DIVITEM: Dividing Items

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    التقسيم
    DIVITEM: Dividing Items
    CategoryLinguistic Embellishments
    (ʿilm al-badīʿ)
    SubcategoryGrouping & Distinguishing
    Built upon9 sources
      
    Annotation Unit
    ARDT CodeDIVITEM
    Level1 (Rhetorical device)
       ↳ Has 3 subtypes
      
    Included in Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.1
    v0.1.0
      
    External Identifiers
    BALAGHAScoreCB-3
    BalaghaBaseQ84
    OpenAlexW4415372663
      
    Cite this page
    🔗 Live DOI10.64393/balagha.Q84
     
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    Definition

    Dividing Items (al-taqsīm) is an Arabic rhetorical device in which a subject is articulated into distinct parts, cases, or states, whether by assigning what belongs specifically to each, exhaustively enumerating its possible divisions, or pairing its different states with what befits them.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

    Background Information

    The Arabic term al-taqsīm derives from the verb qassama (to divide or apportion). It refers to the rhetorical organisation of a subject into distinguishable items, divisions, or states.[5]

    Al-Qazwīnī defines al-taqsīm as dhikr mutaʿaddid thumma iḍāfat mā li-kull ilayhi ʿalā al-taʿyīn (mentioning multiple items and then specifically attributing to each what belongs to it). He also applies the term to the enumeration of a subject's states with their corresponding attributes and to the exhaustive enumeration of its divisions.[2]

    Ṭabāna reports that al-Jurjānī called the states-with-attributes usage al-taqsīm al-mawṣūl (Connected Division).[6] This is a historically reported designation for DIVITEM-SCA, whose current Arabic AU name follows the descriptive wording of the sources.

    Linguistic Operations

    • In the specific-attribution usage, the communicator mentions multiple items and then explicitly assigns to each what belongs to it (ʿalā al-taʿyīn).[2][7][6]
    • The explicit assignment distinguishes this usage from FOLDING: Folding and Unfolding, where the corresponding attributes are not individually specified in the same manner.[2][7][6]
    • In the exhaustive-enumeration usage, the divisions of a subject are enumerated completely (istīfāʾ aqsām al-shayʾ), without omitting a relevant division.[2][4][6][5]
    • In the states-with-attributes usage, the communicator mentions the different states of a subject and assigns to each state what befits it (mā yalīqu bihā).[2][3][6]
    • A subject is articulated into distinguishable items, divisions, or states.
    • Depending on the usage, the operation either assigns what belongs to each mentioned item, exhaustively enumerates the relevant divisions, or pairs each state with what befits it.
    • The resulting structure makes the distinctions, completeness, or correspondences within the subject explicit.

    Recognition

    Dividing Items may be identified when a subject is articulated into distinct items, divisions, or states through one of the following operations:

    • Multiple Mentions with Specific Attribution (DIVITEM-MMS): Multiple items are mentioned, and what belongs to each is subsequently assigned to it explicitly and individually. The correspondence is specified rather than left for the addressee to infer.
    • Exhaustive Enumeration of Divisions (DIVITEM-EED): The divisions or cases of a subject are enumerated so as to exhaust the relevant possibilities, leaving no division unaccounted for within the intended scope.
    • States of Something with Corresponding Attributes (DIVITEM-SCA): Different states or conditions of the same subject are mentioned, and each is paired with an attribute, action, or outcome appropriate to that state. Conditional or circumstantial constructions may signal these correspondences.

    Communicative Enhancements

    • Atīq (2002) cites Abū Hilāl al-ʿAskarī's judgment that the Quranic example (Q. al-Raʿd 12: huwa alladhī yurīkum al-barqa khawfan wa-ṭamaʿan) represents the finest taqsīm because it covers the people's states when viewing lightning (fear and hope) without a third state being possible.[8]
    • Atīq (2002) records that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz marvelled at the soundness (ṣiḥḥa) of Zuhayr's exhaustive division of the possible resolutions of a legal case, and said he would have appointed Zuhayr as a judge had he known him.[9]
    • Clarification (al-iḍāḥ) — dividing a subject into parts or states makes complex material easier for the addressee to process and understand.
    • Exhaustiveness (al-iḥāṭa) — complete division gives the impression of comprehensiveness and mastery over the subject.
    • Orderliness (al-tanẓīm) — arranging parts in a structured sequence makes the progression of thought easier to follow.
    • Precision (al-taʿyīn) — each division receives its exact corresponding attribute, reducing ambiguity.
    • Emphasis through structure — the formal ordering and pairing of divisions reinforces the communicative force and aids memorability.

