مَا لِيَ لَا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ
Why do I not see the hoopoe? Or is it among those absent?
The following alternative, am kāna mina al-ghāʾibīn, allows two possibilities: the bird is present but out of sight, or it is truly absent. The commentarial discussion accordingly considers both the strong expression of astonishment and the possibility of some genuine uncertainty.
Rhetorical readings need not erase every literal dimension. Where the utterance combines amazement with an inquiry into its cause, a sound explanation identifies the predominant effect while preserving the contextual grounds of another interpretation.