Early eloquence and the Qur'anic challenge (Pre-Islamic to 1st Century AH) Balāgha began as an informal literary practice rather than a formalized discipline. In
pre-Islamic Arabia, eloquence (
faṣāḥa) played a central role in poetic contests, such as those held at the marketplace of
ʿUkāẓ. Poets like
al-Nābigha al-Dhubyānī (d. 604 CE) are recorded as judges in these events, illustrating an early rhetorical culture. With the revelation of the
Qurʾān, Arab poets were reported to have attempted to match its linguistic style, though sources suggest that their efforts did not reproduce its characteristics. Scholars subsequently formulated the doctrine of
iʿjāz al-Qurʾān (
Qurʾanic inimitability) to explain the distinctive features of the Qurʾān's language and style.
Secretaries and philologists (2nd–3rd Centuries AH) With the institutionalization of the Islamic state, professional secretaries (
kuttāb) emerged who required eloquence for diplomatic and administrative writing. Works like
Ibn Qutaybah's Adab al-Kātib and al-Ḥamadhānī's
Al-Alfāẓ al-Kitābiyya provided guidance on literary style and composition for these purposes. In parallel,
philologists such as
Abu al-ʽAbbās Thaʽlab (
al-Faṣīḥ) and
Ibn al-Sikkīt (
Iṣlāḥ al-Mantiq) cataloged proper usage and stylistic norms, motivated in part by the linguistic Arabization of non-Arab Muslim populations. Simultaneously,
Abū ʿUthmān al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 869), a pioneering
Mu'tazilite writer, composed
al-Bayān wa al-Tabyīn, an early treatise on expressive language, eloquence, and speech psychology.
Systematization and classical codification (5th–7th Centuries AH) Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī (d. 1078) is widely considered the founder of classical balāgha. He established a comprehensive theory of rhetorical effectiveness centered on the concept of
naẓm, which concerns the intricate relationship between syntactic structures and semantic meaning. His two major works,
Dalāʾil al-Iʿjāz (Proofs of Inimitability), which focuses on semantic structures, and
Asrār al-Balāgha (Secrets of Eloquence), which explores imagery and figurative speech, laid the theoretical groundwork for the field. The application of these rhetorical principles to Qur'anic exegesis was advanced by
Al-Zamakhsharī (d. 1144), a Mu'tazilite scholar. His commentary,
al-Kashshāf, was the first to place rhetorical analysis at the heart of interpreting the Qur'anic text. He also authored
Asās al-Balāgha, a thesaurus and dictionary dedicated to figurative expressions. While his theological views were controversial, his linguistic and rhetorical insights have been consistently acknowledged for their significant contribution to the study of the Quran's unique eloquence. The formal codification of balāgha into its now-standard tripartite structure was achieved by
Al-Sakkākī (d. 1229) in his encyclopedic work,
Miftāḥ al-ʿUlūm (The Key to the Sciences). He organized the science into the three core disciplines of ʿilm al-maʿānī (the study of semantic structures), ʿilm al-bayān (the study of figurative speech), and ʿilm al-badīʿ (the study of rhetorical embellishments). This comprehensive framework proved highly influential for subsequent generations of scholars. Finally,
Jalāl al-Din al-Qazwīnī (d. 1338) played a crucial role in consolidating and disseminating this knowledge. He produced an abridgement of al-Sakkākī's work entitled
Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ (The Summary of the Key), which he later explained in his own commentary,
al-ʾĪḍāḥ fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha (The Clarification of the Sciences of Rhetoric). These two texts became central in madrasah curricula, especially in the post-classical period. Al-Qazwīnī is thus credited with creating the structured and accessible framework that served as the standard reference for the study and teaching of balāgha throughout the post-classical period and beyond. •
Al-Sharīf al-Jurjānī (d. 1413) further developed this tradition with his super-commentaries (
ḥawāshī), offering deeper critical engagement with al-Taftāzānī's interpretations and helping cement the scholastic framework of balāgha. Through these efforts, the classical tradition of balagha was effectively codified, ensuring its transmission as a central component of advanced Islamic education.
Modern revival Ali al-Jarim, an
Azhar-trained scholar and later
Dean of
Cairo University, together with the
Egyptian educator Mustafa Amin, authored
al-Balagha al-Wadiha, a textbook designed to simplify the study of balagha. By omitting complex debates rooted in
philosophy and
logic and carefully selecting the most essential topics, they made the subject more accessible. The work achieved wide success, was reprinted many times, and remains a standard textbook in high schools across the
Middle East as well as in introductory courses for non-Arab students in seminaries. Mohamed Abu Musa is considered as one of the most prominent scholars of Arabic rhetoric in the modern era, and a figure in the contemporary revival movement of classical Arabic rhetoric. Abu Musa dedicated his life to reestablishing the connection between modern Arabic education and the rhetorical traditions established by such exceptional scholars as Abd al-Qahir Al-Jurjani. His writings stem from a vision posting that rhetoric is an essential lens through which the linguistic miraculousness of the holy Quran can be perceived with true accuracy and depth. Abu Musa directed particular criticism toward the manner in which Arabic grammar and rhetoric have come to be taught in modern educational institutions, for these disciplines have been reduced to mere abstract technical systems, rather than being presented as living frameworks for meaning and perception. He believed that this pedagogical failure had left an entire generation incapable of engaging in an authentic and an important manner with classical Arabic texts. He stated: “What is more important is that this generation, whose condition requires from us greater effort, and whose mistake is evident, is asking of us that it learn grammar and rhetoric in the language of past ages. Yet we have realized that we are on the verge of losing it, and that the direction behind it lies in overlooking the perceptible shades and failing to observe what Islam has manifested within it.”(Abu Musa, 1996, p. 19) •
Ibn ʿĀshūr's tafsir entitled
al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr is a landmark Qur'anic commentary focused on rhetorical structure. •
Hamīd al-Dīn Farāhī and Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī developed theories of Qur'anic coherence (naẓm), continued in English by Raymond Farrin and others. ==Subfields==