Intermediate Repetition Surah: Al-Shuara (88)

Repetition in Quranic rhetoric:
Not every Quranic repetition is mere emphasis — each serves a specific rhetorical purpose: creating awe, emphasis, entrenchment, magnification, or anticipation.

The verses:
"A day when neither wealth nor children avail." (26:88)
And "Woe on that day to those who deny" — repeated ten times in Surah Al-Mursalat.

Analysis:

• Repetition of "day": Builds the cosmic event gradually — each repetition adds a layer of awe
• "No wealth and no children avail": The two greatest worldly attachments (wealth and children) are mentioned then negated — negation by enumeration conveys the totality of collapse
• Repetition of "woe": Each repetition is a bell alerting a new sense — the repetition indicates the event is too great for a single warning

Al-Zarkashi: "Repetition in the Quran is intentional in itself — more eloquent than a single mention because repetition signals intense concern and supreme importance."

Source: Al-Zarkashi (3/8); Al-Suyuti (3/241); Al-Maydani (2/345)

Tags: التكرارالشعراءالتهويلالمرسلاتالبلاغة القرآنية