IBN QUTAYBAH'S CONTRIBUTION TO QUR'ANIC EXEGESIS, CH. III

CHAPTER III
IBN QUTAYBAH’S TREATISE OF THE PHENOMENA
OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

In this chapter the phenomena of figurative language in the verses of the Qur’ān will be dealt with. They will be divided into six categories based on Ibn Qutaybah’s treatment. They are: metaphor (majāz and isti‘ārah), inversion (maqlūb), ellipsis (h.adhf) and brevity (ikhtis.ār), repetition (takrār) and pleonasm (ziyādah), metonymy (kināyah) and allusion (ta‘rīd.), and the idiomatic expression entitled “the disagreement of the word with its literal meaning” (مُخَـالَفَةُ ظَاهِرِ اللَّفْظِ مَعْنَـاه).

A. Metaphor

Metaphor is the use of words to indicate something different from their basic meanings. For example, if we speak of somebody who is stubborn, merciless or cruel, we can say “he has a heart of stone”. Although Ibn Qutaybah put majāz and isti‘ārah in a separate chapter both are entered here under metaphor, since both are, as we shall see, closely related. He said that many of the majāz fall into the category of isti‘ārah.

1. Majāz

The basic meaning of the term majāz is “a crossing”, “a passage”. It is derived from the verb jāza, yajūzu, meaning “to pass”, “to travel (through)”. In classical terminology it means “the way of expression”. Abū ‘Ubaydah in his Majāz al-Qur’ān used this terminology in this sense rather than its later meaning as figurative speech which is in contrast with h.aqīqah (the real meaning). Ibn Qutaybah still used this term in this sense when he said that the Arabs had majāzāt (pl. of majāz) in their expression, meaning “the ways and sources of expression” (طُرُقُ اْلقَوْلِ وَمَأْخَذُهُ). Among these majāzāt he mentioned isti‘ārah, tamthīl, - simile, known in modern terminology as tashbīh, which he did not treat in a particular chapter - maqlūb, takrār, and others. On the other hand, he also used it in contrast with h.aqīqah, as we shall see later.

According to Ibn Taymīyah, the division of words into h.aqīqah and majāz was not found in the statements of the salaf, but in those of scholars in later generations. Neither the s.ah.ābah nor the tabi‘īn had ever used these technical terms. They were not found in the statements of early Muslim legists, such as Abū H.anīfah, Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī and al-Awzā‘ī, as well as philologists, such as al-Khalīl, Sībawayh, and Abū ‘Umar ibn al-‘Alā’. They appeared in the third/ninth century, or probably at the end of the second/eighth century, and became well-known in the fourth/tenth century. Ibn Qutaybah wanted to prove that majāz as a figure of speech and, in contrast with h.aqīqah, did actually occur in the verses of the Qur’ān. This was to counter the existing view in his time that rejected such a possibility. We know that he was a contemporary of Dā’ūd ibn ‘Alī ibn Khalaf al-As.bah.ānī (d. 270/884), the founder of the Z.āhirī school of law. This school insists on the literal meanings of the Qur’ān, and as such, was said to have rejected the occurrence of majāz in the Qur’ān. This view of rejecting the occurrence of majāz in the Qur’ān was also held later by some scholars from different schools, such as Abū ’l-‘Abbās Ah.mad ibn Ah.mad al-T.abarī, better known as Ibn al-Qas.s. (d. 335/947) of the Shāfi‘ī school, Ibn Khuwayz Mundhādh (d. ca. 400/1010) of the Mālikī school, and Abū Muslim Muh.ammad ibn Bah.r al-As.bahānī (d. 370/981) of the Mu‘tazilī school of theology. Their main argument was that a speaker would only resort to majāz if he were unable to express himself properly by using h.aqīqah, and such a weakness obviously could not be attributed to Allah.

On the other hand, Ibn Qutaybah wanted to repudiate what he considered the excessive use of majāz which, in his view, led to misinterpreting the verses of the Qur’ān. Although he did not mention the people who held this view, it is possible he had the Mu‘tazilīs in mind. He said that some people interpreted black magic (sih.r) as being merely a trick, rejected the existence of the interrogation and the punishment by the two angels (Munkar and Nakīr) in the grave, the statement that the shuhadā’ (martyrs) were alive, the sound of demons, and the harm caused by ghouls (desert demons appearing in ever varying shapes). They said that when people were alone in the desert they could easily imagine seeing and hearing something that did not really exist.

In modern terminology, the definition of majāz is as follows: “It is a word not used in its proper meaning (context) due to the [existence of] coherence or indication which prevents it from having the basic meaning as the intended one هُوَ اللَّفْظُ اْلمُسْتَعْمَلُ فِي غَيْرِ مَا وُضِعَ لَهُ لِعَلاقَةٍ وَ قَرِيْنَةٍ مَانِعَةٍ مِنْ إِرَادَةِ اْلمَعْنَي اْلأَصْلِي)).” The example from poetry is as follows:

قَامَتْ تُظَلِّلُنِيْ مِنَ الشَّمْسِ - نَفْسٌ أَحَبُّ إِليََّ مِنْ نَفْسِيْ
قاَمَتْ تُظَلِّلُنِيْ وَمِنْ عَجَبٍ - شَمْسٌ تُظَلِّلُنِيْ مِنَ الشَّمْسِ

“A person dearer to me than myself stood to protect me from the sun. He stood
to protect me; amazingly, ‘a sun’ was protecting me from the sun.”
What the poet means by ‘a sun’ is a man of great personality who is very dear to him.
If there is an affinity between the original and the intended meanings in the majāz, it is called isti‘ārah. Otherwise it is called majāz mursal. An example of isti‘ārah can be seen in the following Qur’ānic verse: لِيُخْرِجَكُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ (الحديد : ٥٧) “…, to lead you out of the deep darkness into the light..” (Q. 57:9, Asad). The verse is a metaphor for bringing people from ignorance and error into guidance and truth. There is an affinity between darkness and ignorance, and between light and guidance. An example of majāz mursal can be seen in the following poem: بِلادِيْ وَ إِنْ جَارَتْ عَلَيَّ عَزِيْزَةٌ “My country, although it wronged me it is [still] dear to me.” What the poet means with his country is its inhabitants. Here, there is no affinity between the country and its inhabitants

After illustrating majāz in modern technical terminology, we come to Ibn Qutaybah’s view and see what he meant by this term. Stating the occurrence of majāz in Arabic expression as well as in the Qur’ān, Ibn Qutaybah gave the example of the word umm (“mother”). When the Arabs say that their land is their mother, it is because, like their mother, it was from it they started their lives, to it they would return, and from it they obtained their food and provision. In poetry he cited the poem of Umayyah ibn Abī al-S.alt as follows:

وَ اْلأرْضُ مَعْقِـلُـَنا وَكـَانَتْ أُمَّنـَا - فِيْـهَامَقَابِرُنـَا وَ فيِـْهَا نُـْولَدُ
“And the land is our refuge and was our mother. In
it our grave will be, and in it we are born.”

The example from the Qur’ān given by Ibn Qutaybah is the verse: فَأُمُّهُ هَاوِيَةٌ (القارعة: ٩) “his mother will be an abyss” (Q. 101:9). As the mother is the sponsor, the sustainer, the shelter, and the nurse to her baby, so is Hell to the unbeliever to which he will be brought. Another example is that the Prophet’s wives are “the mothers of the believers” (Q. 33:6), meaning that reverence should be due to them as to their own mothers.

Ibn Qutaybah rejects the views of an unspecified group of people who say that Allah’s statements in the Qur’ān are metaphors, and not intended in the real sense. There are those among them who say that Allah’s order to the angels to prostrate to Adam (Q. 2:34) was only an inspiration, like His inspiration to the bees to choose habitations in the hills and trees (Q. 16:68). They refer to Allah’s statement: وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَنْ يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولًا فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ (الشورى : ٥١) “And it is not given to mortal man that God should speak unto him otherwise than through sudden inspiration, or [by voice, as it were,] from behind a veil, or by sending an apostle to reveal, by His leave, whatever He wills [to reveal]: for, verily, He is exalted, wise.” (Q. 42:51, Asad). Here they say that He did not really say to the heaven and earth اِئْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا “come [into being] both of you willingly or unwillingly!”, and they did not really answer أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ (فصلت: ١١) “we do come in obedience” (Q. 41:11). According to them this expression merely means “We created them both, and so they exist.” In poetry, it is like the poem شَكَا إِليََّ جَمَلِيْ طُوْلَ السُّرَى “My camel complained to me against the long journey” in which the camel did not actually complain to the poet, but rather the poet spoke about his frequent journeys and of tiring his camel, and that if it were able to speak it would have complained to him. Similarly, Allah did not actually say to Hell هَلِ امْتَلَأْتِ “Art thou filled?” and Hell did not actually say هَلْ مِنْ مَزِيدٍ (ق : ٣٠) “[Nay,] is there yet more [for me]?” (Q. 50:30), but the statements merely indicate the vastness of Hell. In addition, Hell does not actually call the sinful person who turns away (Q. 70:17), but the expression indicates that Hell would be their future abode as if it called them to it. It is like the fly calling its friend in the following poem:

وَلَقـَدْ هَبَطْتُ اْلوَادِيَـْينِ وَ وَادِيـًا - يَدْعُـو ْالأَنِيْـسَ بِهِ اْلغَضِيْضُ اْلأَبْـكَمُ

“I have descended t he two valleys and another valley where the ‘mute and tender’ creature [i.e., the fly was buzzing as if it were] calling [its] close friend [to the plant and water].”

Here the fly did not actually call, but buzzed to indicate the existence of plants and water in the valley.

Before refuting the above statements, Ibn Qutaybah makes a clear distinction between “saying” and “speaking” in regard to the occurrence of majāz. He says that majāz can occur on the word “saying” but not on “speaking”. We can say, for example, “the wall says, so it leans” (قَـالَ الْحَـائِطُ فَمـَالَ); “say (it) to me with your head” meaning “tilt it” (قـُلْ بِرَأْسِكَ إلَيَّ أَيْ أَمِلْـهُ) and “the camel says... [or complains]” as mentioned earlier in the poem. But we cannot say that the wall speaks, since the word denotes the act of speaking. However, Ibn Qutaybah asserts, exception occurs in one case, namely, when the speaker is an animate being giving advice or moral lessons, so that we can say that it informs, it spoke, and it reminded. The example in poetry is the poem of Abū ’l-‘Atāhiyah as follows:

وَعَظَتْك أَجْداثٌ صُمُتْ - ونَعَتْكَ أَلْسِنَةٌ خُفُتْ
وَتَكلَّمَتْ عَنْ أَوْجُـهٍ - تَبْلَى وَعَنْ صُوَرٍ سُبُتْ
وأَرَتْكَ قَبرَكَ فِي اْلقُبـُوْ - رِ وأَنتَ حَىٌّ لمَ ْ تَمُتْ
“Silent tombs advised you, hidden tongues reproached you. They spoke
about decayed faces and resting images. They showed you your grave
in the graveyard, while you are [still] alive, not dead.”

The example from the Qur’ān is as follows: أَمْ أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانًا فَهُوَ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِمَا كَانُوا بِهِ يُشْرِكُونَ (الروم : ٣٥) “Have We ever bestowed upon them from on high a divine writ which would speak [with approval] of their worshipping aught beside Us?” (Q. 30:35, Asad). Here the verse means “Or have We revealed to them any evidence from which they will seek guidance that will guide them?”

Ibn Qutaybah gives us two conditions for a word to become majāz: it shall not be accompanied with its mas.dar, and it shall not be emphasised with takrār (repetition). For example, we say “the wall will fall down” and we do not say “the wall will fall down with strong willingness”. He does not give us an example for the use of repetition here. The example for the use of mas.dar in the Qur’ān is as follows: وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا literally means “And Allah spoke to Moses with speaking,” translated by Asad as: “...: and as God spoke His word unto Moses” (Q. 4:164). Here the verb kallama is accompanied with its mas.dar, namely, taklīm to indicate that the speaking is real and actually happens, not majāz. Moreover, the expression kallama (to speak to) itself, as mentioned earlier, indicates that it is real. The example for the use of takrār in the Qur’ān is as follows: إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا لِشَيْءٍ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَنْ نَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ (النحل : ٤٠) “And Our word unto a thing, when We intend it, is only that We say unto it: Be! and it is.” (Q. 16:40, Pickthall). Here the word qawlunā is emphasised with takrār (repetition of qawl with naqūl), and the statement itself is emphasised with the word innamā.

Despite the frequent occurrence of majāz in the Qur’ān, Ibn Qutaybah was extremely cautious with it. He rejects the view that the order of Allah to the angels to prostrate themselves to Adam in Q. 2:34 was an ilhām (inspiration), because, according to him, it involved dialogues of events: Allah’s order to the angels and Iblīs to prostrate, Iblīs’s refusal to comply, his expulsion from the Garden (Jannah), and his plea for the postponement of punishment to Judgement Day. Ibn Qutaybah also rejects the interpretation of qawl in the above verse as a subjection (taskhīr) because, he contends, it cannot be applied to something which refuses to comply, and in this case, Iblīs.

With regard to the verse Q. 42:51 Ibn Qutaybah asserts that wah.y includes: things shown by Allah to His prophets in their vision; speaking behind the veil such as His speaking to Prophet Moses; and speaking with a message by sending the Trustful Spirit (al-Rūh. al-Amīn, i.e. Gabriel). What he means here is that Allah actually spoke to Prophet Moses, not majāz.

We have seen that Ibn Qutaybah rejects the occurrence of majāz in many Qur’ānic verses such as Q. 41:11 and 50:30 mentioned above. He bases his argument on several Qur’anic verses and h.adīths according to his understanding without applying majāz. The Qur’ānic verses state that Allah would make parts of the bodies of wrong-doers testify against them on the Last Day (Q. 24:24, 36:65 and 41:20-1), that He makes the mountains, birds and everything praise Him (Q. 17:44, 34:10 and 38:18-9), and that Prophet Solomon understood the language of ants (Q. 27:18-9); that Hell would burst with rage (Q. 67:8) and its crackling and roar would be heard by the wrong-doers (Q. 25:11-2). In a h.adīth it was reported that when Hell saw those who denied the coming of Doomsday, they heard its crackling and roar, saying “qat, qat” which means “enough, enough (h.asbī, h.asbī)." In other h.adīths it was reported that the food informed the Prophet that it had been poisoned, and that a camel complained to him that its master had starved and overworked it. All these, in Ibn Qutaybah’s view, are h.aqīqah and have no room for majāz.

2. Isti‘ārah

The term isti‘ārah literally means “borrowing, loan, or lending”. It is borrowing one meaning of a word other than its basic or primary meaning. According to ‘Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī (d. 470/1078) isti’ārah is “a word which in the language has a known basic meaning, is temporarily lent, as it were, to something other than the original object. Therefore metaphor in Arabic is called ‘loan’”. It is lending the meaning of one object to another object, the aim being the attribution of the dominant trait in the first object to the second one. For example, if we want to say that a person is brave, we lend and associate the meaning of the object lion to that person, so that the lion's dominant trait, namely, bravery, can be attributed to him. So, we say رَأَيْتُ أَسَدًا (“I saw a lion”), meaning a brave man.

With regard to isti‘ārah in its early development, Ibn Qutaybah gave us his understanding of it. He said that the Arabs used to borrow a word and put it in place of another, if this borrowed word is the cause of, close to, or similar to the word it replaces. For example, they said مَا زِلْنَا نَطَأُ السَّمِاءَ حَتَّى أَتَيْنَاكُمْ “We kept walking on the pasture [al-samā‘ lit., 'the sky'] until we came to you." Here the pasture is called samā’ which is the rain that causes the existence of the pasture, and in turn, the rain itself is called samā’ from which it falls down, and which is the cause of it. The poet Mu‘āwiyah ibn Mālik ibn Ja‘far ibn Kilāb calls the rain “the sky” in his following poem:

إِذَا سَقَـطَ السَّمـَاءُ بِأَرْضِ قَـْومٍ - رَعَيْـنَاهُ وَ إنْ كَانُـْوا غِضـَابًا

“When the rain [lit., ‘the sky’ that causes it to fall] falls on the land of a tribe [so that it becomes fertile], we care for it [namely, we move to that fertile land and care for the plants which grow because of the rain], although they are angry [about our coming].”

Ibn Qutaybah mentions in his Ta’wīl fifty main examples of isti‘ārah in the verses of the Qur’ān. Some of them will be dealt with here as follows:

a. وَأَفْئِدَتُهُمْ هَوَاءٌ (إبراهيم : ٤٣) “..., and their hearts (as) air.” (Q. 14:43, Pickthall). The air is a metaphor for emptiness, namely, their hearts are empty of good things, because they do not pay attention to anything, like an empty place which contains nothing but air.

b. أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَنْ مَثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِنْهَا (الأنعام : ١٢٢) “Is then he who was dead [in spirit] and whom We thereupon gave life, and for whom We set up a light whereby he might see his way among men - [is then he] like one [who is lost] in the darkness deep, out of which he cannot emerge?” (Q. 6:122, Asad). Here death, life and light are respectively metaphors for infidelity, guidance and faith.

c. وَوَضَعْنَا عَنْكَ وِزْرَكَ الَّذِي أَنْقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ (الشرح :٢-٣) “and lifted from thee the burden that had weighed so heavily on thy back?” (Q. 94:2-3, Asad). The word wizr originally means “something a person carries on his back”, used here as a metaphor for sin, or specifically, the sin in the Jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic) period.

d. وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ابْيَضَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فَفِي رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ (آل عمران : ١٠٧) “But as for those with faces shining, they shall be within God's grace, therein to abide.” (Q. 3:107, Asad). The grace here is a metaphor for Paradise, as it is through Allah's grace that one can enter it. This verse, however, is used in our time as an example of majāz mursal where the condition (h.āl), in this case, Allah’s grace, is used as a metaphor for the place (mah.all), namely, Paradise.

The term rah.mah can also be a metaphor for rain and sustenance respectively in the following verses: وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَحْمَتِهِ (الأعراف : ٥٧) ”And He it is who sends forth the winds as a glad tiding of His coming grace...” (Q. 7:57, Asad), and مَا يَفْتَحِ اللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِنْ رَحْمَةٍ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا (فاطر: ٢) “Whatever grace God opens up to man, none can withhold it...” (Q.35:2, Asad).

Rah.mah which means grace on the needy can be a metaphor for many different things. In this case, it is said that the term has wujūh, homonyms. Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 598/1201), al-H.usayn ibn Muh.ammad al-Dāmaghānī, and Abū al-Fad.l H.ubaysh ibn Ibrāhīm Tiflīsī (d. ca. 600/1203) mentioned respectively sixteen, fourteen, and thirteen wujūh of rah.mah in various verses of the Qur’ān. All of them included what have been mentioned by Ibn Qutaybah above, namely: Paradise, rain and sustenance. Others, to mention a few, are: Islam (Q. 2:105), faith (Q. 11:28), prophethood (Q. 38:9), the Qur’ān (Q. 10:5), and well-being (Q. 39:38).

e. وَإِنَّهُ لَذِكْرٌ لَكَ وَلِقَوْمِكَ (الزخرف : ٤٤) “And, verily, this [revelation] shall indeed become [a source of] eminence for thee and thy people...” (Q. 43:44, Asad). The word dhikr (remembrance) is a metaphor for sharaf (eminence) which is something to be remembered. Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Dāmaghānī, and Tiflīsī mentioned respectively twenty, eighteen and seventeen wujūh of dhikr, including the term sharaf and its three examples from the Qur’ān as mentioned above. Among them are: remembering (Q. 3:135), mentioning (Q. 2:200), tawh.īd (monotheism) (Q. 20:124), the Qur’ān (Q. 21:2, 50), the Torah (Q. 16:43 and 21:7) the Friday prayer (Q. 62:9), and the Preserved Tablet (Q. 21:105).

f. فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا مُنْظَرِينَ (الدخان : ٢٩) “And neither the heaven nor the earth wept for them, nor were they reprieved.” (Q. 44:29). Ibn Qutaybah’s commentary on this metaphorical verse is as follows: If the Arabs want to emphasise the awful condition, especially the failing health of a great and noble king they say: “The sun was becoming darkened, the moon was becoming eclipsed, and the wind, the lightning, the sky and the earth [all] were weeping for him.” The listener will understand this hyperbole, that the disaster was so severe and extensive that the elements of nature almost shared the grief of the people. On the contrary, with regard to Pharaoh and his followers, neither the sun nor the earth wept for them. In poetry, such hyperbole was also employed, as in the following poem:

الشَّمْسُ طَالِعَةٌ لَيْسَتْ بِكَاسِفَـةٍ - تَبْكِيْ عَلَيْكَ نُجُوْمُ اللَّيْلِ وَ اْلقَمَـرَا

“The sun, weeping for you, is rising without veiling
the brightness of the stars and the moon.”

As the sun is rising without light, the day appears to be like the night, and the light of the moon and the stars is not diminished by the lightless sun.

Ibn Qutaybah gives us three interpretations of the above verse as follows: (a) When Allah destroyed Pharaoh and his people by drowning them and destroying their houses and gardens, no one was left to weep for them, mourn or miss them; (b) The expression “the heaven and the earth” in the verse means “the inhabitants of the heaven and the earth”, so that the verse means “nobody among the inhabitants of the heaven and the earth wept for them”. The argument of the upholders of this view is that it occurs in other Qur’ānic verses where the word “inhabitants” or “people” is not mentioned, such as the verse وَاسْأَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ (يوسف : ٨٢) “…and ask the township” (Q. 12:82, Pickthall), which means “its inhabitants”, and حَتَّى تَضَعَ الْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا (محمد : ٤) “... till the war lay down its burdens” (Q. 47:4, Pickthall) which means “till the people at war lay down their arms”. This view, as we have seen earlier, belongs to the category of majāz mursal, according to the modern terminology; (c) The interpretation of Ibn ‘Abbās, that every believer has a door in heaven through which his deeds ascend and his sustenance (rizq) descends; when he dies, this door, his traces and places of prayer weep for him. As for the unbeliever, no deed will ascend to heaven for him, no door in heaven will open for him and no trace of his on the earth will weep for him.

g. وَإِنْ يَكَادُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا الذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ لَمَجْنُونٌ (القلم : ٥١) “Hence, [be patient,] even though they who are bent on denying the truth would all but kill thee with their eyes whenever they hear this reminder, and [though] they say, ‘[As for Muhammad,] behold, most surely he is a madman!.’” (Q. 68:51, Asad). Pickthall and Ali translate yakādu layuzliqūnaka respectively as “would fain disconcert thee” and “would almost trip thee up”. Ibn Qutaybah’s commentary on this verse is that the disbelievers looked at the Prophet with hostility so stern that they almost made him slip and fall down. This kind of hyperbole had been used in classical poetry. Some unidentified grammarians were said to have criticised it as an excess and an exaggeration, but Ibn Qutaybah defended it, saying that it was quite possible and a good way of expressing one’s view. He cited many examples from the classical poetry, one of which is as follows:

يَتَقَارَضُـوْنَ إِذَا اْلتَقَـْوا فِيْ مَوْطِـنٍ - نَظَـرًا يُزِيْـلُ مَوَاطِىءَ اْلأَقْـدَامِ

“When they met in a place their looking at
each other [almost] removed the ground”,

meaning that their looking at each other was extremely hostile and malicious so that it almost brought them to the ground.

Ibn Qutaybah states that there are many Qur’ānic verses indicating hyperbole (mubālaghah fī ’l-was.f) which he includes in the category of the figure of speech called isti‘ārah, by using the word kāda (almost), either explicitly or by implication. For example, in order to show the graveness of the Christians’ statement that Allah has a son, He said: لَقَدْ جِئْتُمْ شَيْئًا إِدًّا. تَكَادُ السَّمَوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنْشَقُّ الْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ الْجِبَالُ هَدًّا. أَنْ دَعَوْا لِلرَّحْمَنِ وَلَدًا. وَمَا يَنْبَغِي لِلرَّحْمَنِ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا. (مريم : ٨٩-٩٢) “Assuredly ye utter a disastrous thing, whereby almost [takādu] the heavens are torn, and the earth is split asunder and the mountains fall in ruins, that ye ascribe unto the Beneficent a son, when it is not meet for (the Majesty of) the Beneficent that He should choose a son.” (Q. 19:89-92, Pickthall). Here the word takādu (the present tense of kāda) is mentioned. The example in which the word kāda exists by implication, is as follows: إِذْ جَاءُوكُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ وَإِذْ زَاغَتِ الْأَبْصَارُ وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ (الأحزاب : ١٠) “[Remember what you felt] when they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when [your] eyes became dim and [your] hearts came up to [your] throats, ...” (Q. 33:10, Asad). The verse portrays the seriousness of the situation in the battle of the Trench, that "[their] hearts almost reached to [their] throats.” When the word kāda exists only by implication in such a case as above, Ibn Qutaybah asserts it can be replaced with ka’anna (as if), so that the verse means “as if the beats of violently agitated hearts reached the throat”. In fact, among the fifty examples of the isti‘ārah from the Qur’ān, this hyperbole is the longest treatment given by Ibn Qutaybah to demonstrate its significance. He gives more than twenty examples from classical poetry, such as the poems of Imru’ al-Qays, al-Nābighah, ‘Antarah, Dhū al-Rummah, and others. His objective is clear: to show that hyperbole is not a lie, but a figure of speech indicating the greatness, severity or seriousness of a statement or an event.

h. مَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ آَخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا (هود : ٥٦) “... for there is no living creature which He does not hold by its forelock....” (Q. 11:56, Asad). It means that He subjugates and controls it. The origin of this meaning is that if you grasp its forelock you subjugate and control it. From this idea it can be said in the du‘ā' (supplication) نَاصِيَتِيْ بِيَدِكَ (“my forelock is in your hand”), meaning “you are my sovereign and conqueror”. Here the forelock is representing the whole body when we say هَذِهِ نَاصِيَةٌ مُبَارَكَة “This is a graceful forelock.” This example, then, belongs to the category of majāz mursal in modern terminology.