    Applying the Recognition Framework

    The information on this page can be used to evaluate whether this device is present in a candidate lexical item using the Specific Device Recognition part of the Universal Framework for Identifying Arabic Rhetorical Devices:

    • Use the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.
    • Apply the substitution test in Step 2.
    • Consider contextual indicators in Step 3.
    • Use the Diagnostic Communicative Enhancements section of this page in Step 4.

    Subtypes of Dividing Items

    Al-Qazwīnī defines al-taqsīm primarily through the explicit attribution of what belongs to each of several mentioned items. He also identifies two further usages: the enumeration of a subject's states with what befits each, and the exhaustive enumeration of its divisions. These three usages are corroborated by later rhetorical scholars.[2][3][4][6][10][5]

    DIVITEM-MMS: Multiple Mentions with Specific Attribution (dhikr mutaʿaddid thumma iḍāfa mā li-kull ilayhi ʿalā al-taʿyīn)

    Annotation Unit
    ARDTDIVITEM-MMS
    Level2 (Subtype)
    BalaghaBaseQ304
    Official Arabic namedhikr mutaʿaddid thumma iḍāfa mā li-kull ilayhi ʿalā al-taʿyīn[4]

    A form of Dividing Items in which a multiply-named subject (or multiple subjects) is mentioned, and then each is assigned the specific attribute that belongs to it individually. This is the formulation given by al-Qazwīnī as the primary definition of al-taqsīm.[11][7][12]

    وَلَا يُقِيمُ عَلَى ضَيْمٍ يُرَادُ بِهِ إِلَّا الأَذَلَّانِ عَيْرُ الحَيِّ وَالوَتِدُ ‖ هَذَا عَلَى الخَسْفِ مَرْبُوطٌ بِرُمَّتِهِ وَذَا يُشَجُّ فَلَا يَرْثِي لَهُ أَحَدُ

    None endures humiliation intended for him save the two most abject: the donkey of the tribe and the tent-peg — one is tethered with its rope under degradation, and the other is driven in and none pities it.

    Explanation
    The two entities (donkey and tent-peg) are mentioned together, and then each receives the specific attribute belonging to it: tethering with degradation for the donkey, being struck with no one's pity for the tent-peg.[1]

    كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ وَعَادٌ بِالْقَارِعَةِ * فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِالطَّاغِيَةِ * وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ

    Thamūd and ʿĀd denied the Calamity. As for Thamūd, they were destroyed by the Thunderbolt; and as for ʿĀd, they were destroyed by a fierce roaring wind.
    Qur'an 69:4-6

    Explanation
    Two nations are mentioned together, and each is then assigned the specific form of destruction that belongs to it.[3]

    أَثْنَى المُدِيرُ عَلَى مُوظَّفَيْهِ الْمُتَمَيِّزَيْنِ: سَلْمَى وَخَالِدٍ؛ فَأَمَّا سَلْمَى فَقَدْ أُشِيدَ بِدِقَّتِهَا، وَأَمَّا خَالِدٌ فَقَدْ أُثْنِيَ عَلَى مُبَادَرَتِهِ.

    The manager praised his two outstanding employees, Salmā and Khālid: as for Salmā, she was commended for her precision; and as for Khālid, he was praised for his initiative.

    Explanation
    Two employees are mentioned together, and each is then assigned the specific quality belonging to them individually: precision for Salmā, and initiative for Khālid.

    The committee praised both finalists: Maya for her originality, and Daniel for his precision.

    Explanation
    The two finalists are mentioned together, and each is then explicitly assigned the particular quality belonging to them: originality to Maya, and precision to Daniel.

