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

“Wa-ātaynā Thamūda al-nāqata mubṣirah”
“We gave Thamūd the she-camel as a clear sign.” (al-Isrāʾ 17:59, excerpt)

“Mubṣirah” literally suggests enabling sight or being clear. The point is not that this camel alone had functional eyes. In context it is a conspicuous sign, expressible as an implied “clear sign” (āyah mubṣirah).

The modifier must be interpreted through the surrounding discussion of Thamūd and their miraculous sign, not as an arbitrary zoological description.

A qualified object may be recoverable from context; an expression can also exhibit a figurative relation between an object and the quality attached to it. Both aspects require careful interpretation.

Opening interactive controls...

Omission of what is qualified: the she-camel as a sign

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

“Wa-ātaynā Thamūda al-nāqata mubṣirah”
“We gave Thamūd the she-camel as a clear sign.” (al-Isrāʾ 17:59, excerpt)

“Mubṣirah” literally suggests enabling sight or being clear. The point is not that this camel alone had functional eyes. In context it is a conspicuous sign, expressible as an implied “clear sign” (āyah mubṣirah).

The modifier must be interpreted through the surrounding discussion of Thamūd and their miraculous sign, not as an arbitrary zoological description.

A qualified object may be recoverable from context; an expression can also exhibit a figurative relation between an object and the quality attached to it. Both aspects require careful interpretation.