To sum up, Ibn Qutaybah’s understanding of majāz and isti‘ārah is rudimentary. For example, he puts majāz mursal, homonyms, and hyperbole in the category of isti‘ārah, since they do not represent their basic meanings. This instance is comprehensible, as Ibn Qutaybah was giving the transitional meanings of the terms from classical to modern terminology.

B. Inversion (Maqlūb)

Ibn Qutaybah mentions us four types of inversion in his Ta’wīl, as follows: ascribing something with its opposite quality (أَنْ يُوْصَفَ الشَّيْءُ بِضِدِّ صِفَتِه), such as calling a foolish person a bright one; designating two contradictory things having one basic meaning with one name (أَنْ يُسَمَّى اْلمُتَضَادُّ بِإِسْمٍ وَاحِدٍ وَ اْلأَصْلُ وَاحِد), such as calling amām (before) warā’ (behind), as the basic meaning of warā’ is what is absent from our eyes, either before or behind us; advancing what will be clear by retarding, and retarding what will be clear by advancing in the word order (أَنْ يُقَدَّمَ مَا يُوَضِّحُهُ التَّأْخِيْرُ وَ يُؤَخَّرَ مَا يُوَضِّحُهُ التَّقْدِيْمُ), such as the Qur’ānic verse ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى (النجم : ٨) “Then he drew nigh and came down” (Q. 53:8) which is clearly understood by inversion, namely, “then he came down and drew nigh”); and lastly, the inversion of words by mistake (مَا قُلِبَ عَلَى اْلغَلَط), such as the expression “adultery is a religious duty for stoning” which should be “stoning is a religious duty for adultery”. Ibn Qutaybah’s treatment of them is as follows:

1. Ascribing something with Its Opposite Quality

Ibn Qutaybah mentions three motives for ascribing something with its opposite quality, as follows:

a. ِللتَّطَيُّرِوَالتَّفَاؤُلِ (for pessimism and optimism), such as saying to the sick “good health” encouraging (countering) pessimism about the sickness and optimism to health.

b. لِلْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي اْلوَصْفِ (for hyperbole, lit., “for exaggeration of description”), such as calling the sun jawnah (black) because of its intense light, and the crow a‘war (one eyed) for its keen sight. It means that even one eye is sharp enough for the crow, as if it does not need the other eye.

c. لِلْإِسْتِهْزَاءِ (for sarcasm), such as the answer of ‘Ubayd ibn al-Abras. to Imru’ al-Qays ibn H.ajar of the Kindah tribe, as follows:

هَـلَّا سَأَلْتَ جُمُوْعَ كِنْـ - ـدَةَ يـَوْمَ وَلُّوْا : أَيْنَ أَيْنـَا
“Why do you not ask the troops of the Kindah tribe the day they fled away [and were called]: ‘where, where [are you going]?’”,

meaning “come back!”. ‘Ubayd ibn al-Abras.’s tribe Banī Asad had killed Imru’ al-Qays’s father. Imru’ al-Qays threatened the Banī Asad tribe with retaliation, but ‘Ubayd ibn al-Abras. disregarded the threat, ridiculing the Kindah’s defeat in the battle and citing the above poem. The example in the Qur’ān is as follow: فَلَمَّا أَحَسُّوا بَأْسَنَا إِذَا هُمْ مِنْهَا يَرْكُضُونَ. لَا تَرْكُضُوا وَارْجِعُوا إِلَى مَا أُتْرِفْتُمْ فِيهِ وَمَسَاكِنِكُمْ (الأنبياء : ١٢-١٣) “And, when they felt Our might, behold them fleeing from it! (But it was said unto them): Flee not, but return to that (existence) which emasculated you and to your dwellings,..” (Q. 21:12-3).

2. Designating Two Contradictory Things Having One Basic Meaning with One Name

The Arabic language is known as lughat al-ad.dād (the language of opposite meanings), because it has many words which have opposite meanings. Apart from words, some sayings also seem to be contradictory, such as مَنْ حَسُنَ ظَنُّهُ طَالَ عَيْشُهُ (“Whoever has good faith will live long”) and حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ هَلَكَـةٌ (“Good faith will lead to destruction”), for good faith cannot lead to long life and destruction at the same time. For the Arabs, these two expressions are not contradictory, since they are used to emphasise two different situations. With regard to the words which have contradictory meanings, one of the two meanings is usually more prevalent than the other, although both are derived from one basic meaning. Words of this type are called by Arabic philologists al-ad.dād (words which have opposite meanings).

Ibn Qutaybah cites thirteen ad.dād only in his Ta’wīl, three of which are without examples from the Qur’ān. We shall trace their basic meanings and see how Ibn Qutaybah treats them, as follows:
a. صَـرِيْم (dawn, night, or part of the night)

The basic meaning of s.arīm is “something cut”. The verb s.arama and s.aruma mean “to cut, to leave, to separate”. The word al-s.armān or al-as.ramān (lit. “the two separating things”) means “the night and the day”, because they are separated from each other; it can also mean “the wolf and the crow”, because they isolate themselves from people.

Ibn Qutaybah gives us the meanings of s.arīm, namely, the morning and the night. Day and night are called s.arīm, because one of them is departing when the other is approaching. The example from the Qur’ān in which s.arīm means “night” is as follows: فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَالصَّرِيمِ (القلم : ٢٠) “And in the morning it became [burned and black] like [the blackness of] night.” (Q. 68:20).

b. سَُـدْفـَة (darkness, twilight, dusk, light; curtain)

The verb sadafa in the expression sadafa al-h.ijāb means “he loosened the curtain”. The word sadfah and sudfah mean “darkness” as well as “light”. Sudfah also means “the door” as well as “the curtain put on the door to protect it from the rain”.

According to Ibn Qutaybah, the basic meaning of sudfah is “a curtain”. It means both “light” and “darkness” as if the darkness when it comes becomes “a curtain” for the light, and vice versa.

c. صـَارِخ (a shouter, a crier out)

S.ārikh applies to a person who asks help as well as the person who responds to give help, as both of them cries out to each other. No example is given by Ibn Qutaybah, neither from poetry nor from the Qur’ān. Ibn Fāris, however, gives us an example from the Qur’ān, as follows: مَا أَنَا بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُصْرِخِيَّ (إبراهيم : ٢٢)ا “… It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine...” (Q. 14:22, Asad). Here mus.rikh which is like s.ārikh, is translated as the person who responds to the crier for help.

d. ظَـنّ (opinion, belief, doubt, assumption, uncertainty)

Z.ann means both yaqīn (certainty) and shakk (doubt), because, according to Ibn Qutaybah, z.ann has a part of certainty, as in the following Qur’ānic verse: إِنِّي ظَنَنْتُ أَنِّي مُلَاقٍ حِسَابِيَهْ (الحاقة : ٢٠) “I was sure that I should have to meet my reckoning.” (Q. 69:20). The example from poetry is the poem of Durayd ibn al-S.immah, as follows:

فَقُلْتُ لَهُمْ ظُنـُّوْا بِأَلْفَيْ مُـدَجَّجٍ - سَرَاتُهُمْ فِي اْلفَارِسِيِّ اْلمُسَرَّدِ
“So I told them: be sure that [the enemy of] two thousand well-equipped warriors [will come to you], the best among them are with armour.”
It means “be sure of their coming to you”.

According to Tiflīsī and al-Dāmaghānī the term z.ann has four homonyms, namely: (1) yaqīn (certainty), as in إِنِّي ظَنَنْتُ أَنِّي مُلَاقٍ حِسَابِيَهْ (الحاقة : ٢٠) “I was sure that I should have to meet my reckoning.” (Q. 69:20) as mentioned above; (2) shakk (doubt), as in إِنْ نَظُنُّ إِلَّا ظَنًّا (الجاثية : ٣٢) “We think it no more than an empty guess ...” (Q. 45:32, Asad), namely, doubt it; (3) tuhmah (accusation), as in (الأحزاب : ١٠) وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا “... and ye imagined various (vain) thoughts about God”. (Q. 33:10, Ali), namely, accusing Him of not going to help them; and (4) h.usbān (consideration, thinking), as in إِنَّهُ ظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ يَحُورَ (الإنشقاق : ١٤) “he never thought that he would have to return to God”. (Q. 84:14, Asad). Ibn al-Jawzī mentions three homonyms of z.ann, namely, yaqīn, shakk, and kadhib (falsehood). The examples given for the first two are the same as those mentioned above. The example for the last, which, according to Ibn al-Jawzī, is the view of al-Farrā’, is إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا (النجم : ٢٨) “They follow nothing but falsehood; yet, falsehood can never take the place of truth.” (Q. 53:28).

e. عَـسَى and لَعَـلَّ (may be, perhaps)

Both ‘asá and la‘alla according to some scholars whom Ibn Qutaybah does not identify indicate certitude as well as doubt. He gives us only one example with la‘alla in the Qur’ān as follows: وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا فِجَاجًا سُبُلًا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ (الأنبياء : ٣١) “... and [that] We have appointed thereon broad paths, so that they might find their way.” (Q. 21:31, Asad).

Al-Suyūt.ī gives more details about ‘asá and la‘alla. He said that these words signify hope for something desirable and fear of something undesirable (التَّرَجِّيْ فِي الْمَحْبُوْبِ وَاْلإشْفَاقُ فِي ْالمَكْرُوْهِ). He mentions the opinion of some scholars about the term ‘asā as follows: Ibn Fāris: The term is used for something imminent, as in قُلْ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ رَدِفَ لَكُمْ بَعْضُ الَّذِي تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ (النمل : ٧٢) “Say thou: ‘It may well be that something of that which [in your ignorance] you so hastily demand has already drawn close unto you’.” (Q. 27:72, Asad). Al-Kisā’ī: Every ‘asá in the Qur’ān signifies khabar (report, news); in this case, it is in singular form; when it is interrogative, it is in plural form, such as in the following verse where the word ‘asaytum is used: فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَنْ تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ (محمد : ٢٢) “[Ask them:] 'Would you, perchance, after having turned away [from God’s commandment, prefer to revert to your old ways, and] spread corruption on earth, and [once again] cut asunder your ties of kinship?’” (Q. 47:22, Asad). This rhetorical question is an allusion to the moral darkness and chaotic conditions of pre-Islamic Arabia. Ibn ‘Abbās, as reported by Ibn Abī H.ātim and al-Bayhaqī: Every ‘asá in the Qur’ān is bound to happen. Ibn al-Anbārī: Similar to Ibn ‘Abbās’s view, with the exception of the following verses: (a) عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يَرْحَمَكُمْ (الإسراء : ٨) “Your Sustainer may well show mercy unto you; ...” (Q. 17:8, Asad) where Allah did not bless the Jews of Banū al-Nad.ir, but punished them; and (b) عَسَى رَبُّهُ إِنْ طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَنْ يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْوَاجًا خَيْرًا مِنْكُنَّ (التحريم : ٥) “[O wives of the Prophet!] Were he to divorce [any of] you, God might well give him in your stead spouses better than you...” (Q. 66:5, Asad), where the Prophet’s wives were not replaced with others. Some scholars reject this exception on the grounds that blessing and replacement mentioned respectively in the above verses were conditional: that they did not commit such transgression again in the first verse, and that the Prophet divorced his wives in the second. Since none of these conditions was fulfilled, the general rule that the verb ‘asá in the Qur’ān is bound to happen has no exception. Al-Zarkashī: Both ‘asá and la‘alla are about something bound to happen with certainty when the expression comes from Allah. When it comes from people, it contains hope and wish, since they are subject to uncertainty and assumption, whereas Allah is not. Since Allah's statements always contain certainty, He can express them directly without using ‘asá or la‘alla, as in مَنْ يَرْتَدَّ مِنْكُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَه (المائدة : ٥٤) “... If you ever abandon your faith, God will in time bring forth [in your stead] people whom He loves and who love Him...” (Q. 5:54, Asad) where the word saufa (“will”) is used. He can also give the impression of uncertainty for those to whom Allah is speaking, as in فَعَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِالْفَتْحِ (المائدة : ٥٢) “… But God may well bring about good fortune [for the believers] ...” (Q. 5:52, Asad). Al-Zamakhsharī, commenting on the verse التحريم : ٨)) عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ “... it may well be that your Sustainer will efface from you your bad deeds, ...” (Q. 66:8, Asad), said that apart from the fact that it is bound to happen, ‘asá (as well as la‘alla) also gives a moral lesson that the Muslims should put greater weight on their position between fear and hope (وُجُوْبُ التَّرَجُّحِ بَيْنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ).

With regard to la‘alla, al-Suyut.ī says that it has many meanings, the most common of which are: (1) expectation, namely, hope for something desirable (التَّرَجِّيْ فِي اْلمَحْبُوْبِ), as in (البقرة : ١٨٩) لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ “... so that you might attain to a happy state”. (Q. 2:189, Asad), and fear of something undesirable (الإشْفَاقُ فِي اْلمَكْرُوْهِ), as in لَعَلَّ السَّاعَةَ قَرِيبٌ (الشورى : ١٧) “..., the Last Hour may well be near”. (Q. 42:17, Asad); (2) motivation (التَّعْلِيْل), as in فَقُولَا لَهُ قَوْلًا لَيِّنًا لَعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَى (طه : ٤٤) “But speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or [at least] be filled with apprehension.” (Q. 20:44, Asad); here the motive of speaking in a mild manner to Pharaoh is to make him heed or fear Allah; (3) question, as in وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّهُ يَزَّكَّى (عبس : ٣) “But what could tell thee but that perchance he might grow (in spiritual understanding)?” (Q. 80:3, Ali). Al-Suyūt.ī says further that according to al-Wāqidī as reported by al-Baghawī and quoted from al-Zarkashī, every la‘alla in the Qur’ān signifies motivation, except in لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ (الشعراء : ١٢٩) (Q. 26:129) where it signifies a simile, namely, كَأَنَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُوْنَ which means “as if ye will last forever”. This exception is an isolated view, according to al-Zarkashī, since no grammarian has ever held this view, although it is mentioned in the S.ah.īh. of al-Bukhārī. Other scholars say that la‘alla in this verse signifies plain hope. Supporting al-Wāqidī’s view and countering al-Zarkashī’s, al-Suyut.ī relates a view similar to that of al-Wāqidī, namely, the view of ‘Abd Mālik. It is reported by Ibn Abī H.ātim from al-Suddī, that according to ‘Abd Mālik la‘alla in the Qur’ān means kay (“in order that”, “so that”), except one verse, namely, لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ which means كَأَنَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُوْنَ as mentioned above. Moreover, Qatādah says that in one of the variant readings it is read كَأَنَّكُمْ خَالِدُوْنَ (“as if ye will last forever”).

f. شَـارٍ (buyer) and بَائِعٌ (seller)

The root-word shará or ishtará is the synonym of bā‘a, meaning “to sell” or “to buy”. Ibn Qutaybah states that شَارٍ and بَائِعٌ , both mean “buyer” and “seller”, because the buyer himself is a seller, namely, a trader of money with something, and vice versa. The example from the Qur’ān is as follows: وَشَرَوْهُ بِثَمَنٍ بَخْسٍ دَرَاهِمَ مَعْدُودَةٍ (يوسف : ٢٠) “And they sold him for a paltry price - a mere few silver coins:...”(Q. 12:20, Asad). The example from poetry is the poem of Yazīd ibn Rabī‘ah ibn Mufarrigh al-H.imyarī, known as Ibn Mufarrigh (d. 69/689) as follows:

وَ شَـرَيْتُ بـُرْدًا لَيْتَـنِيْ - مِـنْ بَعْـدِ بُـْردٍ كُنْتُ هـَامَـْه
“And I sold [the servant called] Burd, I [regretfully] wish I were vermin [after I had sold him]."

Ibn al-Jawzī and al-Dāmaghānī mention three homonyms of al-shirā’ (buying, or selling), namely: (1) الِإبْتـَاع (buying, purchasing), as in إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ (التوبة : ١١١) “Behold, God has bought of the believers their lives and their possessions,...” (Q. 9:111, Asad); (2) اْلبَيْـع (selling), as in بِئْسَمَا اشْتَرَوْا بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ (البقرة : ٩٠) “Vile is that [false pride] for which they have sold their own selves ...” (Q. 2:90, Asad), and (3) الِإخْتِيَار (preference, choice), as in أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَى (البقرة : ١٦) “[for] it is they who have preferred error to guidance ...” (Q. 2:16). In selling and buying people exchange something for something else they prefer. In this sense the above verse is translated by Asad, as follows: “[for] it is they who have taken error in exchange for guidance.” (Q. 2:16, Asad).

We notice that Ibn Qutaybah does not treat the term bay‘ here other than as a homonym of shirā’, which might be better translated as “trading” as it includes buying, selling and exchanging.

g. وَرَاء (behind)

According to Ibn al-Anbārī the term warā’ belongs to the category of al-ad.dād, as it may mean “behind” as well as “before”, whereas according to Ibn Qutaybah it has basically one meaning, namely, “what is concealed from someone”. Ibn Qutaybah says further that this term means “behind” as well as “before”, because anything absent from our sight is warā’, whether before or behind us. The word al-muwārāh (disguise) and al-tawārī (concealment) are derived from it. The example from the Qur’ān is as follows: وَكَانَ وَرَاءَهُمْ مَلِكٌ يَأْخُذُ كُلَّ سَفِينَةٍ غَصْبًا (الكهف : ٧٩) “... because [I knew that] behind them was a king who is wont to seize every boat by brute force”. (Q. 18:79, Asad). The term warā’ in this verse, according to Ibn Qutaybah, means “before”, which, according to al-Zarkashī, belongs to the Coptic language.

Ibn al-Jawzī and Tiflīīi mention five homonyms of warā’, whereas al-Dāmaghānī mentions six, among them being: (1) khalf (behind), as in فَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ (آل عمران : ١٨٧) “But they cast this [pledge] behind their backs, ...” (Q. 3:187, Asad); (2) amām, quddām (before), as in مِنْ وَرَائِهِ جَهَنَّمُ (إبراهيم : ١٦) “Hell is before him, ...” (Q. 14:16), meaning “awaiting for him”; (3) siwá (other than), as in فَمَنِ ابْتَغَى وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ (المؤمنون : ٧) “But those who desire other than that are truly transgressors.” (Q. 23:7); (4) ba‘d al-mawt (after death), as in (مريم : ٥) وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ مِنْ وَرَائِي “Now, behold, I am afraid of [what] my kinsfolk [will do] after my death, ...” (Q. 19:5); and (5) al-dunyā (the world), as in قِيلَ ارْجِعُوا وَرَاءَكُمْ فَالْتَمِسُوا نُورًا (الحديد : ١٣) “… They will be told: ‘Turn back to the world and seek for light!...’” (Q. 57:13), meaning “you should have sought light while you were on earth, not here in the Hereafter”.

h. جَلَل (significant)

Jalal is applied to both small and big, because small is big compared to what is smaller than itself, so that it is both small and big. No example is given by Ibn Qutaybah.

i. .بَعْض (some) and كُلّ (all)

The word ba‘d. and kull may mean “some” or “all”, because something in its entirety, as a whole thing, is only “some”, a part of something else, so that it becomes “some” and “all” at the same time. The examples from the Qur’ān in which ba‘d. means kull and vice versa, are as follows: قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَلِأُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ (الزخرف : ٧٣) “... he said: ‘I have now come unto you with wisdom, and to make clear unto you all of that on which you are at variance...” (Q. 43:63); here ba‘d. means kull. إِنِّي وَجَدْتُ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ وَأُوتِيَتْ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ (النمل : ٢٣) “Behold, I found there a woman ruling over them; and she has been given [abundance] of some [good] things,...” (Q. 27:23); here kull means ba‘d.. No example is given by Ibn Qutaybah from poetry.

j. فَوْقَ (above)

Fawqa means also dūna (below) compared to what is above it, as in the following Qur’ānic verse إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا (البقرة : ٢٦) “Behold, God does not disdain to propound a parable of a gnat, or of something [even] less than that....” (Q. 2:26, Asad). The expression فما فوقها (even something above it), means فَمَا دُوْنـَهَا (even something below it), namely, even something less than a gnat as translated above. This is the view of Ibn Qutaybah, Abū ‘Ubaydah and Ibn al-Anbārī. Al-Farrā’ mentioned the fly and the spider as examples of things “above the gnat”. For him, it is possible to interpret fawqa as “smaller” in this verse, but he prefers to interpret it as “larger”, as a gnat is extremely small. Lane translates بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا in the above verse as “a gnat and what exceeds it in smallness or in largeness; what is smaller than it, or what is larger than it, by the latter being meant the fly (Q. 22:72) and the spider (Q. 29:40)”. Both Tiflīsī and al-Dāmaghānī mention nine homonyms of fawqa - whereas Ibn al-Jawzī mentions eight - among which are as follows: (1) akbar (greater, bigger), as in Q. 2:26 above in which فَمَا فَوْقَهَا means “something bigger than a gnat”; it is similar to the interpretation of Qatādah and Ibn Jurayj who say that فَمَا فَوْقَهَا means مَا هُوَ أَعْظَمُ مِنْهَا (“something greater than a gnat”). None of them say that fawqa here means dūna as claimed by Ibn Qutaybah, Abū ‘Ubaydah and Ibn al-Anbārī; (2) akthar (more), as in فَإِنْ كُنَّ نِسَاءً فَوْقَ اثْنَتَيْنِ (النساء : ١١) “...; but if there are more than two females...” (Q. 4:11, Asad); (3) afd.al (better), as in يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ (الفتح : ١٠) “The Hand of God is better than their hands.” (Q. 48:10), namely, what Allah did for them is better than what they did in the pledge of H.udaybīyah; (4) arfa‘u fī ’l-manzilah (higher in position), as in وَالَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ (البقرة : ٢١٢) “But they who are conscious of God shall be above them on Resurrection Day...” (Q. 2:212, Asad), namely, their position will be higher than that of non-believers; and (5) fawqa ru’ūsihim (above their heads), according to al-Dāmaghānī, as in وَإِذْ نَتَقْنَا الْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُ ظُلَّةٌ (الأعراف : ١٧١) “And [did We not say,] when We caused Mount Sinai to quake above the heads of the children of Israel as though it were a [mere] shadow, ...” (Q. 7:171).

k. خَـشِيَ and خـَافَ (to fear)

Khashiya and khāfa both mean “to fear”, but may also mean ‘alima (“to know”), because fear is a part of knowing, as in فَخَشِينَا أَنْ يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا (الكهف : ٨٠) “... and we knew that he would bring bitter grief upon them by [his] overweening wickedness and denial of all truth.” (Q. 18:80), and وَأَنْذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْ يُحْشَرُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ (الأنعام : ٥١) “And warn hereby those who know that they will be gathered unto their Sustainer” (Q. 6:51). As a shāhid, Lane cites a poem and its translation in which the term khashiya means ‘alima, as follows:

وَ لَقَدْ خَشِيْتُ بِأَنَّ مَنْ تَبِعَ اْلهُدَى - سَكَنَ اْلجِنَانَ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ مُحَمَّدٍ
“And I know assuredly that he who follows the right direction shall dwell in the Gardens of Paradise with the Prophet Mohammad.”

l. رَجـَاء (hope)

Rajā’ which means “hope” may also mean khawf (fear), because a person who hopes is in doubt and has a part of fear that what he hopes will not be fulfilled, as in مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَارًا (نوح : ١٣) “What is amiss with you that you do not fear Allah's majesty, ...” (Q.71:13, Asad). The example from poetry is the poem of Abū Dhu’ayb al-Hudhalī, as follows: إِذَا لَسَعَتْهُ النَّحْلُ لَمْ يَرْجُ لَسْعَهـَا “When the bees sting him he fears not their stings.”

