The Stylistic Significance of the Word "al-Khāl" (Maternal Uncle) in Arabic Poetry:A Comparative Applied Study of the Poetry of Sulayman al-Mahuzi and al-Hasan ibn Ahmad 'Akish

Abstract

This study examines the stylistic semantics of the lexeme al-khāl ("beauty spot") in Arabic poetry through a comparative application to two khāliyya odes: one by Sulaymān b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Māḥūzī of Bahrain (1075-1121 AH/1664-1709 CE), and the other by al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad ʿĀkish al-Ḍamadī of Yemen (d. 1290 AH). Drawing on verified manuscript sources for both poems, it traces the movement of the word from its lexical sense to its figurative, emotional, and ethical functions. The study adopts a descriptive-analytical stylistic approach supported by comparison, using an analytical grid of contextual indicator, deviation, image, and stylistic function. The research problem is encapsulated in the following question: How is the stylistic significance of the word *al-khāl* (the mole) shaped in the poems of Al-Mahuzi and ‘Akish, and what functions does it perform in constructing imagery, rhyme, and the poetic experience? Two subsidiary questions arise from this: How do textual cues guide the meaning of the word? And how does the unified rhyme scheme contribute to building semantic unity within each poem?

The research aims to analyze the usage of the word *al-khāl* in the selected texts and to reveal the roles played by textual cues, linguistic deviation, and imagery in renewing its significance. It further seeks to delineate the two contrasting trajectories the word follows: a path in Al-Mahuzi’s work that leads to emptiness and abandonment, and a path in ‘Akish’s work that ascends to value and glory. To the best of our knowledge—and within the scope of the consulted sources—no prior study has specifically undertaken a stylistic comparison of these two *khāliyyah* poems (poems centered on the *khāl*). While Shtiwi (2021) highlights the centrality of textual cues in determining meaning, and Banat (2020) addresses the traditions surrounding the imagery of the *khāl*, Al-Na‘mi’s (2002) work—though valuable for its biographical account of ‘Akish and his general artistic characteristics—does not include a critical analysis of the specific *khāliyyah* text under study here.