Intermediate
Iltifat
Surah: Al-Fatiha (5)
Shift from Third to Second Person — "Praise to Allah... You Alone We Worship"
إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ
— الفاتحة الآية 5
Iltifat in Al-Fatiha:
The opening verses speak about Allah in the third person — "Praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment" (absent pronoun). Then suddenly: "You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help" — a shift to direct address.
The beauty:
Introducing Allah through three great attributes (lordship, mercy, kingship) prepared for the direct relationship — once the reader knew his Lord, he moved naturally from speaking "about Him" to speaking "with Him" and "to Him." The iltifat here expresses a spiritual transition: from instruction to intimate address, from knowledge to presence. Al-Jurjani: "Iltifat renews the listener's attention because it turns him from a condition he has grown accustomed to toward another he did not anticipate."
The opening verses speak about Allah in the third person — "Praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment" (absent pronoun). Then suddenly: "You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help" — a shift to direct address.
The beauty:
Introducing Allah through three great attributes (lordship, mercy, kingship) prepared for the direct relationship — once the reader knew his Lord, he moved naturally from speaking "about Him" to speaking "with Him" and "to Him." The iltifat here expresses a spiritual transition: from instruction to intimate address, from knowledge to presence. Al-Jurjani: "Iltifat renews the listener's attention because it turns him from a condition he has grown accustomed to toward another he did not anticipate."
Source: Al-Jurjani (p.314); Al-Zarkashi (3/295); Al-Zamakhshari (1/14)
Test Yourself
What is the rhetorical wisdom in the shift from third to second person in Al-Fatiha?
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