The above verse according to al-Qurt.ubī means, “what is amiss with you that you do not fear Allah’s majesty and His ability to punish you, namely, what is your excuse for not fearing Him?” He quotes the interpretation of Ibn ‘Abbās, Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, Abū al-‘Āliyah, ‘At.ā’ ibn Abī Rabāh., as follows: “What is amiss with you that you do not look forward to reward from Allah and do not fear punishment from Him?” The term لَا تَرْجُوْنَ is also interpreted as لَا تَرَوْنَ (“you do not see”) by Ibn ‘Abbās in another report and Mujāhid, as well as لَا تُبَالُوْنَ (“you do not care”) by Ibn Mujāhid in another report and al-D.ah.h.āk. This last interpretation is based on the language of H.ijāz, as asserted by Qut.rub. Similarly, in the languages of Hudhayl, Khuzā‘ah and Mud.ar the expression لمَ ْأَرْجُ means لَمْ أُبَالِ (“I do not care”).

According to al-Farrā’, the Arabs use the word rajā’ meaning “fear” only if it is accompanied with jah.d (denial, negation), as in the examples above, and in the expression مَا رَجَوْتُ فُلَانًا meaning مَا خِفْتُهُ I did not fear him”).

Ibn al-Jawzī, Tiflīsī, and al-Dāmaghānī mention respectively two, three, and five homonyms of rajā’: (1) amal (hope), rajā’, and t.ama‘ (ambitious desire) according to Ibn al-Jawzī, Tiflīsī and al-Dāmaghānī respectively, as in يَرْجُونَ رَحْمَةَ اللَّهِ (البقرة : ٢١٨) “... they have the hope of the mercy of God; ...” (Q. 2:218, Ali); (2) khawf which is also the language of Hudhayl according to Ibn ‘Abbās, (khashyah, fear, according to Tiflīsī and al-Dāmaghānī), as in فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ (الكهف : ١١٠) “And whoever feared the meeting with his Sustainer...” (Q. 18:110); (3) al-t.ama‘, according to Tiflīsī, as in وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ (الإسراء : ٥٧) “... they strive for His mercy” (Q. 17:57); (4) al-h.abs (arrest), as in قَالُوا أَرْجِهْ وَأَخَاهُ (الأعراف : ١١١؛ الشعراء : 36) “They said (unto Pharaoh): Arrest him and his brother“ (Q. 7:111 and 26:36); (5) al-nawāh.ī (sides), as in وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا (الحاقة : ١٧) “And the angels [will appear] on its sides,...” (Q.69:17, Asad); and (6) al-tark (leaving), as in تُرْجِي مَنْ تَشَاءُ مِنْهُنَّ (الأحزاب : ٥١) “Thou mayest put off for a time whichever of them thou pleasest, ...” (Q. 33:51, Asad).

m. يَـئِسَ (to give up all hope)

Ya’isa may also mean ‘alima (to know), for knowing and being sure of something make a person abandon all hope for other things, as in أَفَلَمْ َييْئَسِ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا أَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا (الرعد : ٣١) “Have, then, they who have attained to faith not yet come to know that, had God so willed, He would indeed have guided all mankind aright?” (Q. 13:31, Asad). The example from poetry is the poem of Suh.aym ibn Wathīl al-Yarbū‘ī, as follows:

أَقُوْلُ لَهُمْ بِالشِّعْبِ إِذْ يَأْسِرُوْنَنِيْ - أَلَمْ تَيْئَسُوْا أَنِّي اْبنُ فَارِسِ زَهْدَم
“I told them at the mountain path when they captured me: ‘Do you not know that I am the son of the rider of the horse Zahdam?’”

We have seen that many words belonging to al-ad.dād treated by Ibn Qutaybah were included later in the category of words having many homonyms. They were treated by writers in the field of اْلوُجُوْهُ وَ النَّظَائِرُ فِي الْقُرْآن (homonyms and synonyms in the Qur’ān).

3. Advancing what will Be Clear by Retarding, and Retarding what will Be Clear by Advancing.

Ibn Qutaybah quotes thirteen Qur’ānic verses, several examples from poetry and one example of an Arabic expression of the time to illustrate this category of inversion, thus evidencing the existence of such inversion in the Qur’ān, Arabic poetry and in common use. These examples will be discussed as follows:

a. Arabic Expression

The expression اِعْرِضِ النَّاقَةَ عَلىَ الْحَوْضِ meaning “present the she-camel to the water basin” is the inversion of اِعْرِضِ الْحَوْضَ عَلَى النَّاَقِة (“present the water basin to the she-camel”). As a matter of fact, they are presented to each other.

b. Arabic Poetry

An unidentified poet said: تَرَى الثَّوْرَ فِيْهَا مُدْخِلَ الظِّلِّ رَأْسَـهُ “You see the bull in it making the shade enter his head,” is the inversion of مُدْخِلَ رَأْسِهِ الظِّلَّ “making his head enter the shade”. As the bull's head and the shade become intermingled, they enter one into the other, leading Ibn Qutaybah to observe that though the first expression is not incorrect, the second one is more appropriate.

Al-A‘shá said: حَـتَّى إِذَا احْتَدَمَتْ وَصَـا - رَ الْجَمْرُ مِثْلَ تُرَابِـَها “Until it burned up and the firebrand became (hot) like its dust.” It means صَارَ تُرَابُهَا مِثْلَ الْجَمْرِ “its dust became (hot) like (the heat of) its firebrand"

c. Qur’ānic verses

(1) فَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللَّهَ مُخْلِفَ وَعْدِهِ رُسُلَهُ (إبراهيم : ٤٧ ) “So think not that Allah will fail to keep His promise to His messengers” (Q. 14:47, Pickthall) in which inversion is claimed to take place, namely, the inversion of مُخْلِفَ رُسُلِهِ وَعْدَهُ (“... He will fail to keep to His messengers His promise”). According to Ibn Qutaybah, inversion occurs because the verb akhlafa (to violate) applies equally to the promise as well as to the messengers. We can say أَخْلَفْتُ اْلوَعْدَ “I fail to keep the promise”, and أَخْلَفْتُ الرُّسُلَ “I fail [to keep promise with] the messenger”.

(2) فَإِنَّهُمْ عَدُوٌّ لِي إِلَّا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ (الشعراء : ٧٧) “Now [as for me, I know that,] verily, these [false deities] are my enemies, [and that none is my helper] save the Sustainer of all the worlds” (Q. 26:77, Asad) in which the inversion of فَإِنِّي عَدُوٌّ لَهُمْ (“I am their enemy”) takes place. This is because, Ibn Qutaybah asserts, “whomsoever you treat as an enemy will also treat you as such.”

(3) ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى (النجم : ٨) “and then [he] drew nearer, and came close” (Q.53:8, Asad) is the inversion of ثُمَّ تَدَلَّى فَدَنَا (“and then he came close and drew nearer”), because Gabriel came close by drawing nearer, and drew nearer by coming close. This view is similar to that of al-Farrā’ who states that the meaning of the verse is ثُمَّ تَدَلَّى فَدَنَا . However, he states further that it is possible to say, for example, دَنَا فَقَرَّبَ (“he came close, so he came nearer”), or قَرَّبَ فَدَنَا (“he came nearer, so he came close”), because both verbs have similar or nearly similar meanings. Therefore, it could be claimed that inversion does not occur in the above verse.

(4) بَلِ الْإِنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ (القيامة : ١٤) “Nay, but man shall against himself be an eye-witness” (Q. 75:14, Asad) is said to be the inversion of بَلْ عَلَى اْلإنْسَانِ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ بَصِيْرَةٌ meaning “nay, but the one who will be an eye-witness against man will (come) from himself”, namely, his limbs. Because his limbs are parts of him, they took his place, namely, “himself” in the above verse.

(5) ( وَقَدْ بَلَغَنِيَ اْلكِبَرَ آل عمران : ٤٠ (“old age has already reached me” Q. 3:40) is claimed to be the inversion of قَدْ بَلَغْتُ اْلكِبَرَ (“I have reached old age”). Abū ‘Ubaydah gives the same interpretation but does not acknowledge inversion has taken place here, but rather that this is the Arabic way of expression. Al-Zamakhsharī who does not see any inversion here says that the verse means أَثَّرَ فَيَّ اْلكِبَرُ وَ أَضْعَفَنِيْ (“old age has affected me and weakened me”); it is like the expression اْلعَالِيَةُ أَدْرَكَتْهٌ السِّنُّ “the high [namely, old] age has reached him”. According to al-T.abarsī both expressions are correct, because old age reaches you when it happens, and you reach old age through the passing of time. It is unlike the expression بَلَغْتُ اْلبَلَدَ (“I have reached the town”) which cannot be inverted by saying بَلَغَنِي اْلبَلَدُ (“the town has reached me”), in as much as the town does not reach or come to us.

(6) خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ (الأنبياء : ٣٧) “Man is created out of haste” (Q. 21:37) is the inversion of خُلِقَ اْلعَجَلُ مِنَ اْلإنْسَانِ “Haste is made with man.” It means that haste is made as part of human nature. This is the view of Abū ‘Ubaydah.

Al-T.abarsī gives two main views about the meaning of the term insān in the above verse: Adam and man. Those who say that it is Adam, have three views regarding the meaning of the above verse: (a) Adam was created after the creation of other creatures at the end of the day of the year of creation; it was Friday and Adam was created after sunset; (b) Adam was created not through the slow process of creation of babies; (c) when Adam was created his spirit filled most parts of his body; he became physically active and grasped at the fruits of Paradise. Those who say that it is man, have four different interpretations: (a) Man was created with the impatience to rush when dealing with his affairs. This is the view of Qatādah, Abū Muslim, and al-Jubbā’ī. The type of expression in this verse is common among the Arabs. For example, they say of a sleeper مَا خُلِقَ إلَّا مِنْ نَوْمٍ “he was not created but of sleep”, and of a criminal, مَا خُلِقَ إلَّا مِنْ شَرٍّ “he was not created but of evil”. (b) There is inversion in this verse, namely, خُلِقَ اْلعَجَلُ مِنَ اْلإنْسَان “the haste was created out of man”, which is the view of Abū ‘Ubaydah and Qut.rub. This vew, however, is weak according to al-T.abarsī, because in order to put Allah’s words into inversion one needs ta’wīl, whereas no ta’wīl is needed here; (c) The term ‘ajal means طِيْن (clay), so that the verse means that man was created from clay, which is, according to al-T.abarsī, also the view of Abū ‘Ubaydah and a group of linguists. As a shāhid from poetry they cite the following poem: وَالنَّخْلُ تَنْبُتُ بَيْنَ اْلمَاءِ وَاْلعَجَلِِ “and the date palms grow between water and clay (soil)”. (d) Man was created in haste, as Allah said كُنْ فَيَكُوْنُ (“be and it is”)

(7) ( الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجًا قَيِّمًا )الكهف :١ -٢
“Praise be to Allah Who hath revealed the Scripture unto His slave, and hath not placed therein any crookedness. (But hath made it) straight...” (Q. 18:1-2, Pickthall) is the inversion of أَنْزَلَ … اْلكِتَابَ قَيِّمًا وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجًا “... Who hath revealed the Scripture ... made it straight, and hath not placed therein any crookedness.” This is the view of the majority of scholars, such as al-Akhfash, al-Kisā’ī, al-Farrā’, Abū ‘Ubayd, as well as al-T.abarī, who based his view on Ibn ‘Abbās’s interpretation. Qatādah, however, says that there is no inversion in this verse, as the verse means وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجًا وَلَكِنْ جَعَلَهُ قَيِّمًا , as translated by Pickthall above.

(8) ( وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ(هود :٧١ “And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed. But We gave her glad tidings of Isaac, ...” (Q. 11:71, Ali) is the inversion of فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ فَضَحِكَتْ (“We gave her glad tidings of Isaac then she laughed”). What made Sarah laugh? Al-Farrā’ mentions two views: She laughed because of the glad tidings that she would have a son; this is the interpretation of those who state that there is inversion in the verse above. According to al-Qurt.ubī, this is also the view of al-Farrā’ who said that Sarah laughed because she was happy after hearing the good tidings. The other view is that there is no inversion in the above verse. Al-Qurt.ubī said further that at the time of Prophet Abraham people who did not touch food presented to them were suspected of being enemies or robbers. Since the angels who appeared like human beings did not touch the food presented by Prophet Abraham, he became afraid. His fear was noticed by the angels who told him not to be afraid. So, his wife Sarah laughed. According to Muqātil, Sarah laughed because she saw Abraham who could challenge one hundred men by himself being afraid of three men, his guests. The best view according to al-Nah.h.ās, is that when the angels told Abraham not to be afraid, he became happy; Sarah laughed because she was pleased with his happiness. According to Qatādah she laughed because she was amazed to see that her guests whom she was serving did not touch the food. According to al-Zajjāj she laughed because she was amazed and happy to learn that Lot's people would be punished. She had advised Abraham to take his nephew Lot with him, for she feared punishment might come to his people.

(9) فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا (الشمس :١٤ ) “But they gave him the lie, and cruelly slaughtered her ...” (Q. 91:14, Asad) is the inversion of فَعَقَرُوْهَا فَكَذَّبُوْهُ (“But they cruelly slaughtered her and gave him the lie”). However, Ibn Qutaybah says that it is also possible that there is no inversion here. This is also the view of al-T.abarī and al-Qurt.ubī. Al-T.abarī said that it is possible to mention the motive before or after the deed, for example أَعْطَيْتَ فَأَحْسَنْتَ (“You gave, so you did good”) and أَحْسَنْتَ فَأَعْطَيْتَ (“You did good, so you gave”).

(10) وَكَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ قَتْلَ أَوْلَادِهِمْ شُرَكَاؤُهُمْ (الأنعام : ١٣٧) “Thus have their (so-called) partners (of Allah) made the killing of their children to seem fair unto many of the idolaters ...” (Q. 6:137, Pickthall). This is the reading of the jumhūr of the qurrā’, of the peoples of Makkah, Madīnah, Kūfah, and Bas.rah. Ibn Qutaybah said that “some reciters”, namely, Ibn ‘Āmir, read the verse as follows: وَكَذَلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِكَثِيْرٍ مِنَ اْلمُشْرِكِيْنِ قَتْلُ أَوْلادَهُمْ شُرَكَائِهِمْ which means that the killing of the idolaters’ children by what they called “partners” of Allah has been made to seem fair to the idolaters.

The difference between the two readings is as follows: In the first reading it reads زَيَّنَ (a verb in active voice), قَتْلَ (the object of the verb زَيَّنَ), أَوْلادِهِمْ (genitive case), and شُرَكاَؤُهُمْ (the subject of زَيَّنَ). In the second reading it reads زُيِّنَ (a verb in passive voice), قَتْلُ (nā’ib fā’il of زُيّنَ), أَوْلادَهُمْ (the object of قتلُ), and شُرَكَائِهِمْ (in genitive case, but is the subject of the verbal noun قَتْلُ). In the first reading the so-called partners of Allah made the killing of the idolaters’ children by their own parents seem to be fair. But in the second reading the so-called partners of Allah are only indirectly the killers, because of the idolaters' belief in their existence, influence, and will. To this second reading Ibn Qutaybah said that قَتْلُ أَوْلادَهُمْ شُرَكَائِهِمْ is the inversion of قَتْلُ شُرَكَائِهِمْ أَوْلادَهُمْ .

Al-Qurt.ubī mentions four variant readings for the above verse,
follows: (1) the reading of the great majority of qurrā’ mentioned above in which the idolaters killed their own children, and this act was made to seem fair by the so-called partners of Allah to the parents; قَتْلَ أَوْلادِهِمْ means قَتْلَهُم أَوْلادَهُمْ, “their killing of their (own) children” where the pronoun hum is hidden. The ellipsis of the pronoun is also found in the verse لَا يَسْأَمُ الْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ دُعَاءِ الْخَيْرِ (حم : ٤٩) “Man never tires of asking for the good [things of life]:...” (Q. 41:49, Asad), meaning مِنْ دُعَائِهِ الْخَيْر (“of his asking for good [things of life]”). The شُرَكَاء (partners) in the above reading according to al-Farrā’ and al-Zajjāj are the people who serve the idols. Another view says that they are the tempters, and it has also been said that they are the devils; (2) the variant reading of al-H.asan وَكَذَلِكَ زُيّنَ لِكَثِيْرٍ مِنَ اْلمُشْرِكِيْنَ قَتْلُ أَوْلادِهِمْ شُرَكَاؤُهُمْ which is also a possible reading according to al-Qurt.ubī. زُيّنُ ... قتلُ ... شُرَكَاؤُهُمْ is similar to the expression ضُرِبَ زيدٌ عَمْرٌو (“Zayd was beaten by ‘Amr”) meaning ضَرَبَهُ عَمْرٌو (“he was beaten by ‘Amr”). As a shāhid from poetry is Sībawayh’s poem:

لِيُبْكَ يَزِيدُ ضارِعٌ لِخُصُومَةٍ - ومُخْتَبِطٌ مِمَّا تُطِيحُ الطَّوائِحُ

"So that Yazid was made to cry by D.āri‘ because of an argument,
and was beaten in such a way that would make people perish"
meaningيُبْكِيْهِ ضَارِعٌ (“D.āri‘ made him cry”). As a shāhid from the Qur’ān itself is the variant reading of Ibn ‘Āmir and ‘Ās.im from the report of Abū Bakr who read رِجَالٌ يُسَبَّحُ لَهُ ... - instead of (النور: ٣٦-٣٧) رِجَالٌ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ... - meaning رِجَالٌ يُسَبِّحُهُ ... “He was offered praise ... by men” (Q. 24:36-7); (3) the variant reading of the people of Shām وَ كَذَلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِكَثِيْرٍ مِنَ اْلمُشْرِكِيْنَ قَتْلُ أَوْلَادِهِمْ شُرَكَائِهِمْ in which شُرَكَائِهِمْ means the idolaters’ children whom they killed and with whom they shared kinship and inheritance. This reading is also acceptable; (4) the variant reading of Ibn ‘Āmir and of the people of Shām (Syria) as reported by Abū ‘Ubayd as mentioned above.

The reading of Ibn ‘Āmir is disputable. Among those who reject this reading are: al-Nah.h.ās, al-Farrā’, Abū Ghānim Ah.mad ibn H.amdān, al-T.abarī and al-Zamakhsharī. Al-Nah.h.ās said that the grammarians allow the separation between مُضَاف (the annexed, the first of the governed noun of the genitive construction) and مُضَافٌ إلَيْهِ (what is annexed to, namely, the second of the governed noun of the genitive construction) withظَرْف (an adverb denoting place or time), not with nouns. In Ibn ‘Āmir’s reading قتلُ is separated from شُرَكَائِهِمْ with a noun (أَوْلادَهُمْ), and therefore, his reading is not acceptable.

Al-Mahdāwī justifies Ibn ‘Āmir’s reading by comparing it with the following line of poetry:

فَمَـزَجْتُهَـا بِمَزَجَّـةٍ - زَجَّ القَلُـْوصَ أَبِي مَـزَادَة
“I cast at her [my wife] with a small arrow the way Abū Mazādah cast at the young camel."

Here أَبِيْ مَزَادَة as مُضَافٌ إِلَيْهِ is separated from itsمُضَاف , namely, زَجَّ with a noun القَلُوْصَ which is the object. Al-Farrā’ rejects this argument, saying that this is only the view of the grammarians of H.ijāz, and nothing similar to it is found in Arabic.

Abū Ghānim Ah.mad ibn H.amdān al-Nah.wī said that Ibn ‘Āmir’s reading is a mistake and should not be followed. The separation between the مُضَاف and the مُضَافٌ إلَيْه with a z.arf is allowed only for the reason of poetic necessity, because theظَرْف does not separate, as in the following poem of Abū H.ayyah al-Numayrī:
كََمَا خُطَّ اْلكِتَابُ بِكَفِّ يَوْماً - يَهُوْدِيٍّ يُقَارِبُ أَوْ يَزِيْلُ
“It [the house] is [so well designed] like the book written one day
by a Jewish scribe who makes some of his writings close to
each other, and others well separated”.

Here the word yahūdī is separted from kaff by yawman. Al-Qushayrī said that a group of people rejected this view, as this reading was reported mutawātir from the Prophet. Moreover, it was written in the ‘Uthmānic codexشركايهم (with ي) indicating the soundness of Ibn ‘Āmir’s reading.

Al-T.abarī and al-Zamakhsharī who rejected the reading of Ibn ‘Āmir of the above verse were opposed by many ‘ulamā’, such as Ibn al-Munayyir al-Iskandarī, Abū H.ayyān al-Nah.wī, Niz.ām al-Dīn al-Nisābūrī, and Ibn al-Jazarī. Ibn al-Munayyir asserted that al-Zamakhsharī thought that Ibn ‘Āmir’s variant reading was based on his own ijtihād, whereas, in fact, it was revealed to the Prophet, and the Prophet read it to Gabriel and to people with tawātur, as with the rest of the seven variant readings.

Niz.ām al-Dīn al-Nisābūrī, defending the variant reading of Ibn ‘Āmir, said:
The right view according to me, in this case, is that the Qur’ān is a h.ujjah (proof) on others, and not the others being a h.ujjah on it. As the seven variant readings are all mutawātir, how could it be then possible to say that some of them are wrong? If such a variant reading [of Ibn ‘Āmir] has been reported in the miraculous Qur’ān then it is necessary to assert that it is right and eloquent.

Ibn al-Jazarī who disagreed with al-Zamakhsharī on Ibn ‘Āmir’s reading on the above verse said that the right view was not what al-Zamakhsharī said, and he asked Allah’s protection from reading the Qur’ān with ra’y (personal opinion) and al-tashahhī (personal wish). He said further that it would be impossible to reject the reading of Ibn ‘Āmir who was one of the great tābi‘īn who took the learning from the s.ah.ābah, like ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān and Abū al-Dardā’.
(11). فَلَا تُعْجِبْكَ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُهُمْ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ بِهَا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَتَزْهَقَ أَنْفُسُهُمْ وَهُمْ كَافِرُونَ (التوبة : ٥٥) “Let not, then, their worldly goods, or [the happiness which they may derive from] their children excite thy admiration: God but wants to chastise them by these means in this worldly life, and [to cause] their souls to depart while they are [still] denying the truth.” (Q. 9:55, Asad). According to Ibn ‘Abbās’s interpretation on the authority of al-Kalbī referred to by Ibn Qutaybah the above verse means “Do not let their riches and their children in the world please you; on the contrary, Allah will punish them because of them [i.e., their riches and children] in the Hereafter.” Therefore, the inversion occurred between إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ بِهَا and فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا, so that the above verse means that the occurrence of punishment will not be in this world, but in the Hereafter. This is also the interpretation of al-Farrā’.

According to al-Qurt.ubī, Ibn ‘Abbās’s view is also shared by Qatādah. This is also the view of the majority of Arabists(أَهْلُ العَرَبِيَّة) according to al-Nah.h.ās. However, there is also another view which states that there is no inversion in the above verse. The punishment occurs in this world, namely, in their toil of collecting wealth and in spending it by force in order to conceal their hypocrisy.
(12). وَلَوْلَا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتْ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لَكَانَ لِزَامًا وَأَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى (طه : ١٢٩) “And but for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Lord, and a term already fixed, the judgement would (have) been inevitable (in this world).” (Q. 20:129, Pickthall). The inversion here occurs betweenلَكَانَ لِزَامًا and وَأَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى as translated by Pickthall above. This is also the view of Qatādah. Instead of “the judgement”, the inevitable thing according to Ibn Qutaybah and al-T.abarī respectively is “the punishment” (اْلعَذَاب) and “the destruction” (اْلهَلاك). Another view specifies the inevitable punishment, namely, the death of the leaders of the unbelievers in the battle of Badr. Had it not been decreed by Allah regarding the fixed terms of the rest of the unbelievers and the promise of punishing them in the Hereafter, they would have been killed the way their leaders were (in the battle of Badr).

(13) وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِنَ الْأَمْنِ أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِ وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَى أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَنْبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَاتَّبَعْتُمُ الشَّيْطَانَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا (النساء : ٨٣). "And if any [secret] matter pertaining to peace or war comes within their ken, they spread it abroad - whereas, if they would but refer it unto the Apostle and unto those from among the believers who have been entrusted with authority, such of them as are engaged in obtaining intelligence would indeed know [what to do with] it. And but for God’s bounty towards you, and His grace, all but a few of you would certainly have followed Satan." (Q. 4:83, Asad).

According to Ibn Qutaybah the inversion in the verse occurs between وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَاتَّبَعْتُمُ الشَّيْطَانَ and إِلَّا قَلِيلًا , so that the verse becomes لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَنْبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا (“… such of them as are engaged in obtaining intelligence would indeed know [what to do with] it but a few of them [would not know]).”

