RHETORICAL INTERROGATION: (A CASE STUDY OF THE DIWAN OF THE HUDHAYL TRIBE)

الاستفهام البلاغي (ديوان الهذليين أنموذجًا)

Abstract

This study examines one of the rhetorical devices discussed in classical Arabic linguistic literature: the interrogative style, which is renowned for its powerful rhetorical impact. The research explores how early Arab linguists presented this style—often dispersed throughout their works and not treated as an independent topic—particularly in their analyses of Umayyad speeches, which were marked by a rich variety of rhetorical techniques, including interrogation. This necessitated collecting and classifying the scattered material, and investigating whether classical scholars had ever devoted a separate chapter to it. The study affirms the significance of this style in reinforcing meaning and shifting it from its literal sense to various figurative rhetorical purposes that can be inferred from context, as indicated—explicitly or implicitly—by rhetoricians, linguists, and exegetes, supported by illustrative examples.