Ibn Abī Al-Isbaʽ and His Place in ʽılm Al-Badīʽ
Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ was a prominent man of letters who spent most of his life under the Ayyubid rule and his last years in the Mamluk Sultanate. Regarded as the “Poet of Egypt,” he was one of the leading scholars in ʽilm al-balāgha, the rhetorical science. Besides his own works, Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ had a considerable number of his poems included in literature books and biographies, and he made abundant use of literary devices in these poems. Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ made significant contributions to ʽilm al-badīʽ, the science of embellishments, especially with his works Taḥrīr al-Taḥbīr (Writing Elegant Compositions) and Badīʽal-Qurʼān (Embellishments in the Koran). Benefiting from the rhetorical knowledge of such orators as Ibn alMu’tazz and Qudāmah ibn Jaʽfar, who were pioneers in the science of embellishments, Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ researched 30 literary figures in ʽilm al-badīʽ. This distinguished him from his predecessors, and there were even times when he criticized those who preceded him. He explained literary figures using examples from Arabic poetry, verses from the Koran, the hadith, sayings of the elders, proverbs, and aphorisms. Another important contribution he made to rhetorical science was how he accounted for the differences between similar literary figures. After a brief summary of Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ’s life and character as a scholar, this article will define and further clarify the 30 literary figures that the author unearthed in his work Taḥrīr al-Taḥbīr using at least one of the author’s own examples to examine each one.
İbn Ebi‘l-İsba‘ ve Bedî‘ İlmindeki Yeri
Hayatının büyük kısmını Eyyûbîler, son yıllarını ise Memlükler döneminde geçiren ve “Mısır şairi” diye anılan İbn Ebi’lİsba‘, döneminin önemli edebiyatçılarından biri olup belagat ilminde önde gelen âlimlerdendir. Kendi eserleri dışında edebiyat ve biyografi kitaplarında çok sayıda şiiri yer alan İbn Ebi’l-İsba‘, şiirlerinde edebî sanatlara yoğun bir şekilde yer vermiştir. İbn Ebi’l-İsba‘, özellikle Tahrîru’t-Tahbîr ve Bedî‘u’l-Kur’ân isimli eserlerinde bedî‘ ilmine önemli katkılarda bulunmuştur. O, bedî‘ ilmi konusunda bu ilmin öncüleri olan İbnu’l-Mu‘tez ve Kudâme b. Ca‘fer gibi belagatçilerden istifade etmiş, bunun yanı sıra bedî‘ ilminde kendisinden öncekilerin keşfedemediği otuz kadar sanat keşf etmiştir. Zaman zaman kendisinden öncekilere tenkitlerde bulunduğu da görülmektedir. O, açıkladığı bir sanatı Arap şiiri, Kur’ân âyetleri, hadisler, büyüklerin sözleri, atasözleri ve özdeyişlerden örneklerle izah etmiştir. Onun belagat ilmine önemli katkılarından biri de, birbirine benzer sanatlar arasındaki farkları açıklamasıdır. Bu makalede, İbn Ebi’l-İsba‘ın hayatı ve ilmî kişiliğinden kısaca bahsedildikten sonra, onun Tahrîru’t-Tahbîr isimli eseri esas alınarak müellifin bedî‘ ilminde keşf etmiş olduğu otuz sanatın tanımları verilmiş ve her bir sanat müellifin zikrettiği en az bir örnekle açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır.
Born in Egypt in the year 585/1189 (or 589/1193), Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ el- Mısrī passed away in Egypt in 23 Shawwal 654 (November 13, 1256). He spent the most of his life in the Ayyubid Period (1171–1462) and his last years in the Mameluke Period (1250– 1517). He took courses on interpretation, hadith, and fiqh, as well as on languages and literature from some major scholars of his time, including the renowned hadith scholar, Muhammed Zekiyyuddīn el-Munzīrī, the Shafii qadi and poet Ibn Senāulmulk, es-Sirāc el-Verrāk, Afifuddin et-Tilimsānī, and Ebu’l-Huseyin el-Cezzār.
