Intermediate I'jaz Surah: Al-Baqara (179)

Definition of Ijaz:
Ijaz: conveying complete meaning in fewer words than the meaning ordinarily requires — without losing benefit.

The verse:
"And in retaliation there is life for you, O people of understanding, so that you may be fearful." (2:179)

Ijaz in three words:
"In retaliation there is life" — six words summarizing a social wisdom, a psychological reality, and a legal principle — its content: applying retaliation deters killing, so life spreads.

Comparison with ancient Arabic proverbs:
Arabs used to say: "killing is most deterrent of killing" — eight letters with incomplete meaning. The Quran says "in retaliation there is life" — ten letters with a fuller, deeper, more precise meaning: retaliation not arbitrary killing.

Rhetorical aspects:

• Fronting the predicate "in retaliation" before "life" for restrictive emphasis: life is in retaliation, not in abandoning it
• Indefinite "life" indicates a special kind — a protected, dignified life
• The address "O people of understanding" signals this wisdom requires sound intellect to grasp

Al-Jurjani: "This verse confounded the Arabs because it gathered in six letters what they exhausted speech attempting."

Source: Al-Jurjani (p.98); Al-Zarkashi (3/46); Al-Zamakhshari (1/222)

Tags: الإيجازالبقرةالقصاصالجرجانيالإعجاز البيانيالبلاغة القرآنية