Al-Qurt.ubī mentions three views on this verse:
(1) It means “they spread it abroad except a few (أذاعوا به إلا قليلا) which are not spread abroad and revealed”; this is the view of Ibn ‘Abbās and a group of grammarians, such as al-Kisā’ī, al-Akhfash, Abū ‘Ubayd, Abū H.ātim, and al-T.abarī.
(2) Similar to the view of Ibn Qutaybah above, which is also that of al-H.asan. We notice that these two views state the occurrence of inversion. The words إلَّا قَلِيْلُا are put together after أَذَاعُوْا بِهِ and يَسْتَنْبِطُوْنَهُ مِنْهُمْ according to the first and the second view respectively. Al-Farrā’ and al-Kalbī prefer the first view, whereas al-Zajjāj prefers the second. (3) It means “had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you by sending you a messenger among yourselves who brought evidence on you, you would have become unbelievers and idolaters, except a few among you.” There is no inversion here.

We have seen that Ibn Qutaybah’s treatment of this topic was very brief and limited. Scholars of later generations had more things to say and gave more elaborate explanations.

4. Inversion by Mistake

Ibn Qutaybah asserts that inversion by mistake occurs in poetry, because the poets invert and omit words by mistake or by necessity for the sake of rhyme or the correctness of the meter of the verses. As an example is the poem of an unidentified poet as follows:
كَانَتْ فَرِيْضَـةَ مَا تَقُـْولُ كَمَـا - كَانَ الزِّنَاءُ فَرِيْضَـةَ الرَّجْـِم
“What you have said is obligatory like adultery is obligatory for stoning”
which is the inversion of “like stoning is obligatory for adultery” (كَمَا كَانَ الرَّجْمُ فَرِيْضَةَ الزِّنَا).

Did any of the philologists or Qur’ānic commentators ever explicitly mention the occurrence of inversion by mistake in the Qur’ān? As far as we know, none of them. However, by implication, the way some Qur’ānic verses were explained, this type of inversion seems to occur. Abū ‘Ubaydah, for example, when he illustrated the occurrence of inversion in some Qur’ānic verses never claimed that this inversion is by mistake, because inversion is itself one of the ways of expression by the Arabs.

Ibn Qutaybah in rejecting the occurrence of inversion by mistake in the verses of the Qur’ān, states that Allah does not make any mistake nor is compelled to. However, he treats briefly four Qur’ānic verses suspected to belong to this category of inversion, as follows:

a. وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا كَمَثَلِ الَّذِي يَنْعِقُ بِمَا لَا يَسْمَعُ إِلَّا دُعَاءً وَنِدَاءً صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ (البقرة : ١٧١) “And so, the parable of those who are bent on denying the truth is as that of the beast which hears the shepherd’s cry, and hears in it nothing but the sound of a voice and a call [lit. ‘him who cries unto what hears nothing but a cry and a call’]. Deaf are they, and dumb, and blind: for they do not use their reason.” (Q. 2:171, Asad)

According to Abū ‘Ubaydah whom Ibn Qutaybah referred to as “some philologists” (بعض أهل اللغة), the word yan‘iqu, “the one who calls”, namely, the shepherd, should mean yun‘aqu, “the one which is called”, namely, the sheep. Therefore, the verse means that the similarity of unbelievers when they are called to Islam is like the deaf sheep which do not hear except a shout and cry when they are called by the sheep-tender, as translated by Asad above. What Abū ‘Ubaydah means is that although it is read yan‘iqu it means yun‘aqu, and this inversion in meaning is not a mistake, because it is used by the Arabs. They say, for example هذا القميص لا يقطعني (“this dress is not sufficient for my size”, namely, “it does not fit me” when it is meant “my size does not fit the dress” They also say أدخلت رأسي في القلنسوة (“I put my head into the cap”), when they mean أدخلت القلنسوة في رأسي “I put the cap onto my head.

This interpretation of Abū ‘Ubaydah is also that of Ibn ‘Abbās, Mujāhid, ‘Ikrimah, al-Suddī, al-Zajjāj, Sībawayh and al-Farrā’. Al-Farrā’ gives an example in the Arabic expression فلان يخافك كخوف الأسد , meaning, “So-and-so fears you like the fear of the lion”, which means كخوفه الأسد (“... like his fear of the lion”).

Ibn Qutaybah rejects this interpretation and contends that the verse means “the likeness of those who disbelieve and our likeness in their preaching are like the one who calls to someone who does not hear.” The expression “and our likeness” (ومثلنـا), is omitted in the verse as the mode of expression in the verse gives an indication of its existence. This view is similar to that of Ibn Zayd, Qut.rub, and al-T.abarī, namely, the disbelievers calling their idols is like calling to the deaf. Ibn Qutaybah gives another interpretation of al-Farrā’, namely, “the likeness of preaching of those who disbelieve” which means “the likeness of preaching to those who disbelieve”; it is like the expression إذا لقيت فلانا فسلم عليه تسليم الأمير (“If you meet So-and-so greet him the emir’s greeting”). The expression تسليم الأمر (“the emir’s greeting”) here means كما تسلّم على الأمير (“the way you greet the emir”). Therefore, it means “the way the emir is greeted”, not “the way the emir greets”.

b. مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ (القصص : ٧٦) “...that his treasure-chests alone would surely have been too heavy a burden for a troop of ten men or even more.” (Q. 28:76, Asad). There is an inversion here according to Abū ‘Ubaydah, that the verse means “a troop of ten men or even more would have too heavy a burden with the treasure-chests” (العصبة هي التي تنوء بالمفاتح). The word مفاتحis the plural of مَْفتَح (a treasure-chest or a store) and مِفتَح (a key). Asad, Ali and Arberry use the first meaning as seen above, whereas Pickthall uses the second. The size of a troop (عُصْـبَة) according to Ibn ‘Abbās consists of people between three and ten, whereas according to Mujāhid, Qatādah and Abū S.ālih. it is respectively between ten and fifteen, between ten and forty, and forty people. Asad translates it as "ten men or even more" as noticed above, since this term “is used here metonymically, pointing to the great weight involved...”

According to Ibn Qutaybah and al-Farrā’, there is no inversion in this verse, as it means that the treasure-chests, due to their heaviness, made the troop of mighty men who were carrying them bend down. Here Ibn Qutaybah disagrees with Abū ‘Ubaydah.

c. وَإِنَّهُ لِحُبِّ الْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ (العاديات : ٨)“for, verily, to the love of wealth is he most ardently devoted.” (Q. 100:8, Asad) is claimed to be the inversion of و إن حبه للخير لشديد (“for, verily, his love of wealth is ardent”) or, according to al-Farrā’, و إنه للخير لشديد الحب, meaning و إنه لشديد الحب للخير (“for, verily, he is ardently in love of wealth”). Ibn Qutaybah rejects the occurrence of inversion here, because, like Abū ‘Ubaydah and al-Kalbī, he translates شديد as بخيل (miserly), so that the verse means “Verily, for his love of wealth he is miserly (وإنه لحب المال لبخيل).” Here Ibn Qutaybah leans towards the view of Abū ‘Ubaydah rather than that of al-Farrā’.

d. وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا (الفرقان : ٧٤) “... and make us examples to the righteous”. (Q. 25:74). There is inversion here according to Mujāhid, namely, واجعل المتقين إماما لنا “and make those who are righteous examples for us”.

Ibn Qutaybah’s interpretation of the above verse in refuting the occurrence of inversion in it is that it means “and make us examples in good things by which the righteous will follow”. To support his view Ibn Qutaybah cites the following verse: وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُوا وَكَانُوا بِآَيَاتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ (السجدة : ٢٤) “and [as] We raised among them leaders, so long as they bore themselves with patience and had sure faith in Our messages, guided [their people] in accordance with Our behest.” (Q. 32:24, Asad). Here a’immah means qādah (leaders), according to Ibn ‘Abbās’s interpretation. However, Ibn Qutaybah also gives Mujāhid’s interpretation as reported by al-T.abarī, that the verse in question means “make us follow the examples of people before us so that people who come after us will follow our example.”

We have seen how Ibn Qutaybah treated the Qur’ānic verses in which inversion by mistake seemed to occur. Through his philological explanation he proved the absence of inversion, much less inversion by mistake. Unfortunately, Ibn Qutaybah’s treatment of this topic is very brief and lacks detail. More explanation on this topic would have been valuable and helpful. This brevity is probably due to his conviction that there is no inversion by mistake in the Qur’ān and that no philologist explicitly mentions its occurence in the verses of the Qur’ān.

C. Ellipsis (H.adhf) and Brevity (Ikhtis.ār)

Ibn Qutaybah in his Ta’wīl mentions nine categories of ellipsis and brevity which occur in the Qur’ān. They are as follows: (1) the ellipsis of the mud.āf whose function is replaced by the mud.āf ilayh (أَنْ تَحْذِفَ اْلمُضَافَ وَ تُقِيْمَ اْلمُضَافَ إلَيْهِ مُقَامَهُ وَتَجْعَلَ اْلفِعْلَ لَهُ), for example, (يوسف : ٨٢) وَاسْأَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ “And ask the township” (Q. 12:82), meaning “ask the inhabitants (ahl) of the township”; (2) the effect of a verb on two things when it is actually intended for one of them, while the verb of the other is hidden (أَنْ تُوْقِعَ الْفِعْلَ عَلىَ شَيْئَيْنِ وَ هُوَ لِأَحَدِهِمَا وَ تُضْمِرَلِلْآخَرِ فِعْلَهُ), such as (يونس : ٧١) فَأَجْمِعُوا أَمْرَكُمْ وَشُرَكَاءَكُمْ “So decide upon your course of action, you and your partners” (Q. 10:71), meaning “so decide upon your course of action and call (wa ad‘ū) your partners”; (3) the ellipsis of the main clause of a conditional or an incomplete sentence due to its clarity to the listener (أَنْ يَأْتَيَ بِاْلكَلَامِ مَبْنِيًّا عَلىَ أَنَّ لَهُ جَوَابًا فَيُحْذَفُ اْلجَوَابُ اِخْتِصَارًا لِعِلْمِ اْلمُخَاطَبِ به), such as وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ (النور : ٢٠) “And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace and that God is compassionate, a Dispenser of grace...” (Q. 24:20, Asad) with the ellipsis of the main clause “He would have punished you” (لعذبكم) according to Ibn Qutaybah; (4) the ellipsis of one or two words, such as فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ (آل عمران : ١٠٦) “And as for those with faces darkened, [they shall be told:] ‘Did you deny the truth after having attained to faith?’” (Q. 3:106, Asad), with the ellipsis of the words فيقال لهم (“it will be said to them”) in the Qur’ānic text; (5) the ellipsis of the main clause of an oath when there is an indication of its presence in the sentence (الْقَسَمُ بِلَا جَوَابٍ إِذَا كَانَ فِي ْالكَلاَمِ مَا يَدُلُّ عَلىَ اْلجَوَابِ) such as وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا. وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطًا. وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا. فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقًا. فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْرًا. (النازعات : ١-٥) “By those angels who drag forth souls with violence, and by those who with joyous release release them; by those who swim swimmingly along; by those who are foremost with foremost speed; by those who conduct the affairs of the universe!” (Q. 79:1-5, Rodwell) with the ellipsis of the words “you will be surely raised” (لَتُبْعَثُنَّ) at the end of these verses; (6) the ellipsis of the word lā (no, not) while the sense of the sentence indicates its presence (أَنْ تُحْذَفَ لَا فِي ْالكَلاَمِ وَاْلمَعْنَى إِثْبَاتُهَا), such as يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا (النساء : ١٧٦) “God makes [all this] clear unto you, lest you go astray; ...” (Q. 4:176, Asad) with the ellipsis of the word la in the text, namely, لِئَلاَّ تَضِلُّوْا ; (7) the use of a pronoun for something which has not been mentioned before (أَنْ تُضْمرَ لِغَيْرِ مَذْكُوْرٍ), such as إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ (القدر : ١)“Lo! We revealed it on the Night of Power!” (Q. 97:1, Pickthall) with the ellipsis of the pronoun “it” (hu) referring to the Qur’ān which was not mentioned beforehand; (8) the ellipsis of propositions, such as وَاخْتَارَ مُوسَى قَوْمَهُ سَبْعِينَ رَجُلًا (الأعراف : ١٥٥) “And Moses chose out of his people seventy men” (Q. 7:155, Asad) with the ellipsis of the word min (among, from, out of) in the text, namely, من قومه ; and lastly, (9) the complex ellipsis which is unspecified by Ibn Qutaybah due to its complexity, such as مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا (فاطر : ١٠) “He who desires might and glory [ought to know that] all might and glory belong to God [alone]....” (Q. 35:10, Asad) with the ellipsis of the expression يَعْلَمُ أَنْ اْلعِزَّةَ لِمَنْ هِىَ (“he will know to whom power belongs”) according to Ibn Qutaybah, and “ought to know that” as put by Asad. These categories of ellipsis will be discussed with some selected examples, as follows:
1. The Ellipsis of the Mud.āf whose Function is Replaced by the Mud.āf Ilayh.

As mentioned earlier, the omitted mud.āf and its function are replaced by the mud.āf ilayh in its relation to its verb. Ibn Qutaybah mentions ten Qur’ānic verses and five verses of poetry which belong to this category of ellipsis. Three Qur’ānic verses and one verse of poetry will be discussed as follows:

a. وَأُشْرِبُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْعِجْلَ (البقرة : ٩٣) “... for their hearts are filled to overflowing with love of the [golden] calf...” (Q. 2:93, Asad). According to Ibn Qutaybah, as translated by Asad, the verse means “the love of the calf” with the ellipsis of h.ubb (love). This is also the view of al-Farrā’ and Abū ‘Ubaydah.

b. الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَعْلُومَاتٌ (البقرة : ١٩٧) “For the H.ajj are the months well known....” (Q. 2:197, Ali). According to Ibn Qutaybah the verse means “the time of pilgrimage” (waqt al-h.ajj) with the ellipsis of the word waqt. This is also the opinion of al-Farrā’, who heard al-Kisā’ī saying إِنَّمَا الصَّيْفُ شَهْرَانِ وَإِنَّمَا الطَّيْلَسَانِ ثَلاَثَةُ أَشْهُر (“verily the summer is two months, and verily the t.aylasān is three months”), meaning وَقْتُ الصَّيْفِ وَوَقْتُ لِبَاسِ الطَّيْلَسَانِ “the summer time and the time for wearing the t.aylasān (a shawl-like garment worn over head and shoulders)... Instead of وقت الحج , it is also said وقت عمل الحج (“the time for performing the pilgrimage”).

c. إِذًا لَأَذَقْنَاكَ ضِعْفَ الْحَيَاةِ وَضِعْفَ الْمَمَاتِ (الإسراء : ٧٥)“in which case We would indeed have made thee taste double [chastisement] in life and double [chastisement] after death, ...” (Q. 17:75, Asad) with the ellipsis of ‘adhāb (punishment), rendered as “chastisement” by Asad. This is the view of Ibn Qutaybah, Abū ‘Ubaydah and al-Zamakhsharī. This is also the view of Ibn ‘Abbās, Mujāhid, and others.

d. As evidence from poetry is the following poem of Abū Dhu’ayb:
أتوها بربح حاولتهفأصبحت * تكفت وقد حلت و صاغ شرا بها
“They brought him [the wine’s owner] with profit which he had tried [to obtain], so that it became kept [and] permissible [to drink], and drinking it became easy.”
The words أتوها means أتوا صاحبها (“they brought its owner”) with the ellipsis of the word s.āh.ib (owner).

2. The Ellipsis of the Verb

It is the ellipsis of a verb which belongs to one of two objects. These objects are literally affected by another verb, although in meaning, only one of them is affected by it (أن توقع الفعل على شيئين و هو لأحدهما و تضمر للآخر). Ibn Qutaybah mentions examples from two Qur’anic verses and four verses of poetry. The Qur’ānic verses and two verses of poetry will be discussed as follows:

a. يَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُخَلَّدُونَ. بِأَكْوَابٍ وَأَبَارِيقَ وَكَأْسٍ مِنْ مَعِينٍ. لَا يُصَدَّعُونَ عَنْهَا وَلَا يُنْزِفُونَ. وَفَاكِهَةٍ مِمَّا يَتَخَيَّرُونَ. وَلَحْمِ طَيْرٍ مِمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ. وَحُورٌ عِينٌ (الواقعة :١٧-٢٢) “Immortal youths will wait upon them with goblets, and ewers, and cups filled with water from unsullied springs by which their minds will not be clouded and which will not make them drunk; and with fruit of any kind that they may choose, and with the flesh of any fowl that they may desire. And [with them will be their] companions pure, most beautiful of eye.” (Q. 56:17-22, Asad).

According to Ibn Qutaybah the fruit, the flesh of fowls and the companions pure are brought to the inhabitants of Paradise, with the ellipsis of the verbs wa yu’tūna bi (“and it will be brought to them”) which affects the fruit, the flesh and the companions pure.

b. The poem heard by al-Farrā’ from Banī Dubayr: علفتها طينا وماء باردا “I foddered it [the animal] with straw and [watered it] with cold water,” with the ellipsis of the verb سقيتها (I watered it).

c. The verse of ‘Ubayd ibn al-H.usayn al-Numayrī, better known as al-Rā‘ī (“the Shepherd”), as follows:
إذا ما الغا نيات برزن يومـا * وزججن الحواجب و العيونـا
"When the pretty girls appeared one day and pencilled (their) eyebrows and eyes
with the ellipsis of the verb kah.alna (smeared with kohl). The verse means “and they pencilled their eyebrows and smeared their eyes with kohl.”

3. The Ellipsis of the Main Clause of a Conditional or an Incomplete Sentence

The main clause of a conditional sentence is omitted for brevity, as the hearer knows it. Ibn Qutaybah gives us four examples of Qur’ānic verses and three from poetry. Two Qur’ānic verses and one verse of poetry will be discussed as follows:

a. وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْآَنًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الْأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى (الرعد : ٣١)“If there were a Qur’ān with which mountains were moved, or the earth were cloven asunder, or the dead were made to speak, (this would be the one!)....” (Q. 13:31, Ali)). We notice the omitted main clause given by Ali is “this would be the one”. Ibn Qutaybah expresses a similar view when he states that the omitted words are لكان هذا القرآن (“it would have been this Qur’ān”), which is also the view of al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām, Mujāhid, Qatādah and al-D.ah.h.āk.

According to Abū ‘Ubaydah, there are many omitted main clauses in this verse, so that it means that if there were a Qur’ān with which mountains were moved, they would have moved (لسارت), or the earth were cloven asunder, it would have been cloven asunder (لقطّعت), or the dead were made to speak, they would have been resurrected (لنشرت) .

According to some grammarians the omitted main clause is in the previous verse, namely, وَهُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِالرَّحْمَنِ(“for [in their ignorance] they deny the Most Gracious...” Q. 13:30, Asad). Therefore, the verse means that they would still disbelieve Allah even if He sends a Qur’ān with which the events mentioned above occured. However, this view is not preferred by al-Farrā’ who states that it is possible that the omitted clause is لكفروا (“they would have disbelieved”). Similarly, according to al-Zajjāj, the omitted clause is لما آمنوا(“they would not believe”), as the omitted clause is revealed in another verse which reads: وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَى وَحَشَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ قُبُلًا مَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ (الأنعام : ١١١) "And even if We were to send down angels unto them, and if the dead were to speak unto them, and [even if] We were to assemble before them, face to face, all the things [that can prove the truth], they would still not believe unless God so willed....” (Q. 6:111, Asad). This is the interpretation adopted by Asad when he rendered the omitted clause as “they ... would still refuse to believe in it.”

b. أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آَنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا يَحْذَرُ الْآَخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (الزمر: ٩) “Is, perchance, he who worships [God] throughout the night, prostrating himself or standing [in prayer], ever-mindful of the life to come, and hoping for his Sustainer’s grace, [equal to one who denies the truth]? Say: ‘Can they who know and they who do not know be deemed equal?’” (Q. 39:9, Asad). The main clause omitted in the above verse, according to Asad, is “equal to one who denies the truth”. Ibn Qutaybah does not mention it precisely, but says that it is the opposite of what is mentioned in the verse. This is self-evident, as the verse continues with the two opposite things, namely, those who know and those who do not know. Al-Zajjāj states that since those who know are above those who do not know, so those who obey are above those who disobey.

c. An unidentified poet says the following line:
أراك فما أدري أهم هممته * و ذو الهم قدما خاشع متضائل
I [come to] see you, for I do not know whether it is anxiety which is worrying me, and a worried man in olden times was humble and lean.
In this verse, the poet does not mention the main clause, namely, other than anxiety.

4. The Ellipsis of One or Two Words

Ibn Qutaybah in this category of ellipsis mentions ten Qur’ānic verses and four verses from poetry as examples. Three Qur’ānic verses and one verse from poetry will be treated as follows:

a. وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (البقرة: ١٢٧) “And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the Temple, (they prayed): ‘O our Sustainer! Accept Thou this: for, verily, Thou alone art all-hearing, all-knowing!’” (Q. 2:127, Asad). According to al-Farrā’, Ibn Qutaybah and al-Qayrawānī, the omitted words are يقولان (“both saying”), namely, both Abraham and Ishmael said the prayer, as translated by Asad above. In addition, the words ويقولان (“and both are saying”) are found in the variant readings of Ubayy and ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd.

b. وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا (الإسراء : ٢٣) “for thy Sustainer has ordained that you shall worship none but Him. And do good unto [thy] parents.” (Q. 17:23, Asad). According to Ibn Qutaybah and al-Farrā’, the omitted word is respectively was.s.á and aws.á, both meaning “He enjoined”. The verb was.s.á for parents is explicitly used in other verses; for example, وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ إِحْسَانًا (الأحقاف : ١٥) “Now [among the best of the deeds which] We have enjoined upon man is goodness towards his parents....” (Q. 46:15, Asad), and وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ (لقمان : ١٤) “And [God says:] We have enjoined upon man goodness towards his parents: ...” (Q.31:14, Asad). Moreover, instead of و قضى it is written و وصّى in Ibn Mas‘ūd’s codex and Ibn ‘Abbās’s variant reading.

c. (الإسراء : ٧) فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآَخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ “So, when the prediction of the second [period of your iniquity] came true, [We raised new enemies against you, and allowed them] to disgrace you utterly, ...” (Q. 17:7, Asad). We notice here the ellipsis of the words ba‘athnāhum (“We sent them”) as the word ba‘athnā (“We sent”) has been mentioned in the previous verse which reads:فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ أُولَاهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًا لَنَا (الإسراء : ٥) “Hence, when he prediction of the first of those two [periods of inquity] came true, We sent [ba‘athnā] against you some of Our bondmen...” (Q. 17:5).

d.The poet al-Namir ibn Tawlab said in his poem:
فأن المنيـة مـن يخشهـا * فسـوف تصادفـه أينمـا
“For verily, death will meet the person who fears it wherever [he is or he goes].”
In this verse the ellipsis of the word kāna or dhahaba occurs after aynamā.

5. The Ellipsis of the Main Clause of an Oath

Ibn Qutaybah mentions only two examples of the ellipsis of the main clause of an oath from the Qur’ānic verses and does not give an example from poetry, as follows:

a. وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا. وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطًا. وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا. فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقًا. فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْرًا. (النازعات : ١-٥) “By those angels who drag forth souls with violence, and by those who with joyous release release them; by those who swim swimmingly along; by those who are foremost with foremost speed; by those who conduct the affairs of the universe!” (Q. 79:1-5, Rodwell). We notice, as said by Ibn Qutaybah, the ellipsis of the main clause لتبعثنّ (“you will be surely raised”) at the end of these verses. Al-Qurt.ubī adds with ولتحاسبنّ (“and you will be surely accounted for [your actions]”). This main clause is easily understood by the listener as stated by al-Farrā’, and is indicated in the succeeding verse أَئِذَا كُنَّا عِظَامًا نَخِرَةً “even though we may have become [a heap of] crumbling bones?” (Q. 79:11, Asad) with the ellipsis of نبعث (“shall we be raised?”).

b. ق وَالْقُرْآَنِ الْمَجِيدِ. بَلْ عَجِبُوا أَنْ جَاءَهُمْ مُنْذِرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَقَالَ الْكَافِرُونَ هَذَا شَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ . أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا ذَلِكَ رَجْعٌ بَعِيدٌ. (ق : ١-٣) “Qāf. By the Glorious Qur’ān (thou art God's Apostle). But they wonder that there has come to them a warner from among themselves. So the unbelievers say: ‘This is a wonderful thing! What! When we die and become dust, (shall we live again?) That is a (sort of) return far (from our understanding).’” (Q. 50:1-3, Ali).

