The Phenomenon of ‹Irtaj› in Oration and its Implications among the Arabs: An Objective Study

Abstract

Irtaj, stopping or inability to continue speaking, is one of the phenomena of ancient Arabic literature. It is associated with oration more than its association with other literary types. It refers to the preacher’s inability to continue his sermon (oration) for some reasons. It may occur because of the astonishment of the large number of listening audience, the seriousness of the situation expressed by the preacher, or because of other reasons. Old books were concerned with the stories of those who experienced these situations, from the famous eloquent and the lords of the tongue, in order to monitor their treatment of these lingering cases, and how they were divided into categories: some of them apologized, some of them misbehaved, and others created alternative speeches. The study has been concerned with monitoring this phenomenon, defining it, listing its evidence, its connotations, and the significance of the authors’ interest in presenting its texts. All that was made within the framework of the method of interpretation of texts. Through this investigation, it has become clear that there are many implications and dimensions of this phenomenon. The research approached a number of these dimensions and implications. It is concluded with recommendations about this phenomenon and other similar phenomena.