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IFIS&IZ al-Ghazzali Academy continues fourth academic year with the book al-Farīda

The IFIS&IZ al-Ghazzali Academy and the sponsor KUDEM are pleased to announce that the students have started with the book al-Farīda. The students of the ‘Classical-Islamic Madrasa Studies from an Academic Perspective in the European Context’ are now in the second semester of the fourth academic year pursuing their studies with the same great passion and determination as on day one.

The sources provide little information about Abū al-Qāsim as-Samarqandī (d. after 888/1483) who is the author of the book al-Farīda, or also known as ar-Risāla as-Samarqandiyya. al-Farīda is an essential book of Arabic Rhetoric (balāgha) and deals with one of its branches the Arabic eloquence in speech (ʿilm al-bayān). as-Samarqandī’s work includes the arts of articulation, the methods, and its rules.

The book al-Farīda is a concise text and gives insights about the crucial topics of the Arabic eloquence in speech and the art of metaphor (istiʿāra) from various perspectives. The book became an indispensable source in the curriculum of the traditional madrasa education. Abū al-Qāsim as-Samarqandī critical reflects the work of the previous scholars in the sciences of metaphor as too complicated and too detail-oriented. The book al-Farīda is a result of as-Samarqandī’s critique and a reference in its branch, including the essential knowledge of metaphor. More than 30 commentaries (sharḥ) have been composed about al-Farīda, of which some has been subjected to further glosses (ḥāshiya). The book is grouped into three chapters, called “ʿiqd” which means “necklace”, which contains “farīda” meaning “diamond” dealing with fifteen topics of the arts of metaphor.

We pray to Allāh the All-Knowing, to help us grasp the subtleties within this book, and we ask Him to aid us to understand the Qur’ān and the Sunnah correctly. Āmīn!

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