Ibn Qutaybah interprets here the main clause of the oath asنبعث (“shall we be resurrected?”). Al-Farrā’ mentions his interpretation and the ellipsis of the main clause of the oath in this verse as follows: “Qaf. By the glorious Qur’ān, you will be surely raised after death ... Shall we be raised when we are dead and have become dust?”

6. The Ellipsis of the Word Lā

Ibn Qutaybah mentions four examples of the ellipsis of لا from the Qur’ān and two from poetry. Two examples from the Qur’ān and one from poetry will be treated as follows:

a. إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَنْ تَزُولَا (فاطر:٤١)“Verily, it is God [alone] who upholds the celestial bodies and the earth, lest they deviate [from their orbit]...” (Q. 35:41, Asad). We notice here the ellipsis of lā, so that the verse means لئلا تـزولا (“so that they do not deviate”). However, according to al-Zajjāj, there is no need for the ellipsis of lā here, as the meaning of upholding in the verse is preventing, so that the verse means “Allah prevents... from deviating.”

b. وَلَا تَجْهَرُوا لَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَنْ تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ (الحجرات : ٢) “...and neither speak loudly to him, as you would speak loudly to one another, lest all your [good] deeds come to nought without your perceiving it.” (Q. 49:2, Asad). According to Ibn Qutaybah the verse means لا تحبط أعمالكم (“[so] that your good deeds will not come to nought”). This is the view of the grammarians of the Kūfan school. The grammarians of the Bas.ran school, however, say that the verse means من أجل أن تحبط أعمالكم (“because it will bring your good deeds to nought.”).

c. The poet Imr’ al-Qays says:
فقلت يمين الله أبرح قاعدا * و لو ضربوا رأسي لديك و أوصالي
“So, I said with oath: by Allah I will remain sitting, even if they beat my head and limbs in front of you.”
The expression lā abrah.u (abrah.u with the ellipsis lā) means “I shall continue”.

7. The Use of the Pronoun for Something, Which Has Not Been Mentioned Before

Ibn Qutaybah mentions eight examples from the Qur’ān and six from poetry for this type of ellipsis. Three Qur’ānic verses and two verses of poetry will be dealt with as follows:

a. وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَا تَرَكَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ (فاطر:٤٥) “Now if God were to take men [at once] to task for whatever [wrong] they commit [on earth], He would not leave a single living creature upon its surface....” (Q. 35:45, Asad). We notice that the pronoun hā refers to the earth, although the earth has not been mentioned before in this verse.

b. فَأَثَرْنَ بِهِ نَقْعًا (العاديات : ٤) “thereby raising clouds of dust.” (Q. 100:4, Asad). The pronoun “it” in bihi [lit. by it, with it, or in it] in this verse, according to Ibn Qutaybah, refers to the valley (بالوادي). Al-Qurt.ubī and Ibn Kathīr simply said that it is referring to the place where the morning raid mentioned in the previous verse (Q. 100:3) occurred. Al-T.abarsī mentions both views, whereas al-Zamakhsharī mentions two more interpretations of به in the verse, namely that the pronoun is referring to the act or the time of raiding.

c. فَبِأَيِّ آَلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ (الرحمن : ١٣) “Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?” (Q. 55:13, Ali). The pronoun of the dual كما refers to both man and demon (jinn). Man has been mentioned earlier in the previous verse, but jinn has not been mentioned yet; it is mentioned later in verse 15. Man and jinn are later referred to as الثقلان (“the two dependents”, lit., “the two burdens”, because they burden the earth).

d. The poet T.arafah said: ألا ليتني أفديك منها وأفتدي “I wish I could free you from it and become free [myself].” The pronoun هـا (it), according to Ibn Qutaybah, refers to الفلاة (the waterless desert, the open country).

e. The poet al-Muthaqqib al-‘Abdī said in his poem:
فما أدري إذا يممت أرضـا * أريـد الخـير أيهما يليـني
أ الخـير الذي أنـا أبتغـيه * أم الشر الذي هـو يبتغيـني
"I do not know when I go to a country whether a good thing [or a bad thing] is intended [to me], which of the two will follow me: whether the good thing which I seek, or the bad thing which awaits [lit. seeks] me."
The pronoun ayyuhumā (which of the two) in the above poem refers to the good thing and the bad thing. The latter is mentioned later only, in the second verse, not in the first.

8. The Ellipsis of the Prepositions

This category of ellipsis is called by Ibn Qutaybah الصفات [حروف] حذف (the ellipsis of the prepositions). H.urūf al-s.ifāt is the Baghdādī technical term for the h.urūf al-jarr (prepositions), three of which are dealt with here by Ibn Qutaybah. They are, as we shall see from the examples given by Ibn Qutaybah, li, ‘an, and min. Two examples from the Qur’ān and one from poetry are dealt with as follows:

a. وَإِذَا كَالُوهُمْ أَوْ وَزَنُوهُمْ يُخْسِرُونَ (المطففين : ٣) “But when they have to measure or weigh whatever they owe to others, [they] give less than what is due!” (Q. 83:3, Asad). The verse means و إذا كالوا لهم أو وزنوا لهم يخسرون as translated by Asad above with the addition of the preposition “to” and “for”. This is also the view of al-Akhfash and al-Farrā’. They say that like the verb wazana and kāla we can say نصحتك or نصحت لك (“I advised you”), and أمرتك به or أمرتكه (“I ordered you [to do] it”), with or without the preposition la and bi respectively. Al-Farrā’ was reported to have said that he heard a bedouin woman saying إذا صدر الناس أتينا التاجر فيكيلنا المد أو المدين إلى الموسم المقبل “When people left we came to the merchant so that he measured us one or two mudds [of grain]”, instead of saying فيكيل لنا (“he measured for us”). This is the language of the people of H.ijāz and the surrounding Qays tribe.

b. إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْئُولًا (الإسراء : ٣٤) “For (every) engagement will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning).” (Q. 17:34, Ali), with the ellipsis of the preposition ‘an, so that the verse means إن العهد كان مسئولا عنه.
c. The poet al-‘Ajjāj said: تحت الذي اختار له الله الشجر “Under what Allah has chosen for him [among] the trees”, with the ellipsis of the preposition min, so that the verse means تحت الذي اختار له الله من الشجر as translated above with the addition of “among”.

9. Complex Ellipsis

The complex ellipsis includes what Ibn Qutaybah calls the expression which becomes obscure and difficult to understand due to its brevity and ellipsis (وقد يشكل الكلام و يغمض بالإختصاروالإضمار). He mentions ten examples from the Qur’ān, and five from poetry. This type of ellipsis also includes an unspecified category of ellipsis from which he gives four examples from the Qur’ān, but no example from poetry. For the first type of complex ellipsis two examples from the Qur’ān and one from poetry will be discussed, and two examples from the Qur’ān for the second type as follows:

a. أَفَمَنْ زُيِّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ فَرَآَهُ حَسَنًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ فَلَا تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرَاتٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ (فاطر : ٨) “Is, then, he to whom the evil of his own doings is [so] alluring that [in the end] he regards it as good [anything but a follower of Satan]? For, verily, God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], just as He guides him that wills [to be guided]. Hence, [O believer,] do not waste thyself in sorrowing over them: verily, God has full knowledge of all that they do!” (Q. 35:8, Asad)

Asad mentions the omitted words “anything but a follower of Satan” as we notice above. But according to Ibn Qutaybah the omitted words in the verse are ذهبت نفسك حسرة عليه, so that the above verse means: “Would, then, he to whom the evil of his own doings is [so] alluring that [in the end] he regards it as good, waste thyself in sorrowing over him?" Al-Kisā’ī has the same view and says that the word man is the subject (mubtada’) of an omitted khabar, namely, ذهبت نفسك عليه حسرات (“you would waste yourself in sorrowing over him”). He says further that this is an uncommon Arabic expression known only to a few people. This is also the view of al-Zajjāj. The clue of this missing clause is “do not waste thyself in sorrowing over them” mentioned in the second part of the verse.

b. قُلْ هِيَ لِلَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا خَالِصَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ (الأعراف : ٣٢) “Say: ‘They are [lawful] in the life of this world unto all who have attained to faith - to be theirs alone on Resurrection Day....’” (Q. 7:32, Asad).

According to Ibn Qutaybah and al-Farrā’, there is an omitted word in this verse, namely, mushtarikah, meaning “shared (with non-believers)”. Therefore, the verse means that the adornment of Allah is for the believers and shared with non-believers in this world, but on Resurrection Day it is only for the believers. This is also the view of Ibn ‘Abbās, al-D.ah.h.āk, al-H.asan, Qatādah, al-Suddī, Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Zayd. The other view is that of Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr who says that the verse means that the beauty which Allah has brought forth for His creatures in this world, will be on the Day of Resurrection exclusively for those who believed while they were in this world.

c. The poet al-Shanfará said before he was executed:
فلا تدفنـوني إنّ دفني محـرّم * عليكم و لكن خامري أمّ عامـر
"So, do not bury me, verily, burying me is forbidden for you, but [leave me to the hyena to which it is said after hunting it]: ‘Hide yourself O Umm ‘Āmir’ [i.e. the hyena]."
The poet wanted his corpse to be left to the hyena.

d. أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا نَصِيبًا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ يَشْتَرُونَ الضَّلَالَةَ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا السَّبِيلَ (النساء : ٤٤) “Art thou not aware of those who, having been granted their share of the divine writ, now barter it away for error, and want you [too] to lose your way?” (Q. 4:44, Asad). The verse means, according to Ibn Qutaybah, “barter away guidance for error”. The words “with guidance (بالهدى)” is omitted, but mentioned in another verse, namely أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَى (البقرة : ١٦) “[for] it is they who have taken error in exchange for guidance; ...” (Q.2:16, Asad).

e. فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ غُرَابًا يَبْحَثُ فِي الْأَرْضِ لِيُرِيَهُ كَيْفَ يُوَارِي سَوْأَةَ أَخِيهِ (المائدة : ٣١) “Thereupon God sent forth a raven which scratched the earth, to show him how he might conceal the nakedness of his brother’s body....” (Q. 5:31, Asad). Ibn Qutaybah mentions the full meaning of the verse as follows: “Then Allah sent a raven scratching on the ground to hide a dead raven to show him how to hide his brother’s naked body.”

According to Ibn ‘Abbās, Ibn Mas‘ūd and Mujāhid, Allah sent two ravens fighting each other until one of them was killed and buried by the other. Another commentary states that the raven scratched on the ground to hide his food for further use, as it is the habit of the ravens to do so.

We have seen that Ibn Qutaybah divided ellipsis and brevity into categories and gave examples from the Qur’ān and classical poetry. Although, being a man of letters, he gave many examples from poetry, his treatment of this topic lacks detail. More elaborate treatment is given by commentators of later generations, like al-T.abarī and al-Qurt.ubī.

D. Repetition (Takrār) and Pleonasm (Ziyādah)

1. Repetition

Like ellipsis, repetition is also one of the characteristics of the Arabic language. It is used to emphasise something. In the Qur’ān it is used generally for emphasising and elaborating meaning. Ibn Qutaybah mentions two categories of repetition: repetition of words and repetition of meaning. They will be dealt with as follows:

a. Repetition of Words

Ibn Qutaybah cites seven examples from the Qur’ān in which repetition of words occurs. Two of them will be discussed hereunder:
(1 قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ. لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ. وَلَا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ. وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَا عَبَدْتُمْ. وَلَا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ. لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ. (الكافرون : ١-٦ ). Say: “O you who deny the truth! I do not worship that which you worship, and neither do you worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which you have [ever] worshipped, and neither will you [ever] worship that which I worship. Unto you, your moral law, and unto me, mine!” (Q. 109:1-6, Asad).

Ibn Qutaybah’s commentary on these verses is that the disbelievers seemed to have said to the Prophet: “Surrender to some of our idols so that we shall believe in your God.” So, Allah revealed to him: “I do not worship that which you worship, and neither do you worship that which I worship.” It means that they would not believe until he did what they had suggested. Time elapsed and they came again to the Prophet, saying: “If you worship our idols for a day, a month, or a year, we shall worship your God for a day, a month, or a year.” For this, Allah revealed: “And I will not worship that which you have [ever] worshipped, and neither will you [ever] worship that which I worship,” denouncing their readiness to believe in Allah at one time and associate Him with others at the other.

The repetition in these verses serves many purposes, among which are: (a) for emphasis; this is the view of al-Farrā. (b) for rendering in line with the disbelievers’ statement “You worship our idols and we will worship your God, then you worship our idols and we will worship your God, so that we shall go on like this year after year.” The repetition in the verses in question is used in accordance with the disbelievers’ repetition; (c) for indicating the difference of time, namely, “I do not worship now what you worship, and you do not worship now what I worship. And in the future I shall not worship what you worship, and in the future you will not worship what I worship.” This is the view of al-Akhfash and al-Mubarrad; (d) for indicating the difference of idols; in pre-Islamic Arabia when people became bored with worshipping the same idols they replaced them with new ones. Therefore, the verses mean: “I do not worship the idols you worship today, and you do not worship what I worship, for you worship the idols you have now; and I shall not worship the idols you worshipped yesterday which you have abandoned, and you will not worship what I worship, for I worship my God”; and (e) for indicating the existence of distinction between the two ways of worship; the particle ما in ما عبدتمand ما أعبد which follows it is ما مصدريّة, so that they respectively mean “your way of worship” (عبادتكم) and “our way of worship” (عبادتنا).
(2) فَبِأَيِّ آَلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ (الرحمن : ١٣) “Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?” (Q. 55:13, Ali).

The above verse is repeated 31 times in Sūrat al-Rah.mān (chapter 55). The purposes of this repetition according to Ibn Qutaybah is to remind people of Allah’s favours to them and to call their attention to His power and mercy to His creatures. The verse is repeated after mentioning the favours of Allah so that they would understand and acknowledge them. It is, Ibn Qutaybah states further, like telling a man to whom you have given your favours and assistance continuously and who still denies your favours: “Didn’t I provide you accommodation when you were outcast? Do you deny this? Did I not pick you up when your leg was injured? Didn’t I make you perform the pilgrimage (a lam ah.ijj bika) when you had not performed it? Do you deny this?.”

b. Repetition of Meaning

According to Ibn Qutaybah the repetition of a meaning or an idea by using different wording is intended to elaborate the meaning and to extend the expression, such as آمرك بالوفاء و أنهاك عن الغدر , meaning, “I order you to fulfil (your promise) and I forbid you from betraying (it).” The order to fulfil one’s promise is itself the prohibition from betraying it. He mentions three examples from the Qur’ān and one from poetry. Two examples will be discussed as follows:

(1)(الرحمن : ٦٨) فِيهِمَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَنَخْلٌ وَرُمَّانٌ “In both of them will be [all kinds of] fruit, and date-palms and pomegranates.” (Q. 55:68, Asad). Although the date-palms and the pomegranates are fruit, Ibn Qutaybah states, they are specially mentioned to indicate their excellence.

(2) أَمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّا لَا نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ بَلَى وَرُسُلُنَا لَدَيْهِمْ يَكْتُبُونَ (الزخرف : ٨٠) “Or do they, perchance, think that We do not hear their hidden thoughts and their secret confabulations? Yea, indeed, [We do,] and Our heavenly forces are with them, recording [all].” (Q. 43:80, Asad).

The meaning of the word sirr (a secret) is repeated in this verse with the word najwá (a confidential talk), as najwá is itself sirr, a secret. It is also possible, Ibn Qutaybah asserts, that sirr means a personal secret, while najwá means what is discussed secretly by people and kept for themselves.

2. Pleonasm

Pleonasm is the redundancy of words, namely, the use of more words than are needed to express the meaning; for example, “divide something into four quarters” and “each of the two twins”. Here the words “four” and “two” are redundant, since things divided into quarters will become four quarters, and the twins are two children.

Ibn Qutaybah gives us two categories of pleonasm in his Ta’wīl: general and specified. The general pleonasm is the addition of unspecified words in the statement, while the specific one is the addition of a certain word in it. There are fifteen examples of pleonasm mentioned by Ibn Qutaybah. In this study two Qur’ānic verses for each category (whenever Ibn Qutaybah mentions more than one) and one verse of poetry (whenever available) will be discussed as follows:

a. General Pleonasm

Ibn Qutaybah cites seven examples of general pleonasm in the Qur’ān, two of which are as follows:

(1) يَقُولُونَ بِأَفْواهِهِمْ مَا لَيْسَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ (آل عمران : ١٦٧) “uttering with their mouths something which was not in their hearts, ....” (Q. 3:167, Asad). Ibn Qutaybah asserts that the expression “with their mouths” is to emphasise that they actually said what is not in their hearts, not just in writing or gesture. The purpose of this expression is to emphasise hypocrisy by showing the contrast between what is said and what is truly believed by means of mentioning its respective place.

(2) فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ فِي الْحَجِّ وَسَبْعَةٍ إِذَا رَجَعْتُمْ تِلْكَ عَشَرَةٌ (البقرة : ١٩٦) “whereas he who cannot afford it shall fast for three days during the pilgrimage and for seven days after your return: that is, ten full [days]....” (Q. 2:196, Asad). According to Ibn Qutaybah, the expression “ten full” is for emphasis. However, according to al-Zajjāj and Abū al-Qāsim al-Balkhī, it is to remove obscurity, since the particle wa (and) could also mean aw (or); in the above expression it becomes clear that it does not mean a fast of either three days on the pilgrimage or seven days after returning home, but both, ten days in all. The example in which و means أو is in the following verse: (النساء : ٣) فَانْكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَى وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ “... then marry from among [other] women such as are lawful to you - [even] two, three, or four:...” (Q. 4:3, Asad).

(3) The poet al-Shammākh said:
إذا مـا رايـة رفعت لمجـد * تلقاهـا عرابـة باليمـين
"When a banner was hoisted for a glorious cause ‘Arābah took it vigorously."

The words bi’l-yamīn literally mean “with the right hand”, and since the power is in the right hand, the words here mean “vigorously and enthusiastically”.

b. Specific Pleonasm

The fifteen additional words given by Ibn Qutaybah are as follows:

(1) Additional لا. This lā (no, not) should be dropped in meaning, although added in the text due to the occurrence of rejection (ibā’) or negation (jah.d) in the statement. For example قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ (الأعراف : ١٢) “[And God] said: ‘What has kept thee from prostrating thyself when I commanded thee?’...” (Q. 7:12, Asad).

The expression ألاّ تسجد means أن تسجد so that the verse means “What prevented you from prostrating thyself...?” where lā is not translated. However, as Iblis (Satan) did not prostrate himself the word lā is added in the verse.
According to al-Farrā’, the verse means ما منعك أن تسجد “What prevented you from prostrating,” and the word lā in allā is s.ilah. It is also possible that the second negation is used to emphasise the first, such as the following poem:
ما إن رأينا مثلهـن لمعشـر * سود الرؤس فـوالج و فيـول
"Verily, we have not seen like them, a group of black head two-humped camels and elephants."

Both mā and in in this verse mean “not”, but the second is meant for emphasis.

Al-Qurt.ubī mentions three main views about lā in the above verse: (1) It is additional, according to Abū ‘Ubaydah and some grammarians of both of the Bas.ran and the Kūfan schools; (2) It is not additional, as the word mana‘a has the meaning of saying or appealing, so that the verse means “who appealed to you for not falling prostrate” or “who told you not to fall prostrate”; this is the view of al-Farrā’. Moreover, in al-Farrā’’s view, the significance of lā here is that it indicates the existence of rejection in the previous verse, namely, Iblis’s refusal to fall prostrate. (3) There is an ellipsis in the verse; it means “What hindered you from obeying and compelled you not to prostrate?” Al-Tabari’s view is similar to this when he said that the verse means “What hindered you from prostrating so that it compelled you not to prostrate?” Al-Zamakhsharī’s interpretation is “What hindered you from carrying out the prostration and (from) forcing yourself to (do) it?” According to al-Sakkākī (d. 626/1229) this verse is a metaphor (majāz); the particle lā is neither additional nor s.ilah, but rather an indication (qarīnah) of the existence of metaphor. Therefore, the meaning of this verse according to him is ما دعاك إلى أن لا تسـجد “What called you up for not prostrating?”
The example from poetry is Abū al-Najm’s poem as follows:
فما ألوم البيض ألاّ تسخـرا * لما رأين الشمط الفقنـدرا
"I do not blame the [women with] white [hair] for ridiculing when they saw the ugly [person with] white hair [mixed with baldness]."
The word ألاّ تسخـرا is translated as أن تسخرا (or (أن يسخرن according to Abū ‘Ubaydah) with the omission of the additional lā. The word lā at the end of the verse is additional.

An additional lā also occurs at the beginning of verses starting with oaths, the purpose of which, in Ibn qutaybah’s view, is to disprove the disbelievers. For example: لَا أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ. وَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ (القيامة : ١-٢) “Nay! I call to witness the Day of Resurrection! But nay! I call to witness the accusing voice of man’s own conscience!” (Q. 75:1-2, Asad) and لَا أُقْسِمُ بِهَذَا الْبَلَدِ (البلد : ١) “Nay, I call to witness this land.” (Q. 90:1, Asad). Therefore, such verses give a sort of expression similar to the following one: “Nay, by Allah, it is not as you say.” Although it is possible to drop the “nay”, its presence in the statement makes it stronger.

The position of the additional lā preceding an oath like the verse lā uqsimu mentioned above is a widely controversial issue among Arabic grammarians. According to Ibn Jinnī, it is lām al-ibtidā’ (lām used for starting a sentence), so that lā uqsimu is originally la’anā uqsimu, then the personal pronoun anā is dropped, and finally it becomes la’uqsimu. Moreover, it is written لأقسم (la without alif) in the ‘Uthmānic recension. According to al-Kisā’ī lā is additional, whereas according to al-Farrā’ it is not additional. Rather, it is necessary to indicate a reply to the disbelievers’ statements, belief, and rejection of faith, such as Paradise, Hell, and the Resurrection, as if it states that what they think is not right. This view is adopted by Ibn Qutaybah as mentioned above.

(2) Additional ألا. The word alā which means “verily,” “indeed,” is an intensifying interjection. It is introduced at the beginning of the sentence to alert the listener to what is about to be said. It should not be confused with alā consisting of two particles, a (intorregative) and lā (negative). The examples of the additional alā given by Ibn Qutaybah are as follows:

(a) أَلَا حِينَ يَسْتَغْشُونَ ثِيَابَهُمْ (هود : ٥) meaning “Oh, verily, [even] when they cover themselves with their garments [in order not to see or hear],...” (Q. 11:5, Asad).

(b) أَلَا يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمْ لَيْسَ مَصْرُوفًا عَنْهُمْ (هود : ٨) meaning “Oh, verily, on the Day when it befalls them there will be nothing to avert it from them;...” (Q. 11:8, Asad).

© The poem of T.arafah:
ألا أيهذا الزاجري أحضر الوغى * و أن أشهد اللذات هل أنت مخلدي
"Verily, O my rebuker for my attending the battle (that I might be killed) and for enjoying my wealth (that I might become poor), are you my immortaliser?"
What the poet means is that since his rebuker cannot make him immortal, he is free to go to war and to spend his wealth.

(3) Additional ب. Ibn Qutaybah asserts that this additional bi, meaning “by”, “in”, should not be interpreted. Some examples of this additional bi are as follows:
(a) اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ (العلق : ١) “Read in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created.” (Q. 96:1, Asad), which means, according to Ibn Qutaybah, Abū ‘Ubaydah and al-T.abarsī, إقرأ اسم ربك الذي خلق “Read the name of thy Sustainer who has created."

Al-Qurtubi mentions three views on this verse: (1) as mentioned by Ibn Qutaybah above; (2) “Read (the Qur’ān) by opening with the name of your Lord (Sustainer);” here the expression باسم ربك is in the accusative case as an adverb (النصب على الحال), and (3) “Read (the Qur’ān) in the name of your Sustainer,” (على اسم ربك).

(b) الدهر : ٦)) عَيْنًا يَشْرَبُ بِهَا عِبَادُ اللَّهِ يُفَجِّرُونَهَا تَفْجِيرًا “A fountain from which the servants of Allah will refresh themselves and make it gush forth abundantly.” (Q. 76:6, Dawood), which means, according to Ibn Qutaybah and al-Farrā’, عينا يشربها عباد الله “a fountain which the servants of Allah will drink (from) ...”

(4) Additionalمن . Ibn Qutaybah mentions one example only of the additional min (“of”, “from”), as follows: مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ (الذاريات : ٥٧) meaning ما أريد منهم رزقا “...no sustenance do I ever demand of them...” (Q. 51:57).

