LessonsRhetorical Addition: Emphasis, Explanatory Coordination, Connections and Multiple MeaningsQuiz

«وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ»
“You will see the mountains and suppose them motionless, while they pass like clouds.” (al-Naml 27:88, excerpt)

“Seeing” and “supposing” describe different aspects of one scene: visual perception and an assumption made about what is seen. The following clause contrasts that assumption with the motion being described.

Interpretation must preserve these separate contributions and attend to the passage’s context. Calling the verbs redundant would conceal the contrast that gives the depiction its force. The verse is not a basis for making the reader ignore its immediate narrative and eschatological setting.

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Mountains, appearance, and the perceived scene

Rhetorical Addition: Emphasis, Explanatory Coordination, Connections and Multiple Meanings

«وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ»
“You will see the mountains and suppose them motionless, while they pass like clouds.” (al-Naml 27:88, excerpt)

“Seeing” and “supposing” describe different aspects of one scene: visual perception and an assumption made about what is seen. The following clause contrasts that assumption with the motion being described.

Interpretation must preserve these separate contributions and attend to the passage’s context. Calling the verbs redundant would conceal the contrast that gives the depiction its force. The verse is not a basis for making the reader ignore its immediate narrative and eschatological setting.