Semantic Beautifications and Their Rhetorical Impact in the Book Al-Mathal Al-Sa’ir A Study of Al-Mutanabbi’s Examples

Abstract

Critics have employed various mechanisms in analyzing literary texts to understand them and uncover their hidden meanings. Among these mechanisms, Arabic rhetoric has played a significant role in literary criticism, serving as one of the key tools used by early critics in their textual analyses. One of these critics is Ibn al-Athir, the author of Al-Mathal Al-Sa'ir, a book that presents a collection of rhetorical and critical views, reflecting his vast knowledge and extensive intellectual background. This study aims to highlight the rhetorical approach that prominently characterizes Ibn al-Athir’s work, particularly in his critique of Al-Mutanabbi’s poetry, which was among the most frequently analyzed and studied texts in his book. We focus on the rhetorical embellishments (al-muḥassināt al-maʿnawiyya) identified by Ibn al-Athir in Al-Mutanabbi’s poetry to demonstrate the effectiveness of these rhetoricalg devices in understandin