EXCELDV: Excellence of Division

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    حسن التقسيم
    EXCELDV: Excellence of Division
    CategoryLinguistic Embellishments
    (‘ilm al-badī‘)
    SubcategoryRhythmic Structuring & Balance
    Built upon3 sources
      
    Annotation Unit
    ARDT CodeEXCELDV
    Level1
      
    Included in Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.1
    v0.1.0
      
    External Identifiers
    BALAGHAScoreCD-7
    BalaghaBaseQ130
    OpenAlexW4415412883
      
    Cite this page
    🔗 Live DOI10.64393/balagha.Q130
     
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    Definition

    Excellence of Division (ḥusn al-taqsīm) is an Arabic rhetorical device where the communicator divides a single line of a poem (bayt) into equal parts (ajzāʾ mutasāwiya).[1]

    ʿAkkāwī records a corresponding form of internal poetic division under the name al-tajziʾa, citing definitions in which a poetic line is divided into three or four parts, or into prosodic parts (ajzāʾ ʿarūḍiyya) supplied with internal rhyme. He also records al-tajzīʾ as another name for al-tajziʾa.[2]

    Al-Nābulsī records the same underlying operation under the name tasjīʿ al-bayt, defining it as the division of a poetic line into metrically identical parts whose endings are rhymed according to the rhyme of the poem.[3]


    Linguistic Operations

    • The bayt is internally divided into multiple parts. Abd al-Ghani specifies that these parts are equal (ajzāʾ mutasāwiya), ʿAkkāwī describes them as prosodic parts (ajzāʾ ʿarūḍiyya), and al-Nābulsī describes them as metrically identical parts.[1][2][3]
    • The internal parts are rhymed. Abd al-Ghani describes them as musajjaʿa, ʿAkkāwī likewise describes the parts as receiving internal sajʿ, and al-Nābulsī requires the divisions of the line to be rhymed according to the poem's rhyme.[1][2][3]
    • Division into three or four parts is explicitly attested by Abd al-Ghani and ʿAkkāwī.[1][2]
    • In this encyclopedia, the mechanism is described as the internal segmentation of a single poetic line into multiple rhythmic units.
    • The recurrence of rhymed endings across these segments creates a patterned internal division within the bayt.

    Recognition

    ḥusn al-taqsīm may be present when:

    • A single bayt is divided into metrically equal or corresponding parts.[1][2][3]
    • The division may result in three or four parts.[1][2]
    • The internal parts have corresponding rhymed endings.[1][2][3]

    The following diagnostic tests aid identification:

    • Test 1: Check whether the bayt can be segmented into equal parts of similar length.
    • Test 2: Check whether the segments display recurring rhymed endings.

    Diagnostic Communicative Enhancements

    • Excellence of Division gives the verse a musical resonance (jarsan mūsīqiyyan) that appeals to the ear and understanding (yaʾkhudhu bil-asmāʿ wal-afhām).[1]

    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.

    Examples

    (three-part division)

    مُتَفَرِّدٌ بِصَبَابَتِي / مُتَفَرِّدٌ بِكَآبَاتِي / مُتَفَرِّدٌ بِعَنَائِي

    Alone in my longing / alone in my sorrows / alone in my suffering

    Explanation
    The verse is divided into three equal parts, each forming a separate segment within the same line. Each segment ends with a similar rhyme pattern, illustrating the division described in Abd al-Ghani (2011).[1]
    (four-part division)

    فَنَحْنُ فِي جَذَلٍ / وَالرُّومُ فِي وَجَلٍ / وَالْبَرُّ فِي شُغُلٍ / وَالْبَحْرُ فِي خَجَلٍ

    We are in joy / the Byzantines in dread / the land in toil / the sea in shame

    Explanation
    Attributed to Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī. The verse is divided into four internal parts, each ending in a corresponding rhyme. Abd al-Ghani cites it as an example of ḥusn al-taqsīm, while ʿAkkāwī cites the same verse in his discussion of al-tajziʾa.[1][2]
    (four-part division)

    وِصَالُكُمْ هَجْرُ / وَحَبُّكُمْ قِلَى / وَعُطْفُكُمْ صَدٌّ / وَسِلْمُكُمْ حَرْبُ

    Your union is separation / your love is hatred / your tenderness is rejection / your peace is war

    Explanation
    Attributed to al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Aḥnaf and cited via Abū al-Qāsim al-Āmidī. The verse is divided into four equal parts, each forming a discrete segment within the same line, exemplifying the four-part division described by Abd al-Ghani (2011).[1]
    (four-part division)

    الْعِلْمُ نُورٌ / وَالْجَهْلُ ظُلْمَةٌ / وَالصِّدْقُ قُوَّةٌ / وَالْكَذِبُ ذِلَّةٌ

    Knowledge is light / ignorance is darkness / truth is strength / falsehood is humiliation

    Explanation
    The bayt is divided into four equal parts, each consisting of a nominal sentence (jumla ismiyya). The segments end in rhymed feminine terminations (نُورٌ / ظُلْمَةٌ / قُوَّةٌ / ذِلَّةٌ — the latter three sharing the ـَةٌ ending), illustrating the musajjaʿ internal division characteristic of ḥusn al-taqsīm.

    The bells all ring / the children sing / the swallows wing / and welcome spring

    Explanation
    The line is divided into four corresponding rhythmic segments, each ending in the rhyme -ing (ring / sing / wing / spring). The repeated internal rhyme marks the divisions of the line and gives them a patterned rhythmic unity, illustrating the operation of Excellence of Division.

    Notes

    • Abd al-Ghani (2011) explicitly restricts this device to poetry only (khāṣṣ bil-shiʿr faqaṭ).[1]
    • The term musajjaʿa is used in the source to describe the rhymed segments; it has been retained in transliteration to preserve its technical meaning.
    • The same underlying poetic operation is attested under differing nomenclature. Abd al-Ghani calls it ḥusn al-taqsīm, ʿAkkāwī discusses it as al-tajziʾa and records al-tajzīʾ as another name, while al-Nābulsī describes the corresponding operation as tasjīʿ al-bayt (تسجيع البيت), the internal rhyming of a poetic line divided into metrically identical parts.[1][2][3]

    References

    1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ayman Amin Abd Al-Ghani, Al-Kāfī fī al-Balāgha: Al-Bayān, wa al-Badiʿ wa al-Maʿānī (Cairo: Dār al-Tawfīqiyya lil-Turāth, 2011), 249-251.
    2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Inʿām Fawwāl ʿAkkāwī, Al-Muʿjam al-Mufaṣṣal fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: Al-Badīʿ wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Maʿānī (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 292-293.
    3. ↑ a b c d e f Pierre Cachia, The Arch Rhetorician: Or The Schemer’s Skimmer: A Handbook of Late Arabic Badīʻ Drawn from ʻAbd al-Ghanī an-Nābulsī’s Nafaḥāt al-Azhār ʻala Nasamāt al-Asḥār, Studies in Arabic Language and Literature 3 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998), p. 15; §10, ISBN 9783447040327.



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