Abstract

In Arabic, hurūf al-ma'ānī (meaning letters) are of the most remarkable factors making the words make sense. One of these letters is harf al-jarr ba. Actually, it is seen that similar studies were conducted for this letter. It has been analysed under the hurūf al-jarr chapters in naḥw/syntax books, in separate works addressing meaning letters and in original studies related to hurūf al-jarr. Additionally, it was specifically scrutinized from various aspects in an original way. While some gave place to the forms it was used in certain surahs of Qur’an, others analysed it in terms of certain meanings it conveyed. However, there are few studies applying the meaning letters and presenting poetry examples from the j̲āhilīyyah poems, which are extremely important in Arabic language and a type of Classical Arabic texts. This study addresses the ba preposition, used with many meanings and functions, about which there were no original studies on the basis of j̲āhilīyyah poetry which has been exemplified in almost all of the works written in the period beginning from the earliest times of Arabic language and literature to this time. This study analyses the place and style of use for the letter ba in muʿallaqāt poems written in j̲āhilīyyah. The aim of this study is to find answers for questions such as: “Being used in poems, which meaning is conveyed more often with ba? In which muʿallaqāt poem was it used more? Are there any poems in which it is used with its literal and figurative meanings simultaneously? Do the poems include all of the meanings this letter adds to expressions like in the classical texts?”. Consisting of two chapters, this study presents brief information regarding the general characteristics of the muʿallaqāt poems and their poets in the first chapter. In the second chapter, the forms this letter is used in poetry are presented. Since it influences meaning, the grammatical aspect of the ba preposition is also analysed when necessary. While this preposition used in poetry is examined, by considering the elucidation of the couplets it was used, the holistic text in which the couplet appeared and the grammatical aspect of this letter, we tried to make a conclusion. In the preliminary analysis about the subject, it was considered that harf al-jarr ba taking place in all muʿallaqāt poems was used with various meanings. In the muʿallaqāt poems, the most common meaning which harf al-jarr ba conveys is as adverb of place. It is thought that, this stems from the names of places which are frequently seen in muʿallaḳāt poems and for the expression style of harf al-jarr ba. The real meaning with which this letter is used is addition. Being used with numerous figurative meanings, this preposition is seen to reflect its literal meaning as well as these ones. For this reason, it can be understood how a meaning letter can be used both in its literal meaning and the secondary/figurative meaning. It is understood that harf al-jarr ba was used for a total of two hundred and forty-three times in muʿallaḳāt poems with its various meanings. With its many meanings, this letter was used with thirteen different meanings in muʿallaqāt poems with meanings such as addition, causative, referencing, giving reason, conversation, adverb, valuing, reciprocation, responding, escalation, indefinite, oath and reduplication. The muʿallaqā in which harf al-jarr ba was used the most is that of Ṭarafa b. al-Abd’s.