A Study of the Textual Potentialities of Maqamat al- Hariri in its Manuscript's Illustrations

Certain Arabic classical manuscripts were accompanied by illustrations to contribute to more objectively representing them. To do so، illustrators، by taking advantage of the pictorial potentialities of literary manuscripts، attempted to depict them in a more concrete manner. As such potentialities vary، the aforementioned manner (s) would differ، accordingly. The present paper makes an analogy between the narrative elements of Maqamat al- Hariri and the technical features of the illustrations. Our main question is thus، whether Maqama، with its peculiar stylistic features، calls for a specific type of illustration، and، further، how these features could influence the type of the illustrations. In answering the question، having made the analogy، we come to two major categories in the illustrations: 1. similar drawings for different maqamas 2. Dissimilar drawings for different maqamas. The result of the research reveals a peculiar style of illustration in Maqamat al- Hariri which can be introduced as the genre''s pattern of depiction.