Treating the listener as in another state, tense shifts, declarative and non-declarative forms, pronouns, iltifat, uslub al-hakim and taghlib; printed pages 84–92 Read the bilingual lesson for Conclusion: Departing from the Apparent Demands of Context and test your understanding with a focused quiz.
Lesson
1. Apparent and non-apparent rhetorical choices
Muqtada al-zahir is the form of expression normally expected from the apparent situation: the audience’s known state, ordinary sentence usage, and the current context. Sometimes a distinct rhetorical purpose calls for a different form, known as ikhrāj al-kalām ʿalā khilāf muqtadā al-ẓāhir.
This is not a licence to violate grammar or create confusion. A contextual clue must make the deliberate departure intelligible, serving emphasis, rebuke, hope, wonder or another function.
Someone may be told a fact they already know as though they were ignorant of it. The aim may be to challenge their conduct rather than to convey new information.
2. Three tests for identifying rhetorical departure
Start with the form that ordinary usage would lead one to expect: an unemphatic statement, a particular tense, direct address or an explicit noun. Then identify the actual shift and the communicative gain.
For example, “هَذَا أَبُوكَ” (“This is your father”) may be said to someone who knows that fact but neglects its implications. The relationship is restated to awaken a sense of responsibility.
Not all departures have the same mechanism. Some alter the assumed audience state; others change the temporal form, pronoun, sentence function or response to a question.
3. Treating the informed listener as uninformed
هَذَا أَبُوكَ
This is your father.
The sentence may be addressed to someone who knows his father but neglects the obligations attached to that relationship. On the surface the information is redundant; rhetorically it serves as an admonition arising from an acknowledged fact.
The informed person is treated as if unaware because their conduct fails to reflect what they know. The shift concerns rhetorical treatment, not an actual absence of knowledge.
4. Treating a non-denier as a denier
A person need not explicitly deny something to be addressed with the emphatic wording normally used against denial. Their behaviour may suggest that they are acting as though the fact were untrue.
جَاءَ شَقِيقٌ عَارِضًا رُمْحَهُ، إِنَّ بَنِي عَمِّكَ فِيهِمْ رِمَاحُ
Shaqiq came displaying his spear; indeed, your cousins too possess spears.
Displaying the spear suggests exclusive strength. The particle “إِنَّ” answers that implicit suggestion. Rhetorical emphasis responds to conduct equivalent to denial, not necessarily an explicit denial.
5. Strong assurance about an unlikely event
إِنَّ الْفَرَجَ لَقَرِيبٌ
Relief is surely near.
A listener facing difficulty may regard relief as very unlikely. “إِنَّ” and the emphatic lām counter that sense of improbability. Their function is not ornamental repetition but strengthening assurance.
The listener is more than uninformed: they resist the likelihood of the claim. Thus the speaker uses a form that resembles a response to denial.
6. Treating a doubter as if unprejudiced
The reverse is also possible. A person may resist a fact despite the clear signs before them. The speaker may then omit emphasis and address them as if their mind were open.
الطِّبُّ نَافِعٌ
Medicine is beneficial.
If the benefits are evident but the listener denies them, a plain declarative can signal that the matter should be obvious upon reflection. Lack of emphasis is not necessarily lack of force; it may be the rhetorical point.
7. Comparing three audience-based shifts
Actual audience stateRhetorical treatmentPurpose
Knows but does not act accordinglyAs uninformedAdmonition
Does not explicitly deny, but acts as if denyingAs a denierRefute implied denial
Doubts despite evident proofAs open-mindedInvite reflection
Each case selects an assumed audience position for a distinct rhetorical advantage. The mechanisms are related but not interchangeable.
8. Past tense for the certainty of a future event
أَتَى أَمْرُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ
Allah’s command has come, so do not seek to hasten it. (Al-Nahl 16:1)
The past form “أَتَى” can represent a future occurrence as certain and settled. It does not require us to conclude that every event in view had already taken place when the statement was heard.
An explicitly future-oriented expression might ordinarily be expected, but the past form makes the announced occurrence rhetorically assured.
9. Past tense used to convey hopeful confidence
رَزَقَنِيَ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَكَ
May God grant me a meeting with you (literally, “God has granted me a meeting with you”).
When said before the meeting, the past tense conveys hope presented as if already realised. The speaker gives a desired outcome the form of an accomplished event.
