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Ilm al-Badi'
Surah: Al-Imran (54)
Parisis (Al-Mushakala) — "They Plotted and Allah Plotted"
Definition:
Parisis (mushakala): mentioning something with the word of something else, matching it in expression — using a word in a context not its literal one, following the contextual thread, with the true meaning understood from the indication.
Quranic example: "They plotted and Allah plotted — and Allah is the best of plotters." (Surah 3:54)
The beauty:
"Makr" (plotting) originally denotes blameworthy covert scheming. But since the disbelievers described their action as "plotting," the divine response came with the same word in parisis: "Allah plotted" — meaning He repaid their plot with what matches it. Allah is not genuinely described by blameworthy plotting — the word came to mirror the context and convey the recompense.
Parisis (mushakala): mentioning something with the word of something else, matching it in expression — using a word in a context not its literal one, following the contextual thread, with the true meaning understood from the indication.
Quranic example: "They plotted and Allah plotted — and Allah is the best of plotters." (Surah 3:54)
The beauty:
"Makr" (plotting) originally denotes blameworthy covert scheming. But since the disbelievers described their action as "plotting," the divine response came with the same word in parisis: "Allah plotted" — meaning He repaid their plot with what matches it. Allah is not genuinely described by blameworthy plotting — the word came to mirror the context and convey the recompense.
Source: Al-Kashshaf by Al-Zamakhshari (1/421); Al-Zarkashi, Al-Burhan (4/35)
Test Yourself
Why does "Allah's makr" in the verse not mean Allah schemes in a blameworthy sense?
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