أَلَمْ أُؤَدِّبْ فُلَانًا؟
Did I not discipline so-and-so?
When said to an ill-mannered listener who knows the prior incident, this is not primarily a historical query. It communicates a threat or warning: continued misconduct may incur the same punishment.
The listener's prior knowledge is a decisive clue. If the incident is unknown and verification is truly sought, the form can remain a real question; when deterrence is the goal, it functions as waʿīd.
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Non-interrogative Uses of Interrogatives: Rhetorical Purposes
أَلَمْ أُؤَدِّبْ فُلَانًا؟
Did I not discipline so-and-so?
When said to an ill-mannered listener who knows the prior incident, this is not primarily a historical query. It communicates a threat or warning: continued misconduct may incur the same punishment.
The listener's prior knowledge is a decisive clue. If the incident is unknown and verification is truly sought, the form can remain a real question; when deterrence is the goal, it functions as waʿīd.