(5) Additional ل. Ibn Qutaybah mentions example only where the additional li (“for”) occurs in the Qur’ān, as follows: وَفِي نُسْخَتِهَا هُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِرَبِّهِمْ يَرْهَبُونَ (الأعراف : ١٥٤) meaning وفي نسختها هدى و رحمة للذين هم ربهم يرهبون “... and in their inscription there was guidance and mercy for those who fear their Lord.” (Q. 7:154, Pickthall).

Al-Qurt.ubī mentions three views on this li, as follows: (1) it is additional as mentioned above, which is the view of the grammarians of Kūfah; (2) it means “for the sake of” (لام أجل), so that the verse means للذين هم من أجل ربهم يرهبون “for those who fear for the sake of their Lord”, and this is the view of al-Akhfash; (3) it is added to the noun that precedes its verb which becomes weak and intransitive; it is like the verse إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لِلرُّؤْيَا تَعْبُرُونَ (يوسف : ٤٣) “if you are able to interpret dreams!” (Q. 12:43, Asad).

(6) Additionalك . Ibn Qutaybah mentions one example only from the Qur’ān in which the additional ka (as, same) occurs, as follows: لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ (الشعراء : ١١) meaning ليس مثله شيء “There is nothing like unto Him.” (Q. 42: 11, Asad). According to Tha‘lab instead of the addition of ka in the above verse, it is the addition of mithl that occurs, the purpose of which is for emphasis. Therefore, the verse means ليس كهو شيء.

(7) Additional على. Ibn Qutaybah mentions one example from poetry, and none from the Qur’ān where the additional ‘alá occurs, as the following verse of H.umayd ibn Thawr:
أبى الله إلا أنّ سرحـة مالك * على كل أفنان العضـاه تروق
"Allah rejected [any claim or statement] except that the Sarh.at tree of Mālik is superior to all kinds of thorny trees."

(8) Additional عن. Ibn Qutaybah gives us one example only where the additional ‘an (“from”, “against”) occurs, as the following Qur’ānic verse: فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ (النور : ٦٣) meaning فليحذر الذين يخالفون أمره “Let those who disobey His orders beware,...” (Q. 24:63, Dawood). This is the view of Abū ‘Ubaydah and al-Akhfash. However, according to al-Khalīl and Sībawayh, the preposition ‘an in the verse is not additional, as the verse means يخالفون بعد أمره “disobey after [giving] His order”, namely “after He has given the order”.

(9) Additional إن. Ibn Qutaybah gives two examples from the Qur’ān and one from poetry in which the additional inna (“verily”) which is called “the heavy inna (إنّ الثقيلة)” occurs, as follows:

(a) إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا (الكهف : ٣٠) “[But,] behold, as for those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds - verily, We do not fail to requite any who persevere in doing good.” (Q. 18:30). The second inna is additional. Al-Zamakhsharī mentions three interpretations of the above verse which indicate that, contrary to Ibn Qutaybah’s view, inna in this verse is not additional, as follows: (1) The verse إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا is an اعتراض which is in modern technical terms called جملـة معترضة (a parenthetical clause), so that the meaning of the verse is completed with the khabar (predicate) in the succeding verse, namely, (الكهف : ٣١) أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ “theirs shall be gardens of perpetual bliss ...” (Q. 18:31, Asad); (2) Instead of being a parenthetical clause, it is also a khabar, the first khabar, whereas the preceding verse is the second. The connection (s.ilah) between the subject “those who attain to faith” and the first predicate is the expression من أحسن عملا (“who persevere in doing good”) which is identical to “those who attain to faith”. Therefore, the verse means “As for those who attain to faith... We do not fail to requite them, for theirs shall be the gardens of perpetual bliss;” (3) The preceeding verse is not a khabar, but an explanation of the term ajr (reward).

b) قُلْ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِي تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مُلَاقِيكُمْ (الجمعة : ٨) “Say: ‘Behold, the death from which you are fleeing is bound to overtake you...’” (Q. 62:8, Asad). Here, the second inna is also additional. Al-Zamakhsharī mentions two other variant readings: (1)ملاقيكم without فإنه , which is of Ibn Mas‘ūd; this is the khabar of the subject, the death (الموت), in the verse; (2)إنه ملاقيكم (without ف), which is of Zayd ibn ‘Alī. This is a new sentence, because الذي تفرون منه is the khabar, so that the verse means: “Say, the death is the thing from which you are fleeing.Verily, it is bound to overtake you.”

(c). The poet Jarīr said:
إنّ الخليفة إنّ الله سربلـه * سربال ملك به تزجى الخواتـم
"The caliph has been covered by Allah with a garment of power with which seal-rings [of authority] are enforced."

According to al-Farrā’ it is not correct to say, for example, إنّ زيدا إنّ أخاه منطلق (Verily, Zayd, verily his brother is departing); however, it is correct in the Qur’ānic verses, such as Q. 22:17, because it contains recompense. The verse runs as follows: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالصَّابِئِينَ وَالنَّصَارَى وَالْمَجُوسَ وَالَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ (الحج : ١٧) “Verily, as for those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], and those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, and the Christians, and the Magians, [on the other hand,] and those who are bent on ascribing divinity to aught but God, [on the other,] verily, God will decide between them on Resurrection Day...” (Q. 22:17, Asad).

On the contrary, Abū Ish.āq allows it and says that it is possible for every mubtada’ to be emphasised with inna; therefore, according to him, we can say, for example, إنّ زيدا هو منطلق (Verily, Zayd, he is departing), then we emphasise huwa (he) and say إنّ زيدا إنه منطلق, as in the poem mentioned above.

(10) Additional إن. Ibn Qutaybah gives us two examples of the occurrence of the additional in (“not”) which is called by Arabic grammarians “light in” (إن الخفيفة), one from the Qur’ān and the other from poetry, as follows:

a. وَلَقَدْ مَكَّنَّاهُمْ فِيمَا إِنْ مَكَّنَّاكُمْ فِيهِ (الأحقاف : ٢٦) “And yet, We had established them securely in a manner in which We have never established you, [O people of later times].” (Q. 46:26, Asad).” Ibn Qutaybah mentions two interpretations on the above verse: (1) by considering in as non-additional, meaning “never” as translated by Asad above, and (2) by considering it as additional, and therefore, the verse means: “And yet, We had established them securely in a manner in which We have established you,...” The first view belongs to al-Mubarrad, al-Farrā as well as Ibn ‘Abbās and Qatādah; the second, to al-Qutabī, namely, Ibn Qutaybah, according to al-Qurt.ubī. Al-Qurt.ubī mentions the third view, namely, إن is conditional (شرطيّة) with a hidden apodosis (جواب الشرط, namely, a clause answering to an if-clause in syntax), so that the above verse means: “And yet, We had established them securely in a manner that which if We established you [too], your injustice would increase and your obstinacy would be intensified.”

b. Durayd ibn al-S.immah said:
ما إن رأيت ولا سمعت بـه * كاليوم هانىء أينق جـرب
"I have neither seen nor heard like [what I have seen and heard] today: coating with henna she-camels infected with skin disease!"
Here, the particle in is additional and therefore is not translated.

(11) Additional إذ. Ibn Qutaybah mentions three examples of the occurrence of the additional idh (“when”, “then”, and “since”), two from the Qur’ān, and one from poetry, as follows:

(a) وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً (البقرة : ٣٠) “And lo! Thy Sustainer said unto the angels...” (Q. 2:30, Asad). The word idh (when) which is translated by Asad as the interjection “lo”, should be omitted in meaning, and the translation should be “And thy Sustainer said unto the angels...”

This view of Ibn Qutaybah which is adopted from that of Abū ‘Ubaydah is rejected by many Qur’ānic commentators. Al-Nah.h.ās, for example, says that this view of Abū ‘Ubaydah is wrong, as this particle إذ is an إسم (a noun in the Arabic grammar), a ظرف زمان (an adverb denoting time), and therefore cannot be additional. Another commentator, al-Zajjāj, says that this is a wrong-doing (إجترام, an offence) from Abū ‘Ubaydah; as Allah mentions the creation of men and other creatures, the verse means “He began creating you when (idh) He said...”

The more acceptable explanation on this issue is probably that of al-T.abarī. In rejecting Abū ‘Ubaydah’s view without mentioning him by name, al-T.abarī states that the verse in question is connected with the previous one where Allah reminds people of what He has done for them by bestowing them His bounty and blessings, and yet, they disbelieve Him. Then He reminds them of what He did to their forefather Adam "when He said to the angels ...” as mentioned in the above verse.

However, another view is that the particle idh is connected with the hidden word udhkur (remember), so that the verse means “And remember when thy Lord said ...,” ; this is the view of ‘Alī ibn ‘Īsá towards which al-T.abarsī leans.

(b) وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ (لقمان : ١٣) “And, lo, Luqman spoke thus unto his son, ...” (Q. 31:13, Asad). Here again, idh which is translated by Asad as the interjection “lo”, according to Ibn Qutaybah, is additional.

Some Qur’ānic commentators such as al-Qurt.ubī say that the particle idh is not additional, as the verse implies the existence of the word udhkur meaning “remember”, so that the verse means “And remember when Luqman...” as translated by Pickthall. Instead of the word udhkur, al-Zajjāj connects the particle idh with the preceding verse, namely, وَلَقَدْ آَتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ (لقمان : ١٢) “And verily We gave Luqman wisdom ...” (Q. 31:12), and continues with “when he said” (إذ قال). Al-Nah.h.ās rejects this view on the grounds that the conjunction و (and) preceding إذ makes the connection suggested by al-Zajjāj unlikely to occur.

(c) Ibn Mayyādah said about digging and making a well: إذ لا يزال قائل: ابن، ابن، “He was still saying: ‘take [the bucket] away, take [the bucket] way.’”
(12) Additional ما. Two Qur’ānic verses are given by Ibn Qutaybah as examples of the occurrence of the additional mā (“what,” “which”) as follows:

(a) قَالَ عَمَّا قَلِيلٍ لَيُصْبِحُنَّ نَادِمِينَ (المؤمنون : ٤٠)“[And God] would say: ‘After a little while they will surely be smitten with remorse!’” (Q. 23:40, Asad). According to Ibn Qutaybah and Abū ‘Ubaydah, mā is additional in this verse.

(b) أَيًّا مَا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى (الإسراء : ١١٠)“... by whichever name you invoke Him, [He is always the One - for] His are all the attributes of perfection...” (Q. 17:110, Asad).

(13) Additional و. The additional wa (“and”) which is called by the grammarians واوالعطف (conjunctive wa) in the Qur’ān makes the expression seem incomplete. Ibn Qutaybah provides five examples of the additional conjunctive wa from the Qur’ān, and two from poetry, among which are following:

(a) حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ (الزمر : ٧٣)“... till, when they reach it, and its gates will have been opened, and its keepers will say unto them: ‘Peace be upon you!...’” (Q. 39:73, Asad). According to Ibn Qutaybah, the last wa is additional, and therefore, the expression “its keepers will say unto them...” makes the sentence complete. According to Abū ‘Ubaydah the khabar of the verse is not mentioned, since the Arabs used to omit the khabar of sentences. This implies that wa is not additional here.

The grammarians have different views concerning the wa in و فتحت أبوابها which does not exist in the previous verse dealing with the companions of Hell (Q. 39:71). Al-Qurt.ubī mentions four views as follows: (1) The wa is in conjunction with the elliptical sentence سعـدوا (“they became happy”) according to al-Mubarrad, and دخلوها (“they entered it”) according to al-Zajjāj. (2) It is additional according to the grammarians of Kūfah, but this view is rejected by those of Bas.rah. (3) It is the واو الثمانية (the “and” of eight) according to Abū Bakr ibn ‘Iyāsh; it is the tradition of the Quraysh tribe when they count from one and reach seven they put wa before eight; they say: “one ... five, six, seven, and eight” (واحد … خمسة، ستة، سبعة وثمانية). Many examples for this wa are found in the Qur’ān, such as Q. 69:7, 66:5, 9:112, and 18:22. (4) It indicates that the gates of Paradise will have been opened before its companions come to it as translated by Asad above. It is unlike the gates of hell which will be open only when its companions come to it. This last view is mentioned by al-Zamakhsharī with a shāhid from the Qur’ān, as follows: جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ مُفَتَّحَةً لَهُمُ الْأَبْوَابُ (ص : ٥٠) “gardens of perpetual bliss, with gates wide-open to them”. (Q. 38:50, Asad).

(b) وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّبِعُوا سَبِيلَنَا وَلْنَحْمِلْ خَطَايَاكُمْ (العنكبوت : ١٢) “And [He is aware, too, that] they who are bent on denying the truth speak [thus, as it were,] to those who have attained to faith: ‘Follow our way [of life], and we shall indeed take your sins upon ourselves!...’” (Q. 29:12, Asad). According to Ibn Qutaybah the particle wa is additional, so that the above verse means اتبعوا سبيلنا لنحمل خطاياكم عنكم “follow our way so that we shall indeed take your sins upon ourselves”. This view is adopted from that of al-Farrā’ and al-Zajjāj who say that the above verse means إن تتبعوا سبيلنا نحمل خطاياكم “If you follow our way we shall take your sins upon ourselves.”

(c) Imru’ al-Qays said:
حـتى إذا قملت بطونكم * و رأيتـم أبنـاءكم شبـوا
و قلبتـم ظهر المـجن لنا * إن اللئيـم العاجـز الخب
"Until your tribesmen increased (in number) and you saw your sons growing up, you turned the shield to us [i.e., announced hostility]; verily, the wicked one is the weak swindler."
Here وin وقلبتم is additional. However, according to al-Nah.h.ās, this particle cannot be additional, because it belongs to the حـروف المعاني. We see how al-Nah.h.ās insists on rejecting the idea of the existence of the additional و in particular, and the additional particles in general, in the verses of the Qur’ān.

(14) Additional وجـه. The additional wajh (“face,” “countenance”) occurs in the Qur’ān before the name “Allah” or the pronoun referred to Him is mentioned. The expression وجهه (“His countenance”) and وجه الله (“the countenance of Allah”) respectively means “Him” and “Allah”, such as in the following examples given by Ibn Qutaybah:

(a) (القصص : ٨٨) كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ “Everything is bound to perish save His [eternal] Self” (Q. 28:88, Asad), meaning “Him”, Allah. This is the interpretation of Mujāhid, Abū ‘Ubaydah, and al-Farrā’. Al-Zamakhsharī’s interpretation of وجهه is ذاتـه (“His Essence”).

(b) إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ (الدهر : ٩) means, according to Ibn Qutaybah, “We feed you, for the sake of Allah alone...” (Q. 76:9).
(15) Additional اسـم. According to Ibn Qutaybah the term ism (“name”) can be additional. He quotes the view of Abū ‘Ubaydah who states that the expression باسم الله (“by the name of Allah”) means (“by Allah”). This view is rejected by al-T.abarī. Al-Akhfash says that the significance of mentioning ism here is to make it different from the oath بالله .

Ibn Qutaybah mentions one verse and one poem as examples of the additional ism, as follows:

(a) تَبَارَكَ اسْمُ رَبِّكَ ذِي الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ (الرحمن : ٧٨) “Hallowed be thy Sustainer’s name, full of majesty and glory!” (Q. 55: 78, Asad), meaning تبارك ربك “Hallowed be thy Sustainer!”

‘Āmir among the qurrā’ read ذو الجلال instead of ذي الجلال, making it the s.ifah of the name (ism) in the verse in question. The name mentioned in the opening of the sūrah of this verse is al-Rah.mān (the Most Gracious). The sūrah itself speaks about the creation. This is to indicate that Allah creates everything by His grace.

(b) Labīd said:
إلى الحول ثم اسم السلام عليكما * و من يبك حولا كاملا فقد اعتذر
"Until next year, then, peace be upon both of you; and whoever mourns for one year will be excused."
Here the word ism is additional and is not translated.

E. Kināyah (Metonymy) and Ta‘rīd. (Allusion)

كناية (metonymy) and تعريض (allusion) are parts of the art of expressing oneself clearly and eloquently called علم البيان (lit., "the science of clarity of speech or expression"). It is one of the three branches of the علم البلاغة (the rhetorical science, the art of good style), the other two being علم المعاني (lit., "the science of notions") which deals with various kinds of sentences and their proper use, and علم البديع which deals with "the beautification of literary style", namely, "the embellishment of speech and figurative use of words".

In modern terminology both kināyah and ta‘rīd. deal with something other than what is expressed by the speaker. However, the difference lies in that in the kināyah something is mentioned by using a different term, such as "he opened his mouth" meaning "he spoke". In the ta‘rīd. something is mentioned which indicates something else unmentioned; for example, an employer asked his employee who was late "what is the time?" when he meant "you are late".

1. Kināyah (Metonymy)

Al-Sakkākī gives the definition of kināyah as follows:
It is abandoning the use of a clear statement of something by stating something else attached to it, so that [the speaker] shifts from what is mentioned to what is not mentioned; it is like saying "So-and-so has a long suspensory cord to his sword", so that [the speaker] alludes to something else attached to it, namely, the tall stature.

Since a long suspensory cord to a sword fits only the tall person, the person who has it would be tall. However, if the above statement is meant in its real meaning, then it is h.aqīqah ("real") rather than kināyah.

Since both kināyah and majāz indicate allegorical meanings, what then is the difference between the two? To this question, al-Sakkākī gives the following answer: (a) The statement in the kināyah could be real rather than metaphorical, whereas in the majāz it can only be metaphorical. The expression "So-and-so has a long suspensory cord to his sword" could be real without meaning "he is tall", whereas the statement رعينا الغيث "we have taken care of the rain" or في الحمام أسد "a lion is in the bath-room" cannot be taken for real; here the rain and the lion are metaphors for the plants and the brave man respectively; (b) Kināyah is based on the shift from the dominant trait of something to the thing itself (من اللازم إلى الملزوم); in the above example, instead of saying "So-and-so is tall" it is said that he has a long suspensory cord to his sword, a dominant trait for a tall person, as a person who has a long sword belt is usually tall. On the contrary, majāz is based on the shift from the dominant trait of something to something else which shares this trait (من الملزوم إلى اللآزم); in the above example, the lion is mentioned, but its dominant trait, the bravery in a person, is meant, namely a brave man.

Although Ibn Qutaybah does not mention any definition of metonymy, he states that metonymy is divided into many categories without giving any specification. However, he mentions two categories of metonymy which he deals with in his Ta’wīl, namely, the كنية (agnomen, allusive name) and the substitution فلان (So-and-so or Such a one) for an unidentified person.

a. Kunyah

Kunyah belongs to the category of kināyah, because by using it the real name of a person is not revealed. Kunyah is the name consisting of Abū (father of) or Umm (mother of) followed by a name - usually of a son or a daughter - or a word - describing some prominent characteristic of the bearer. This latter type of kunyah had been used earlier than the former. A man or a woman does not necessarily have a son or a daughter in order to be named with a kunyah. If a son or a daughter was born later he or she does not have to adopt the name from the kunyah. This kunyah, according to Ibn Qutaybah, serves two purposes: to support the identity of a person which distinguishes him from other persons who have the same personal name, and to glorify him with this kunyah which indicates his old age, experience, and maturity.

A question may arise: If the purpose of the kunyah is glorification, why did Allah mention Abū Lahab in the Qur’ān with his kunyah, not with his personal name, ‘Abd al-‘Uzzá when he was the enemy of Prophet Muhammad? And Allah mentioned the Prophet whom He loved with his personal name, not with his kunyah, Abū al-Qāsim? Ibn Qutaybah's answer is that there are among the Arabs those who make the personal name of a person also his kunyah. For example, several people reported to Ibn Qutaybah on the authority of al-As.ma‘ī that Abū ‘Amr ibn al-‘Alā’ and Abū Sufyān ibn al-‘Alā’ were personal names as well as kunyahs. Moreover, a man may have both a personal name and a kunyah, but his kunyah is so well-known that he becomes known by it, and his personal name becomes replaced by it. For example, the personal name of Abū Sufyān, Abū T.ālib, Abū Dharr and Abū Hurayrah are respectively Sakhr ibn H.arb, ‘Abd Manāf, Jundub ibn al-Sakan, and ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Amr.

With regard to the kunyah Abū Lahab (lit. "Father of the Flame") Ibn Qutaybah contends that if it is true that the personal name of Abū Lahab is ‘Abd al-‘Uzzá (lit. "the servant of al-‘Uzzá"), this name is not used by Allāh because it indicates idolatry and falsehood, as all people are His servants. Moreover, this kunyah has become the name with which he is well-known. It is true that he has no son called Lahab (the flame). But to be called with this kunyah it is not necessary for him to have a son bearing that name. Otherwise, it would also be incorrect to name a person with the name of an animal, such as Kalb (a dog), Qird (a monkey), Ghurāb (a crow) and Dhubāb (a fly).

Besides the above-mentioned reason, Al-Zamakhsharī adds another reason for using Abū Lahab as a kunyah. Since he is among those who will be sent to the flaming hell, his condition is like his kunyah with which he deserves to be mentioned. Calling him Abū Lahab is like calling an evil person (sharīr) Abū al-Sharr (lit., "the Father of Evil"). Another view states that Abū Lahab was popularly nicknamed with this kunyah, even before the advent of Islam, due to his beauty, particularly his glowing countenance. This, however, is rejected by al-Qurt.ubī for the reasons mentioned above. Moreover, al-Qurt.ubī contends, contrary to Ibn Qutaybah's view, the personal name is nobler than the kunyah, and Allah wanted to put down Abū Lahab by calling him with his kunyah which He never did with His prophets.

b. Fulān

The word فلان (So-and-so, Such a one) is considered metonymy by Ibn Qutaybah, as it can be applied to any person as well as a particular one. He gives an example from the Qur’ān as follows: يَاوَيْلَتَا لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا (الفرقان : ٢٨) "Oh, woe is me! Would that I had not taken So-and-so for a friend!" (Q. 25:28, Asad). Ibn Qutaybah says that a group of people whom he has not identified and who call themselves Muslims are said to insist that the word fulān indicates a particular person, and not kināyah for any person. They say that only hypocrites and people who are afraid of revealing the identity of that particular person insist on the use of kināyah for this word fulān.

Another unidentified group of people who seem to be among the Bāt.inīs say that the name of the person in the verse was mentioned, namely, ‘Umar, but was replaced with fulān. They say that the preceding verse says: (الفرقان : ٢٧) وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا "And a Day on which the evildoer will bite his hands [in despair], exclaiming: 'Oh, would that I had followed the path shown to me by the apostle.'" (Q. 25:27, Asad), and the evildoer here, according to them, was Abū Bakr. He regretted taking fulān, meaning ‘Umar in their view, for a friend (Q. 25:28) instead of the Prophet, and that ‘Umar had led him astray from the Reminder when ‘Alī came to him as the Reminder. This is their interpretation of the verse succeeding the one in question, namely لَقَدْ أَضَلَّنِي عَنِ الذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَاءَنِي (الفرقان : ٢٩) "Indeed, he led me astray from the remembrance [of God] after it had come unto me!..." (Q. 25:29, Asad).

Ibn Qutaybah answers with the following questions: "How can ‘Alī be a reminder? Has anybody said that Abū Bakr did not become a Muslim, and that he did not choose to follow the way together with the messenger of Allah?" Then he continues with the asbāb al-nuzūl of the above verse according to Ibn ‘Abbās, as follows: ‘Uqbah ibn Abī Mu‘ayt. invited the nobles of Makkah, including the Prophet, for a meal. The Prophet refused to eat until ‘Uqbah pronounced the testimony of truth (شهادة الحقّ). When he did, Ubayy ibn Khalaf came and asked him: "Have you become a Sabaean?" ‘Uqbah answered: "No, but a man among the Quraysh is with us, and I do not want him to leave without eating." Ubayy said: "I will not be pleased until you spit on his face." He did, and the above verses were revealed.

Ibn Qutaybah insists on the generic application of the term fulān as well as the definite article al ("the") in al-z.ālim (the evildoer) in the verses mentioned above. He contends that each of these can be applied to a person or a group of people. Should the word al-z.ālim in the verse be specified with names, such as Korah, Hāmān and ‘Uqbah ibn Abī Mu‘ayt., who would later regret taking Pharaoh, Namrūd and Ubayy ibn Khalaf for friends, there would have been no room left for other evildoers who came later after the revelation of these verses. This is not the way the Arabs and other people express themselves. This is also the view of Mujāhid and Abū Rajā’ who said that the term al-z.ālim is general and applicable to any evildoer, whereas the term fulān is for Satan.

Ibn Qutaybah cites the Arabic expression as evidence that fulān means a group of people, as follows: ما جاءك إلا فلان بن فلان "Nobody comes to you except So-and-so son of So-and-so," meaning, according to Ibn Qutaybah, the well-known nobles. In poetry he cites the poem of Abū al-Najm al-‘Ijlī (d. 130/747), as follows: في لجة امسك فلانا عن فل "Restrain So-and-so from So-and-so in the commotion," meaning, while people were the midst of evil and commotion, those who wanted to stop it told people to restrain each other. The word ظالم (an evildoer) in the Qur’ān is applied to a group of evildoers (جماعة الظالمين), and the word كافر (an unbeliever) is applied to a group of unbelievers (جماعة الكافرين), such as the following verse: (النبأ : ٤٠) وَيَقُولُ الْكَافِرُ يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ تُرَابًا "... and the unbeliever will cry: 'Would that I were dust'" (Q. 78:40).

