Introduction to Arabic Rhetoric Course (Balagha)

arabic rhetoric course

Rhetoric is, in Arabic, (balagha) is a science of Arabic language focused on the beauty of this language. In the language balagha,  means to reach the end of anything. An eloquent person is capable of influencing people and convincing them. This art of oratory has gained noteworthy significance throughout Arabic history since the Arabian culture centered on the language more than any art.

Arabic rhetoric course has three key branches:

El bayan: deals with the verbal expressions of the language and connection and clarity of the ideas. It includes the facets of style such as brevity, redundancy, indicative mood, etc.

Semantics: associated with meanings and ideas and concerned about the conformity between thoughts and verbal images. And it includes metaphors, analogy, metonymy, etc.

Budaiya: the science is interested in showing the beautification of the language and improving the sentences, and it includes counterpoints, puns, etc

Why you should learn Arabic Rhetoric?

  • It develops the sense of the student so he can taste the Arabic texts and feel their beauty
  • It increases the skills of convincing and develops the student’s capacity to explain his ideas and spread words.
  • It’s important for people to feel the beauty of Quranic Arabic in a more profound way
  • It’s a core skill for people who want to be writers or authors

At the end of this course, the student will be able to

  • form clear, eloquent sentences in Arabic that convey simple, impeccable meaning.
  • Taste and analyze the eloquent aspects of qur’anic verses.
  • Distinguish between the three branches of rhetoric by understanding the goal of each of them.
  • The student can start the Arabic rhetoric course online after passing the intermediate or advanced level,
  • Analyze the linguistic style and features of the Qur’an
  • Learn the  glossary of Arabic rhetoric and be familiar with its terms 

What you will learn in introducing the Arabic rhetoric course?

In this course, you’ll learn the traditional curriculum of Arabic rhetoric consisting of the three sub-sciences of Arabic rhetoric and the styles included in them through examples from the Quran and Arabic classic poetry. This table will show you glimpses of what rhetorical styles you’ll learn in this course
El bayan Semantics Budaiya
Tashbih تشبيه الأسلوب الخبري والإنشائي counterpoint
Metaphor استعارة majaz periphrasis
Synecdoche  مجاز مرسل Itnab/ redundancy Exaggeration
Metonymy  كناية Question/ order/ negation.. assonance

The duration of the Arabic Rhetoric Course

This program consists of three levels. Each takes about 6 months. This period differs depending on the student’s acquisition capacity, language background, and how much he/she is passionate about learning the Arabic language.

We advise the student in this program to dedicate (3: 5) times a week to studying Arabic until he\she masters it.

Notes:

There are exercises and questions after the end of each lesson

There is a test and certificate after passing any of the three levels of rhetoric. 

It is not required to start with a specific order, although,  it is preferred to take the course in this order (El bayan, semantics, Budaiya).

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about this course

Rhetoric is usually difficult in the early stages of mastering a new language. But while continuing to attend classes and persevering in learning, the student will make the difficult easy until he reaches the degree of mastery of Arabic rhetoric. Then the student will enjoy the beauty of the Arabic language and its excellence in rhetoric, and he will love the Arabic language more.

The importance of the science of Arabic rhetoric was deduced from the Holy Qur’an to understand the sweetness of its meanings, its purposes, the clarification of its secrets, its rulings, and its news, the interpretation of its noble verses, and the knowledge of its ingenuity and sweetness in the rhetorical structure and pronunciation.

This science is considered the appropriate means to know the inimitability of the Noble Qur’an, so neglecting it leads to not realizing the inimitability of the Qur’anic systems, and therefore it is necessary to be familiar with the rules of rhetoric that make a person eloquent and an eloquent speaker.

The use of rhetoric in the language of Arabic is to convey the full meaning of the speech to the recipient, whether he is a listener or a reader. When a person possesses the rhetorical ability, he can convey the meaning to the listener briefly and affect him as well. Rhetoric is important in delivering speeches and lectures. From the arts of eloquence: metaphor (majaz in Arabic rhetoric)

The Prophet Muhammad described it in his hadith:

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:

Two men came from the East and addressed the people, who were amazed at their eloquent speeches. On that Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) said. Some eloquent speech is as effective as magic. (Sahih al-Bukhari )

The aim of studying rhetoric is summarized in the skills that the student acquires:

A: Religious objective: The science of Arabic rhetoric is mainly concerned with understanding the formation of the Qur’anic sentence, the link between the sentence and other sentences, the wonderful manifestations in the Arabic language and its meanings, and the resulting diversity and multiplicity in understanding the sentence, and this is in addition to the knowledge of The grammar is what helped the science of jurisprudence in its emergence and the multiplicity of its tributaries, and this is what also led to the diversity of jurisprudential rulings in one issue, and this goal also shares with the honorable hadith and understanding what came in it in the best way.

 B- Scientific objective: The science of Arabic rhetoric aims at integrative synergy with grammar, which makes the mechanism of grammar take on a more equitable character.

In terms of the aesthetics of the Arabic sentence, the grammar was originally based on the science of morphology.

This is what makes the science of rhetoric a complement to grammar and morphology, and a close friend not to be underestimated for each of these two sciences.

C- Literary objective: Learning this science leads to the development of the student’s linguistic and literary abilities, as this study gives him a linguistic base through which he can improve his ability to speak, and through which he can distinguish between good and bad from his speech or the words of others; thus he makes the critical feature in his study, and gives him the basics on which he is based so that he is ready to enter the science of literary criticism.

The teachers are qualified and have the ability to communicate information to the student in various modern ways through modern online methods and aids that enable the student to communicate the information in a wonderful way and increase the student’s effectiveness in the class.

Sign up for the Arabic rhetoric course to get your free trial session right now.