Al-Ta‘rif wa al-Tankir: Rhetorical Functions of Definiteness and Indefiniteness

1. Introducing definiteness and indefiniteness

الْبَابُ الرَّابِعُ فِي التَّعْرِيفِ وَالتَّنْكِيرِ
Chapter Four: The rhetorical treatment of definiteness and indefiniteness.

Ta‘rif uses an expression that identifies a determinate referent or establishes the intended object in the hearer’s mind. Tankir presents a noun without that particular identifying mode. These are grammatical forms with communicative consequences.

A definite expression is suitable when the intended message depends on a known or identifiable individual. An indefinite expression can instead foreground kind, quantity, grandeur, insignificance, or scope under negation.

2. Seven forms of the definite noun

Seven principal categories of definite expressions are pronoun, proper name, demonstrative, relative noun, a noun with al-, annexation to a definite expression, and vocative address. Each makes a referent identifiable in a different way.

Compare “he” (context), “Zayd” (proper naming), “this” (demonstration), “the one who came” (relative clause), “the man” (al-), “Zayd’s book” (annexation), and “O Zayd” (address). The form should match how the hearer can identify the intended referent.

Definite formMode of identification
PronounSpeaker, addressee, or context
Proper nameIndividual naming
DemonstrativePhysical or mental pointing
Relative nounThe relative clause
al-Familiarity or kind
IdafaRelation to a definite referent
VocativeDirect address

3. Pronouns and communicative context

أَنَا رَجَوْتُكَ فِي هٰذَا الْأَمْرِ، وَأَنْتَ وَعَدْتَنِي بِإِنْجَازِهِ
I relied on you in this matter, and you promised me to complete it.

A pronoun works when the speaker, hearer, or absent referent is identifiable from the speech situation. First-person, second-person, and third-person pronouns often avoid needlessly repeating a full name.

In the example, the identities of the two participants are already supplied by the act of addressing one another. Pronouns provide economy and precision, as long as the referent is recoverable from context.

4. Pronouns: concision without ambiguity

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ
You alone we worship.

The object pronoun «إِيَّاكَ» is fronted before the verb. Its special placement conveys exclusivity: worship is directed to Allah alone. Pronoun choice and word order can work together for a rhetorical effect.

A pronoun is not automatically clear. A third-person reference such as “he” needs a recoverable antecedent or context. Concision is eloquent only when it does not leave the hearer uncertain about the referent.

5. Proper names and identification

وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ
And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House.

Here ‘alam means a proper name, not “knowledge.” A well-known name evokes its specific bearer. The Qur’anic example uses the names of Abraham and Ishmael to identify the persons intended.

Naming is primarily a means of bringing the particular person to mind. The name may also convey an additional rhetorical coloring, such as honor or disparagement, according to its meaning and the context.

6. Praise and disparagement through a name

رَكِبَ سَيْفُ الدَّوْلَةِ
Sayf al-Dawla mounted.

ذَهَبَ صَخْرٌ
Sakhr departed.

The name “Sayf al-Dawla,” literally a sword of the state, can evoke dignity or power in a context of praise. The name still identifies the person while contributing a favorable association.

“Sakhr,” meaning rock, may be used with a disparaging effect when the context calls for it. The rhetorical evaluation is not mechanically determined by the name alone; the communicative situation determines the intended coloring.

7. Demonstratives and pointing

هٰذَا الَّذِي تَرَكَ الْأَوْهَامَ حَائِرَةً
This is the person who left minds bewildered.

A demonstrative makes an object identifiable through pointing, whether literal or mentally represented. Forms such as “this” and “that” can identify what the hearer is directed to attend to.

Beyond identification, a demonstrative can focus attention and make the referent vividly present. Its additional rhetorical effect depends on what is said about the pointed-at person or thing.

8. Expressing astonishment with a demonstrative

كَمْ عَاقِلٍ عَاقِلٍ أَعْيَتْ مَذَاهِبُهُ
How many wise people have exhausted all their means.

وَجَاهِلٍ جَاهِلٍ تَلْقَاهُ مَرْزُوقًا
Yet you find some ignorant people abundantly provided for.

