The basis of rhetoric

Translation

The Basis of Rhetoric is a book written by Abu Al-Qasim Mahmoud bin Amr bin Ahmed, Al-Zamakhshari (deceased: 538 AH). The book is considered one of the most important ancient linguistic dictionaries concerned with Arabic words and their rhetoric. The work mentioned linguistic metaphors, literary features, and expressions of rhetoricians, and arranged the book’s materials in alphabetical order according to the letters of the dictionary. The way the author presents the book is that he explains the word in Arabic, supplementing the explanation with the Qur’an and the Prophet’s hadiths, and with Arabic poetry and proverbs, and then mentions the metaphorical uses of the explained word.