Intermediate
Rhetoric
Surah: Ar-Rahman (13)
Repetition in the Quran — Emphasis Not Redundancy
فَبِأَيِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
— الرحمن الآية 13
Principle: Repetition in the Quran is purposeful — not a flaw or redundancy.
Purposes: (1) Confirmation: "Which of your Lord's favors will you deny?" (31 times in Ar-Rahman). (2) Magnification: "Al-Haqqa, what is Al-Haqqa?" (3) Grief: "Woe that day to deniers" (10 times). (4) Prophet stories repeated with different angles across surahs.
Purposes: (1) Confirmation: "Which of your Lord's favors will you deny?" (31 times in Ar-Rahman). (2) Magnification: "Al-Haqqa, what is Al-Haqqa?" (3) Grief: "Woe that day to deniers" (10 times). (4) Prophet stories repeated with different angles across surahs.
Source: Al-Zarkashi (3/8); Al-Suyuti (3/263)
Test Yourself
Why is "which favors will you deny" repeated 31 times?
Show Answer