LessonsDelaying and Fronting the Predicate: Restriction, Emphasis, and AnticipationQuiz

إِنْ حِسَابُهُمْ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّي
Their reckoning rests only with my Lord.

Here «in» is negative and, with «illā», establishes an explicit restrictive construction. The phrase «ʿalā rabbī» identifies the one to whom their reckoning belongs. The restriction is not based solely on fronting; the particles themselves express limitation.

This differs from cases in which word order and context create an additional rhetorical restriction without a dedicated exclusive particle. Both kinds of evidence may coexist.

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The restriction in in ḥisābuhum illā ʿalā rabbī

Delaying and Fronting the Predicate: Restriction, Emphasis, and Anticipation

إِنْ حِسَابُهُمْ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّي
Their reckoning rests only with my Lord.

Here «in» is negative and, with «illā», establishes an explicit restrictive construction. The phrase «ʿalā rabbī» identifies the one to whom their reckoning belongs. The restriction is not based solely on fronting; the particles themselves express limitation.

This differs from cases in which word order and context create an additional rhetorical restriction without a dedicated exclusive particle. Both kinds of evidence may coexist.