PRAISE: Affirmed Praise
| PRAISE: Affirmed Praise | |
|---|---|
| Category | Linguistic Embellishments (‘ilm al-badī‘) |
| Subcategory | Persuasive Tricks |
| Balaghascore.com | |
| Code | CE-17 |
| BalaghaBase.org | |
| Code | Q113 |
| OpenAlex.org | |
| ID | W4415413231 |
| Cite this page | |
| 🔗 DOI | 10.64393/balagha.Q113 |
| Download PDF | |
| Taxonomy | |
| ARDT | v0.1.0, v0.1.1 |
Definition
Affirmed Praise (Taʾkīd al-madḥ bi-mā yushbih al-dhamm) is an Arabic rhetorical device in which a subject is praised, typically by means of an exception construction (istithnaʾ), that superficially resembles dispraise but in fact conveys a further praiseworthy quality.[1][2][3][4][5]
The figure was first identified by ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muʿtazz (d. 296/908), who named it taʾkīd al-madḥ bi-mā yushbih al-dhamm in his Kitāb al-Badīʿ and illustrated it with the canonical verse of al-Nābigha al-Dhubyānī.[6] Al-ʿAskarī named the same figure al-istithnaʾ, and Usāma ibn Munqidh called it al-rujūʿ wa-l-istithnaʾ.[6] Ibn Ḥijja al-Ḥamawī named it al-madḥ fī maʿriḍ al-dhamm, and others called it al-nafy wa-l-juḥūd.[6] Abd al-ʿAzīz ʿAtīq (2002) notes that the figure comes in both verse and prose.[1]
Mechanism
The mechanism depends on the structural logic of the exception (istithnaʾ) construction and its effect on listener expectation:
- In the first type, the speaker negates a dispraise attribute of the subject, then introduces an exception particle (illā, ghayr, sawā). Because the excepted item is normally a member of the negated class, the listener expects the exception to introduce a fault. Instead, the excepted item is a praiseworthy quality.[1][3][4]
- In the second type, the speaker affirms a praiseworthy attribute of the subject, then introduces an exception particle, leading the listener to expect a qualification or limitation of that praise. Instead, the excepted item is a further praiseworthy quality.[1][3][2]
- Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās (2007) explains that the first type works on two levels simultaneously: it functions as evidence and proof (bayyina wa-burhān) that no fault exists, and it exploits the structural logic of the connected exception (al-istithnaʾ al-ittiṣālī), by which the excepted item is understood as nominally belonging to the negated class — making the praise doubly effective.[3]
- In the second type, Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās (2007) notes that the exception particle operates in the sense of disconnected exception (al-istithnaʾ al-munqaṭiʿ), since there is no general negated category into which the praised attribute could be estimated to enter. The reinforcement of praise comes solely through the second mechanism — the overturning of the listener's expectation.[3]
- The exception particle in either type may be illā, ghayr, sawā, or bayd; in the second type, lākin (for istidraʾk) may also function in place of an exception particle.[2][3][6]
Recognition
The following diagnostic tests aid identification:
- Is an exception particle (illā, ghayr, sawā, bayd, or lākin) present?
- Does the construction preceding the exception particle either (a) negate a fault of the subject, or (b) affirm a praiseworthy quality of the subject?
- Does the material following the exception particle, on reflection, constitute a praiseworthy rather than a blameworthy quality?
If all three conditions are met, the figure of taʾkīd al-madḥ bi-mā yushbih al-dhamm is likely present.
Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects
ʿAbd al-Ghānī (2011) explicitly lists the following effects, which overlap with ʿAtīq’s (2002) explanation of the figure’s rhetorical benefit:[4][1]
- Alerting the addressee (tanbīh al-mukhaṭab): the apparent dispraise construction arrests the listener's attention.
- Awakening the intellect (īqāẓ al-dhihn): the listener is made to work through the apparent paradox.
- Engaging the mind to convey meaning attractively (iʿmāl al-ʿaql li-irsāl al-maʿnā bi-ṭarīqa jadhdhāba): the praise reaches the listener by an unexpected route, making it more memorable.
