مَا ضَرَبْتُ إِلَّا زَيْدًا
I struck no one except Zayd.
Illā can delimit an agent, patient, manner, or another complement. Its syntactic function helps identify the precise contrast; translating all such constructions as a generic “only” can obscure scope.
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Qasr by Coordination, Negation–Exception, and Innamā
مَا ضَرَبْتُ إِلَّا زَيْدًا
I struck no one except Zayd.
Illā can delimit an agent, patient, manner, or another complement. Its syntactic function helps identify the precise contrast; translating all such constructions as a generic “only” can obscure scope.