LessonsFurther Forms of Ibdāl: Definiteness, Agreement, Iltifāt and Word OrderQuiz

“Illā āla Lūṭin innā la-munajjūhum ajmaʿīn illā imraʾatah”
“Except the family of Lot—we shall surely save all of them—except his wife.” (al-Ḥijr 15:59–60, excerpt)

The family is singled out for salvation, an emphatic intervening clause announces that salvation, and a subsequent exception excludes the wife. The intervening statement does not destroy the semantic link between the exception and the group under discussion.

Reading the last exception only against the closest isolated phrase could confuse the actual outcome. The entire sequence shows both the protection granted to Lot’s family and the exclusion specified for his wife.

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“Except the family of Lot”: an interrupted exception

Further Forms of Ibdāl: Definiteness, Agreement, Iltifāt and Word Order

“Illā āla Lūṭin innā la-munajjūhum ajmaʿīn illā imraʾatah”
“Except the family of Lot—we shall surely save all of them—except his wife.” (al-Ḥijr 15:59–60, excerpt)

The family is singled out for salvation, an emphatic intervening clause announces that salvation, and a subsequent exception excludes the wife. The intervening statement does not destroy the semantic link between the exception and the group under discussion.

Reading the last exception only against the closest isolated phrase could confuse the actual outcome. The entire sequence shows both the protection granted to Lot’s family and the exclusion specified for his wife.