GRPDIFF: Grouping Then Differentiating

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    الجمع مع التفريق
    GRPDIFF: Grouping Then Differentiating
    CategoryLinguistic Embellishments
    (‘ilm al-badī‘)
    SubcategoryGrouping & Distinguishing
      
    Balaghascore.com Entry
    CodeCB-5
      
    BalaghaBase.org Entry
    CodeQ86
      
    OpenAlex.org
    IDW4415372668
      
    Cite this page
    🔗 DOI10.64393/balagha.Q86
     Download PDF
      
    Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.0, v0.1.1

    Definition

    Grouping Then Differentiating (al-jamʿ maʿa al-tafrīq) is an Arabic rhetorical device where the communicator brings two things together under one meaning or one ruling, then differentiates the aspect by which each was subsumed under it.[1][2][3][4]

    Mechanism

    • Two subjects are brought together (jamʿ) under one meaning, ruling, or comparison (maʿnā wāḥid / ḥukm wāḥid).[1][2][3]
    • The two aspects by which each subject was subsumed under that shared predicate are then differentiated (tafrīq) — that is, a distinct jiha (aspect or mode of inclusion) is specified for each subject.[1][2][3]

    Recognition

    The following diagnostic tests aid identification:

    • Two or more subjects are mentioned.
    • A single predicate, ruling, or comparison is applied to both subjects.
    • A subsequent specification assigns a distinct aspect (jiha) to each subject, derived from that shared predicate.

    Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects

    • It creates a balance between unity and distinction: the two subjects are first brought together under one shared meaning or ruling, then separated by the particular aspect through which each participates in it.
    • It sharpens comparison by preventing the shared predicate from flattening the difference between the two subjects.
    • It produces analytical precision by showing that the same general category can apply in different ways or through different aspects.
    • It can intensify contrast within resemblance, since the reader first recognises the common ground and then notices the difference in the mode of inclusion.

    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 Rhetorical Effects section of this page in Step 4.

    Examples

    Source Example

    فَوَجْهُكَ كَالنَّارِ فِي ضَوْئِهَا، وَقَلْبِي كَالنَّارِ فِي حَرِّهَا

    Your face is like fire in its light, and my heart is like fire in its heat.

    — Rashīd al-Dīn al-Waṭwāṭ

    Explanation
    The face and the heart are both grouped under the comparison to fire, then differentiated: the face corresponds to fire's light and radiance, the heart to fire's heat and burning.[1][2][3][4]
    Source Example

    خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ

    You created me from fire, and him from clay.

    — Qurʾān 7:12

    Explanation
    Both Iblīs and Adam are grouped under the single act of creation by God, then differentiated by the material of their creation: fire for Iblīs, clay for Adam.[1]
    Constructed Example

    وَجْهُهَا كَالْقَمَرِ فِي ضِيَائِهِ، وَصَوْتُهَا كَالْقَمَرِ فِي هُدُوئِهِ.

    Her face is like the moon in its brightness, and her voice is like the moon in its calmness.

    Explanation
    Both the face and the voice are grouped under one comparison to the moon, then differentiated according to the distinct aspect of that comparison (brightness versus calmness).

    See Also

    Notes

    • The term jiha (aspect, mode, or ground of inclusion) is central to the classical definitions of this device. Al-Sakkākī's definition, as cited by ʿAkkāwī (1996), additionally specifies that the two aspects should be mutaqāribayn (closely related or proximate). This qualifier is absent from the definitions given by al-Hāshimī (2019) and Atīq (2002), and has not been incorporated into the core definition above.[2]

    References

    1. ↑ a b c d e Aḥmad al-Hāshimī, Jawāhir al-Balāgha fī al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ (Windsor: Hindāwī Foundation, 2019), 197–221, ISBN 9781527316386.
    2. ↑ a b c d e 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), 462-463.
    3. ↑ a b c d ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Badīʿ (Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-ʿArabiyya lil-Ṭibāʿa wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2002), 160-161.
    4. ↑ a b W. P. Heinrichs, ‘Rhetorical Figures’, in Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, ed. Julie Scott Meisami and Paul Starkey (London: Routledge, 1998), 658, ISBN 0415068088. DOI: 10.4324/9780203020425



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