LessonsDivision of Surahs into Verses, Qur’anic Rhythm, and Verse EndingsQuiz

In Arabic prosody, the ṣadr is the first hemistich of a poetic line and the ʿajuz its second. The internal feet are termed ḥashw, while the last foot of the first hemistich is ʿarūḍ and the last foot of the second is ḍarb.

These names show that prosodic analysis depends on the position of each component, not solely on an audible ending. Particular metres impose rules for terminal feet that do not apply to ordinary prose.

When comparing verse endings with poetry, an end-of-āyah should therefore not be treated as if it were necessarily the technical ʿarūḍ or ḍarb of a poetic line.

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The structure of a classical poetic line

Division of Surahs into Verses, Qur’anic Rhythm, and Verse Endings

In Arabic prosody, the ṣadr is the first hemistich of a poetic line and the ʿajuz its second. The internal feet are termed ḥashw, while the last foot of the first hemistich is ʿarūḍ and the last foot of the second is ḍarb.

These names show that prosodic analysis depends on the position of each component, not solely on an audible ending. Particular metres impose rules for terminal feet that do not apply to ordinary prose.

When comparing verse endings with poetry, an end-of-āyah should therefore not be treated as if it were necessarily the technical ʿarūḍ or ḍarb of a poetic line.