Stylistic Analysis of the Supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali in both Grammatical and Rhetorical Layers

1. In Muslim communities, prayers and religious supplications are of significant importance; therefore, a literary view of such texts would reflect their unknown, yet exciting dimensions. The supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali is one of these prayers in which Imam Sajjad has applied the entire prominent points of the belief principles along with presenting an instruction of monotheism, justice, and resurrection according to the concepts of Quran. The entire contents of the prayer involve the sanctification of God Almighty, confession to sins, seeking forgiveness, blessings, and goodness in the world, as well as stating a number of attributes to God.
2. Theoretical Framework
Words and sentences reflect the person who has spoken or written them; albeit, everyone would choose a certain style and fashion which in turn, would determine the influence and beauty of his/her work. One of the important indicators of the style is the purposeful iteration and consistency of certain lingual behaviors in a work or some methods of thought expression employed by the speakers or authors in their utterances. The science of stylistics is the discipline that focuses on this subject; the aim of stylistic studies is to investigate literary texts as well as discovering and explaining their characteristics through the analysis of style-making elements including lingual and lexical structures of the work, ideas and emotions of the speaker, and the function of literary and rhetorical devices in order to indicate the personal style of the writer. Through a literary approach to text analysis, layered stylistics would divide the text into five layers including vocal, lexical, grammatical, rhetorical, and ideological, along with explaining the prominent features and effective characteristics in the emergence of a personal style.
The present study attempts to examine the supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali in both of its rhetorical and grammatical layers; “the grammatical and rhetorical layers are two aspects of language examination in stylistics; what is meant by the grammatical level is word association in which, the words are placed beside each other in a certain fashion, with strong verbal and semantic bonds among them. The investigation of the grammatical level would contribute to the discovery of lingual secrets, interpretation of the structural system of the text, the arrangement of words and sentences and understanding the relationships among them” (Shamisa, 1994, p. 156).
In the rhetorical layer, expressive arrays such as similes, metaphors, allusions, and exquisite arrays along with their functions and particular features (which are indicative of the writer’s style) are investigated.
In this prayer, Imam skillfully and creatively applies subjects such as the science of expression and pure Islamic and mystical thoughts and present them to the audience in the best possible way. In addition to gaining awareness of the instructions put forth by Imam in the language of the prayer, the reader would also understand the aesthetics of the prayer in terms of rhetorical and grammatical aspects. The present study strives to answer the following questions: What are the features of the style of Imam Sajjad in this prayer in terms of its grammatical layer? How did Imam incorporate subjects such as the science of expression in this prayer and what are the features of its rhetorical layers?
3. This study investigates the supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali in both of its grammatical and rhetorical layers using the descriptive-analytical method based upon layered stylistics.
4. The sentences in this prayer are tantamount, linked together by the word “and” which contributes to the dynamism of the text as well as its acceleration in forming an affectionate environment. These sentences are formed according to the common Arabic grammar, and the occasionally observed distances between the text and such grammatical principles have been due to an emphasis on presenting a certain meaning. There are numerous essay-like sentences in this prayer which are relative to the prayer’s fashion. Summons can be seen throughout the prayer and in some parts, it seems as if the speaker senses such a closeness to God that he utters the interjection “ای”, usually used as close interjection. The essay-like sentences were applied intentionally and elegantly, in a way that in one part of the prayer, the use of imperative verbs are avoided and the supplications are made through phrasing sentences.
By investigating and analyzing the rhetorical layer, one can see the elegance and punctiliousness of Imam Sajjad in his use of various rhetorical devices; the type of similes used in the context of Imam’s speech is “reasonable to sensible”. He uses metaphors and similes to explain abstract and mystical subjects and transfer them in a tangible, understandable way to the reader, using sensory illustration. Given the environment of the prayer as well as the requirements of speech, Imam uses the opposition device beautifully in order to show the evils of sinners against God and illustrate the confrontation of his attributes with the actions of humans which is very effective in terms of the spiritual musicality of speech, in addition to providing clarity in the transfer of meanings. To present a sensual illustration of meanings, offering facts alongside reason, or covering speech due to a moral, cultural necessity or a political obligation or pressure, allusions are used attractively.
5. The paranormal application of grammatical and rhetorical arrays have offered a unique charm to the prayer in which the sentences, analogies, metaphors, and allusions used by Imam are in line with his pure thought, ideologies, and sincere mysticism. The context of Imam’s speech throughout the prayer is literary and rhetorical. He has presented his views in the best possible frame which indicates his thorough perspective and profound thought toward the truth and nature of Godly rules and principles.