LessonsĪjāz al-Ḥadhf: Forms of Ellipsis and Evidence for Recovering the OmittedQuiz

﴿وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّقُوا مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَمَا خَلْفَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ﴾
When they are told to beware of what lies before and behind them, so that they may receive mercy. (Yā-Sīn 36:45)

The idhā construction is conditional, while its answer is unspoken. The context suggests aʿraḍū, “they turn away.” The following verse describes their persistent turning away from signs and thereby supplies strong evidence for that reading.

«وَمَا تَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ آيَةٍ ... إِلَّا كَانُوا عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ»
No sign comes to them without their turning away from it. (Yā-Sīn 36:46)

Withholding the answer allows their response to be inferred from the recurring pattern of refusal.

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The omitted answer after “when they are told”

Ījāz al-Ḥadhf: Forms of Ellipsis and Evidence for Recovering the Omitted

﴿وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّقُوا مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَمَا خَلْفَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ﴾
When they are told to beware of what lies before and behind them, so that they may receive mercy. (Yā-Sīn 36:45)

The idhā construction is conditional, while its answer is unspoken. The context suggests aʿraḍū, “they turn away.” The following verse describes their persistent turning away from signs and thereby supplies strong evidence for that reading.

«وَمَا تَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ آيَةٍ ... إِلَّا كَانُوا عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ»
No sign comes to them without their turning away from it. (Yā-Sīn 36:46)

Withholding the answer allows their response to be inferred from the recurring pattern of refusal.