- Producing delight (tudkhil al-surūr fī al-nafs): the pleasant surprise of finding praise where dispraise was expected generates pleasure.
- Dispelling tedium (tadfaʿ al-malal): the figure enlivens praise that might otherwise sound routine.
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:
Types of Affirmed Praise
The sources agree on two main types.[2][4][3][6][1][5]
Type 1: Negated dispraise with praiseworthy exception (النوع الأول)
A dispraise attribute is negated, then an exception particle is introduced. The listener expects the exception to introduce a fault (since the excepted item is normally a member of the negated class). Instead, the excepted item is a praiseworthy quality.[2][3][4][6][5]
This type is considered the more eloquent of the two (al-nawʿ al-awwal ablagh).[2][6][3]
- Source Example
وَلَا عَيْبَ فِيهِمْ غَيْرَ أَنَّ سُيُوفَهُمْ بِهِنَّ فُلُولٌ مِنْ قِرَاعِ الْكَتَائِبِ
"There is no fault in them, except that their swords have notches from striking [enemy] squadrons."
- Explanation
- The poet al-Nābigha al-Dhubyānī negates any fault of his subjects (lā ʿayba fīhim). The exception particle ghayr leads the listener to expect a genuine fault. Instead, the excepted quality — that their swords are notched from battle — is not a fault at all, but proof of their courage and fighting prowess. The praise is thereby reinforced.[6][7][3][4][5]
- Source Example
وَمَا تَنقِمُونَ مِنَّا إِلَّا أَن آمَنَّا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّنَا لَمَّا جَاءَتْنَا
"You resent us for nothing except that we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us." (al-Aʿrāf 7:126)
- Explanation
- The sorcerers address Pharaoh: the only thing he can hold against them (a negation of genuine fault) is their belief in God's signs — which is not a fault but the source of all merit.[4][3]
- Source Example
لَا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا وَلَا تَأْثِيمًا إِلَّا قِيلًا سَلَامًا سَلَامًا
"They will hear therein no idle talk and no sinful speech — only the saying: 'Peace, peace.'" (al-Wāqiʿa 56:25–26)
- Explanation
- The negation of idle talk and sin is followed by an exception — but what follows is the greeting of peace from the angels, a further quality of Paradise, not a fault.[4]
- Constructed Example
لَا عَيْبَ فِي هَذَا الطَّالِبِ غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ لَا يَكُفُّ عَنِ السُّؤَالِ حَتَّى يَبْلُغَ حَقِيقَةَ الأَمْرِ.
"There is no fault in this student, except that he never stops questioning until he reaches the heart of the matter."
- Explanation
- The speaker negates any fault of the student. The exception particle ghayr leads the listener to expect a genuine shortcoming. Instead, the excepted quality — his relentless pursuit of understanding — is itself a mark of intellectual rigour, not a fault. The structure follows Type 1: a negated dispraise attribute, with the exception introducing praise.
Type 2: Affirmed praise with additional praiseworthy exception (النوع الثاني)
A praiseworthy attribute is affirmed, then an exception particle is introduced, leading the listener to expect a qualification of that praise. Instead, the excepted item is a further praiseworthy quality.[2][3][4][6][5]
The exception particle in this type may be illā, ghayr, bayd, or lākin (for istidraʾk).[2][3][6]
- Source Example
فَتًى كَمُلَتْ أَوْصَافُهُ غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ جَوَادٌ فَمَا يُبْقِي مِنَ الْمَالِ بَاقِيًا
"A young man whose qualities are complete, except that he is so generous he keeps nothing of his wealth."
- Explanation
- The speaker affirms the young man's complete virtues. The exception particle ghayr annahu leads the listener to expect a qualification of those virtues. Instead the "exception" — his extraordinary generosity — is itself a further praiseworthy quality. The verse is attributed to al-Nābigha al-Jaʿdī.[6][4][3][5]
- Source Example
أَنَا أَفْصَحُ العَرَبِ بَيْدَ أَنِّي مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ
"I am the most eloquent of the Arabs, except that I am from Quraysh."
