PROVERB: Proverbialisation

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    إرسال المثل / الكلام الجامع
    PROVERB: Proverbialisation
    CategoryLinguistic Embellishments (‘ilm al-badī‘)
    SubcategoryArgumentation & Illustrative Persuasion
    Built upon3 sources
      
    Annotation Unit
    ARDT CodePROVERB
    Level1
     Has 2 Level2 subunits
      
    Included in Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.1
    v0.1.0
      
    External Identifiers
    BALAGHAScoreCE-3
    BalaghaBaseQ104
    OpenAlexW4415376916
      
    Cite this page
    🔗 Live DOI10.64393/balagha.Q104
     
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    Definition

    Proverbialisation (irsāl al-mathal / al-kalām al-jāmiʿ) is an Arabic rhetorical device in which the communicator produces, within a larger discourse, a formulation capable of functioning as a circulating proverb or maxim, such as a statement of wisdom, characterization, admonition, or another generalisable expression suitable for application in comparable situations.[1][2][3]

    This device concerns the production of a formulation of sufficient generality and self-containment to function proverbially beyond its immediate context. It is therefore primarily a compositional device rather than an intertextual one. The act of subsequently citing such a formulation — once it has passed into proverbial circulation — falls under Allusion when the source is evoked without its wording, or Poetic Incorporation when poetic wording is carried over.

    Linguistic Operations

    • The communicator produces within a larger discourse a self-contained formulation whose meaning and wording allow it to function proverbially beyond its immediate context.[1][2][3]
    • In Nāṣif et al.’s poetic classification, irsāl al-mathal may designate a proverbial unit consisting of part of a verse.[1]
    • In the same poetic classification, al-kalām al-jāmiʿ designates a complete verse that functions as the proverbial unit.[1] ʿAkkāwī likewise records al-kalām al-jāmiʿ for verse that runs in the manner of proverbs (tajrī majrā al-mathal).[2]
    • ʿAkkāwī (1996) records Ibn Ḥijja al-Ḥamawī’s definition as a verse containing wisdom, admonition, or general truth that takes on proverbial circulation.[2]

    Recognition

    Proverbialisation may be present when:

    • A formulation within a larger discourse expresses wisdom, characterization, admonition, warning, general truth, or another meaning in a form suitable for application in comparable situations.[1][2][3]
    • The formulation is sufficiently self-contained and generalisable to function beyond its immediate context in the manner of a proverb or maxim.[1][2][3]
    • The formulation is capable of running in the manner of proverbial speech (tajrī majrā al-mathal).[2][3]
    • In poetry, the proverbial unit may comprise either part of a verse or a complete verse, according to the classifications recorded by Nāṣif et al.[1]

    Diagnostic Communicative Enhancements

    • Proverbial authority: Because the utterance is framed as a maxim or general truth, it acquires an air of wisdom that exceeds its immediate discursive occasion. A particular judgement is elevated into a generalisable principle.
    • Semantic portability: The device compresses meaning into a form capable of functioning across multiple contexts. This portability gives the utterance rhetorical durability and makes it available for reuse beyond its original setting.
    • Proverbial closure: When a statement culminates in a proverb-like unit, it performs an epistemic shift — moving the audience from contingent circumstance to universal principle — giving the impression that the matter has been settled at the level of wisdom rather than argument.
    • Detachable completeness (Type 1: irsāl al-mathal): When only part of the verse functions proverbially, that segment achieves rhetorical independence from the larger poetic structure, foregrounding economy and concentration of expression.
    • Collective ownership (Type 2: al-kalām al-jāmiʿ): When a complete verse achieves proverbial status, it becomes detached from its specific poetic occasion entirely, inviting audiences to receive it as shared wisdom rather than the utterance of a particular poet in a particular circumstance.

    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.

    Types of Proverbialisation

    In their treatment of poetic examples, Nāṣif et al. (2012) distinguish two forms according to the extent of the verse occupied by the proverbial unit:[1]

    Al-Nābulusī also gives examples under the broader heading irsāl al-mathal without assigning them to this poetic part-versus-whole distinction.[3]

    مَنْ يَهُنْ يَسْهُلِ الْهَوَانُ عَلَيْهِ     مَا لِجُرْحٍ بِمَيِّتٍ إِيلَامُ

    Whoever is abased finds abasement easy; / a wound causes no pain to the dead.

