Intermediate
Emphasis
Surah: Al-Takathur (3)
Repetition for Emphasis — "Nay! You Will Know — Then Nay! You Will Know"
كَلَّا سَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ
— التكاثر الآية 3
Definition:
Rhetorical repetition: repeating the same word or meaning with an escalation in significance — not idle repetition but an emphasis that multiplies psychological impact.
Quranic example: "Nay! You will come to know. Then nay! you will come to know." (Surah 102:3-4)
The beauty:
The sentence is repeated verbatim — but "thumma" (then) between the two repetitions is not mere connection; it conveys delay and escalation: the first warning for this world, the second for the hereafter — or the first a caution, the second a severer threat. Al-Zamakhshari: "Repetition with 'thumma' indicates the second is greater and more intense than the first." The purpose: establishing the truth in the soul through insistence — the denier is not deterred by a single statement.
Rhetorical repetition: repeating the same word or meaning with an escalation in significance — not idle repetition but an emphasis that multiplies psychological impact.
Quranic example: "Nay! You will come to know. Then nay! you will come to know." (Surah 102:3-4)
The beauty:
The sentence is repeated verbatim — but "thumma" (then) between the two repetitions is not mere connection; it conveys delay and escalation: the first warning for this world, the second for the hereafter — or the first a caution, the second a severer threat. Al-Zamakhshari: "Repetition with 'thumma' indicates the second is greater and more intense than the first." The purpose: establishing the truth in the soul through insistence — the denier is not deterred by a single statement.
Source: Al-Zamakhshari, Al-Kashshaf (4/807); Al-Zarkashi (3/387); Al-Suyuti (3/260)
Test Yourself
What is the difference between the two repetitions in "Nay! You will know — then nay! you will know"?
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