AL-’ISTICA:RAT AL-TAMTHI:LIYYAT METAPHOR IN THE AHADITH OF RASULULLAH S.A.W

The Ahadith of Rasulullah s.a.w are jawamic al-kalim that possess special and distinct language features. Scholars since the classical time have paid great attention to balaghah al-hadith {Hadith rhetoric). However, a specific study on balaghah al-hadith was only found after the publication of the book al-Majazat al-Nabawiyyah by al-Sharif al-Radiyy (359 – 406H). He collected as many as 360 Ahadith of the Prophet s.a.w in his book while explaining the features of al-Isticarah as well as the beauty of the language and the uniqueness and fineness of its literature. Besides this book, the discussion about balaghah al-hadith can also be found in the book al-Fa’iq Fi Gharib al-Hadith by al-Zamakhshariyy and Hadith commentary books like cUmdah al-Qari by Imam Badruddin al-cAyni. Based on the study, the author finds that researches that had been done for Master’s and Ph.D. studies at Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia dan Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia mainly concentrated on balaghah al-Qur’an and only very few that touched on balaghah al-hadith. Looking at this situation, this study attempts to analyze al-’Istica:rat al-Tamthi:liyyat in several selected Ahadith from the book Riyad al-Salihin. One of the objectives of the analysis is to see more closely the uniqueness of al-’Istica:rat al-Tamthi:liyyat in the Ahadith of Rasulullah s.a.w. and its effectiveness in delivering the meaning and message to the audience. The findings from this research will hopefully be able to contribute to the development and lead to a greater appreciation of the knowledge of Hadith as well as Arabic rhetoric in Malaysia.