    DIVITEM-EED: Exhaustive Enumeration of Divisions (istīfāʾ aqsām al-shayʾ)

    Annotation Unit
    ARDTDIVITEM-EED
    Level2 (Subtype)
    BalaghaBaseQ305
    Official Arabic nameistīfāʾ aqsām al-shayʾ[4]

    A form of Dividing Items in which all possible divisions or cases of something are enumerated, leaving no remainder. This is, in logical terms, a complete disjunction.[10][4][9][5][13][14]

    وَأَعْلَمُ مَا فِي اليَوْمِ وَالأَمْسِ قَبْلَهُ وَلَكِنَّنِي عَنْ عِلْمِ مَا فِي غَدٍ عَمِي

    I know what is in today and in yesterday before it, but I am blind to the knowledge of what will be tomorrow.

    Explanation
    The three divisions of time (today, yesterday, tomorrow) are exhaustively enumerated, with no fourth division possible within the cited analysis. Each receives its specific characterisation.[4][10]

    الطالب إما أن ينجح في الامتحان، وإما أن يرسب، وإما أن يغيب عنه.

    The student will either pass the exam, fail it, or be absent from it.

    Explanation
    Three logically relevant outcomes are enumerated as a complete division within the communicative frame.

    There are only three ways this can end: we win, we lose, or we walk away.

    Explanation
    The possible outcomes are presented as an exhaustive division: winning, losing, or walking away. The completeness of the division gives the statement a sense of decisiveness and leaves no further relevant possibility within the communicative frame.

    DIVITEM-SCA: States of Something with Corresponding Attributes (dhikr aḥwāl al-shayʾ muḍāfan ilā kull minhā mā yulāʾimuhā)

    Annotation Unit
    ARDTDIVITEM-SCA
    Level2 (Subtype)
    BalaghaBaseQ306
    Official Arabic namedhikr aḥwāl al-shayʾ muḍāfan ilā kull minhā mā yulāʾimuhā[4]

    A form of Dividing Items in which the states or conditions of something are mentioned, with each state receiving what befits it and is appropriate to it.[3][4][10][5][13][14]

    سَأَطْلُبُ حَقِّي بِالقَنَا وَمَشَايِخَ كَأَنَّهُمُو مِنْ طُولِ مَا الْتَثَمُوا مُرْدُ ‖ ثِقَالٌ إِذَا لَاقَوْا خِفَافٌ إِذَا دُعُوا كَثِيرٌ إِذَا شَدُّوا قَلِيلٌ إِذَا عُدُّوا

    I shall seek my right with the spear and elders who, from long veiling, have become like beardless youths — heavy when they meet [the enemy], light when called [for help], many when they attack, few when counted.

    Explanation
    The warriors are described in four different states (meeting the enemy, being called, attacking, being counted), and each state receives the attribute that befits it.[3][10]

    الجيشُ إذا تقدَّمَ ثبتَ، وإذا حوصِرَ صبرَ، وإذا انتصرَ تواضعَ.

    The army, when it advances, stands firm; when surrounded, remains patient; and when victorious, remains humble.

    Explanation
    The same subject is presented in three states, and each state is paired with what suits it.

    When challenged, she is fearless; when advising others, patient; and when praised, modest.

    Explanation
    The same person is presented in three different states, and each state is assigned the quality appropriate to it: fearlessness when challenged, patience when advising others, and modesty when praised. The structured pairing presents her character as consistently admirable across changing circumstances.

    Different From

    • FOLDING: Folding and Unfolding (al-ṭayy wa-al-nashr) — in Folding and Unfolding, multiple items and their corresponding attributes are presented without explicitly assigning each attribute to its referent, leaving the addressee to recover the correspondence. In the specific-attribution usage of al-taqsīm (DIVITEM-MMS), each attribute is explicitly assigned to its corresponding item (ʿalā al-taʿyīn). Al-Qazwīnī and al-Taftāzānī explicitly discuss this distinction.[2][7][6]

    See Also

    Notes

    • ʿAkkāwī discusses al-taqsīm and its alternative names al-tajziʾa and al-tafrīq.[15]
    • ḥusn al-taqsīm is treated by ʿAkkāwī as identical with al-taqsīm itself.[16]
    • Atīq (2002) identifies a third usage of the term al-taqsīm in classical sources — al-taqsīm bil-taqṭīʿ — which refers to the division of a single verse's words into prosodically equal segments. This usage is specific to the metrical analysis of poetry and is not treated as a rhetorical device of the same type as the three usages above.[17]
    • Atīq (2002) also discusses flaws of al-taqsīm (ʿuyūb al-taqsīm), identifying two: (1) failure to exhaust all divisions of the meaning, and (2) one of the divisions being subsumed under another.[18]