- Explanation
- The Prophet ﷺ affirms his own eloquence. The exception particle bayd annī leads the listener to expect a qualification. Instead, being from Quraysh — the tribe renowned for the purest Arabic speech — is itself a further mark of eloquence and nobility, not a limitation.[3][6]
- Constructed Example
هِيَ كَاتِبَةٌ مُتَمَكِّنَةٌ مِنْ أُسْلُوبِهَا، غَيْرَ أَنَّهَا تُمْضِي سَنَوَاتٍ فِي صَقْلِ كُلِّ عَمَلٍ قَبْلَ نَشْرِهِ.
"She is a writer with complete command of her style, except that she spends years refining every work before publishing it."
- Explanation
- The speaker affirms the writer's mastery of her craft. The exception particle ghayr annahā leads the listener to expect a qualification of that mastery. Instead, the excepted quality — her painstaking care before publication — is itself a further praiseworthy attribute. The structure follows Type 2: an affirmed praise attribute, with the exception introducing additional praise.
Notes
- The English rendering "affirmed praise" is an editorial translation of taʾkīd al-madḥ bi-mā yushbih al-dhamm. Hussein Abdul-Raof (2006) uses the term "Asteism" for the figure,[8] and W. P. Heinrichs (1998) retains the Arabic name in transliteration.[7] Neither source provides a standard English equivalent.
- The Arabic term fululun in the canonical al-Nābigha verse means notches or nicks in a sword blade caused by striking armour or weapons in battle. Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās (2007) glosses it as جمع فَلّ, meaning a notch produced when a sword blade strikes another hard surface.[3] Al-Hāshimī (2019) glosses it similarly.[2]
- The term bayd functioning as an exception particle (in the sense of ghayr) is attested in the hadith "أنا أفصح العرب بيد أني من قريش". Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās (2007) and ʿAkkāwī (1996) both note its function in the second type of this figure.[3][6]
- ʿAkkāwī (1996) also reports a third form in which the exception particle appears in a disconnected or parenthetical relation (mufarraʿan), as in the Quranic example wa-mā tanqimūna minnā illā an āmannā.[6] (also cited as a Type 1 example above).
Different From
- DSPRAIS: Affirmed Dispraise - the structural converse of this rhetorical device, in which a subject is dispraised by means of an exception construction that superficially resembles praise but conveys a further blameworthy quality.[4][1][3]
References
- ↑ a b c d e f g ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Badīʿ (Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-ʿArabiyya lil-Ṭibāʿa wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2002), 164–169.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Aḥmad al-Hāshimī, Jawāhir al-Balāgha fī al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ (Windsor: Hindāwī Foundation, 2019), 377–378, ISBN 9781527316386.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās, Al-Balāgha: Funūnuhā wa-Afnānuhā - ʿIlm al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ (Amman: Dār al-Furqān lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2007), 290–292.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k 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), 265–270.
- ↑ a b c d e f Ḥafnī Nāṣif, Muḥammad Diyāb, Sultan Muḥammad and Muṣṭafā Ṭammām, Durūs al-Balāgha (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 2012), 114, ISBN 9786144162798.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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), 276–277.
- ↑ a b W. P. Heinrichs, ‘Rhetorical Figures’, in Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, ed. Julie Scott Meisami and Paul Starkey (London: Routledge, 1998), 659, ISBN 0415068088. DOI: 10.4324/9780203020425
- ↑ Hussein Abdul-Raof, Arabic Rhetoric: A Pragmatic Analysis (Oxford: Routledge, 2006), 247, ISBN 9780415386098. DOI: 10.4324/9780203965399
Page history
- 2026-02-11 - Migration to Semantic Device Identifiers: Renamed from CH-4: Affirmed Praise to PRAISE: Affirmed Praise.
- 2025-11-20 - Page incorporated into the Arabic Rhetorical Device Taxonomy (v0.1.1).
- 2024-04-22 - Page created: Affirmed Praise.
