A Contrastive Analysis of Selected Contemporary Arabic and English Panegyrics to Imam Reza (A.S.) from Thematic and Rhetorical Perspectives

Arab Yousefabadi, Abdulbasit; Fatollahi, Moslem

doi:10.22034/ijs.2025.501887.1328

A Contrastive Analysis of Selected Contemporary Arabic and English Panegyrics to Imam Reza (A.S.) from Thematic and Rhetorical Perspectives

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Abdulbasit Arab Yousefabadi ¹

Moslem fatollahi ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of English Language, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.

10.22034/ijs.2025.501887.1328

Abstract

The panegyric (madīḥah) is considered one of the most influential literary genres in religious mourning rituals and devotional praise. Given the significance of religious panegyrics and elegies, extensive research has been conducted on the thematic and rhetorical dimensions of such works in Arabic and Persian literature. However, English poems composed in praise of the Eighth Shi'i Imam (A.S.)have hitherto remained unexamined and unanalyzed. The aim of the present study is a comparative analysis of the themes and figures of speech in contemporary panegyrics to Imam Reza (A.S.)in Arabic and English. This research was conducted using a qualitative approach and a library-based method, with its statistical population comprising Arabic and English poems in praise of Imam Reza (A.S.), selected through purposive sampling from compositions of the last two decades. The findings revealed that the two poetic traditions share common themes such as the Imam's oppression and the tyranny of al-Maʾmūn, the nobility of his lineage, the ardent desire for pilgrimage, and the seeking of intercession (shafāʿah). However, Arabic poetry proves richer and more detailed in representing the Imam's moral and scholarly virtues. Rhetorically, both traditions rely heavily on semantic figures of speech, with the notable difference that English poetry employs modern techniques such as paradox and synaesthesia. Overall, Arabic poetry, drawing upon narrative sources, presents a historical and documented image of the Imam (A.S.), while English poetry, through abstract and universal language, re-presents the same themes for an audience beyond the boundaries of Shi'ism.

Keywords

Panegyrics to Imam Reza (A.S.)

Themes

Figures of Speech

Arabic Poetry

English Poetry

Subjects

Imam Reza (AS) and Contemporary Science

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