LessonsIlm al-Badiʿ: The First Nine Semantic Rhetorical DevicesQuiz

In unreinforced tawriyah (mujarradah), no special accompanying expression strengthens the immediately apparent sense. In reinforced tawriyah (murashshahah), another word fits the near meaning and makes it seem still more likely, although the intended sense remains remote.

The device depends on controlled misdirection: the surface wording supports an easy reading while a subtler contextual interpretation remains intended. In either form, the remote meaning must be more than an accidental possibility.

«وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ»
And We built the heaven with strength.

The word aydin is associated by an immediate reading with hands, but the intended sense is power and might. The nearby verb “built” reinforces the apparent association; this is reinforcement (tarshih).

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Bare and reinforced tawriyah

Ilm al-Badiʿ: The First Nine Semantic Rhetorical Devices

In unreinforced tawriyah (mujarradah), no special accompanying expression strengthens the immediately apparent sense. In reinforced tawriyah (murashshahah), another word fits the near meaning and makes it seem still more likely, although the intended sense remains remote.

The device depends on controlled misdirection: the surface wording supports an easy reading while a subtler contextual interpretation remains intended. In either form, the remote meaning must be more than an accidental possibility.

«وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ»
And We built the heaven with strength.

The word aydin is associated by an immediate reading with hands, but the intended sense is power and might. The nearby verb “built” reinforces the apparent association; this is reinforcement (tarshih).