Storytellers recited exemplary past deeds to move audiences to emulation

Evidence

More directly concerned with the arts of persuasion was the qa¯sfifis, the narrator or reciter. Though often used in the general sense of preacher or orator, the term refers specifically to the practice of telling stories of the great deeds of the past in order to urge an audience to emulate them. The qa¯sfifis might speak in the mosque or in the street; he might also address the troops before a battle to strengthen morale. The wa¯izfi and the qa¯sfifis had a social and moral role in Islamic society, going far beyond mere propaganda. But the propagandist impact, espe­ cially in the early period, was not insignificant. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 476

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines qass as narrative exhortation through exemplary past deeds, distinct from plain preaching.
• XREF: connects to: Storytelling is offered as the ultimate medicine for greed — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 1408