    Explanation
    Al-Nābulusī cites this verse by al-Mutanabbī as an example of irsāl al-mathal. Its formulation expresses a generalisable judgement capable of application beyond the immediate poetic context, thereby running in the manner of a proverb or maxim.[3]

    PROVERB-PF: Proverbial Fragment (irsāl al-mathal)

    A part of a verse functioning proverbially. Nāṣif et al. (2012) use irsāl al-mathal for this poetic form while also employing it as the heading for the broader discussion.[1] Al-Nābulusī, as presented by Cachia (1998), likewise uses irsāl al-mathal as the general device label without restricting its definition to part of a verse.[3]

    لَيْسَ التَّكَحُّلُ فِي الْعَيْنَيْنِ كَالْكَحَلِ

    Applying kohl to the eyes is not the same as naturally dark-rimmed eyes.

    Explanation
    This is cited by Nāṣif et al. (2012) as an example of a partial verse functioning proverbially.[1]

    مَنْ يَزْرَعِ الْخَيْرَ يَحْصُدْ مَحَبَّةَ النَّاسِ     وَمَنْ يَبْذُلِ الْمَعْرُوفَ يَلْقَ ثَنَاءً دَائِمَا

    Whoever sows goodness reaps the love of people, / and whoever gives generously will find lasting praise.

    Explanation
    A constructed verse in which the first hemistich functions as a detachable proverbial saying expressing a generalised moral truth, while the second hemistich completes the verse. The first hemistich illustrates the mechanism of irsāl al-mathal, where part of a verse forms a detachable unit capable of functioning proverbially beyond its immediate context.[1]

    PROVERB-CS: Comprehensive Saying (al-kalām al-jāmiʿ)

    A complete verse functioning proverbially and running in the manner of proverbs. Nāṣif et al. (2012) contrast this poetic form with a proverbial unit occupying only part of a verse, while ʿAkkāwī (1996) records al-kalām al-jāmiʿ as a device label in its own right.[1][2]

    إِذَا جَاءَ مُوسَى وَأَلْقَى الْعَصَا     فَقَدْ بَطَلَ السِّحْرُ وَالسَّاحِرُ

    When Moses came and cast down the staff, the magic and the magician were undone.

    Explanation
    Cited by Nāṣif et al. (2012) as an example of a complete proverbial verse.[1]

    جَمْعُ الْكَلَامِ إِذَا لَمْ تُغْنِ حِكْمَتُهُ     وُجُودُهُ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الذَّوْقِ كَالْعَدَمِ

    Speech, if its wisdom does not avail, is as nothing to people of taste.

    Explanation
    Recorded by ʿAkkāwī (1996) as an illustrative example cited by Ibn Ḥijja al-Ḥamawī for al-kalām al-jāmiʿ, showing a complete verse functioning as a general maxim.[2]

    إِذَا كَانَتِ النُّفُوسُ كِبَارًا     تَعِبَتْ فِي مُرَادِهَا الْأَجْسَامُ

    When souls are great, bodies grow weary in pursuing their aims.

    Explanation
    Cited by ʿAkkāwī (1996) and attributed to al-Mutanabbī as an example of a complete verse functioning as a general proverbial maxim.[2]

    إِذَا ضَاقَتِ الدُّنْيَا بِأَهْلِ الْعَزِيمَةِ     فَتَحَتْ لَهُمُ الْهِمَّةُ أَبْوَابَ الْمُسْتَحِيلِ

    When the world grows narrow for those of firm resolve, / their ambition opens for them the doors of the impossible.

    Explanation
    A complete verse functioning as a general maxim applicable beyond any single context — illustrating al-kalām al-jāmiʿ, where the whole verse runs in the manner of proverbs (tajrī majrā al-mathal).

    References

    1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ḥafnī Nāṣif, Muḥammad Diyāb, Sultan Muḥammad and Muṣṭafā Ṭammām, Durūs al-Balāgha (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 2012), 112, ISBN 9786144162798.
    2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j 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), 627-628.
    3. ↑ a b c d e f g h 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. 97; §133, ISBN 9783447040327.



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