The interpretation depends on the context showing that the meeting has not yet occurred. Without that clue, a past-tense statement remains an ordinary past assertion.
10. Present tense for vivid portrayal of a past event
وَاللَّهُ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ الرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا
It is Allah who sent the winds, and they stir up clouds. (Fatir 35:9)
The past “أَرْسَلَ” is followed by the present “فَتُثِيرُ”. The switch portrays the stirring of clouds as a scene unfolding before the listener’s imagination.
This is deliberate verbal vividness, not a tense error. The present form helps the audience picture divine action as immediately observable.
11. Present form for repeated conduct in the past
لَوْ يُطِيعُكُمْ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ
If he were to obey you in much of the matter, you would suffer hardship. (Al-Hujurat 49:7)
The imperfect form can present conduct as a repeated or continuing possibility rather than a single instant. The source discussion uses this to explain continuity across occasions in the relevant context.
Such a reading arises from the surrounding condition and discourse; it is not an automatic meaning of every imperfect verb.
12. Declarative wording in the function of prayer
هَدَاكَ اللَّهُ لِصَالِحِ الْأَعْمَالِ
May Allah guide you to righteous deeds.
The Arabic uses a past verb in a declarative structure, but when uttered as a blessing it functions as a supplication, not a report of completed guidance.
The grammatical form remains recognisable, while the communicative act changes through context. Syntax and speech function must therefore be distinguished.
13. Declarative form expressing desire
رَزَقَنِيَ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَكَ
May Allah grant me the pleasure of meeting you.
Before any meeting has occurred, the past form expresses a desire for a future outcome by framing it as achieved. It can therefore be studied as both a temporal departure and a declarative form serving a prayer-like purpose.
One sentence can illustrate more than one rhetorical feature, but each interpretation still requires its own contextual support.
14. Indirect command and emphatic command form
يَنْظُرُ مَوْلَايَ فِي أَمْرِي
May my master consider my affair.
A declarative-looking sentence is used as a courteous request rather than a plain report. It avoids the direct imperative “Look into my affair.”
Conversely, قُلْ أَمَرَ رَبِّي بِالْقِسْطِ وَأَقِيمُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ
Say: My Lord has commanded justice, and direct yourselves properly at every place of worship. (Al-A‘raf 7:29)
The explicit imperative “أَقِيمُوا” brings the audience’s duty into the foreground.
15. A statement shifted to create exhortation
أَقِيمُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ
Direct yourselves properly at every place of worship.
The imperative directly requires the audience to act. By contrast, “أَمَرَ رَبِّي بِالْقِسْطِ” reports a divine command. The two forms work together, but the imperative gives immediate force to the requested action.
In analyzing a switch between declarative and non-declarative forms, identify each sentence’s actual function rather than merely counting verbal forms.
16. A contrast in the wording of calling witnesses
إِنِّي أُشْهِدُ اللَّهَ وَاشْهَدُوا أَنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ
I call Allah to witness; you too bear witness that I am free of what you associate with Him. (Hud 11:54)
The first verb “أُشْهِدُ” is declarative, while “اشْهَدُوا” is imperative. The switch gives different roles to the divine witness and the human opponents.
The form moves from a firm declaration to a challenge demanding acknowledgement. The rhetorical value lies in the change of function, not merely in stylistic variety.
17. An imperative used to express equivalence
أَنْفِقُوا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا لَنْ يُتَقَبَّلَ مِنْكُمْ
Spend willingly or unwillingly; it will not be accepted from you. (Al-Tawbah 9:53)
Here “أَنْفِقُوا” is formally imperative, but it is not encouragement to spend. The point is that either manner of spending has the same outcome regarding acceptance.
This is taswiyah (equivalence). The alternatives and the following negative result provide the essential contextual clue.
18. Using a pronoun in place of an explicit noun
أَبِيتُ الْوِصَالَ مَخَافَةَ الرُّقَبَاءِ، وَأَنْتَ تَحْتَ مَدَارِعِ الظُّلَمَاءِ
I avoid a meeting for fear of watchers, though you are beneath the cloaks of darkness.
Normally a pronoun is interpreted through an identifiable antecedent. The source discusses cases where a pronoun is given prominence before its referent has been plainly supplied, encouraging attention or expectation.
