LessonsSupplementary Practice 2: Editing Rhetorical Expression, Context and ReasoningQuiz

﴿وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيَاةٌ﴾
For you there is life in just retribution. (al-Baqarah 2:179)

The concise expression conveys a broad principle: retribution can preserve life, and the indefinite 'ḥayāh' adds a meaningful nuance. This is a leading case of ījāz al-qaṣr, where dense wording carries extensive meaning without requiring a specific deleted clause as the primary explanation.

By contrast, «wa-sʾal al-qaryah» requires recovering the intended inhabitants from context. One exemplifies compact semantic density; the other relies on a recoverable omission.

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Concision by density versus concision by omission

Supplementary Practice 2: Editing Rhetorical Expression, Context and Reasoning

﴿وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيَاةٌ﴾
For you there is life in just retribution. (al-Baqarah 2:179)

The concise expression conveys a broad principle: retribution can preserve life, and the indefinite 'ḥayāh' adds a meaningful nuance. This is a leading case of ījāz al-qaṣr, where dense wording carries extensive meaning without requiring a specific deleted clause as the primary explanation.

By contrast, «wa-sʾal al-qaryah» requires recovering the intended inhabitants from context. One exemplifies compact semantic density; the other relies on a recoverable omission.