a comparative study of books related to writing instruction in arabic language and subh al-asha

A Comparative Study of Books Related to Writing Instruction in Arabic Language and Subh al-Asha         Ali Zahed poor *     Abstract     There are several books in Arabic language on writing styles and instructions as well as the characteristics of writers. The present article is an attempt to introduce and critically and comparatively study the books written from the early Omayyad era up to the ninth century Hegira, i.e. when Sobh al-Asha fi Sana’at al-Insha on writing instructions was written. It is a descriptive-critical study. The first chapter briefly introduces the books on writing instructions and their authors. Then their styles are introduced and critically studied. In the second chapter, the biography of Qalqashandi is reproduced and then, the contents of his book, Sobh al-Asha, is briefly discussed and his book is compared with other related works. The reason for selecting Sobh al-Ashi is its considerable fame in the field of writing instructions. Moreover, it is one of the most exquisite works of the era of literary decline which is called an encyclopedia of the sciences of its time by experts.   Keywords : writing instructions, writing tools, characteristics of writer, Sobh al-Asha, Qalqashandi  * PhD student in Arabic Language and Literature, University of Isfahan, E-mail: azpoor 2000 @yahoo.com.