Preceding the overt referent is not automatically eloquent. Context must still make the relation intelligible, or the result is ambiguity rather than a deliberate rhetorical effect.
19. The pronoun of affair and anticipation
هِيَ النَّفْسُ مَا حَمَّلْتَهَا تَتَحَمَّلُ
It is the soul: whatever burden you place upon it, it bears.
A pronoun at the start may indicate an affair or situation that the following clause will explain, rather than refer back to an earlier noun. This creates anticipation before the fuller statement arrives.
هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
He—Allah is One.
A pronoun of affair must not be confused indiscriminately with every ordinary referential pronoun. The following clause supplies its interpretive content.
20. Why deferred identification can be effective
هِيَ النَّفْسُ مَا حَمَّلْتَهَا تَتَحَمَّلُ
It is the soul: whatever you place upon it, it bears.
Praise and identification can first offer a suggestive expression and only later reveal its full significance. The listener’s expectation makes the following explanation more memorable.
This is anticipation before elucidation. It differs from merely omitting a word, since the expression deliberately opens a gap in the listener’s understanding and then resolves it.
21. An explicit noun where a pronoun was expected
سَيِّدُكَ يَأْمُرُكَ بِكَذَا
Your master commands you to do this.
When the speaker’s identity is already understood, a pronoun might be expected. Using “سَيِّدُكَ” instead foregrounds the speaker’s authority and the duty of obedience.
An explicit noun is not universally better than a pronoun; its rhetorical justification lies in the specific relationship or description that it makes salient.
22. Iltifat: changing the direction of address
الْاِلْتِفَاتُ
A deliberate shift in discourse between first person, second person and third person.
The main perspectives are speaker (I/we), addressee (you) and absent person (he/they). Where one perspective would normally continue, a shift refreshes attention or serves a particular communicative purpose.
Not every change of pronoun is iltifat. The relevant referent and discourse continuity must be identifiable, and the shift should have a defensible rhetorical point.
23. Iltifat from speaking of oneself to direct address
وَمَا لِيَ لَا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
Why should I not worship the One who created me, while to Him you will be returned? (Ya-Sin 36:22)
“مَا لِيَ” and “فَطَرَنِي” concern the speaker, but “تُرْجَعُونَ” addresses the listeners directly. The perspective moves from first person to second person.
The shift converts a personal statement of worship into a direct reminder of the audience’s own final return.
24. Iltifat from direct self-reference to a divine title
إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ
We have granted you al-Kawthar; therefore pray to your Lord and sacrifice. (Al-Kawthar 108:1–2)
The first clause uses first-person divine speech (“إِنَّا”), while the second introduces the third-person title “رَبِّكَ”. This is a shift from first-person reference to a divine attribute.
The title “Lord” makes the link between generosity, lordship and worship especially explicit.
25. Poetic context and the analysis of iltifat
أَطْلُبُ وَصْلَ رَبَّاتِ الْجَمَالِ، وَقَدْ سَقَطَ الْمَشِيبُ عَلَى قَذَالِي
I seek closeness to beauties, though grey hair has spread over the back of my head.
Poetic discourse may move between describing an external scene and reflecting on the speaker. Such shifts can move the listener from outward observation to inward feeling.
The verse is also a reminder that the whole passage and its referents must be considered before classifying a personal change as iltifat. Merely noticing “I” and “you” is insufficient.
26. Iltifat versus an ordinary change of subject
Discourse patternAssessment
Same continuing argument changes person or addressMay be iltifat
One person’s story ends and another beginsNot necessarily iltifat
Form changes without contextual reasonRhetorical claim not established
In “وَمَا لِيَ ... وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ” the invitation is continuous, so the move from “I” to “you” is meaningful. Separate reports about different people are not automatically instances of iltifat.
27. Feigning ignorance for a rhetorical purpose
أَيَا شَجَرَ الْخَابُورِ مَالَكَ مُورِقًا، كَأَنَّكَ لَمْ تَجْزَعْ عَلَى ابْنِ طَرِيفٍ
O tree of al-Khabur, why are you leafy, as if you have not grieved for Ibn Tarif?
The poet knows that the tree’s greenness is natural. The question is not a real request for information; it performs grief, astonishment and reproach. This is tajahul al-ʿarif, speaking as though unaware of what one knows.
A genuine question seeks unknown information. This literary question draws force precisely from the speaker’s evident knowledge.