2. Ta‘rīd. (Allusion)

Ta‘rīd., as stated by Lane, is the speaking obliquely, indirectly, obscurely, ambiguously, equivocally, ... as when thou asked a man, 'Hast thou seen such a one?' and he, having seen him, and disliking to lie, answers, 'Verily, such a one is seen'; or the making a phrase, or the like, to convey an allusion, or an indication not expressly mentioned therein; as when you say 'How foul is niggardliness!' alluding to such a one's being a niggard.

Ibn Qutaybah states that the Arabs often use ta‘rīd. in their discourse to convey its meaning in a euphemistic way, namely in a gentler and better way than the obvious one. He shows us the significance of ta‘rīd. that asking for a woman's hand in marriage during her ‘iddah (the legally prescribed period of waiting during which a woman may not remarry after being widowed or divorced) is permissible if it is said through ta‘rīd. only, as it is forbidden through clear statements. Allah says in the Qur’ān as follows: وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا عَرَّضْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْ خِطْبَةِ النِّسَاءِ أَوْ أَكْنَنْتُمْ فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ (البقرة : ٢٣٥) "But you will incur no sin if you give a hint of [an intended] marriage-offer to [any of] these women, or if you conceive such an intention without making it obvious:..." (Q. 2:235, Asad). For example, a man says to a woman: "By Allah, verily, you are beautiful, may Allah bless you with a suitable husband; indeed women are among my needs."

Ibn Qutaybah mentions seven Qur’ānic verses in which allusion occurs. Four of them are illustrated as follows:
(a) قَالَ لَا تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا نَسِيتُ (الكهف : ٧٣) “Said [Moses]: 'Take me not to task for my having forgotten [myself], ...'" (Q. 18:73, Asad). Ibn Qutaybah cites the report of al-Minhāl from Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr from Ibn ‘Abbās that Moses did not forget to keep his promise to keep silent, but he gave only an allusion that he forgot it. What is meant by Ibn ‘Abbās according to Ibn Qutaybah is that Moses did not forget to keep his promise. Therefore, he did not say "I forgot it," or he would have lied, but he said: "Take me not to task for my having forgotten [myself]" which instilled an allusion that he had forgotten it. To prove that Moses did not lie by using the allusion Ibn Qutaybah cites the well-known expression إنّ في المعاريض عن الكذب لمندوحة ("Verily, instilling allusions is an alternative to lying.") However, there is also another view stating that Moses did really forget and therefore he apologised, and the verse in question indicates that forgetting does not necessitate blame.

(b) قَالَ بَلْ فَعَلَهُ كَبِيرُهُمْ هَذَا فَاسْأَلُوهُمْ إِنْ كَانُوا يَنْطِقُونَ (الأنبياء : ٦٣) "He answered: 'Nay, it was this one, the biggest of them, that did it: but ask them [yourselves] - provided they can speak.'" (Q. 21:63, Asad). We notice a kind of circumspection in this statement. He did not confess openly but through insinuation.

According to Ibn Qutaybah, what Prophet Abraham meant is that if their idols could speak, then it was their chief that had destroyed them; so, he told people to ask them. He made speaking a condition for the action, namely, if they could speak then their chief could have done it, and since they could not, their chief could not have done it, and therefore, Abraham was not lying. It is, as mentioned by al-T.abarsī, like saying "So-and-so is right if there is no sky above us."

(c) وَإِنَّا أَوْ إِيَّاكُمْ لَعَلَى هُدًى أَوْ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ (سبأ : ٢٤) ".... And behold, either we [who believe in Him] or you [who deny His oneness] are on the right path, or have clearly gone astray!" (Q. 34:24, Asad).

The above verse means, according to Ibn Qutaybah, that we (the Muslims) are on the right path or have clearly gone astray, and you (who deny His Oneness) are also on the right path or have clearly gone astray, but Allah knows that His messenger is on the right path, and those who disagree with him have clearly gone astray. It is like telling a person who disagrees with us: "One of us must be a liar," when we mean him, but we say it euphemistically. This is the view of al-Farrā’ quoted by Ibn Qutaybah.

(d) فَإِنْ كُنْتَ فِي شَكٍّ مِمَّا أَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ فَاسْأَلِ الَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ (يونس : ٩٤)"If thou art in doubt of what We have revealed to thee, ask those who have read the divine writ [revealed] before thee...." (Q. 10:94).

Ibn Qutaybah provides us with two interpretations of the above verse as follows:

(1) The address is to the Prophet, but it is intended for others among the doubters.The Arabs sometimes address a person with something when they mean somebody else. This is what later commentators call iltifāt (sudden transition, such as turning the address from one person or group of people to another). Such iltifāt occurs in many Qur’ānic verses, such as the following verse: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ وَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا (الأحزاب : ١) "O Prophet! Remain conscious of God, and defer not to the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites: for God is truly all-knowing, wise." (Q. 33:1, Asad). The instruction and advice are directed to the Prophet but are intended for the believers. This is apparent as the verse continues with وَاتَّبِعْ مَا يُوحَى إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا (الأحزاب : ٢) "And follow [but] that which comes unto thee through revelation from thy Sustainer: for God is truly aware of all that you do [O men]." (Q. 33:2, Asad). Similarly, the address in the above verse is to the Prophet but is intended for the believers. The evidence is the use of the plural form in بما تعملون ("of what ye do") instead of بما تعمل ("of what thou dost") in the singular form.

(2) In the time of the Prophet there were people who believed, disbelieved, and in doubt. In the verse in question Allah was addressing these doubters, saying that
"If you O man are in doubt of the guidance We have revealed to you through Muhammad, upon whom be Allah's blessing and peace, ask leading personalities among the people of the Book and scholars before you, like ‘Abd Allāh ibn Sallām, Salmān al-Fārisī, Tamīm al-Dārī, and people like them." The stubborn persons among them would not resist and would bear witness of his [Muhammad's] truthfulness. They would inform you about his prophethood and Allah's mentioning him in the [previous] Books.
The evidence that the word "thee" in the verse "...of what We revealed to thee" (Q. 10:94) above is intended for any person in general and any doubter in particular, is that in another verse it is mentioned that a divine writ has been revealed to men in general (through the Prophet), as follows: لَقَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ (الأنبياء : ١٠) "[O men!] We have now bestowed upon you from on high a divine writ containing all that you ought to bear in mind: ..." (Q. 21:10, Asad). Sometimes the singular number is used for plural, such as the following verse: يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ (الإنشقاق : ٦) "[then,] O man - thou [that] hast, verily, been toiling towards thy Sustainer in painful toil - then shalt thou meet Him!" (Q. 84:6, Asad).

The evidence from poetry in which a particular person is intended for people in general, is the following poem of an unidentified poet:
إن كنت متخذا صاحبـا * فلا تصحبن فتى دارميـا
"If you are taking a friend, never take a Dārimī young man for friend.
Here the poet is not addressing a particular person, but he means that whoever wants to take a friend should not take him from Dārim."

Although Ibn Qutaybah considers the second interpretation possible and good, he prefers the first one. The reason is that the verse in question continues the discourse until verse 99 as follows أَفَأَنْتَ تُكْرِهُ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَكُونُوا مُؤْمِنِينَ (يونس : ٩٩) "... dost thou, then, think that thou couldst compel people to believe," (Q. 10:99, Asad). This verse in his view is definitely directed to the Prophet - instead of the doubters - although it is intended for the believers.
Al-Farrā’'s commentary on the verse in question is that Allah knew that the Prophet was not in doubt, and Allah did not ask him to question those who had read the divine writ before him. It is like saying to your servant who does not doubt your authority over him: "If you are my servant, listen and obey."

Al-Tabarsi mentions four different views of the interpretation of the above verse, as follows: (1) Al-Zajjāj, al-H.asan and Ibn ‘Abbās: the verse is directed to the Prophet but intended for people in general; (2) al-Farrā’ as mentioned above; (3) the verse is directed to other than the Prophet; it means "if you listeners are in doubt of what We sent to you through Our Messenger...", and (4) It is reported by al-Zajjāj that it is possible that the particle إن (if) means ما (not), so that the verse means "you are not in doubt of what We have sent to you, so ask those who read the divine writ before you, so that your faith will increase".

We have seen that Ibn Qutaybah's treatment of the kināyah and ta‘rīd. is rudimentary and brief. He confines himself to the types of kināyah called kunyah and fulān, as well as the generic application of the definite article al. Moreover, he does not include Umm or Ibn among the kunyah. In the field of ta‘rīd. Ibn Qutaybah mainly discussed the euphemistic and circumspective expressions in the Qur’ānic verses.

F. The Disagreement of the Word with Its Literal Meaning

Ibn Qutaybah mentions twenty-six categories of idiomatic expression which can be condensed into ten categories in the chapter entitled مخالفة ظاهر اللفظ معناه in his work Ta’wīl. They are as follows: imprecation, repetition of words indicating sanction, rhetorical questions, imperatives, specifications, number, iltifāt, juncture, tempora, and morphology. They will be discussed as follows:

1. Imprecation

The imprecation referred to here by Ibn Qutaybah is something which is not meant to occur (الدعاء على جهة الذم لا يراد به الوقوع). He cites three examples from the Qur’ān, namely, قُتِلَ الْخَرَّاصُونَ (الذاريات : ١٠) “Woe to the conjecturers” (Q. 51:10), قتل الإنسان ما أكفره (عبس: 17) “Woe to man! What hath made him reject God?" (Q. 80:17, Ali), and قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ (التوبة : ٣٠) “God's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the truth."(Q. 9:30, Ali).

The literal meanings of the above verses are respectively as follows: "May the conjecturers be killed!", "may man be killed!" and "may Allah fight them, how perverted they are!" The use of the past tense in Arabic may indicate imprecation as we have seen in the above verses and in the du‘ā’, such as the expression like جزاك الله ("may Allah reward you", used to express thanks to somebody), and رحمه الله ("may Allah bless him" used after mentioning the name of a deceased person).

However, Ibn Qutaybah's view that the imprecations in the above verses are not meant to occur is rejected by Ibn Fāris. He contends that nobody should suggest what Allah said as a du‘ā’ was not meant to occur. On the contrary, these imprecations are intended by Allah to occur and they actually occurred. Whoever is cursed by Allah will never escape. Ibn Fāris mentions as an example in the case of Abū Lahab. He was cursed in the Qur’ān as follows: (اللهب : ١) تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ "Perish the hands of the Father of Flame! Perish he!" (Q. 111:1, Ali).

Imprecation is also used to express wonder, and as such, according to Ibn Qutaybah, it is also not meant to occur. When someone is right in his reasoning, knowledge, or contention, it is said قاتله الله ما أحسن ما قال (lit., "May Allah fight him, what a good thing he has said!"), أخزاه الله ما أشعـره (lit., May Allah disgrace him, how knowledgable he is!"), and لله دره ما أحسن ما احتج به (lit., "His achievement is due to Allah, what a good argument he has given!").

2. Repetition

Among the words which disagree with their literal meanings are the repeated ones which change their meanings to be jazā’ (recompense, reward, punishment) for the first (original) meaning, such as وَجَزَاءُ سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِثْلُهَا (الشورى : ٤٠) "The recompense of an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree)..." (Q. 42:40, Ali). وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ (آل عمران : ٥٤) "And they schemed and Allah schemed (against them): and Allah is the best of schemers." (Q. 3:54), in which Allah's scheme means His punishment by destroying them according to Abū ‘Ubaydah, or His requital for their scheme, according to al-T.abarsī, فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَاعْتَدُوا عَلَيْهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا اعْتَدَى عَلَيْكُمْ (البقرة : ١٩٤) “And one who attacketh you, attack him in the like manner as he attacked you...." (Q. 2:194, Pickthall). Here the first attack is a hostile act and a wrongdoing, whereas the second one is not, but a retaliatory measure.

3. Rhetorical Question

The significance of rhetorical questions is divided by Ibn Qutaybah into three categories: (a) affirmation (تقرير), such as وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى (طه : ١٧) “Now, what is this in thy hand, O Moses?" (Q. 20:17, Asad); Allah already knew what was in Moses's hand when He asked him this question, but He wanted to remind him that what he had in his hand was only a staff which later turned into a serpent; (b) wonder (تعجّب), such as عَمَّ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ. عَنِ النَّبَإِ الْعَظِيمِ (النبأ : ١-٢) "About what do they [most often] ask one another? About the awesome tiding [of resurrection]," (Q. 78:1-2, Asad), and (c) reproach (توبيخ), such as أَتَأْتُونَ الذُّكْرَانَ مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَ. وَتَذَرُونَ مَا خَلَقَ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ (الشعراء : ١٦٥-١٦٦) "Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males, and leave those whom God has created to be your mates?" (Q. 26:165-6, Ali).

Al Zarkashī in his work al-Burhān gives us more information about the إستفهام (asking a question) in the Qur’ān. He divides the إستفهام into two types: one means خبر (lit., "news"), and the other meansإنشاء (lit., "composition"). He divides the إستفهام meaning خبر into نفي (negation) and إثبات (affirmation). He calls the former إستفهام إنكار (in modern terminology, إستفهام إنكاري, negative question) and the latter إستفهام تقرير (in modern terminology, استفهام تقريري, affirmative question) which has been dealt with briefly by Ibn Qutaybah above. Al-Zarkashī goes further and divides the latter into twelve divisions with examples from the Qur’ān. With regard to the إستفهام meaningإنشاء , al-Zarkashī divides it into eighteen divisions including wonder and reproach briefly dealt with by Ibn Qutaybah above.

4. Imperative

Ibn Qutaybah divides the significance of imperative into four categories: (a) threat (تهديد), such as اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ (حم : ٤٠) "Do what you will ..." (Q. 41:40, Asad); (b) admonition (تأديب), such as وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَيْ عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ (الطلاق : ٢) ".... And let two persons of [known] probity from among your own community witness [what you have decided]; ..." (Q. 65:2, Asad), (c) exemption (إباحة), such as فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانْتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ (الجمعة : ١٠) "And when the prayer is ended, then disperse freely on earth..." (Q. 62:10, Asad), and (d) religious duty (فرض) such as (البقرة : ٤٣) وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآَتُوا الزَّكَاةَ "... and be constant in prayer, and spend in charity, ..." (Q. 2:43, Asad).

5. Specification

Ibn Qutaybah mentions eight Qur’ānic verses as examples of general statement meant to be particular (خاصّ) in time and person, among which are as follows:

a. وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ (الأنعام : ١٦٣) "..., and I am the first of those who surrender (unto Him)." (Q. 6:163, Pickthall), meaning that the Prophet was the first person who surrendered himself unto Allah in his time.

b. وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (الأعراف : ١٤٣) ("..., and I am the first of (true) believers." (Q. 7:143, Pickthall), meaning that Prophet Moses was the first believer in his time.

c. وَالشُّعَرَاءُ يَتَّبِعُهُمُ الْغَاوُونَ (الشعراء : ٢٢٤) "Poets are followed by erring men" (Q.26:224), meaning some of them only;

d. الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ (آل عمران : ١٧٣) "those who have been warned by other people, 'Behold, a host has gathered against you; so beware of them!'..." (Q. 3:173, Asad). According to one tradition Nu‘aym ibn Mas‘ūd al-Ashja‘ī said to the companions of the Prophet: "People have gathered against you," meaning Abū Sufyān, ‘Uyaynah ibn H.is.n and Mālik ibn ‘Awf. Therefore, the first الناس (the people) is meant to be a particular person, Nu‘aym ibn Mas‘ūd, while the second الناس is intended to be a group of people, namely, Abū Sufyān, ‘Uyaynah and Mālik mentioned above.

e. وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ (الذاريات : ٥٦) "I created the jinn and human-kind only that they might worship Me." (Q. 51:56, Pickthall), meaning that only some of the jinn and human-kind, namely, the believers among them are created to worship Him. Others are created for Hell. To support his view, Ibn Qutaybah cites the following verse: وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ (الأعراف : ١٧٩) "We have made for hell many of the jinn and humankind..." (Q. 7:179). He gives the basic meaning of ذرأنا , namely, "We create" in the above verse, so that it means “We created for hell...” This is also the view of al-Qushayrī who said that children and insane people are excluded from the injunction of worshipping Allah as well as those who are created for Hell. Moreover, in the variant reading of ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ubayy it is written وما خلقت الجن و الإنس من المؤمنين إلا ليعبدون “I created the jinn and human-kind among the believers only that they might worship Me." This view is supported by al-Zajjāj who cites the verse: وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا (التوبة : ٣١) "... they were bidden to worship only One God." (Q. 9:31, Pickthall). However, according to Ibn ‘Abbās, the meaning of the verse in question is that the jinn and the humankind are created to confirm the bondage willingly or unwillingly.

6. Number

In this category Ibn Qutaybah shows us the application of number (singular, dual, or plural) to nouns, adjectives and verbs in the verses of the Qur’ān, so that their literal (ostensible) meanings are in disagreement with their real meanings, as follows:

a. Noun

We can divide this section into two: 1) the plural noun meaning (a) singular, (b) dual, (c) dual and plural, and (d) singular, dual, and plural; and 2) the singular noun meaning plural. They will be discussed as follows:
(1) The use of the plural which is meant:

(a) singular, such as إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُنَادُونَكَ مِنْ وَرَاءِ الْحُجُرَاتِ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ (الحجرات : ٤) "Verily, [O Prophet,] as for those who call thee from without thy private apartments - most of them do not use their reason." (Q. 49:4, Asad), as there was only one person who called the Prophet from behind his private apartments, saying: "O Muh.ammad, my praise is good, and my abuse is disgracing" (يا محمد إن مدحي زين وإن شتمي شين); That person, according to al-D.ah.h.āk, was al-Aqra‘ ibn H.ābis. There is also another view that there was another person who called the Prophet besides al-Aqra‘, namely, ‘Uyaynah ibn H.is.n. However, according to Mujāhid, the people who called the Prophet were the Banī Tamīm tribe who entered the mosque and wanted him to come out of his apartment. This view is supported by Ibn Mas‘ūd's variant reading أكثرهم بنو تميم لا يعقلون ("and the majority of them were Banū Tamīm, who did not use their reason."). It is possible that one or two persons of the Tamīm tribe called the Prophet on their behalf.

(b) dual, such as (التحريم : ٤) إِنْ تَتُوبَا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَقَدْ صَغَتْ قُلُوبُكُمَا "[Say, O Prophet:] 'Would that you two turn unto God in repentance, for the hearts of both of you have swerved [from what is right]...'" (Q. 66:4, Asad). Here the expression قلوبكما is meant to be قلباكما ("the two hearts of both of you").

(c) dual and plural, such as فَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ إِخْوَةٌ فَلِأُمِّهِ السُّدُسُ(النساء : ١١) "and if he has brothers and sisters, then his mother shall have one-sixth..." (Q.4:11, Asad). The term إخوة (brothers) includesأخوان (two brothers).
(d) singular, dual, and plural, such as وَلْيَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (النور : ٢) "And let a group of the believers witness their chastisement." (Q. 24:2, Asad). Here the term طائفـة (a group, a band, a troop, a party) means one, two, and more persons.
(2). The use of the singular intended for the plural, such as قَالَ إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ ضَيْفِي فَلَا تَفْضَحُونِ (الحجر : ٦٨)"Exclaimed [Lot]: 'Behold, these are my guests: so put me not to shame.'" (Q. 15:68, Asad). The term ضيفي (my guest) is used to mean ضيوفي (my guests). Another example is (الحج : ٥) ثُمَّ نُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلًا "..., and then We bring you forth as infants ..." (Q. 22:5, Asad). The term طفلا (an infant) is used instead of أطفالا (infants). As an example from poetry Ibn Qutaybah cites the poem of al-‘Abbās ibn Mirdās al-Sulamī, as follows:
فقلنا اسلموا إنا أخـوكـم * و قد برئت من الإحن الصـدور
Then we said: 'Surrender, verily, we are your brothers; the hearts have been healed from the old feuds.'
The term أخوكم(your brother) is intended to meanإخوانكم (your brothers).
b. Adjective (quality, attribute)
This section can be divided into two: 1) the adjective in the singular for a plural object, and 2) the adjective in the plural for a singular object, as follows:

(1) The use of an adjective in the singular for a plural object, such as وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوا (المائدة : ٦) “.... And if you are in a state requiring total ablution, purify yourselves." (Q. 5:6, Asad). The term junub (unclean) is in the singular but is used for the plural "you". Another example is the verse وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ظَهِيرٌ (التحريم : ٤) “...; and furthermore the angels are his helpers." (Q. 66:4, Pickthall). The term z.ahīr (lit. "a state of being helpful") is an adjective and in the singular, and the noun "angels" is in the plural. In poetry, Ibn Qutaybah cites the poem of an unidentified poet, as follows: إن العواذل ليس لي بأمير “Verily, the reprovers are not consultant to me." The term amīr (lit., "a person who is consulted") here is in the singular.

(2) The use of an adjective in the plural for a singular object, such as the poem of an unidentified poet, as follows: جاء الشتاء و قميصي أخلاق “The Winter has come and my dress is worn out." The term أخلاق the plural of خلق (shabby, threadbare, worn), but is intended for the singular, as it is describing a single object, namely, the dress.

c. Verb

We can divide this section into four, as follows: (1) a verb that refers to two different things and is intended for one of them only; (2) a verb that refers to one of two different things but is intended for both of them; (3) an imperative verb in dual but is intended for one, two, or more persons; and (4) a verb with a plural pronoun intended for one person indicating respect. They are as follows:

(1) A verb that refers to two different things but is intended for one of them only, for example: (الكهف : ٦١) فَلَمَّا بَلَغَا مَجْمَعَ بَيْنِهِمَا نَسِيَا حُوتَهُمَا "But when they reached the junction between the two [seas], they forgot all about their fish, ..." (Q. 18:61, Asad). It was Yūsha‘ ibn Nūn only who had forgotten the fish, for he said to Prophet Moses فَإِنِّي نَسِيتُ الْحُوتَ (الكهف : ٦٣) "..., I forgot about the fish..." (Q. 18:63, Asad). Another example is as follows: يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْكُمْ (الأنعام : ١٣٠) "O ye assembly of the jinn and humankind! Came there not unto you messengers of your own...?" (Q. 6:130, Pickthall). Here it means that messengers came from humankind only.

(2) A verb that refers to one of two different things but is intended for both of them is the same as the one in the following verse: وَاللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَقُّ أَنْ يُرْضُوهُ (التوبة : ٦٢) "... - the while it is God and His Apostle whose pleasure they should seek above all else,.." (Q. 9:62, Asad). Here the verb أن يرضوه ("to please Him") is used for أن يرضوهما ("to please them both"). Another example is as follows: وَإِذَا رَأَوْا تِجَارَةً أَوْ لَهْوًا انْفَضُّوا إِلَيْهَا (الجمعة :١١) "Yet, [it does happen that] when people become aware of [an occasion for] worldly gain or a passing delight, they rush headlong towards it..." (Q. 62:11, Asad). Here the verse means انفضوا إليهما ("they rush headlong towards both of them"). As an example from poetry Ibn Qutaybah cites the poem of ‘Amr ibn Imru’ al-Qays al-Ans.ārī addressing Mālik ibn al-‘Ajlān, as follows:
نحن بما عندنا و أنت بمـا * عندك راض و الرأي مختلـف
"We are content with what we have and you with what you have, and the opinion is different."
Instead of راضون in the plural form, the term راض in the singular form is used for both نحن (we) and أنت (you).

(3) An imperative verb in the dual but is intended for one, two, or more persons is the same as that in the following verse: أَلْقِيَا فِي جَهَنَّمَ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ (ق : ٢٤) "[Whereupon God will command:] 'Cast, cast into hell every [such] stubborn enemy of the truth.'" (Q. 50:24, Asad). Here the verb القيا is in the dual form but it is intended for one person only, namely, Mālik, the angel who is in charge of Hell. It may also be intended for more persons, namely, the zabāniyah (the infernal attendants of Hell), or the two angels mentioned in the previous verse Q. 50:21, one is a driver (سائق) who drives people to do what Allah has ordered them to, and the other is a witness (شهيد) who registers what people do; this is the view of Mujāhid, ‘Uthmān and al-Zajjāj. Abū ‘Uthmān al-Māzinī and al-Mubarrad, both of the grammarian school of Bas.rah, state that the verb القيـا is in the dual to indicate repetition, namely,الق الق as translated by Asad above.