A demonstrative may be used to point out an unexpected contrast: a capable person can fail while someone apparently less able prospers. The quoted lines illustrate the surprise that a pointing expression can accentuate.

Astonishment comes from the surprising state of affairs, not from the word “this” alone. Demonstration directs the listener toward the striking contrast.

9. Emphasis and degrees of distance

هٰذَا يُوسُفُ، وَذَاكَ أَخُوهُ، وَذٰلِكَ غُلَامُهُ
This is Yusuf, that is his brother, and that farther one is his servant.

A demonstrative may indicate special attention to a particular person; this is heightened concern or focus. Different forms can also present the referent as near, intermediate, or far.

Distance may be physical or figurative. A “far” demonstrative can elevate a referent’s status or emphasize remoteness in rank. Its meaning should be read from the whole setting, not just spatial geometry.

10. Magnification through pointing

إِنَّ هٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ يَهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ
Indeed, this Qur’an guides to what is most upright.

ذٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ
That is the Book in which there is no doubt.

These verses direct attention to the Qur’an through demonstratives. “This Qur’an” foregrounds the Book being discussed; “that Book” may suggest exalted rank rather than physical distance.

Magnification is a contextual rhetorical interpretation, supported by the subject, its status, and the surrounding predication. It should not be treated as a fixed lexical meaning of every demonstrative.

11. Disparagement through a demonstrative

أَهٰذَا الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ آلِهَتَكُمْ
Is this the one who mentions your gods?

فَذٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ
That is the one who harshly repels the orphan.

In the first verse, opponents speak disparagingly about the person they are pointing at. In the second, the demonstrative draws attention to a blameworthy character revealed by the following action.

A quoted insult is not automatically endorsed by the narrator. Interpreting the rhetorical purpose requires identifying the speaker, the situation, and what is predicated of the referent.

12. The defining role of relative nouns

الَّذِي كَانَ مَعَنَا أَمْسِ مُسَافِرٌ
The person who was with us yesterday is a traveler.

A relative noun identifies its referent through a relative clause (sila). A form such as “the one who” becomes informative when the attached clause identifies the person.

In the example, «الذي» is the relative noun, «كان معنا أمس» is its clause, and «مسافر» gives the predicate. The referent is recognized through a descriptive event rather than a proper name or pointing.

13. A relative clause suggesting a reason

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا
Those who believe and do righteous deeds will have the Gardens of Paradise as hospitality.

A relative clause can suggest why a predicate is appropriate to its referent. In this verse, belief and righteous action provide a meaningful connection with the promise of Paradise.

This is rhetorical indication of a reason, not a claim that every relative clause is inherently causal. Many relative clauses simply distinguish who is meant.

14. Concealing the referent from outsiders

وَأَخَذْتُ مَا جَادَ الْأَمِيرُ بِهِ
And I took what the ruler generously gave.

A speaker may use a relative expression understood by the intended listener but not fully identifiable to other people present. The relative clause conveys enough for one audience while withholding explicit naming from another.

Concealment from non-addressees does not mean meaningless speech. The target hearer understands the allusion, while outsiders lack the context needed to determine the referent.

15. Using a relative to point out an error

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَرَوْنَهُمْ إِخْوَانَكُمْ
Those whom you regard as your brothers ...

A relative clause can bring a hearer’s mistaken assumption into focus. By mentioning the identifying description, the speaker exposes the very belief that the following statement challenges.

Calling attention to an error comes from the contrast between the listener’s assumption and the reality the utterance presents; the mere presence of «الذين» does not by itself signal a mistake.

16. Magnifying the subject of an action

إِنَّ الَّذِي سَمَكَ السَّمَاءَ بَنَى لَنَا بَيْتًا
Indeed, the One who raised the sky built a house for us.

A relative clause describing an extraordinary act can magnify the subject even before the main predicate arrives. “The One who raised the sky” evokes tremendous agency through the content of the clause.

Magnification is produced by what the relative clause communicates. A bare name could identify the referent but would not foreground this particular ground for esteem.