    References

    1. ↑ a b ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Badīʿ (Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-ʿArabiyya lil-Ṭibāʿa wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2002), 134-135.
    2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qazwīnī, known as al-Khaṭīb al-Qazwīnī, al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ, ed. and comm. Ibrāhīm Shams al-Dīn (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2003), 270-273, ISBN 9782745139078.
    3. ↑ a b c d e f Aḥmad al-Hāshimī, Jawāhir al-Balāgha fī al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ (Windsor: Hindāwī Foundation, 2019), 375, ISBN 9781527316386.
    4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Ḥafnī Nāṣif, Muḥammad Diyāb, Sultan Muḥammad and Muṣṭafā Ṭammām, Durūs al-Balāgha (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 2012), 111, ISBN 9786144162798.
    5. ↑ a b c d e f Ahmad Matlub, Muʿjam al-Mustalahat al-Balaghiyya wa-Tatawwuruha, vol. 2, 1st ed. (Beirut: al-Dar al-ʿArabiyya lil-Mawsuʿat, 2006), 329-334.
    6. ↑ a b c d e f g h Badawī Ṭabāna, Muʿjam al-Balāgha al-ʿArabiyya, 3rd rev. and expanded ed. (Jeddah: Dār al-Manāra; Riyadh: Dār al-Rifāʿī, 1988), 539-540.
    7. ↑ a b c d Saʿd al-Dīn al-Taftāzānī, al-Muṭawwal: Sharḥ Talkhīṣ Miftāḥ al-ʿUlūm, ed. ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Hindāwī, Shurūḥ al-Talkhīṣ 3, 3rd ed. (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2013), 657-658, ISBN 9782745131768.
    8. ↑ ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Badīʿ (Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-ʿArabiyya lil-Ṭibāʿa wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2002), 134.
    9. ↑ a b ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Badīʿ (Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-ʿArabiyya lil-Ṭibāʿa wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2002), 137-138.
    10. ↑ a b c d e W. P. Heinrichs, ‘Rhetorical Figures’, in Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, ed. Julie Scott Meisami and Paul Starkey (London: Routledge, 1998), 660, ISBN 0415068088. DOI: 10.4324/9780203020425
    11. ↑ Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qazwīnī, known as al-Khaṭīb al-Qazwīnī, al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ, ed. and comm. Ibrāhīm Shams al-Dīn (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2003), 270, ISBN 9782745139078.
    12. ↑ Badawī Ṭabāna, Muʿjam al-Balāgha al-ʿArabiyya, 3rd rev. and expanded ed. (Jeddah: Dār al-Manāra; Riyadh: Dār al-Rifāʿī, 1988), 539.
    13. ↑ a b Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qazwīnī, known as al-Khaṭīb al-Qazwīnī, al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ, ed. and comm. Ibrāhīm Shams al-Dīn (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2003), 272, ISBN 9782745139078.
    14. ↑ a b Badawī Ṭabāna, Muʿjam al-Balāgha al-ʿArabiyya, 3rd rev. and expanded ed. (Jeddah: Dār al-Manāra; Riyadh: Dār al-Rifāʿī, 1988), 540.
    15. ↑ Inʿam Fawwal ʿAkkawi, al-Muʿjam al-Mufassal fi ʿUlum al-Balagha: al-Badiʿ wa-l-Bayan wa-l-Maʿani (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 412-415.
    16. ↑ Inʿam Fawwal ʿAkkawi, al-Muʿjam al-Mufassal fi ʿUlum al-Balagha: al-Badiʿ wa-l-Bayan wa-l-Maʿani (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 538.
    17. ↑ ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Badīʿ (Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-ʿArabiyya lil-Ṭibāʿa wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2002), 139-141.
    18. ↑ ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Badīʿ (Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-ʿArabiyya lil-Ṭibāʿa wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2002), 140-141.



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