LessonsMusāwāt and Ījāz al-Qaṣr: Proportionate Wording and the Rhetoric of QiṣāṣQuiz

A proportionately phrased report demonstrates musāwāt. But praise, warning and argument may demand special emphasis, elaboration or compression; proportion alone does not guarantee rhetorical superiority.

For example, حَضَرَ الْمُسَافِرُ reports that the traveler arrived. It can be adequate when arrival is all that matters. حَضَرَ الْمُسَافِرُ بَعْدَ طُولِ انْتِظَارٍ adds that the arrival followed a long wait. If that circumstance is part of the communicative purpose, the extra words do real work. The distinction cannot be reduced to counting words.

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A baseline is not automatically the most eloquent form

Musāwāt and Ījāz al-Qaṣr: Proportionate Wording and the Rhetoric of Qiṣāṣ

A proportionately phrased report demonstrates musāwāt. But praise, warning and argument may demand special emphasis, elaboration or compression; proportion alone does not guarantee rhetorical superiority.

For example, حَضَرَ الْمُسَافِرُ reports that the traveler arrived. It can be adequate when arrival is all that matters. حَضَرَ الْمُسَافِرُ بَعْدَ طُولِ انْتِظَارٍ adds that the arrival followed a long wait. If that circumstance is part of the communicative purpose, the extra words do real work. The distinction cannot be reduced to counting words.