LessonsAl-Taqdim wa al-Ta’khir: Word Order and Rhetorical PurposesQuiz

خُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ ۝ ثُمَّ الْجَحِيمَ صَلُّوهُ ۝ ثُمَّ فِي سِلْسِلَةٍ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًا فَاسْلُكُوهُ
Seize him and shackle him; then make him enter the Blaze; then thread him into a chain seventy cubits long. (Al-Haqqah 69:30–32)

In thumma al-jahima salluhu, al-jahim precedes the verb rather than following it as a verbal complement often would. Alongside the sense of the passage, this maintains the harmony of the verse endings.

The corresponding endings ghulluhu, salluhu, and faslukuhu add audible force. A Qur’anic fasilah is a verse ending; here its sound pattern helps explain the appropriateness of the chosen order.

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Rhythmic endings and Qur’anic verse endings

Al-Taqdim wa al-Ta’khir: Word Order and Rhetorical Purposes

خُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ ۝ ثُمَّ الْجَحِيمَ صَلُّوهُ ۝ ثُمَّ فِي سِلْسِلَةٍ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًا فَاسْلُكُوهُ
Seize him and shackle him; then make him enter the Blaze; then thread him into a chain seventy cubits long. (Al-Haqqah 69:30–32)

In thumma al-jahima salluhu, al-jahim precedes the verb rather than following it as a verbal complement often would. Alongside the sense of the passage, this maintains the harmony of the verse endings.

The corresponding endings ghulluhu, salluhu, and faslukuhu add audible force. A Qur’anic fasilah is a verse ending; here its sound pattern helps explain the appropriateness of the chosen order.