LessonsSupplementary Practice 15: Caravan Reports, Attribution and the Limits of InferenceQuiz

مَا تَوَقَّفَتِ الْقَافِلَةُ إِلَّا عِنْدَ الْوَادِي.
The caravan stopped only near the valley, not elsewhere.

Negation and exception here restrict the location of stopping. They do not exclude all other possible events during the journey. The restriction belongs to the particular predication expressed.

This is a fitting answer when the dispute concerns whether the halt was at the valley or on the mountain route. If the question is *why* the caravan halted, a locative restriction is not a causal explanation.

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Restriction with mā … illā

Supplementary Practice 15: Caravan Reports, Attribution and the Limits of Inference

مَا تَوَقَّفَتِ الْقَافِلَةُ إِلَّا عِنْدَ الْوَادِي.
The caravan stopped only near the valley, not elsewhere.

Negation and exception here restrict the location of stopping. They do not exclude all other possible events during the journey. The restriction belongs to the particular predication expressed.

This is a fitting answer when the dispute concerns whether the halt was at the valley or on the mountain route. If the question is *why* the caravan halted, a locative restriction is not a causal explanation.