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."
Question: What is the difference between repetition for emphasis and repetition for awe? Give Quranic examples.
Answer: Emphasis: fixing the meaning. Awe: building dread gradually with each repetition. Example of awe: "Woe on that day to those who deny" — ten times in Al-Mursalat.