LessonsAl-Dhikr wa al-Hadhf: Rhetorical Purposes of Mention and OmissionQuiz

خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
Creator of everything. (Al-Anʿām 6:102)

The understood subject may be supplied as huwa khāliqu kulli shayʾ. Where the context makes clear that the true Creator is Allah, suppression of the subject can emphasize how uniquely identifiable the referent is. This is drawing attention to the determinacy of the omitted element.

Likewise “wahhāb al-ulūf” (“giver of thousands”) may portray a person as if no other figure is so identified with generosity. The asserted uniqueness may be factual or rhetorically claimed, a distinction important to the analysis.

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Omission 3: drawing attention to a uniquely identified referent

Al-Dhikr wa al-Hadhf: Rhetorical Purposes of Mention and Omission

خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
Creator of everything. (Al-Anʿām 6:102)

The understood subject may be supplied as huwa khāliqu kulli shayʾ. Where the context makes clear that the true Creator is Allah, suppression of the subject can emphasize how uniquely identifiable the referent is. This is drawing attention to the determinacy of the omitted element.

Likewise “wahhāb al-ulūf” (“giver of thousands”) may portray a person as if no other figure is so identified with generosity. The asserted uniqueness may be factual or rhetorically claimed, a distinction important to the analysis.