رِوَايَات الاَصْمَعِيَّ عَنْ فَصَاحَةِ الاَعَرَابِ: دراسة نقدية في معقوليتها ومرْجِعِيْاتُتها الحِجَاجِيّةُ

Al-Asmai narratives : a critical study in authenticity and referentiality

This paper deals with the phenomenon of Al-Asmaʿi’s narratives through a contextual method that explores his referentiality in the many narratives that are attributed to him and which are scattered in hundreds of references. Some of these narratives appear to be false from an initial examination because of many unreasonable repetitions. The so-called “eloquence” of the Bedouins, which are attributed to Al-Asmaʿi, were used to refute the arguments of the Populists—the Persians who believed that the Arabs are not preferred over other nations and nationalities. Many of these narratives are to be weak to be accepted or they seem to be made to suit a particular context.The paper reaches the conclusion that Al- Asmaʿi favored the narratives that support his conception of eloquence; even the jokes and anecdotes that he narrates are the ones that conform to his criteria of eloquence.