مَا ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ إِلَّا عَمْرًا
Zayd struck no one except Amr.
مَا ضَرَبَ عَمْرًا إِلَّا زَيْدٌ
No one struck Amr except Zayd.
The first restricts the object; the second restricts the agent. Similar lexical material therefore carries a different qasr relation when syntax changes.
Case endings, the verb's participants, and the position of the exception must all be taken into account.
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Restriction by Fronting and the Rhetorical Contrast of Qasr Methods
مَا ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ إِلَّا عَمْرًا
Zayd struck no one except Amr.
مَا ضَرَبَ عَمْرًا إِلَّا زَيْدٌ
No one struck Amr except Zayd.
The first restricts the object; the second restricts the agent. Similar lexical material therefore carries a different qasr relation when syntax changes.
Case endings, the verb's participants, and the position of the exception must all be taken into account.