LessonsComprehensive Review and Application: Bayān, Badīʿ and the Final Rhetorical ArtsQuiz

Tawjīh permits two distinct interpretations of an expression. Tajāhul al-ʿārif is an apparently uninformed question or declaration by one who knows, serving a rhetorical purpose. Qawl bi-l-mūjib accepts the interlocutor’s words while turning their implication toward an unintended conclusion.

وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى
What is that in your right hand, O Moses?

The question should be analyzed in its narrative setting rather than treated as an ordinary request for information; the rhetorical occasion alters what the interrogative achieves.

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Tawjīh, knowing pretense and answering on the opponent’s wording

Comprehensive Review and Application: Bayān, Badīʿ and the Final Rhetorical Arts

Tawjīh permits two distinct interpretations of an expression. Tajāhul al-ʿārif is an apparently uninformed question or declaration by one who knows, serving a rhetorical purpose. Qawl bi-l-mūjib accepts the interlocutor’s words while turning their implication toward an unintended conclusion.

وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى
What is that in your right hand, O Moses?

The question should be analyzed in its narrative setting rather than treated as an ordinary request for information; the rhetorical occasion alters what the interrogative achieves.