Having witnessed many incidents caused by the civil wars and the wars against the Crusaders and the Mongols throughout the social life of his period, Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ spent his life dealing with science and writing, staying away from the politics. As a result, he became one of the most important people of the period, especially with regard to his works in the field of literature.
Also referred as the Egyptian poet, Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ had many poems published in literature and biography books in addition to his own works. He is one of the leading scholars in the art of rhetoric during the period. He also included a great deal of literary arts in his poems.
It is in his most well-known works where he studied the laconic side of the Quran in a literary sense that made the author famous. Foremost among these works, which are present in the resources, are the Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr fī Sınā‘ati’ş-Şi‘r ve’n-Neşr ve Beyāni I‘cāzi’l-Kur’ān and Bedī‘u’l-Kur’ān, in which he analyzed versification and the art of prose and made a laconic study of the Quran.
This study introduces Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ’s contributions, especially those made to the Bedī’ art (the art of beautifying words). His life story is told in brief and his works, Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr fī Sınā‘ati’ş-Şi‘r ve’n-Neşr ve Beyāni I‘cāzi’l-Kur’ān” and “Bedī‘u’lKur’ān” are introduced. Afterwards, the arts he invented are addressed one by one and explained using his own examples.
Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ mentioned 125 arts belonging to the Bedī’ art in Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr and added 7 more types in Bedī‘u’l-Kur’ān; however, he removed some 12 arts mentioned in Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr from his second work, because they are not present in the Quran. He mentioned the art “i’tilāfu’l-kāfiye ma‘a mā yedullu ‘aleyhi sāiru’l-beyt” (القافية اختالف البيت سائر عليه يدل ما مع ( ّ in Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr as “i’tilāfu’l-fāsıla ma‘a mā yedullu ‘aleyhi sāiru’l-kelām” (الكالم سائر عليه يدل ما مع الفاصلة اختالف ( ّ in Bedī‘u’l-Kur’ān, and he pleaded that the Quran is not a poem as the reason. Likewise, he mentioned the art he named tasarruf in Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr as iktidar in Bedī‘u’l-Kur’ān. He divided the types of Bedī into two groups in the work: original and secondary, each consisting of three parts. He described the ones produced by Ibnu’l- Mutezz’ and Kudāme b. Ca’fer as the originals,
while those invented by the other scholars who followed are described as the secondary group. In the first chapter, he presents the original group, and in the second chapter, he presents the other bedī’ types, which are comprised of 65 art types. He describes the 30 art types, which he invented himself, in the third chapter of his book. It is also observed that Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ also changed the names of some art types in the third chapter.
Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ also wrote Bedī‘u’l-Kur’ān with the intent of explaining the types of bedī’ art present in the Quran. He shortened this book from his work titled Tahrīru’tTahbīr, where he reexamines part of the Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr, which is about the literary arts present in the Quran. In this work, he analyzes a total of 109 types of literary arts, and he explains the types of literary arts using examples from the Quran. He does not include the 22 art types present in his work of Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr, probably because he could not find any examples from the verses in the Quran. On the other hand, he added six more art types into this book (tafsīl, ilcā‘, tanzīr, remz ve īmā‘, tefrīk ve cem‘, ziyāde) that are not present in Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr. The author’s goal with this book, which he presents using great examples and explanations, is that types of rhetoric do not only pertain to poets’ poems and writers’ prose.
