Quranic Terms Intermediate Rhetoric

Iltifat (Shift from Speaker to Absent) — Its Rhetorical Secrets

Definition: Iltifat (shifting): a transition in style from one form to another — from first-person (I/We) to third-person (he/they), or f…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Metonymy

Beautiful Quranic Metonymies — Delicacy and Eloquence in Indirection

Definition of kinaya (metonymy): A word used to mean the necessary implication of its meaning, while the original meaning remains possible…

Quranic Rhetoric Basic Simile

Description for Accepted Hyperbole — "Like Mountains" Describing Ships

Verse: "And among His signs are the ships sailing the sea like mountains." (42:32) Meaning: Among Allah's signs are the ships sailing t…

Quranic Rhetoric Advanced Implicit Simile

Implicit Simile — Meaning Embedded in the Texture of the Verse

Definition of implicit simile: A simile without explicit comparison particle or explicit terms — it is inferred from the spirit and contex…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Interrogation

The Existential Question in the Quran — The Rhetorical Interrogative Style

Definition of rhetorical interrogative: Using the question form not for seeking information — but for various rhetorical purposes: affirma…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Incitement & Warning

The Style of Urging and Warning — "The She-Camel of Allah and Her Drink"

Definition of urging (ighra) and warning (tahdhir): Urging: Inciting the addressee toward a praiseworthy action — the object is present…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Restriction

Restriction with "Innama" — "The Believers Are but Brothers" and the Power of Specification

Definition of restriction (hasr): Limiting the subject by its predicate — affirming the ruling for what is mentioned and negating it for a…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate I'jaz

Concision by Known Omission — "Upon the People is a Pilgrimage to the House"

Definition of concision by omission: Omitting a word indicated by context or a clue — with the meaning complete and rhetorical power enhan…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Repetition

Repetition for Awe — "A Day When Neither Wealth nor Children Avail"

Repetition in Quranic rhetoric: Not every Quranic repetition is mere emphasis — each serves a specific rhetorical purpose: creating awe, e…

Quranic Rhetoric Advanced Separation & Conjunction

Separation in Successive Sentences — "Faces on That Day Radiant, Looking at Their Lord"

Separation and connection in rhetoric: Connection (wasl): Joining two sentences with a conjunction (wa) when there is a relationship be…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Laff & Nashr

Orderly Unfolding — "He Knows What They Conceal and What They Announce"

Definition of laf and nashr (envelopment and unfolding): Mentioning multiple items (envelopment) then following them with their rulings or…

Quranic Rhetoric Advanced Laff & Nashr

Scrambled Unfolding — The Beauty of Intentional Disorder

Definition of scrambled unfolding: Mentioning several items (envelopment) then their descriptions or rulings (unfolding) — but the order o…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Equation

The Equalization Style — "It Is Equal Whether You Warned Them or Did Not Warn Them"

Definition of the equalization style: Informing that two different things carry the same ruling for the addressee — one of the strongest s…

Quranic Rhetoric Advanced Antithetical Parallelism

Extended Antithesis — "As for Him Who Gives, Is Pious, and Affirms the Good" with Its Opposite

Definition of extended antithesis: Basic antithesis: two meanings opposite their two counterparts. Extended: three or more meanings opposi…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Metonymy

Kinaya About an Action — "Do Not Make Your Hand Chained" as a Metaphor for Miserliness

Definition of Kinaya: Kinaya: a word by which its consequent meaning is intended with the literal meaning remaining possible. Divided int…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate I'jaz

Al-Ijaz Al-Baligh — "And In Retaliation There Is Life for You"

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

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Glorification

Al-Tashbih Al-Tamthili — "Like a Donkey Carrying Books"

Definition of Al-Tashbih Al-Tamthili: Representational simile: a comparison where the point of resemblance is a composite image drawn fro…

Quranic Rhetoric Advanced Glorification

Exaggeration in Simile — "As If They Were Trunks of Uprooted Palms"

Definition of exaggeration in simile: When a simile reaches such precision and depth that the listener feels the compared and the compari…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Verse-end Cadence

The Beauty of Al-Fasila — Harmonic Endings of Verses

Definition of Al-Fasila: Al-Fasila: the final word of a Quranic verse — the equivalent of prose cadence in continuous speech. It differs …

Quranic Rhetoric Basic Antithesis

Antithesis Between Two Words — "He Gives Life and Causes Death" and "You Honor and You Humiliate"

Definition of Tibaq (antithesis): Tibaq: combining a word and its opposite in speech. Positive tibaq: bringing opposites together without…

Quranic Rhetoric Basic Antithetical Parallelism

Antithesis Between Two Sentences — Whoever Does an Atom of Good Sees It / Evil Sees It

Difference between tibaq and muqabala: Tibaq: between two words. Muqabala: between two or more sentences — each sentence against the oppo…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Command & Prohibition

The Imperative for Permission — "When the Prayer Is Concluded, Disperse in the Land"

The imperative in rhetoric: Primary imperative: demanding an action in a commanding manner. But the imperative form carries many other me…

Quranic Rhetoric Intermediate Circumstantial Clause

The Circumstantial Clause — "While He Dislikes It" Modifies and Completes the Meaning

Definition of the circumstantial clause: The circumstantial clause (hal): a qualification clarifying the state in which the action occurr…

Quranic Rhetoric Advanced I'jaz

Elliptical Story Narration — A Whole Story in Three Words in the Quran

Definition of elliptical story narration: Ijaz al-qasr is the highest level of ijaz — when a complete story or massive event is compresse…

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