17. Awe, exaltation, and diminution

فَغَشِيَهُمْ مِنَ الْيَمِّ مَا غَشِيَهُمْ
Then there overtook them from the sea what overtook them.

When a relative expression refers to a tremendous or terrifying event without spelling out all its details, the unresolved magnitude can intensify awe. The verse lets the impact of the overwhelming sea remain powerfully open.

The same general structure can enhance or disparage a referent. Whether the effect is awe, praise, or contempt depends on the content of the clause and the overall context.

18. Irony through a relative expression

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِي نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ إِنَّكَ لَمَجْنُونٌ
O you upon whom the Reminder has been sent down, you are surely mad.

The verse reports mockery by the deniers. A seemingly descriptive phrase about receiving the Reminder is followed by their insulting accusation, creating a biting ironic effect.

Irony or sarcasm requires a mismatch between apparent wording and the speaker’s derisive intent. The Qur’an reports this false claim; it does not endorse it.

19. Definiteness by al-: familiarity and kind

إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ
Surely humankind is in loss.

The definite article al- can mark an already identifiable individual (‘ahd) or the relevant kind or class (jins). These uses yield different readings even though the visible article is the same.

In «الإنسان», the discussion concerns humankind rather than one named person. In another setting «الرجل» might denote a particular man already identifiable. The surrounding statement determines which reading fits.

20. Anaphoric definiteness after prior mention

كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا فَعَصَى فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ
Just as We sent a messenger to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh disobeyed the messenger.

The first occurrence «رسولًا» introduces a messenger. The later definite form «الرسول» points back to that already-mentioned individual rather than introducing another person.

This is anaphoric or previously mentioned definiteness. The article ties the second mention to the first and maintains referential continuity.

21. Present and mentally familiar referents

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ
Today I have perfected your religion for you.

In situational or present familiarity, the setting itself identifies the referent; «اليوم» points to a particular day in the speech situation. In mental familiarity, speaker and hearer share knowledge of a referent even if it is not physically present.

Both are forms of identifiable reference, but the basis of identification differs: immediate situation versus shared understanding. Not every definite article points to something mentioned earlier in the text.

22. Identification through shared knowledge

إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ
When they pledged allegiance to you beneath the tree.

«الشجرة» refers to the known tree associated with the specific pledge. The event supplies an identifiable referent without having to introduce it as a completely new, indefinite tree.

Shared situational or historical knowledge can identify a noun even when its exact word has not already appeared. Context is essential to the classification of this use of al-.

23. Generic and exhaustive readings of al-

إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ
Humanity is indeed in loss.

Exhaustiveness (istighraq) considers all the relevant individuals of a class. The following exception “except those who believe...” provides a strong indication that a universal scope is being contemplated in this verse.

A reference to the essence of a kind is not identical to explicit quantification over all its members. Therefore the article should not automatically be translated as “every” wherever it occurs.

24. Essence of a kind versus all its instances

The article may evoke a kind as a conceptual whole, without asserting that each individual has been separately examined. That is the generic or essence-oriented reading.

An exhaustive reading, by contrast, applies the predicate across the relevant members of the class. Exceptions, quantifiers, and the nature of the predicate help decide which reading is intended.

25. When al- helps convey restriction

وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ
And He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Loving.

In some contexts, a definite predicate highlights the exceptional or complete possession of a quality by a specific subject. The divine attributes in the verse convey the perfection of these qualities.

A restrictive implication comes from the sentence as a whole and its context; an article alone does not mechanically deny every degree of the quality to all other beings.

26. Definiteness by annexation (idafa)

كِتَابُ سِيبَوَيْهِ
Sibawayh’s book.

سَفِينَةُ نُوحٍ
Noah’s ark.

A noun annexed to a definite expression can become identifiable through that relationship. «كتاب سيبويه» identifies the book by its relation to Sibawayh; «سفينة نوح» identifies the ark through Noah.

An idafa need not mean simple ownership. It can express relationship, association, distinction, respect, and other contextual meanings.

