Khuṭba: The Evolution of Early Arabic Oration (original) (raw)

We know of no orations (khuÔbas) except by the Arabs and Persians. As for the Indians, they have inscribed themes, ageless books, that cannot be ascribed to any known man … The Greeks have philosophy and the craft of logic, but the author of the Logic [Aristotle] himself … was not described as eloquent … The Persians have orators, except that the speech of the ÝAjam … derives from long contemplation and … the studying of books … [As for] the [speech] of the Arabs it is all extemporaneity and spontaneity, as though it is [simply] inspiration … (al-JÁÎiÛ, d. 255/868 or 9, al-BayÁn wa-l-tabyÐn) 1 17 A less common plural form is makhÁÔib, which is also said to be a plural of makhÔab, a noun of place, meaning the place where the khuÔba is delivered. KHUÓBA 181 ceremonial occasion such as a public celebration." 18 It subsumes meanings conveyed by multiple English terms-exhortation, admonition, discourse, sermon, homily, debate, and speech-which also express the wide range of applications of the khuÔba. The definition of the term khuÔba by E.W. Lane, based on the medieval lexica, includes the umbrella category of "oration," as well as the subcategories mentioned in the OED. 19 All these applications of khuÔba (and several others, such as the proposing of marriage), are associated with the underlying denotation of "direct address" of the root kh-Ô-b. The scribe and critic IsÎÁq b. IbrÁhÐm al-KÁtib (wrote in or after 335/946 or 7) as well as the famed lexicographer Ibn ManÛÙr (d. 711/1311) offer an alternative derivation from "khaÔb," which means "an important event" or "a calamity," saying the khuÔba was thus named because the Arabs only delivered it on momentous or catastrophic occasions. 20 The morphological classifications of the relevant derivatives of kh-Ô-b are as follows: The form I verb "khaÔaba" (with a fatÎa on the 2 nd root letter), according to the medieval lexicographers, means to deliver an oration, while "khaÔuba" (with a Ãamma on the 2 nd root letter), means to become a preacher. To indicate the orator, the intensive noun form (ism al-mubÁlagha) "khaÔÐb" (pl. khuÔabÁÞ) is generally used in place of the active participle form (ism al-fÁÝil) "khÁÔib." However, the intensive sense of khaÔÐb is not completely lost, for the term is also used to connote a superb orator or a professional preacher. The word "khuÔba" is most commonly categorized as a form I verbal noun (maÒdar). Alternatively, it is categorized as a substantive used as a maÒdar or passive participle (ism al-mafÝÙl) equivalent to makhÔÙba. 21 18 The OED also offers two other specialized meanings of the word "oration:" a derogatory usage, denoting "any impassioned, pompous, or long-winded speech;" and, in the 15 th -19 th centuries, "a prayer or supplication to God," derived from the Latin etymon orare = to pray; this latter usage is now rare, and confined chiefly to the Roman Catholic Church. 19 Lane 1863, kh-Ô-b. Lane leaves out the OED's (internet site) oration subcategory of debate; but, as we shall see in Section IV, this was a valid subtype of the khuÔba. 20 IsÎÁq b. IbrÁhÐm al-KÁtib (d. after 335/946), al-BurhÁn fÐ wujÙh al-bayÁn, 192; Ibn ManÛÙr, LisÁn al-Ýarab. 21 Lane 1863 says it is "a word of the measure fuÝla in the sense of the measure mafÝÙla, like nuskha in the sense of mansÙkha." TAHERA QUTBUDDIN 182