مَنِّي النَّفْسَ وَعِدِيهَا وَاجْمَعِي الرِّقَاعَ وَعُدِّيهَا
Give yourself hope and promises, and gather and count the written slips.
ʿIdīhā means “promise it”; ʿuddīhā means “count them.” Vowels and doubling distinguish the actions. The first operates on the self’s expectations; the second on the physical slips.
Two paired commands form the structure: give the self hope and promise it; gather the slips and count them. The objects disambiguate the verbs as well as the vocalization.
Reading layerTranslation decision
FormPreserve vowels, root and grammatical pattern
ContextUse verbs and objects to determine the intended sense
Literary effectShow similar sounds without merging distinct meanings
Semantic distinction exercise
What action does ʿuddīhā command?