كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ / كُونُوا حِجَارَةً أَوْ حَدِيدًا
Be despised apes; be stones or iron.
Both verses use the imperative kūnū, yet the contexts generate different rhetorical forces. The first is associated with transformation and subjugation; the second challenges an absurd supposition through contempt.
An accurate comparison proceeds in stages: identify the form, test whether ordinary voluntary compliance is relevant, then determine the context’s communicative purpose. A repeated verb does not establish an identical rhetorical category.
ExampleDominant forceCore point
Kūnū qiradatan khāsiʾīnSubjugationTransformation of state
Kūnū ḥijāratan aw ḥadīdanHumiliationDerision of an untenable position