Mizan al-Dhahab by al-Hashimi: Your Practical Guide to Arabic Prosody and Rhyme

Why This Book Is Recommended for Beginners

Among the many books on Arabic prosody, Mizan al-Dhahab fi Sina'at Shi'r al-'Arab by al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Hashimi (1878–1943 CE) is the clearest and most beginner-friendly modern manual. It compresses classical tradition into a practical, teaching-oriented format.

Structure

Part 1: Arud (meters)

• Definitions and history
• Metrical building blocks (sabab, watid, fasila)
• The 8 feet used to construct all meters
• The 16 meters with examples
• Zihafat and 'ilal (permissible variations)

Part 2: Qafiya (rhyme)

• Letters of the rhyme (rawi, wasl, khuruj, ridf, ta'sis, dakhil)
• Vowels of the rhyme
• Defects of rhyme:
  • al-Ita': repeating the rhyme word within 7 lines
  • al-Iqwa': inconsistent rhyme vowel
  • al-Sinad: inconsistent pre-rhyme phonology

Sample Scansion: Tawil Meter

Line: "Qifa nabki min dhikra habibin wa manzili / bi-siqti al-liwa bayna al-Dakhuli fa-Hawmali"

Scans as: fa'ulun / mafa'ilun / fa'ulun / mafa'ilun (× 2).

30-Day Study Plan

• Week 1: syllables + feet
• Week 2: the most common meters (Tawil, Kamil, Basit, Wafir)
• Week 3: remaining meters + variations
• Week 4: rhyme + scan 20 real poems

Use tools like Seebawayh AI parser to check your understanding of individual verses before scanning them.

Read the full Arabic version: «ميزان الذهب في صناعة شعر العرب»

Keywords: Mizan al-Dhahab, Ahmad al-Hashimi, Arabic prosody manual, Arabic rhyme, learning arud.