التّكثيف الإقناعي في وصيّة لسان الدين بن الخطيب

Abstract

This research examines the concept of persuasive intensification in Lisān al-Dīn ibn al-Khaṭīb’s will to his children by looking into the persuasive mechanisms and strategies that proliferated on the surface of the will’s structure. These persuasive mechanisms and strategies form the basis of the aesthetic technique that al-Khaṭīb adopted throughout his will, further creating a vertically-deepened text which comprises his internal secrets, manifestations of his historical and psychological status, and the conditions of his will’s recipients. Through this, al-Khaṭīb was able to influence his will’s recipients and entice them according to the goals and objectives he proposed in his will. Additionally, al-Khaṭīb used a brilliant selection of expressions and types of rhetoric, including figurative speech, allegory, metaphor, and metonymy, to demonstrate his skills in semantics and strengthen his esteemed status as well as that of his recipients. al-Khaṭīb also derived evidentiary power from incorporating modular semantic evidence as well as supportive sayings and syllogism to build up his persuasive text and induce an effect that is carefully positioned through the sentences and structures of his pragmatic commandments. Therefore, al-Khaṭīb’s will highlights his personality as a preacher, father, leader, and guide who can persuade others using an elegant literary style that displays his immense knowledge in aesthetics, literature, and politics.