While compiling both of his books, Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ made use of many works written up until his day, and he mentions these works, along with their writers’ names, in the prefaces of his book. This adds more value to his works and shows that he had a meticulous and scientific personality. The authors and their works about which we provide concise information one by one, in chronological order, are as follows: el-Beyān ve’t-Tebyīn by elCāhız (d. 255/869), Kitābu’l- Bedī’i by Halīfe Ibnu’l-Mu‘tez (d. 296/908-909), Nakdu’şşii’ir’ by Kudāme b. Ca‘fer (d. 337/948), en-Nuket fī I‘cāzi’l-Kur’ān by er-Rumm Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ nī (d. 384/994), el-‘Umde… by Ibn Raşīk el-Kayrevānī (d. 456/1064), Sırru’l-Fesāha by İbn Sinān el-Hafācī (d. 466/1073), Esrāru’l-Belāğa by Abdulkāhir elCurcānī (d. 471/1078), el-Bedī‘ fī Nakdi’ş-Şi‘r by Usāme b. Munkız, Nihayetu’l-Īcāz fī Dirāyeti’l-İ‘cāz by Fahreddin er-Rāzī (d. 606/1026), Miftāhu’l-Ulûm by es-Sekkākī (d. 626/12339), and el-Meselu’s-Sāir, by the renowned clerk of Ayyubids, Ziyāuddin İbnu’lEsīr (d. 637/1239).
Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ followed the important rhetoric scholars we mentioned by using the word bedī’ about all the beauty types whose meanings are composed of statement and bedī’. He stated that the number of beauties of the remarks described as bedī’ is very high, that there are usûl and furu‘among them, and that he invented 30 art types in accordance with the previous scholars’ techniques. He ordered them as follows:
1. Tahyîr (التخيري ,(2. Tedbîc (التدبيج ,(3. Temzîc (التمزيج ,(4. İstiksâ’(صاء َتق ْسْ ِ اال ,(5. Bast (البسط ,(6. el-Hecâ’ fî ma‘razi’l-medh (املدح معرض يف اهلجاء ,(7. Unvân (العنوان ,(8. Îzâh ِيك) Teşkîk. 9), اإليضاح) الت ْشك َّ ): 10. Ferâid (الفرائد ,(11. Hayde ve’l-İntikâl (قالِ َْدة واالْنت َي ,(احل 12. Şemâte (الشامتة ,(13. Tehekküm (التهكم ,(14. Tendir (التندير ,(15. el-İscâl ba‘de’l-muğâlata (الترصف) miye‘ta ve İlğâz. 16), اْلسجال بعد اُملغالطة) Tasarruf. 17 ْ ), اإللغاز والتعم - Bedî‘u’l-Kur’ân’da “İktidâr”-, 18. Nezâhet (النزاحة ,(19. Teslîm (التسليم ,(20. İftinân (اإلفتنان ,(21. Mürâca‘at (املراجعة ,(22. Selb ve îcâb (اإلجياب و السلب ,(23. İbhâm (اإلهبام ,(24. elKavl bi’l-mûceb (باملوجب القول ,(25. Hasru’l-cüz’î ve ilhâkuhu bi’l-küllî (وإحلاقه اجلزئي ّ ص ْ ُح,( اُملناقضة) Münâkaza. 27ُْ ), الَق َارَنُة) Mukârene. 26 ), 28. İnfisâl (االنفصال ,(29. İbdâ‘ ْداع) اإلب , (30. Hüsnü’l-hâtime (الامتة حسن .( ْ These art types are examined, described, and exemplified one by one in our article.
In summary, Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ made important contributions to the discipline of bedī’ especially thanks to his works titled Tahrīru’t-Tahbīr and Bedī‘u’l-Kur’ān. He benefited from the works of earlier leading scholars of the rhetoric discipline, including Ibnu’lMu‘tez and Kudāme b. Ca‘fer, but he also invented about 30 new art types himself that the scholars before him could not come up with. Furthermore, even as Ibn Abī al-Isbaʽ criticized the scholars before him from time to time, he also explained each and every type of art using examples from Arabic poems, verses of the Quran, hadiths, utterances of the elders, proverbs, and sayings. One of the contributions he made to the rhetoric discipline is how he explained the differences between similar art types.
