Construction of Evaluative Attitude in the Madīḥ Section of Qasidah Banat Su'ad by Ka'ab bin Zuhair based on Martin and White's Appraisal Theory

Arina Vionarsih (Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung)
R. Myrna Nur Sakinah (Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati, Bandung)

Indonesian Journal of Research in Islamic Studies
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026): Indonesian Journal of Research in Islamic Studies, 3(2), 2026

Background: Qasidah Banat Su'ad by Ka'ab bin Zuhair is one of the most significant works of classical Arabic literature, representing the poet's transformation in attitude toward Prophet Muhammad after embracing Islam. Although the poem has been extensively examined from the perspectives of literary history, balāghah, and stylistics, studies investigating its evaluative attitude construction through Appraisal Theory remain limited. Objctive: This study aims to identify the types of attitudinal expressions, analyze patterns of evaluative attitudes, and explain how Ka'ab bin Zuhair constructs his evaluation of Prophet Muhammad in the Madīḥ section based on Martin and White's Attitude subsystem. Method: This study employed a qualitative approach using qualitative content analysis of the Arabic text in the Madīḥ section of Qasidah Banat Su'ad. Result: The findings identified 15 attitudinal expressions, consisting of one Affect (6.7%), eleven Judgement (73.3%), and three Appreciation (20.0%). The predominance of Judgement indicates that the poet constructs Prophet Muhammad as an exemplary figure characterized by leadership, courage, and moral integrity, whereas Affect and Appreciation reinforce the poet's emotional transformation and the aesthetic dimension of praise. Conclusion: The study concludes that evaluative attitude construction in the Madīḥ section is predominantly realized through moral judgments of the Prophet's character. Originality/Value: This study offers theoretical and analytical novelty at the intersection of Systemic Functional Linguistics and classical Arabic literature by examining the discursive construction of evaluative stance in madīḥ poetry, an area traditionally dominated by conventional balāghah and literary criticism. By bridging theoretical and methodological gaps through Martin and White’s Appraisal framework, this research provides a strategic contribution toward developing an integrated linguistic model for classical Arabic poetic texts and setting future research agendas in Arabic discourse semantics.