LessonsFaṣl and Waṣl: Definitions, Sentence Coordination, and the Requirement of a Common LinkQuiz

اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ
God requites their mockery.

In the passage from Sūrat al-Baqarah, “We are only mocking” belongs to the hypocrites’ reported speech. “Allāhu yastahziʾu bihim” is a separate divine assertion about their conduct and its requital. Joining it into the same quoted-speech structure would misattribute the statement.

The rhetorical need for separation is therefore not a lack of thematic connection. The subject is closely related, but the speaker and the judgment change. The expression is interpreted in the context of divine requital rather than ascribing human imperfection to God.

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Protecting speaker attribution in a scriptural example

Faṣl and Waṣl: Definitions, Sentence Coordination, and the Requirement of a Common Link

اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ
God requites their mockery.

In the passage from Sūrat al-Baqarah, “We are only mocking” belongs to the hypocrites’ reported speech. “Allāhu yastahziʾu bihim” is a separate divine assertion about their conduct and its requital. Joining it into the same quoted-speech structure would misattribute the statement.

The rhetorical need for separation is therefore not a lack of thematic connection. The subject is closely related, but the speaker and the judgment change. The expression is interpreted in the context of divine requital rather than ascribing human imperfection to God.