كَمْ دَعَوْتُكَ / فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ / أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُ
How often have I called you! / Where are you going? / Is Allah not sufficient for His servant?
All three examples are interrogative in form, but the first complains of delay, the second warns against deviation, and the third elicits acknowledgment. Other purposes in this unit include denial, warning, command, rebuke, mockery, belittlement, dread and improbability.
A disciplined reading first identifies the particle's ordinary function, then explains why an information-seeking reading is inadequate, and finally states the rhetorical purpose supported by the context. Assigning every possible rhetorical meaning to one example is not careful analysis.
PurposeRepresentative exampleKey clue
Delay reproachKam daʿawtukaDelayed response
WonderMā li lā arā al-hudhudUnexpected absence
AdmonitionFa-ayna tadhhabūnWrong path
ThreatA-lam uʾaddib fulānanEarlier punishment
CommandFa-hal antum muslimūnCall for action
AcknowledgmentA-laysa Allāhu bi-kāfin ʿabdahuKnown truth
DenialA-ghayra Allāhi tadʿūnRepudiation
RebukeA-ʿaṣayta rabbakaKnown wrongdoing
MockeryA-ṣalātuka taʾmurukaSarcasm
BelittlementMan hādhāDisdain
DreadMan FirʿawnTerror
RemotenessAnnā lahumu al-dhikrāPrior refusal