Epanalepsis — Returning the End to the Beginning
balagha
Level: advanced
badi
blg-035
Definition:
Epanalepsis (radd al-'ajz 'ala al-sadr): ending speech with what it began — either the same word or something similar. A rhetorical figure achieving balance and embedding meaning in memory.
Quranic example: "You feared the people, while Allah has more right that you should fear Him." (Surah 33:37)
The beauty:
The verb "you feared" opens and closes the expression — but the one feared changes: people at the start, Allah at the end. This return makes comparison inevitable: who is more worthy of fear? The sonic repetition carries a semantic correction — as if the verse redirects the heart from misplaced fear to its rightful object.
Source: Al-Zarkashi, Al-Burhan (4/12); Al-Suyuti, Al-Itqan (3/348)
Question: What changes in the word "fear" between the beginning and end of the verse?
Answer: The word is the same but the one feared changes: "you feared people" at the start, "you should fear Him (Allah)" at the end — a correction of direction while preserving the sound.