Definiteness through iḍāfah identifies the subject by linking it to a known term. Its important rhetorical functions include brevity, honoring, and disparagement. Indefiniteness of the subject can instead indicate an unspecified individual, a distinct kind, magnification, disparagement, multiplicity, or slightness.
A reliable analytical sequence:
1. Is the indefinite term actually the subject or another constituent?
2. If the subject is annexed, what familiar relation supplies identification?
3. If the noun is indefinite, does contextual evidence establish individuality, type, or an evaluative/quantitative effect?
4. Where the source discusses multiple scholarly interpretations, retain their differences.
The next section is waṣf al-musnad ilayh (description of the subject), examining what adjectives add beyond basic identification, including praise, blame, emphasis, and other functions.