«إِلَامَ تَسْتَمِرُّ عَلَى غَيِّكَ»
How long will you persist in your waywardness?
Ilāma formally asks “until when?”, yet sustained rebuke turns it into exhortation. The preacher wants changed conduct, not a calendar date. Its force belongs to rhetorical persuasion rather than the search for a measurable datum.
Contrast an admonitory question with a judge’s factual request. The first prompts self-reform, while the second seeks evidence. Confusing those speech acts distorts both the poem and the courtroom scenes.
Applied question
What is the main rhetorical function of ilāma here?