﴿لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ﴾
He is not questioned about what He does, whereas they will be questioned. (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:23)
The verse expresses Allah’s sovereign authority and the accountability of creatures in two sharply opposed predications. Its power does not come merely from a small word count. The pronoun hum and the carefully balanced contrast determine the scope and rhetorical force of the statement.
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Iʿtirāḍ and the Relative Measure of Ījāz and Iṭnāb — Concluding Volume 1
﴿لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ﴾
He is not questioned about what He does, whereas they will be questioned. (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:23)
The verse expresses Allah’s sovereign authority and the accountability of creatures in two sharply opposed predications. Its power does not come merely from a small word count. The pronoun hum and the carefully balanced contrast determine the scope and rhetorical force of the statement.