السجع في كتاب (بلاغات النساء) لابن طيفور دراسة بلاغية تحليلية

Abstract

This study aims to examine the phenomenon of Saj' (rhymed prose) in the book of Balāghāt al-Nisā’ by Abū al-Faḍl Ahmad ibn Ṭayfūr by the analysis of selected examples that represent diverse patterns of feminist discourse in the early Islamic eras. The research employs the analytical rhetorical approach focusing on the study of the features, types, functions, and aesthetic and expressive meanings within the various contexts of Saj'. The study finds out that Saj' is not only a linguistic ornamentation in the women's discourse, but rather it is an effective rhetorical means used for influence and persuasion, either in the contexts of elegy, satire, praise, or longing. The studied examples also demonstrate the ability of the Arab woman in that era to employ Saj' balancing between meaning, emotion, and rhythm, indicating also her awareness of Arabic eloquence and her skill to use its rhetorical techniques. The study highlights that the feminist discourse in Balāghāt al-Nisā’ is equally eloquent or profound as men's; in fact, it sometimes characterized by its sincerity of emotion, sensitivity of structures, and skillful transition between rhymed images and meanings. The study concludes with a number of findings and recommendations reconsidering the traditional feminist eloquence and to study it in the fields of rhetoric and literary criticism.