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Brevity & Expansion
Surah: Al-Fajr (22)
Brevity by Ellipsis — "Your Lord Has Come" (Omission of Object)
Definition:
Brevity by ellipsis (ijaz al-hadhf): omitting what is understood from context without harming meaning — and sometimes omission is more eloquent than mention: because the mind fills the gap with something greater than any explicit word could convey.
Quranic example: "And your Lord has come, and the angels rank upon rank." (Surah 89:22)
The beauty:
"Came" is a transitive verb requiring an object (came for what purpose?). The object is omitted. Al-Zamakhshari: "The object was omitted to indicate the universality of His coming — for every matter of the Day of Judgment — not specifying any single purpose."
Brevity by ellipsis (ijaz al-hadhf): omitting what is understood from context without harming meaning — and sometimes omission is more eloquent than mention: because the mind fills the gap with something greater than any explicit word could convey.
Quranic example: "And your Lord has come, and the angels rank upon rank." (Surah 89:22)
The beauty:
"Came" is a transitive verb requiring an object (came for what purpose?). The object is omitted. Al-Zamakhshari: "The object was omitted to indicate the universality of His coming — for every matter of the Day of Judgment — not specifying any single purpose."
Source: Al-Kashshaf by Al-Zamakhshari (4/751); Al-Maydani (1/484)
Test Yourself
Why did Al-Zamakhshari say that omitting the object in "your Lord has come" is more eloquent than mentioning it?
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