LessonsThe Subject through Iḍāfah and Indefiniteness: Rhetorical PurposesQuiz

Other constituents can show different values of indefiniteness. The source draws on Qur'anic examples that highlight the difference between grave magnitude and weak estimation:

فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
Then be informed of war from Allah and His Messenger. (Al-Baqarah 2:279)

The indefiniteness of «حَرْبٍ» can emphasize the terrifying gravity of the threatened war. Compare:

إِنْ نَظُنُّ إِلَّا ظَنًّا
We are only making a conjecture. (Al-Jāthiyah 45:32)

Here «ظَنًّا» can convey the frailty or uncertainty of the conjecture. Both expressions are indefinite, but their rhetorical effects differ.

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Extraordinary war and slight conjecture

The Subject through Iḍāfah and Indefiniteness: Rhetorical Purposes

Other constituents can show different values of indefiniteness. The source draws on Qur'anic examples that highlight the difference between grave magnitude and weak estimation:

فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
Then be informed of war from Allah and His Messenger. (Al-Baqarah 2:279)

The indefiniteness of «حَرْبٍ» can emphasize the terrifying gravity of the threatened war. Compare:

إِنْ نَظُنُّ إِلَّا ظَنًّا
We are only making a conjecture. (Al-Jāthiyah 45:32)

Here «ظَنًّا» can convey the frailty or uncertainty of the conjecture. Both expressions are indefinite, but their rhetorical effects differ.