The aesthetics of rhetorical purposes in "The Lizard Letter" by the Elegant Man of Letters, Muhammad al-Bashir al-Ibrahimi

Abstract

This scholarly paper aims to address and study the linguistic heritage left by the leading masters and scholars of Algeria through a contemporary reading. In it, we focus on and seek to benefit from the impact produced in the recipient’s mind by the rhetorical issues embedded in the masterpieces of classical compilations and writings. This can only be achieved by shedding light on one of its arts and forms: "the epistles", which disclosed their efforts and clarified their interest and engagement with this kind of rhetorical study namely, the “letter/epistle.” Al-Jāḥiẓ held the foremost place in classifying and producing it, for it is a noble discipline that enjoyed sanctity and veneration due to its connection with the Noble Qur’an and what it indicates of the enchantment of craftsmanship and the secret of eloquence. Accordingly, we will attempt to uncover the production of a heritage literary text that carried weight in establishing and employing the features of rhetorical study, represented in the epistle “the lizard” by the shaykh, man of letters and refined stylist Muḥammad al-Bashīr al-Ibrāhīmī, who in doing so followed the path of the ancients in the strength of their expression, their foundational formulations,,,