LessonsSupplementary Practice 29 — Comparative Rhetoric of Sūrat al-Infiṭār and Sūrat al-InshiqāqQuiz

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ ۞ وَاللَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ ۞ وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ
So I swear by the twilight, by the night and what it gathers, and by the moon when it grows full. (84:16–18)

The initial “lā” in “lā uqsimu” has more than one exegetical-rhetorical account: some explain it as additional or emphatic; others relate it to rebuttal of previous falsehood. It should not automatically be taken as a denial of the oath. The sequence of twilight, night, and moon prepares for the following theme of successive states.

“Mā wasaqa” embraces what the night gathers; “idhā ittasaqa” specifies the state of the moon when full. After these oaths comes a specially emphasized answer.

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Al-Inshiqāq: the oath by twilight, night, and moon

Supplementary Practice 29 — Comparative Rhetoric of Sūrat al-Infiṭār and Sūrat al-Inshiqāq

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ ۞ وَاللَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ ۞ وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ
So I swear by the twilight, by the night and what it gathers, and by the moon when it grows full. (84:16–18)

The initial “lā” in “lā uqsimu” has more than one exegetical-rhetorical account: some explain it as additional or emphatic; others relate it to rebuttal of previous falsehood. It should not automatically be taken as a denial of the oath. The sequence of twilight, night, and moon prepares for the following theme of successive states.

“Mā wasaqa” embraces what the night gathers; “idhā ittasaqa” specifies the state of the moon when full. After these oaths comes a specially emphasized answer.