Paronomasia and the Production of Meaning in the Poetry of Abū al-Fatḥ al-Bustī

This study investigates the use of jinas (paronomasia) and its role in meaning-making in the poetry of Abū al-Fatḥ al-Bustī. Moving beyond its traditional classification as a rhetorical ornament, jinas is examined here as a stylistic device that generates nuanced meanings and layered connotations within the poetic text. Al-Bustī is noted for his innovative and purposeful deployment of jinas, not merely for decorative effect, but as a means of creating rhythmic musicality and evoking symbolic depth. By repeating similar-sounding or similarly written words with distinct meanings, he invites readers to engage more deeply with the semantic and aesthetic dimensions of the text. The study analyzes various forms of jinas—including perfect, deficient, altered, compound, graphic resemblance (taṣḥīf), and reversal (qalb)—demonstrating how these contribute to the thematic and rhetorical richness of his poetry across genres such as praise, love, wisdom, and philosophical reflection. Employing a descriptive-analytical method, the research presents selected examples from al-Bustī’s corpus to reveal how jinas functions as a generator of meaning rather than a mere embellishment. The study contributes to Arabic literary and rhetorical scholarship by reevaluating the function of jinas and calling for a reconsideration of traditional classifications of rhetorical figures as purely aesthetic devices.