The Concept of Rhetoric and Epistolary Art in al-Kala‘i and Al-Halabi: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The rhetorical concept has undergone stages of development and crystallization, reaching what we have today. It has gone through four stages. The first was represented by the proposals that established the general frameworks of Arabic rhetoric, which were presented in the works of Al-Jahiz (255 AH) and Ibn Qutaybah (276 AH). The second stage began with the works of Al-Rummani (386 AH), Al-Baqillani (403 AH), Qudamah ibn Ja'far (337 AH), and Abu Hilal Al-Askari (d. 395 AH). The third stage, in which the rhetorical concept began to take on its general features, was evident in Abd Al-Qahir Al-Jurjani (441 AH). The final stage, in which the academic concept has been completed to this day, was the stage in which Al-Sakaki (626 AH) and Al-Khatib Al-Qazwini (739 AH) presented it. The rhetorical concept of Al-Kala'i and Al-Halabi is evident through their commitment to the rules of Arabic rhetoric represented by its sciences (semantics, rhetoric, and poetics), with touches that characterize both writers and express the cultural context of each of them. Al-Kala'i may be distinguished by a poetic and emotional style that reflects Yemeni culture, while Al-Halabi reflects the cultural diversity of Aleppo through popular proverbs and eloquent texts.The concept of rhetoric differed between al-Kalāʿī and al-Ḥalabī, and this difference can be attributed to the chronological gap between the two figures, as well as to the maturation of the rhetorical sciences in al-Ḥalabī’s time compared with that of al-Kalāʿī. However, it is noteworthy that both writers agreed in their works that rhetoric is concerned with highlighting the aspects of beauty in discourse and achieving an effect on the recipient. In the Arabic language, rhetoric is the art of expressing meanings in an eloquent and impactful manner appropriate to the context and the audience. It is defined as the ability to formulate speech in a way that combines clarity, precision, and aesthetic appeal.