCES
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[2]. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric (Last edited by Srnec, 23 February, 2017).
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[5]. A. R. Hussein, Arabic rhetoric: A pragmatic analysis (London and New York, Routledge, 2006), 1.
[6]. The Holy Qur’ān: English translation of the meanings and commentary (Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah,
King Fahd Holy Qur’ān printing complex, 1410H) 1019.
[7]. A. A. Abbas, An appraisal of Arabic rhetoric (Lagos, Al-Bas Int. Publishers, 2015), 11.
[8]. Qur’ān 37:65 reads: Talcuhaaka’annahūru’ūsush-Shayātīn. Meaning: The shoots of its fruit-stalks are like
the heads of devils. The Holy Qur’ān: English translation, 1351.
[9]. R. D. Abubakre, Bayān in Arabic rhetoric…, 4-8.
[10]. Y. As-Sakkaki, Miftāhu-l-ulum (Beirut, Darul-kutub, 1983), 65.
[11]. R. D. Abubakre, Bayān in Arabic rhetoric…, 8.

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 The Essence of Al-Balāghah (Rhetoric) To Arabic and Yoruba Languages

[12]. R. D. Abubakre, Bayān in Arabic rhetoric…, 9.

[13]. A. A. Abdus-Salām, The Relationship between Rhetoric and Semantics, in I. O. Zakariyau (Ed.),
Fluorescence of Arabic and Islamic studies in Nigeria. (Ibadan: HEBN Publishers plc, 2008), 368-371.
[14]. R. D. Abubakre, Bayān in Arabic rhetoric…, 95.
[15]. The Holy Qur’ān, English translation…, 1433.
[16]. The Holy Qur’ān, English translation…, 1792.
[17]. R. D. Abubakre, Bayān in Arabic rhetoric..., 3.
[18]. K. A. Adeyemi, The Categories of Al-Balāghah, Journal of Interdisciplinary Issues, 1 (1), 2006, 28-34.
[19]. Ab Rahman and et-al., Research on the writing of history of Arabic rhetoric studies and its importance,
Academic journal of interdisciplinary studies 2(9), 2013, 524.

Dr KamilAdeleke ADEYEMI. “The Essence of Al-Balāghah (Rhetoric) To Arabic and Yoruba

Languages.” IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) , vol. 22, no. 10,
2017, pp. 27–31.

DOI: 10.9790/0837-2210092731 www.iosrjournals.org 31 | Page