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Laff & Nashr
Surah: Fussilat (39)
Scrambled Unfolding — The Beauty of Intentional Disorder
فَإِذَآ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهَا ٱلۡمَآءَ ٱهۡتَزَّتۡ وَرَبَتۡ
— فصلت الآية 39
Definition of scrambled unfolding:
Mentioning several items (envelopment) then their descriptions or rulings (unfolding) — but the order of unfolding does not match the order of envelopment — the distribution is intentionally intertwined for rhetorical purposes.
Quranic example:
"And among His signs is that you see the earth humbled — then when We send down upon it water, it stirs and swells." (41:39)
Enveloped: "stirs" (movement) and "swells" (growth). Unfolding: the effect of rain is mentioned with movement before growth — an intentional scramble because movement is seen first, then growth appears.
Clearer example — Ayat Al-Kursi:
"To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth." (2:255) — heavens and earth are enveloped — then "Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him" — slumber (light) and sleep (heavy) — negation begins with the lighter before the heavier — reverse of natural order — scrambled because the stronger argument negates the lesser first so the greater is understood with even more certainty.
Al-Zarkashi: "Scrambled laf and nashr is intentional — because the disorder forces the listener to mentally reorder it — making it more firmly retained in memory."
Mentioning several items (envelopment) then their descriptions or rulings (unfolding) — but the order of unfolding does not match the order of envelopment — the distribution is intentionally intertwined for rhetorical purposes.
Quranic example:
"And among His signs is that you see the earth humbled — then when We send down upon it water, it stirs and swells." (41:39)
Enveloped: "stirs" (movement) and "swells" (growth). Unfolding: the effect of rain is mentioned with movement before growth — an intentional scramble because movement is seen first, then growth appears.
Clearer example — Ayat Al-Kursi:
"To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth." (2:255) — heavens and earth are enveloped — then "Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him" — slumber (light) and sleep (heavy) — negation begins with the lighter before the heavier — reverse of natural order — scrambled because the stronger argument negates the lesser first so the greater is understood with even more certainty.
Al-Zarkashi: "Scrambled laf and nashr is intentional — because the disorder forces the listener to mentally reorder it — making it more firmly retained in memory."
Source: Al-Zarkashi (3/404); Al-Suyuti (3/265); Al-Maydani (2/393)
Test Yourself
What is the difference between orderly and scrambled laf and nashr? Give two Quranic examples.
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