The Movement of Classical Criticism on Bashar’s Verse: "Ka’anna Muthāra al-Naq‘i Fawqa Ru’ūsina" … Critical Application and Its Use in Systems Theory

Abstract

This study aims to trace the movement of classical criticism and rhetorical opinions regarding the verse of Bashar ibn Burd: “Ka’anna Muthāra al-Naq‘i Fawqa Ru’ūsihim wa Asyāfuna Layl Tahāwā Kawākibuh,” especially as it is one of the important examples within the context of the systems theory for which ‘Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī became renowned. Considering the targeted critical and rhetorical material, the study seeks to show the extent to which classical rhetoricians and critics were able to employ poetic and other texts to reveal the levels of discourse. In particular, they presented and analyzed these texts systematically, highlighting their poetic features, which in their view helped distinguish the sacred text by its literary characteristics.