Valuable Moral Messages in the Classical Arabic Poetry: Semiotic Study of the Imam Ali’s Poems

Abstract

This paper discusses the moral messages implied in the Imam Ali’s poems. As stated by some experts, poetry is a set of signs that need to be sought for its meaning and significance. This set of signs is mostly difficult to be realized directly by ordinary people. In consequence, Imam Ali’s poems need to be explored by semiotic analysis so that the meanings implied in these poems can be elaborated in detail, and hopefully, it can be well understood by the public. The method used is descriptive-analytical framework that emphasizes systematic interpretation from of the individual point of view or population being studied to generate new concepts. Based on the result, it is found that Imam Ali’s poems imply many valuable and important moral messages that were in line with Islamic teachings and they are very important to be known, studied, and used as the guidelines in everyday life. The moral messages implied in these poems they are about the primacy of seeking knowledge and science, the primacy of reasoning, the primacy of silence, keeping away from greedy, and patient with all kinds of insult.

The role of the target language culture on Arabic learners' fondness for Arabic poetry

“…There are two major limitations in this study that could be addressed in future research. First, both classical Arabic poetry and modern Arabic poetry hold an important place in Arabic literature (Haydar, 1981 ; Arifianto, 2020 ; Abandah et al, 2022 ). Moreover, in addition to modern Arabic poetry, the study of classical Arabic is also an essential part of Arabic language learning (Osman et al, 2022 ).…”

“…There are two major limitations in this study that could be addressed in future research. First, both classical Arabic poetry and modern Arabic poetry hold an important place in Arabic literature (Haydar, 1981;Arifianto, 2020;Abandah et al, 2022).…”

Imam Ali (Ali Ibn Abi Ṭalib), The Peak Personality Who Shaped Arabic Poetry with His Wise Words

“…Yasyīnu al-fatā fī an-nasi qillata 'aqlihi, Wa in karumat a'rāquhu wa manāshibuhu "A young man becomes a disgrace in (the middle of) society because of his lack of reason/mind, even though his ancestry and position are respected" Wa man kāna ghalāban bi 'aqlin wa najdatin, Fa dzū al-jaddi fī amri al-ma'īsyati ghālibuhu "And whoever (succeeds) reaches with reason and courage, then he will earnestly in the affairs of life (also)" (Arifianto, 2020).…”