27. Annexation when enumeration or ordering is unsuitable

أَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ الْحَقِّ عَلَى كَذَا
The people of truth agreed on this.

حَضَرَ أُمَرَاءُ الْجُنْدِ
The commanders of the army attended.

Annexation can identify a group without separately enumerating all its members, as in “the people of truth.” This is useful when individual naming is impossible or beside the point.

A collective expression such as “the commanders of the army” may also avoid suggesting precedence or superiority by naming some members before others.

28. Honor conveyed by annexation

كِتَابُ السُّلْطَانِ حَضَرَ
The ruler’s book has arrived.

هٰذَا خَادِمِي
This is my servant.

Annexing a book to a ruler can lend the book importance through its association with a high-status owner: honor of the annexed noun.

In “this is my servant,” the speaker may emphasize the social relation as a way of projecting their own standing. The rhetorical direction of honor or status is determined by the relationship and context.

29. Disparagement and economy through annexation

هٰذَا ابْنُ اللِّصِّ
This is the thief’s son.

أَخُو اللِّصِّ عِنْدَ عَمْرٍو
The thief’s brother is with Amr.

Annexation can also disparage the annexed person, especially when the relationship invoked is presented as discreditable in context. It is not intrinsically a device for honor.

A concise idafa can also suit a constrained speaking situation—for example haste, distress, or limited time—because it identifies a person without a longer description.

30. Definite identification through direct address

يَا رَجُلُ
O man!

يَا فَتَى
O young man!

A vocative makes the person addressed identifiable in the communicative event, even where the person’s proper name is unknown. “O man” singles out the addressee, not every man.

Calling someone can also draw attention to a needed action. In this chapter the key point is how address identifies the hearer; the separate rhetorical purposes of vocative speech were treated under insha’.

31. Indefiniteness and what it leaves open

جَاءَ هٰهُنَا رَجُلٌ
A man came here.

Indefiniteness suits a statement in which identifying the particular individual is not essential. “A man came here” reports an occurrence without requiring the hearer to know exactly who the man is.

The speaker may personally know the individual. Indefiniteness concerns how the referent is presented to the audience, not necessarily the speaker’s state of knowledge.

32. Magnifying or minimizing quantity

وَرِضْوَانٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ
But approval from Allah is greater.

An indefinite can highlight abundance or, in another context, smallness of amount. Whether the intended effect is increase or minimization depends on the predicate and setting rather than indefiniteness alone.

The indefinite «رضوانٌ» foregrounds the greatness of divine approval. An expression like “someone has wealth” can likewise suggest much or little only when the context warrants that reading.

33. Indefiniteness for honor or contempt

لَهُ حَاجِبٌ عَنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ يَشِينُهُ
He has a protector against everything that would disgrace him.

وَلَيْسَ لَهُ عَنْ طَالِبِ الْعُرْفِ حَاجِبُ
Yet no barrier prevents a seeker of kindness from reaching him.

The first indefinite «حاجب» can magnify the protection enjoyed by the subject. The second, occurring under negation, emphasizes that no barrier keeps a seeker of favor away. The two uses need not have the same effect.

Honor and contempt are different contextual readings of indefinite expressions; neither should be inferred from the noun form alone.

34. Indefiniteness under negation

مَا جَاءَنَا مِنْ بَشِيرٍ
No bearer of good news has come to us.

In this expression, «ما» negates the event, «من» reinforces the negative construction, and «بشير» is an indefinite noun. The result excludes the arrival of any individual of that category, not just one identified individual.

This is universality in negation. The added «من» strengthens the scope of denial; in this construction it should not be translated as an ordinary “from.”

35. Putting identification and indefiniteness together

Example 1: “A man came” gives no particular identification; “the man came” presupposes a recoverable referent; “Zayd came” identifies by proper name; “Zayd’s brother came” identifies through annexation.

Example 2: «مَا جَاءَنَا مِنْ بَشِيرٍ» uses indefiniteness under negation to exclude all relevant individuals, whereas «الرسول» can point to a messenger previously mentioned. Sound analysis requires form, referent, and communicative purpose together.