28. Uslub al-hakim: redirecting an answer wisely
أُسْلُوبُ الْحَكِيمِ
A wise mode of speech in which a remark or question is redirected toward a more appropriate meaning.
The answerer takes the discussion to what the listener more needs to understand, rather than evading the question at random.
Two principal forms are reinterpretation of the speaker’s wording toward a useful lesson, and response to a more important issue than the one literally asked. In both cases, relevance must be maintained.
29. First mode: reinterpret the speaker’s words
In the source’s narrative involving al-Hajjaj, “الْأَدْهَمُ وَالْأَشْهَبُ” appears in a threat. An anticipated meaning involving mounts is redirected to restraints or fetters, making the warning more severe.
A familiar expression is carried into another contextually intelligible meaning to force attention toward a more significant concern. The relationship between expression and interpretation is essential.
The aim is not a mere riddle. It is a corrective redirecting of expectations.
30. Second mode: answering a better question
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ
They ask you about the crescent moons. Say: they mark times for people and the pilgrimage. (Al-Baqarah 2:189)
Rather than dwelling on the visible waxing and waning alone, the response identifies its practical significance for timekeeping and pilgrimage.
Uslub al-hakim is not simply answering an unrelated question. It shifts from an immediately noticed feature to the more useful dimension of the same subject.
31. Taghlib: extending one term over a pair or group
التَّغْلِيبُ
Using the form or name of one member of a pair or group for both or for the group as a whole.
وَكَانَتْ مِنَ الْقَانِتِينَ
And she was among the devoutly obedient. (Al-Tahrim 66:12)
Mary is referred to in a sentence containing the masculine sound plural “القانتين”, which follows the established usage of masculine predominance for a mixed class. It does not change the gender of the referent.
Taghlib extends a conventional linguistic form over an included category.
32. Lexical examples of taghlib
الأَبَوَانِ
The two parents: father and mother.
الْقَمَرَانِ
The two luminaries: sun and moon.
الْعُمَرَانِ
Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them.
These established expressions use the name of one member to refer collectively to two. The first is based on “father”, the second on “moon”, and the third on the name Umar.
They are conventional Arabic expressions; one should not invent arbitrary duals for any pair and claim established taghlib.
33. Taghlib in directly addressing a mixed audience
لَنُخْرِجَنَّكَ يَا شُعَيْبُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَكَ مِنْ قَرْيَتِنَا أَوْ لَتَعُودُنَّ فِي مِلَّتِنَا
O Shu‘ayb, we will expel you and those who believe with you from our town, or you will all return to our way. (Al-A‘raf 7:88)
The collective address uses “لَتَعُودُنَّ” (“you shall return”) for a group with different prior states. Return applies by predominance to the collective expression; it does not imply that Prophet Shu‘ayb had previously followed that false religion.
The individual histories of the persons addressed must be distinguished from the shared form of address.
34. Predominance of rational beings in a broad category
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds. (Al-Fatihah 1:2)
The plural “الْعَالَمِينَ” has the form conventionally associated with rational beings, although divine lordship includes far more than people alone. The source explains a predominance of rational forms within broad reference.
The grammatical form must not be used to narrow the meaning so that other created worlds are excluded.
35. Comparison of the major devices
DeviceFormal changeRhetorical function
TanzilAudience is treated as in another stateAdmonition or emphasis
Past/present switchUnexpected tenseCertainty or vividness
Khabar/inshaForm and speech act differPrayer or equivalence
IltifatShift in person or addressRenewed engagement
Uslub al-hakimAnswer redirected helpfullyRelevant correction
TaghlibOne term covers several membersCollective expression
The labels matter only insofar as they help explain a contextually supported communicative purpose.
36. Chapter synthesis and transition to ilm al-bayan
A departure from the apparent form is not ungrammatical or obscure language. A speaker chooses a form that departs from the ordinary expectation because context and a specific benefit justify the choice.
The principal devices covered are treating a listener as informed, uninformed or denying in a special way; changing tense; using statements as prayers or imperatives for equivalence; shifting pronouns and explicit nouns; and iltifat, feigned ignorance, uslub al-hakim and taghlib.
Reliable analysis considers grammar, context, audience and intended effect together. The next discipline, ilm al-bayan, studies how simile, figurative expression and indirect indication convey meaning.