Master’s Thesis Discusses Artistic Imagery in the Book “Al-Afdhaliyat” by Ali ibn Manjub al-Sayrafi (d. 542)
On Wednesday morning, March 13, 2024, a master’s thesis was discussed in the Department of Arabic Language, College of Education for Humanities, University of Karbala.The thesis, entitled “Artistic Imagery in the Book (Al-Afdhaliyat) by Ali ibn Manjub al-Sayrafi (d. 542),” was presented by the student Osama Salem Hamza Jabbar. The thesis was supervised by Assistant Professor Dr. Falah Abdul Ali Sarkal.
The thesis consisted of three chapters preceded by an introduction. The introduction included a brief biography of the author of the book Al-Afdhaliyat and the term “artistic image.” The first chapter, entitled “Sources of Artistic Imagery,” consisted of four sections. The second chapter, entitled “Means and Types of Artistic Imagery,” consisted of three sections preceded by an introduction. The study concluded with the third chapter, entitled “The Poetic Language of the Artistic Image,” which consisted of three sections.
The importance of the study is that it sheds light on one of the works of the poet and writer Ali ibn Manjub, known as Ibn al-Sayrafi (d. 542 AH).** He was one of the leading Egyptian writers in the second Fatimid era, during the reign of the Fatimid caliph Ahmad al-Musta’li and the vizier al-Afḍal Shahanshah. The book is a collection of literary letters from the poet to the vizier al-Afḍal, hence the name al-Afdhaliyat. It is rich in poetic and prose texts, thanks to the poet’s selection of rich texts from other poets and writers.
The study reached several conclusions, the most important of which are:
* The book Al-Afdhaliyat is characterized by the abundance of poetic evidence, which in turn is characterized by the abundance of evidence in the study, which included sources, means and types of imagery, and intensive poetic language and innovative styles.
* The book Al-Afdhaliyat also included all sensory images, which had a unique beauty and splendor in their selection. They were either singular, such as visual and auditory images, or combined, such as the correspondence of the senses.
**After a thorough scientific discussion by the scientific committee for the discussion, headed by Professor Dr. Harbi Naim Muhammad, the thesis was approved and the student was awarded a master’s degree in literature.
**The Dean of the College, Professor Dr. Sabah Wajid Ali, and the Assistant Dean for Administrative Affairs, Assistant Professor Dr. Salah Majeed al-Saadi, attended part of the scientific debate.
