ᶜAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī’s Asrār al-Balāghah (The Mysteries of Eloquence)
A work of translation from the original Arabic into English
From mundane speech to inspired poetry, when the meaning of an image emanates from
a similarity drawn between two otherwise unlike objects or concepts, language has the
descriptive authority to stretch the limits of human perception. This current study is an effort to
translate, from Arabic to English, the theoretical framework for the study of simile and metaphor
in Arabic literature devised by the 11th/5th century grammarian ᶜAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī in his
foundational work on poetic imagery, Asrār al-Balāghah (The Mysteries of Eloquence). AlJurjānī was not a literary critic in the modern sense; he is more appropriately described as a
theologian, philosopher, and a master of Arabic grammar. However, in Asrār al-Balāghah alJurjānī provides a framework for the identification, classification, and analysis of simile and
metaphor which remains the foundational standard for the examination of comparative imagery
in both traditional and modern Arabic literary criticism.
Among his surviving works al-Jurjānī’s Asrār al-Balāghah and Dala’il al-ᶜijaz
(Indications of Inimitability) stand out in contemporary criticism. The latter concerns the
concept of the inimitability of the Qur’ān and it remains among the most important texts on the
subject to this day. Although no complete English translation of this particular text exists, due to
its religious significance large portions have been translated into English making it relatively
more accessible to a broader audience. By contrast, although it is considered as important in the
study of literary theory as Dala’il al-ᶜijaz is in the study of Islamic theology, very little of Asrār
al-Balāghah has been translated beyond a smattering of citations included in some examples of
contemporary scholarship, including in my own dissertation. Building on my previous work to
translate portions of this text relevant to my own study of Arabic literature, this project will seek
provide an accurate and complete English translation of Asrār al-Balāghah accessible to modern
readers of literary criticism in the West.
Belying the charge that such an exercise is merely anachronistic, the significance and
continued relevance of al-Jurjānī’s theory of poetic imagery in the Arabic literary tradition is
without question. By comparison, while Aristotle’s commentary is still relevant historically in
the development of Western critical analysis of simile and metaphor, his framework has been
definitively shown to be relatively simplistic compared to the vastly more complex contemporary
tradition.1 In the Arabic literary tradition, al-Jurjānī’s contribution represents what is still
considered a pinnacle moment in the establishment of a methodology for the analysis of simile
and metaphor, and Asrār al-Balāghah endures as the standard for any approach to evaluating the
linguistic phenomena related to the creation and interpretation of comparative imagery.
This is a meaningful exercise in part because, again by comparison, traditional Western
readings of metaphor are insufficient when applied to Arabic literature because several
theoretical assumptions accepted in the West contradict the tradition in Arabic literature
established by al-Jurjānī. Reading examples of Arabic literature through the lens of traditional
Western theories of metaphor is not inappropriate or unfruitful. It is certainly possible to apply
such theories to readings of literature within any cultural context. Such an approach, however,
requires an entirely different method of classifying instances of metaphor and simile through the
See Marsh McCall’s Ancient Rhetorical Theories of Simile and Comparison (Cambridge, 1969), C. Brooke-Rose’s
A Grammar of Metaphor (London, 1965), and Stephen J.M. Brown’s The World of Imagery: Metaphor and Kindred
Imagery (New York, 1966). For an outline of the specific differences between Aristotle and al-Jurjānī see also
Kamal Abu Deeb’s “Al-Jurjānī’s Relation to His Background with Special Reference to Aristotle’s Works” in his
book entitled Al-Jurjānī’s Theory of Poetic Imagery (Warminster, 1979).
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application of a fundamentally non-Arab methodology. To render the examples of simile and
metaphor in Arabic literature through the frame of traditional Western theoretical models would
require a re-classification of the images based on a model unsubstantiated by the literary tradition
that produced them.
Within this modern paradigm, the task of the scholar of the Arabic cultural tradition is not
necessarily to reject the legitimacy of Western models, but rather to carefully avoid the ease with
which the slide toward the West can occur. This project is intended to participate in the ongoing
conversation among literary critics who suggest that in order to establish a true sense of Arab
cultural modernity, Arab thought must “question itself.”
It is also necessary to consider the challenge confronting efforts to re-evaluate the
legitimacy of classical models of Arabic thought in the modern era. In the West, scholars of
Arabic face a particular set of roadblocks that must be overcome in order to direct their focus
exclusively on models of Arab thought. It is not necessarily problematic that in the ever
expanding milieu of global cultural studies that a multicultural approach to Arabic literature
occurs in contemporary Arabic literary criticism. The tendency to prefer Western models of
theory and analysis, however, is currently the predominant condition of the modern field as it
applies to studies of Arabic literature. The tendency of many leading Arab writers and scholars
to relocate to the West contributes to the use of Western models of thinking to the exclusion of
legitimate and even arguably superior Arabic alternatives.
