LessonsQur’anic Ellipsis (Ḥadhf): Implied Words, Relationships and Rhetorical BrevityQuiz

“Innā anzalnāhu fī laylati al-qadr”
“We sent it down on the Night of Decree.” (al-Qadr 97:1)

The pronoun “-hu” refers to the Qur’an, although the noun is not explicitly stated earlier in the same sūrah. A pronoun need not always have an immediate verbal antecedent when its referent is salient and familiar.

“Ḥattā tawārat bil-ḥijāb”
“Until it disappeared behind the veil.” (Ṣād 38:32, excerpt)

In the classical explanation used here, the feminine subject points to the sun disappearing from sight, even without the word “sun” in that phrase. Context supplies the reference. Such cases require semantic, not merely mechanical, antecedent tracing.

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When a pronoun has no explicit preceding noun

Qur’anic Ellipsis (Ḥadhf): Implied Words, Relationships and Rhetorical Brevity

“Innā anzalnāhu fī laylati al-qadr”
“We sent it down on the Night of Decree.” (al-Qadr 97:1)

The pronoun “-hu” refers to the Qur’an, although the noun is not explicitly stated earlier in the same sūrah. A pronoun need not always have an immediate verbal antecedent when its referent is salient and familiar.

“Ḥattā tawārat bil-ḥijāb”
“Until it disappeared behind the veil.” (Ṣād 38:32, excerpt)

In the classical explanation used here, the feminine subject points to the sun disappearing from sight, even without the word “sun” in that phrase. Context supplies the reference. Such cases require semantic, not merely mechanical, antecedent tracing.