The concept of Albayān and its functions according to Al-Djāḥiẓ

Abstract

Al-Djāḥiẓ's writings are generally characterized by an encyclopaedic image that reflects a comprehensiveness of the news and the culture imposed by his era. However, from another perspective, the reader of some of his books can discover in them some cognitive concepts that rise to the level of being a science in itself. The most prominent of these topics is the topic of rhetoric, and among them is also the concept of “Albayān” (rhetoric). Therefore, in this article, we seek to highlight Al-Djāḥiẓ 's concept of rhetoric in the early uses of this term. Then we seek to explain its characteristics, which are: Alfaṣāha "eloquence" and fluency of the tongue, rhetoric, organization and composition, brevity and allusion. We then highlight the persuasive argumentative concept of rhetoric through its functions, which are understanding and making others understand, persuasion and influence. In our reading of Al-Djāḥiẓ's texts, we rely on interrogating them sometimes, but to the extent that they can bear, with some references to previous studies.