As has been stated above in reference to al-Jurjānī specifically, the broader effort to
reassert classical standards of Arabic literary criticism in the modern era should not
automatically lead to charges of anachronism or cultural bias. In fact, arguably, a condition of
anachronism and cultural bias already exists in favor of Western models whether the scholar or
artist is physically located in the Arab world or in the West. The approach to translate this
groundbreaking text does not emanate from a desire to reject or replace contemporary models of
scholarship. Instead it is meant to encourage a legitimate alternative. It is a viable, productive
and beneficial endeavor for any scholar interested in exploring the unique and richly rewarding
experience of studying Arabic literature through the lens of aesthetic standards established by
some of the most respected masters of the language. As a result of the superior quality of alJurjānī’s scholarship and the proven relevance of his theories in the contemporary era, the
traditional approach to the study of comparative imagery in Arabic is, indeed, classically
modern.
Proposed Study Plan:
Most of this work will be in the translation itself. In preparation for this task I have split
the text into three parts not necessarily corresponding to linear portions, or specific “chapters” of
the text, but based on subject matter. For example, there are three primary “types” of
comparative imagery in this theoretical framework (simile, “extended” simile, metaphor), and
with some overlap each receives its own treatment in the text. Although the finished translation
will be a linear reflection of the actual text, because of repetition and the use of specific
terminology relative to each sub-category, it is helpful for me to break up the subject matter as I
translate. Including work I began in the fall semester of 2014 and the process of finishing my
dissertation in the fall of 2013, as of now I have already completed roughly 15-20% of the entire
text. I as I am currently preparing this translation, I anticipate being roughly 40-50% finished
with the work prior to the beginning of the timeline below. This study grant during the fall
semester of 2015 will help facilitate the final stage of the task which, upon completion, will have
consumed roughly three years of my time. Of course the ultimate goal of this project is the
publication of my translation.
As part of the process for completing the translation I am planning at least three trips to
the UT-Austin Library to in order to physically access both human and textual resources,
including faculty and multi-volume dictionaries, otherwise unavailable locally or through
interlibrary loan. This is actually the reason for choosing a fall semester for the timeline because
I will have an easier time arranging consultations with faculty and graduate students in the
Arabic program at UT-Austin. Such resources are necessary because of the fact that widely
accessible contemporary dictionaries are typically inadequate when dealing with 11th century
Arabic. These trips will take place in weeks 4-6, 7-9, and 13-15. The following proposal
includes a schedule in reference to work to be done on my basic division of the text into three
portions as well as additional research I consider necessary for the task of providing an accurate
and complete translation of the text.
Weeks 1-3:
I will continue with my translation of “part 1” (out of 3) of the text: tashbīh, or “simile.” I will
also begin my review of material related to scholarship about al-Jurjānī and specifically his text,
Asrār al-Balāghah, drawn from examples of classical and contemporary scholarship, such as
Kamal Abu-Deeb’s, Al-Jurjānī’s Theory of Poetic Imagery, and Margaret Larkin’s The Theology
of Meaning: ᶜAbd Al-Qāhir Al-Jurjānī’s Theory of Discourse.
Weeks 4-6:
I will continue with my translation of “part 2” (out of 3) of the text: tamthīl, or “extended
simile.” I will also explore the broader tradition of Arabic literary criticism as it applies to the
identification, classification and interpretation of simile and metaphor through the examination
of texts such as C.J.H. Van Gelder’s Beyond the Line: Classical Arabic Literary Critics on the
Coherence and Unity of the Poem, Suzanne Stetkevych’s Early Islamic Poetry and Poetics, and
Mansour Ajami’s The Alchemy of Glory: The Dialectic of Truthfulness and Untruthfulness in
Medieval Arabic Literary Criticism. I will make my first trip to Austin during this three week
window.
Weeks 7-9:
I will continue with my translation of “part 3” (out of 3) of the text: istiᶜāra, or “metaphor.” I
will make my second trip to Austin during this three week window. I will also explore specific
information associated with Arabic grammar as it relates to meaning in texts such as Ramzi
Baalbaki’s “Inside the Speaker’s Mind: Speaker’s Awareness as Arbiter of Usage in Arab
Grammatical Theory,” and Andras Hamori’s On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature.
