The relationship between logic and rhetoric conceptions and al-balāgha in the Islamic intellectual tradition; the case of al-Sakkākī

This thesis examines the relationship between the Aristotelian conception of rhetoric, as it developed within the Islamic logical tradition, and Arabic rhetoric (balāgha), within the framework of al-Sakkākī's conception of rhetoric as presented in his Miftāḥ al-ʿUlūm. To this end, the relationship of philosophy, logic, and rhetoric to truth in Ancient Greek civilization has been explored. Accordingly, the theoretical foundations of rhetoric have been analyzed with reference to their conceptual and methodological bases. Within this context, Aristotle's position in Greek literature has been studied in its historical dimensions, and his original contributions to rhetoric have been identified. It has been emphasized that Aristotle's most significant contribution to the field of literature is to be found in the relationship he established between rhetoric and dialectic. Since Aristotle's Rhetoric was transmitted into the Islamic world through translations, the historical trajectory of this transmission has been discussed. In order to examine the development of Rhetoric in the Islamic world, the abridgments and commentaries (entitled Khiṭāba) written by thinkers such as al-Fārābī and Ibn Sīnā have been taken as a basis. Within this framework, the concepts of persuasion, orator-audience-speech, and rhetorical syllogisms-being central both to Aristotle's Rhetoric and to the Khiṭāba works of the Islamic logical tradition-have been analyzed. To reveal the connection between the rhetorical conception of the Islamic logical tradition and balāgha, these concepts have been studied in al-Sakkākī's Miftāḥ, with particular attention to their original aspects. Moreover, the study investigates how al-Sakkākī established the relationship between logic, rhetoric, and balāgha, and how this relationship influenced his systematic classification of balāgha. In Ancient Greek civilization, rhetoric developed, particularly under the influence of the sophists, as an art of persuasion detached from truth. As an extension of this, a rhetoric–dialectic opposition emerged in relation to truth. Aristotle, however, argued that rhetoric and dialectic essentially employ the same methods and, therefore, should be situated on the same plane. On this basis, he ascribed epistemological value to rhetoric and established it as a systematic discipline. With this contribution, Aristotle is regarded as a turning point in the history of Ancient Greek literature. Thus, the originality of Aristotle's conception of rhetoric lies in the relationship he established between rhetoric and logic. Rhetoric was transmitted to the Islamic intellectual tradition within the Organon corpus. This transmission led to a paradigm shift, whereby rhetoric ceased to be perceived merely as a literary art and came to be regarded as a branch of logic. The transformation of Rhetoric throughout its historical trajectory confirms that the rhetoric–balāgha relationship cannot be studied independently of the balāgha–logic relationship. At the same time, the inclusion of all of Aristotle's logical works within the Organon corpus and the presentation of logic as the sole valid means of attaining knowledge of truth gave rise to scholarly debates in the Islamic tradition, particularly the opposition between grammar (naḥw) and logic. Within this context, al-Sakkākī, proceeding from the idea that rhetoric and logic fundamentally employ the same methods and should thus be placed on the same plane, ascribed epistemological value to balāgha and established it as a systematic discipline. With this contribution, al-Sakkākī is considered a turning point in the history of Arabic language and rhetoric. Accordingly, the originality of al-Sakkākī's conception of rhetoric lies in the relationship he established between balāgha and logic. Nevertheless, while Aristotle's conception of rhetoric confined the rhetoric–dialectic relationship to the methodological plane, in al-Sakkākī's case logic as a science was made a subject of balāgha. This has led to the interpretation that al-Sakkākī's Miftāḥ al-ʿUlūm represents a new Organon, in which linguistics, rhetoric, and logic are integrated through a reconciliatory approach. This thesis demonstrates the originality of al-Sakkākī's conception of balāgha in Miftāḥ al-ʿUlūm, particularly in terms of the synthesis between balāgha and logic. Within this framework, it is confirmed that al-Sakkākī's integration of balāgha with logic and Aristotle's integration of rhetoric with dialectic constitute original responses to similar intellectual problems arising in different historical contexts. Thus, critiques that Arabic rhetoric was borrowed from another literary tradition, that it merely imitated foreign models, or that it lacked originality, lose their validity-especially in light of al-Sakkākī's conception of balāgha, which stands as one of the clearest examples of this intellectual interaction.