©2020 International Journal of West Asian Studies 12: 36-60 36 [METHODOLOGY OF ARABIC RHETORIC IN MALAY SCHOLARSHIP TRADITION: THEORY OF ‘ALAQAT AL-MAJAZ AL-MURSAL THROUGH THE RARE NOTES OF AHMAD AL-FATANI] KAEDAH RETORIKA ARAB DALAM TRADISI KEILMUAN MELAYU: TEORI ‘ALAQAT AL-MAJAZ AL-MURSAL MENERUSI CATATAN NADIR AHMAD AL-FATANI Amer Hudhaifah Hamzah amerukun@gmail.com (Corresponding Author) Faculty of Language and Linguistic, University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract Since the late of 19 th century, the writings of Ahmad al-Fatani has shown variances of significant theories that indicate the triumph of Malays in many of Islamic fields. Through this scholar, discussions on al-majaz al-mufrad are flourishing as seen through his small writing work entitled Nazm ‘Alaqat al-Majaz. This rare manuscript which is believed as his own handwriting masterpiece is kept as one of the collections in Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia with its identification code IAMM 1998.1.216. The uniqueness of this account motivates the researcher to conduct a study of tahqiq (verifying) and its contents that has rare opinions of al-Bayan scholars through 25 ‘Alaqat al-Majaz al-Mursal. This study applied the theory of Tahqiq al-Munajjad (1998) with adjustment based on Western Philology. The method of maintaining a single manuscript in standard edition is important to adapt the theory of al-Munajjid to the actual condition of the Nazm text. The outcome shows that the polemic on the numbers of ‘ alaqat al-majaz al-mursal is no longer exist among his contemporary scholars. However, the existence of two pages of nazm ‘alaqat al-majaz proves the credibility of Ahmad al-Fatani for his bravery in re-highlighting this issue as intellect property that should be preserved. Through the writings of Nazm, Ahmad al-Fatani completed the discussions of his writing piece, Risalat al-Isti‘arat when he explained the rest of 19 ‘alaqat which were not stated such as (1) al-aliyyah, (2) al-mujawarah, (3) al-awl, (4) al-lazimiyyah, (5) al-malzumiyyah, (6) al- ‘umum and (7) al-khusus. The analysis indicated the clear relationship between the writings of al- Baydawi (among the jurists), al-Qazwini and al-Sabban as the influence is evident in the theory of Ahmad al-Fatani. This is particularly due to his background of study in Cairo, Egypt from 1868 until 1879. Keywords: Arabic rhetoric, discipline of al-Bayan, tahqiq of manuscript, of ‘Alaqat al-Majaz al- Mursal, Ahmad al-Fatani Abstrak Hasil tulisan Ahmad al-Fatani, pada penghujung abad ke-19, sehingga kini tidak pernah lekang dari menyajikan pelbagai gagasan teori yang secara signifikan menunjukkan kemajuan bangsa Melayu dalam pelbagai bidang Islam. Melalui beliau, perbahasan al-majaz al-mufrad berkembang pesat, seperti dapat dilihat menerusi karya kecilnya yang berjudul Nazm ‘Alaqat al-Majaz. Manuskrip nadir yang diyakini merupakan hasil tangan asli beliau ini masih tersimpan dalam koleksi Muzium Kesenian Islam Malaysia dengan kod pengenalan IAMM 1998.1.216. Keunikan catatan ini mendorong agar dijalankan sebuah kajian tahqiq, di samping penelitian isi kandungannya yang menyimpan pendapat ganjil ulama al-bayan menerusi 25 ‘alaqat al-majaz al-mursal. Kajian mengaplikasikan teori Tahqiq al-Munajjid (1987) dengan pengubahsuaian berdasarkan kaedah Filologi Barat. Metode penyelenggaraan Naskhah Tunggal edisi standar penting bagi menyesuaikan teori al-Munajjid dengan dengan kondisi sebenar teks Nazm. Hasilnya, polemik mengenai bilangan ‘alaqat al-majaz al-mursal sudah tidak lagi timbul dalam kalangan tokoh sezaman. Tetapi kewujudan dua halaman karya Nazm ‘Alaqat al-Majaz membuktikan keunggulan Ahmad al-Fatani kerana berani mengetengahkan semula topik itu sebagai harta intelek yang wajar