Weeks 10-12:
I will continue the work of translation. It would probably be too much in the space of this
proposal to explain the theological implications of writing about the Qur’ān as literature, but as
this text includes many examples of simile and metaphor drawn from the Qur’ān it will be
important to contextualize this with reference to works such as Nasr Abu-Zayd’s “The Dilemma
of the Literary Approach to the Qur’ān,” and A Rippin’s “The Qur’ān as Literature: Perils,
Pitfalls and Prospects.”
Weeks 13-15:
I will finalize the work of translation. I will make my third trip to Austin during this three week
window. I will begin work on marketing my translation for publication. One promising option
for publication is the NALRC (the National African Language Resource Center) at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I finished my Masters and Doctorate. In preparation
for a faculty presentation I will prepare a synopsis of each “type” of comparative imagery and
include specific examples drawn from the text which exemplify the nuance apparent in alJurjānī’s theory.
Proposed Bibliography:
Al-Jurjānī, ᶜAbd Al-Qāhir. Asrār al-Balāghah [The Mysteries of Eloquence]. Beirut: Dar AlKotob al-ilmiyah, 2001. Print.
---. Asrār al-Balāghah [The Mysteries of Eloquence]. Hellmut Ritter, ed. Istanbul: Government
Press, 1954. Print.
Abu Deeb, Kamal. Al-Jurjānī’s Theory of Poetic Imagery. Warminster: Aris & Phillips LTD,
1979. Print.
---. The Imagination Unbound. Al-Adab al-ᶜAja’ibi and the Literature of the Fantastic in the
Arabic Tradition. London: Saqi, 2007. Print.
Abu-Zayd, Nasr. “The Dilemma of the Literary Approach to the Qur’an.” Alif: Journal of
Comparative Poetics, No. 23, Literature and the Sacred (2003), 8-47. Web.
Adūnīs. An Introduction to Arab Poetics. Trans. Catherine Cobham. London: Saqi Books,
2003. Print.
---. Al-thābit wa al-mutaḥawwil: baḥth fi al-‘ibdāᶜ wa al-itibāᶜ ᶜand al-ᶜarab, al-juz’ ar-rābiᶜ.
London: Dar Al-Saqi, 2002. Print.
Ajami, Mansour. The Alchemy of Glory: The Dialectic of Truthfulness and Untruthfulness in
Medieval Arabic Literary Criticism. Washington D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1988.
Print.
---. The Neckveins of Winter: The Controversy Over Natural and Artificial Poetry in Medieval
Arabic Literary Criticism. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1984. Print.
Baalbaki, Ramzi. “Inside the Speaker’s Mind: Speaker’s Awareness as Arbiter of Usage in Arab
Grammatical Theory,” in Approaches to Arabic Linguistics, Everhard Ditters and Harald
Motzki eds. Leiden: Brill, 2007. Print.
Bravmann, M.M. The Arabic Elative: A New Approach. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1968. Print.
Cantarino, Vincente. Arabic Poetics in the Golden Age. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1975. Print.
Hamori, Andras. On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1974. Print.
Heinrichs, W. “Literary Theory: The Problem of Its Efficiency,” in Arabic Poetry: Theory and
Development, G. von Grunebaum ed. (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1973). Print.
Kennedy, Philip, ed. On Fiction and Adab in Medieval Arabic Literature. Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005. Print.
Larkin, Margaret. Al-Mutanabbī: Voice of the ᶜAbbasid Poetic Ideal. Oxford: One World
Publications, 2008. Print.
---. The Theology of Meaning: ᶜAbd Al-Qāhir Al-Jurjānī’s Theory of Discourse. New Haven:
American Oriental Society, 1995. Print.
McCall, Marsh. Ancient Rhetorical Theories of Simile and Comparison. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1969. Print.
Nicholson, Reynold Alleyne. A Literary History of the Arabs. New Delhi: Adam Publishers and
Distributors, 2003. Print.
Rippin, A. “The Qur’an as Literature: Perils, Pitfalls and Prospects.” Bulletin (British Society of
Middle Eastern Studies), Vol. 10, No. 1 (1983), 38-47. Web.
Stetkevych, Suzanne, ed. Early Islamic Poetry and Poetics. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing
Company, 2009. Print.
Sweity, Ahmad. Al-JurJaanii’s Theory of Nazm (Discourse Arrangement): A Linguistic
Perspective. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992. Print.
Van Gelder, C.J.H. Beyond the Line: Classical Arabic Literary Critics on the Coherence and
Unity of the Poem. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1982. Print.
Versteegh, C. H. M, Everhard Ditters, and Harald Motzki. Approaches to Arabic Linguistics:
Presented to Kees Versteegh on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday. Leiden: Brill,
2007. Print.
Zwettler, Michael. The Oral Tradition of Classical Arabic Poetry: Its Character and
Implications. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1978. Print.