Ibn Qutaybah states that according to al-Farrā’ it is common among the Arabs to use imperative verbs in the dual when they are addressing one person or more, such as the expression ويلك ارحلاها وازجراها "Woe unto you! Move her away and drive her away both of you." One of the examples from poetry given by Ibn Qutaybah is the poem of Suwayd ibn Karrā‘ al-‘Ukalī, as follows:
فإن تزجراني يا ابن عفان انزجـر * و إن تدعاني أحم عرضا ممنعـا
"If you drive me away O Ibn ‘Affān, I shall go away, but if you leave me alone, I shall protect my honour from those who hurt me."
Here تزجراني ("you both drive me away") and تدعاني (“you both leave me alone”) are in the dual form when the poet meant Ibn ‘Affān only. Al-Farrā’ says that the number of people needed to form a company (رُفقة) is three people. In this case, the conversation occurs between one of them and the other two by using verbs in the dual form. Poets use them most when they say يا صاحبَيّ ("O my two companions") and يا خليلَيّ ("O my two friends").

(4) A verb with a plural pronoun intended for one person indicating respect is like the king's statement when he said: "We did this" instead of "I did this". There are many examples in the Qur’ān, among which are as follows: قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ (المؤمنون : ٩٩) “..., he prays: 'Oh my Sustainer! Let me return, let me return [to life].'" (Q. 23:99, Asad). Here ارجعون (namely, ارجعوني) in the plural is used instead of ارجعن (namely, ارجعني) in the singular to indicate respect. Another example is نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ (يوسف : ٣) "We explain it to thee in the best possible way, ..." (Q. 12:3, Asad) in which the expression نحن نقص ("We explain") refers to Allah alone.

7. Sudden Transition (Iltifāt)

Ibn Qutaybah deals with three categories of what is later called إلتفات. They are as follows: a. It is addressing a person who is present (namely, the second person), then suddenly the address is changed into the wording of a third person (تخاطب الشاهد بشيء ثم تجعل الخطاب له على لفظ الغائب أن); b. It is addressing the third person by using the wording of the second person (خطاب الغائب للشاهد); and c. It is addressing a person with something, then suddenly the address is shifted to another person (أن تخاطب الرجل بشىء ثم يجعل الخطاب لغيره); this includes: addressing two persons then suddenly the address is directed to one of them only, and addressing somebody, but the address is intended for somebody else. They are dealt with as follows:
a. With regard to addressing a person who is present (the second person), then suddenly the address is changed into the wording of a third person, Ibn Qutaybah gives three examples from the Qur’ān, one of which is as follows: حَتَّى إِذَا كُنْتُمْ فِي الْفُلْكِ وَجَرَيْنَ بِهِمْ بِرِيحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَفَرِحُوا بِهَا (يونس : ٢٢) ".... And [behold what happens] when you go to sea in ships: [they go to sea in ships,] and they sailed on in them in a favourable wind, and they rejoiced thereat..." (Q. 10:22, Asad). Here the words جرين بهم ("they sail on in them") and فرحوا بها ("they rejoiced thereat") is a sudden transition from جرين بكم ("you sail on in them") and فرحتم بها ("you rejoiced thereat") respectively. We notice that in translating the above verse Asad says "they go to sea in ships" between brackets to indicate the occurrence of the shift from the direct address and the second person plural "you" to the third person plural "they". The purpose of this shift, as he stated it, is "to bring out the allegorical character of the subsequent narrative and to turn it into a lesson of general validity".

Ibn Qutaybah does not explain the purpose of the iltifāt in this verse, but al-Zarkashī mentions three views concerning its purpose, as follows: (1) it is to indicate wonder about people's deeds and disbeliefs; (2) it is to single out the rebellious among the people; before the iltifāt the address was to people in general, believers as well as non-believers; then the iltifāt is used to indicate that the reproof is exclusively for those who rebel wrongfully after being delivered from danger, as mentioned in the above verse and that which follows it (Q. 10:23); (3) it is to indicate the two conditions of people: when they were on board a ship they felt confined and feared perishing and changing wind; in this case they were addressed the way people who are present are addressed (in the second person); but when the danger passed with a favourable wind, they were happy, and their presence was no longer required in referring to them; therefore, the iltifāt is used, the address was given in the third person, and it was said و جرين بهم "and they sailed on in them".

b. With regard to addressing the third person by using the wording of the second, Ibn Qutaybah does not give us any example from the Qur’ān, but one from poetry by Abū ’l-Kabīr al-Hudhalī, as follows:
ويح نفسي كان جدة خالـد * و بياض و جهك للتراب الأعفـر
"O woe unto myself, the wealth of Khālid and the whiteness of his [lit. your] face are for the dust coloured soil [in which he is buried]."
Here, after mentioning Khālid as a third person, the poet spoke to him in the second person, when he said "the whiteness of your face".

Al-Zarkashī mentions many examples from the Qur’ān, one of which is as follows: (مريم : ٨٨-٨٩) وَقَالُوا اتَّخَذَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَلَدًا. لَقَدْ جِئْتُمْ شَيْئًا إِدًّا “As it is, some assert, 'The Most Gracious has taken unto Himself a son'! Indeed, [by this assertion] you have brought forth something monstrous." (Q.19:88-9, Asad). Instead of جاؤا ("they brought forth") it is used جئتم ("you brought forth") to indicate that whoever makes a statement like theirs he is to be reproached and rejected. Here Allah is addressing them directly as if they were present.

c. With regard to addressing a person with something, then suddenly the address is shifted to another person Ibn Qutaybah gives us two examples, as follows: فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَكُمْ "And if they do not respond to your call" which was addressed to the Prophet, and then suddenly shifted to unbelievers, as the verse continues withفَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا أُنْزِلَ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَأَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ "then know that [this Qur’ān] has been bestowed from on high out of God's wisdom alone, and that there is no deity save Him." This is evident as the verse continues addressing the unbelievers thus فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ (هود : ١٤) "Will you, then, surrender yourselves unto Him?" (Q. 11:14, Asad). The other example is إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا (الفتح : ٨) "Verily, [O Muhammad,] We have sent thee as a witness [to the truth], and as a herald of glad tidings and a warner." (Q. 48:8, Asad). This verse was addressed to the Prophet; then the address was suddenly shifted from him to people in the following verse: لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا (الفتح : ٩) "so that you [O men] might believe in God and His Apostle, and might honour Him, and revere Him, and extol His limitless glory from morn to evening." Q. 48:9, Asad).

With regard to addressing two persons and suddenly the address is directed to one of them only, Ibn Qutaybah gives us two examples. They are: قَالَ فَمَنْ رَبُّكُمَا يَا مُوسَى (طه : ٤٩) He replied: 'Who, now, is this Sustainer of you two, O Moses?'" (Q. 20:49, Asad). Here Pharaoh spoke at first to both Moses and Aaron, but later spoke to Moses alone., saying, "O Moses." 355

Another example is the following verse: فَقُلْنَا يَا آَدَمُ إِنَّ هَذَا عَدُوٌّ لَكَ وَلِزَوْجِكَ فَلَا يُخْرِجَنَّكُمَا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ فَتَشْقَى (طه : ١١٧) “And thereupon We said: 'O Adam! Verily, this is a foe unto thee and thy wife: so let him not drive the two of you out of this garden and render thee unhappy.'" (Q. 20:117, Asad). We notice here that at the beginning the address was directed to Adam only, then to him and his wife, then again to him only.356

With regard to addressing somebody, but the address is intended for somebody else, Ibn Qutaybah mentions the following example: إِذْ أَنْشَأَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ (النجم : ٣٢) "... , and when He brings you into being out of dust." (Q. 53:32, Asad). Here Allah means Adam himself, not his descendants.357

Al-Zarkashī in his work al-Burhān examines the iltifāt in more detail. He mentions its definition, advantages, and divisions. He says that the iltifāt is the change from one style to another as a means to alert and attract the listener, to renew his energy, and to protect his mind from boredom and discontent caused by listening to an incessant single style هو نقل الكلام من) أسلوب إلى أسلوب آخر تطرية و استدرارا للسامع و تجديدا لنشاطه و صيانة لخاطره من الملال و الضجر بدوام الأسلوب الواحد على سمعه). 358

Al-Zarkashī divides the advantages of the iltifāt into general and particular. The general advantage is that it gives an opportunity to use various styles and to shift from one style to another which alert the listener and attract his interest, to broaden the flow of the speech, and to facilitate the use of poetic measure and rhyme (التفنن والإنتقال من أسلوب إلى آخرلما فى ذلك من تنشيط السامع و اتساع مجاري الكلام و تسهيل الوزن و القافية). The particular advantages are: to honour the position of the person who is spoken to (the second person), to direct attention to the significance of the statement, to complete the meaning intended by the speaker and to indicate hyperbole, specification, significance and reproach.359

Al-Zarkashī divides the iltifāt into seven divisions: from the first person (the speaker) to the second (the person spoken to), from the first person to the third, from the second person to the first, from the second person to the third, from the third person to the first, from the third person to the second, and the formation of a verb for the object after the expression or the speech has been given by its subject 360(بناء الفعل للمفعول بعد خطاب فاعله أو تكلمه).

Al-Zarkashī also includes the shift of the speech from one subject to another in what he calls "close to the iltifāt" (يقرب من الإلتفات). The purpose of this shift is to stop the discussion of a particular subject with an ignorant and fanatical opponent, and to bring him to a new and different subject, so that he will keep his attention on the new subject and forget the previous one. This is because the more we enter into the discussion with him on that particular subject; the more he will reject our view. Then the former subject is introduced slowly within the new subject. Al-Zarkashī includes in this category of expression close to the iltifāt: the shift from addressing one to two persons, from one to three persons, from two to one person, from two to three persons, from three to one person, and from three to two persons. He also includes what are called tempora and morphology which will be dealt with later.361

Ibn Qutaybah's treatment of this subject, the iltifāt, is very brief and rudimentary. He does not even use the term iltifāt in his work Ta’wīl, since this technical term seems to have been unknown in his time. Commentators like al-T.abarī, al-Qurt.ubī, al-T.abarsī, and al-Zamakhsharī did not mention it, and often give different interpretations rather than using it.

8. Juncture

Juncture is the joining of two different statements of two different persons, so that they appear to be the statement of one person or one group of persons. Among the examples given by Ibn Qutaybah are the following Qur’anīc verses:
a. قَالَتْ إِنَّ الْمُلُوكَ إِذَا دَخَلُوا قَرْيَةً أَفْسَدُوهَا وَجَعَلُوا أَعِزَّةَ أَهْلِهَا أَذِلَّةً (النمل : ٣٤) "Said she: 'Verily, whenever kings enter a country they corrupt it, and turn the noblest of its people into the most abject.'" (Q. 27.34, Asad).362 This statement of Queen Bilqīs of Sheba is followed by Allah's statement وَكَذَلِكَ يَفْعَلُونَ (النمل: 34) "And this is the way they [always] behave." (Q. 27:34). This is the view of Ibn ‘Abbās. However, another view says that the latter statement also belonged to Queen Bilqīs who had witnessed and heard the habits of kings in the past. 363

b. (يس : ٥٢) قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا "They will say: 'Oh, woe unto us! Who has roused us from our sleep [of death]?'" which will be the statement of righteous Muslims when they are resurrected. The verse continues with the angels' following statement: هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ (يس : ٥٢) "[Whereupon they will be told:] 'This is what the Most Gracious has promised! And His message bearers spoke the truth!.'" (Q. 36:52, Asad).364 This is the view of Ibn ‘Abbās and al-Farrā’ adopted by Ibn Qutaybah. However, it is also possible that the statement of the angels is shared by the believers, or it is exclusively the statement of the muttaqīn according to al-H.asan. Another view suggests that the statement refers to the unbelievers who, after asking each other who raised them from their sleep, will finally believe in the Resurrection Day, when this belief was now of no avail.

9. Tempora

Ibn Qutaybah mentions the use of a verb in the past-tense when it is meant for the present or the future. He cites seven examples, among which are as follows:

a. كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ (آل عمران : ١١٠) "You are indeed the best community that has ever been brought forth for [the good of] mankind: ..." (Q. 3:110, Asad). The word كنتم (lit. "you were") means "you are" and "you will be". The use of the verb "to be" in the past-tense indicating the present and the future is found profusely in the Qur’ān, such as: قَالُوا كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَنْ كَانَ فِي الْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا (مريم : ٢٩) "They exclaimed: 'How can we talk to one who [as yet] is [كان , lit., "was" ] a little boy in the cradle?'" (Q. 19:29, Asad).366

There are several views concerning the use of the verb كان(in this case كنتم) in the above verse. Some say that it is used for emphasis. The other view is that kāna indicates the past, namely, the believers were the best community in the sight of Allah as mentioned in the Preserved Tablet (اللوح المحفوظ) which is the interpretation of al-Farrā’ and al-Zajāj; according to al-H.asan they were the best community mentioned in the previous Scriptures. Kāna is also interpreted as s.āra (has become) and wujida (to be found) or khuliqa (to be created), so that the verse in question means "You have become (صرتم ) indeed the best community that has ever been brought forth for [the good of] mankind, because you enjoin...", and "you have been found (or created) to be the best community...".367

b. وَإِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَأَنْتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَهَيْنِ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ (المائدة : ١١٦) "And lo! God said: 'O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, "Worship me and my mother as deities beside God"?'..." (Q. 5:116, Asad). The verb قال is in the past tense but is meant in the future when Allah speaks to Jesus on the Last Day. The evidence that the occurrence of the dialogue will be in the future is the verse that which follows reads: قال الله قَالَ اللَّهُ هَذَا يَوْمُ يَنْفَعُ الصَّادِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ (المائدة : ١١٩) "[And on Judgment Day] God will say: 'Today, their truthfulness shall benefit all who have been true to their word: theirs shall be gardens through which running waters flow,...'" (Q. 5:119, Asad). The day referred to in this verse is the Last Day, the Judgement Day. 368 This is the view of Qatādah, Ibn Jurayj, and the majority of the commentators, and is supported by al-Qurt.ubī and al-T.abarsī. Another view is that the dialogue had taken place, namely, when Jesus ascended to Heaven, which is the view of al-Suddī and Qut.rub.369

c. أَتَى أَمْرُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ (النحل : ١) "God's judgment is [bound to] come: do not therefore, call for its speedy advent! ..." (Q. 16:1, Asad). The verb أتى (lit. "it came") which is in the past-tense proclaims the future, namely, "it will come to pass", translated by Asad as "is bound to come" as mentioned above. 370 Various interpretations of أمرالله ("Allah's judgment") are given, among which are as follows: (1) the Judgment Day which is the view of Ibn ‘Abbās; (2) Allah's punishment to the idolaters which is the view of al-H.asan and Ibn Jurayj as stated by al-T.abarsī, whereas according to al-Qurt.ubī it is the view of al-Zajjāj; (3) Allah's injunctions and laws which is the view of al-D.ah.h.āk according to al-T.abarsī, whereas according to al-Qurt.ubī, it is also the view of al-H.asan and Ibn Jurayj.371

d. وَاللَّهُ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ الرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَسُقْنَاهُ إِلَى بَلَدٍ مَيِّتٍ فَأَحْيَيْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا كَذَلِكَ النُّشُورُ (فاطر : ٩) "And [remember:] it is God who sends forth the winds, so that they raise a cloud, whereupon We drive it towards dead land and thereby give life to the earth after it had been lifeless: even thus shall resurrection be!" (Q. 35:9, Asad). We notice here that the verb أرسل ("He sent forth"), فسقناه ("then We drove it") and فأحيينا به ("thereby We gave life to it") are in the past-tense, but they mean the present and the future.372

Ibn Qutaybah does not mention the opposite of the above tempora, namely, the use of the present or the future-tense for the past-tense, such as: وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُو الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ (البقرة : ١٠٢) "And follow [instead] that which the evil ones used to practice during Solomon's reign..." (Q. 2:102, Asad), in which تتلو in the present or future is meant to be تلت in the past. 373 The other example is: قُلْ فَلِمَ تَقْتُلُونَ أَنْبِيَاءَ اللَّهِ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (البقرة: ٩١) ".... Say: 'Why, then, did you slay God's prophets aforetime, if you were [truly] believers?'" (Q. 2:91, Asad), in which the verb تقتلون ("you slay") in the present or future-tense is meant to be قتلتم ("you slew") as translated above.374

10. Morphology

Ibn Qutaybah briefly mentions four categories of words which morphologically disagree with their literal meanings. They are as follows:
a. A passive participle in the form of an active participle (أن يجيء المفعول على لفظ الفاعل), such as: (1) قَالَ لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَنْ رَحِمَ (هود : ٤٣)“Said [Noah]: 'Today there is no protection [for anyone] from God's judgment, save [for] those who have earned [His] mercy!'...." (Q. 11:43, Asad). The word عاصم (lit. "protector") which is an active participle, means معصوم ("protected") in a passive participle in the above verse, namely, "nobody is protected from His judgment" (لا معصوم من أمره). 375 This is one interpretation. The second interpretation is that لا عاصم means لا مانع ("no protector"), so that the verse means "there is no protector from Allah's punishment except He [Allah] Who has mercy" since it is on that day of reckoning that the unbelievers deserve punishment.376 The third interpretation is mentioned by al-T.abarsī, namely, "there is no protector except to whom Allah has mercy," meaning that whom Allah has mercy for will be protected. 377 (2)(الطارق : ٦) خُلِقَ مِنْ مَاءٍ دَافِقٍ "He is created from a gushing fluid." (Q. 86:6, Pickthall). The verb دافق (gushing) is an active participle meaning مدفوق (gushed) in passive participle. 378 (3) The following verse of Wa‘lat al-Jarmī:

و لما رأيت الخيل تترى أثايجـا * علمت بأن اليوم أحمس فاجـر
"When I saw the horses following each other in groups, I realised that it was a hard impudent day."

The word فاجـر (lit., immoral actor) is an active participle meaning a passive participle مفجور (acted upon immorally), so that the verse means "a hard day in which immorality was committed" (يوم صعب مفجور فيه).379

b. The verb pattern فعيل which means مفعل (doer), such as: (1) بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ (البقرة : ١١٧؛ الأنعام : ١٠١) “The originator is He of the heavens and the earth:..." (Q. 2:117, Asad and 6:101). The word badī‘ means mubdi‘ ("originator", "creator"); 380 (2) عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (البقرة : ١٠, ١٠٤, ١٧٨)"a painful punishment" (Q. 2:10, 104, and 178). 381 The word أليم (painful) means مؤلم (causes pain); (3) The verse of ‘Amr ibn Ma‘dīkarib who was longing for his sister Rayh.ānah who was taken captive by al-S.immah ibn Bakr as follows:

أمن ريحانة الداعي السميع * يورقني و أصحابي هجوع
"Is it from [listening to] the inviter who makes us listen [to what he said] about Rayh.anah that makes me anxiously sleepless while my companions are peacefully sleeping?"

Here the word سميع means مسمع (who makes people listen). However, this is an isolated meaning, since سميع means "all-hearing".382

c. The verb pattern فعيل which means the active participle فاعل , such as حفيظ (all-preserving), قدير (all-powerful), سميع (all-hearing), بصير (all-seeing), عليم (all-knowing), مجيد (glorious), and بديء الخلـق (originator of creation). All these are the صيغة مبالغة (emphatic form) ofحافظ (preserving), قادر (powerful), سامـع (hearer), باصر (seer), عالـم (knower), ماجـد (possessor of glory), and بادىء الخـلق (originator of creation) respectively.383

d. Active participle in the form of passive participle (أن يأتي الفاعل على لفظ المفعول به) which is very rare, such as: إِنَّهُ كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَأْتِيًّا (مريم : ٦١) "... Verily, His promise is ever sure of fulfilment..." (Q. 19:61, Asad) in which the word مأتيّا (lit., "is being brought") means آتيا (lit. "is coming").384

Ibn Qutaybah's material of disagreement of a word with its literal meaning is very brief. It lacks organisation and details. He divides it into twenty-six categories with examples, which I divide systematically into ten categories. More details are available in literature of later times, such as al-Burhān of al-Zarkashī, Jāmi‘ of al-T.abarsī and al-Jāmi‘ of al-Qurt.ubī. Moreover, he does not mention the other views which are contrary to his. The lack of details and systematic division, as well as different views is apparent in Ibn Qutaybah's treatise of the phenomena of figurative language.


ENDNOTES TO CHAPTER III
1. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 134.
2. See Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 5, p. 326.
3. For further details, see ‘Iwad. H.amad al-Qawzī, al-Mus.t.alah. al-Nah.wī: Nash'atuhu wa Tat.awwuruhu h.attá Awākhir al-Qarn al-Thālith al-Hijrī (Riyadh: ‘Imādat al-Shu’ūn al-Maktabāt, Riyadh University, 1401/1981), pp. 15-16.
4. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 20.
5. For further details, see Ibn Taymīyah, Majmū‘ Fatāwá, vol. 7, pp. 87-90 (Kitāb al-Imān).
6. Al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 255.
7. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 115-20. See also al-Jāh.iz., al-H.ayawān, 7 vols. (Cairo: Mus.t.afá ’l-Bābī ’l-H.alabī, 1366/1947), vol. 6, pp. 248-52 in which the author indicated his disbelief in ghouls, and said that stories about them were invented by bedouins in their poetry and laymen who did not make any distinction between what to believe, doubt, and what to disbelieve. Some of them falsely claimed to have seen ghouls; others, killed, accompanied, even married them.
8. See Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf ibn Abī Bakr al-Sakkākī, Miftāh. al-‘Ulūm, ed. and annot. Na‘īm Zarzūr, 2nd ed. (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah, 1407/1987), p. 371. For the definition of majāz according to al-Sakkākī which is slightly different from what has been mentioned above, see ibid., p. 359.
9. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 104; Sayf al-Dīn al-Kātib, et al., eds. and comment., Sharh. Dīwān Umayyah ibn Abī al-S.alt (Beirut: al-Wat.anīyah, 1352 A.H.), p. 28; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 1, p. 112. Abū ‘Uthmān ‘Amr ibn Bah.r al-Jāh.iz. said معاقلنا instead of مقابرنا in the above poem, see Kitāb al-H.ayawān, vol. 5, p. 437;
10. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 104. According to Ibn Zayd and Ibn ‘Abbās, Hell is called "a mother" because to it the unbeliever will take refuge as a baby does to his mother. See al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 30, pp. 182-3; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p. 167.
11. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 106-7; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 303. The camel is said to complain when it is tired of walking, when it extends its neck and moans very often, see Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 14, p. 440.
12. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 108.
13. Ibid., p. 110 and idem, ‘Uyūn al-Akhbār, 4 vols. (Cairo: Dār al-Kitāb, 1324 A.H.). vol. 2, p. 306. There are various versions of this poem: for example, in one version it is written أزمنة, شتت and الحياة, instead of ألسنة, سبت and القبور; see Abū ’l-‘Atāhiyah, Dīwān Abī ’l-‘Atāhiyah (Beirut: Dār S.ādir, Dār Bayrūt, 1384/1964), p. 92; in another version, according to Mas‘ūdī's report, it is written وبكتك ساكتة and أعظم instead of ونعتك ألسنة and أوجه; see Anonymous, al-Anwār al-Zāhiyah fī Dīwān Abī ’l-‘Atāhiyah (Beirut: Mat.ba‘at al-Ābā’ al-Yasū‘īyīn, [1304-5]/1887), p. 53, n. 1.
14. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 110 and idem, Tafsīr, p. 342.
15. Idem, Ta’wīl, p. 111.
16. For further details on this dialogue and event, see Q. 7:11-8; 15:31-44; 17:61-5; 38:71-85.
17. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 112. Ibn Qutaybah cites an example in which the term وحي means تسخير from the poem of al-‘Ajjāj (d. 144/762) dealing with the earth, as follows: و حى لهـا القـرار فاستقـرت "He revealed [i.e., subjected] to it [the earth] to be settled and it became settled." See also ibid., pp. 111-2 and 490. For further details on this poem, see Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 15, pp. 380-1.
18. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 113.
19. Ibid., pp. 114-5. Al-T.abarī mentions the view of أهل العلم as well as of Ibn ‘Abbās that Allah did actually talk to and order the heaven to raise its sun, moon and stars, and to the earth to bring out its trees and fruit, and to split its rivers, see al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 24, p. 64. The h.adīth mentioning the Jewish woman who tried to poison the Prophet was reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dā’ūd, al-Dārimi, Ibn Mājah and Ah.mad ibn H.anbal; see Wensinck, al-Mu‘jam, vol. 2, p. 533 (s.v. سم); the h.adīth mentioning the camel that complained to him was reported by Abū Dā’ūd; see ibid., vol. 3, p. 168 (s.v. شكى).
20. See ‘Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī, Asrār al-Balāghah fī ‘Ilm al-Bayān, ed. Ritter (Istanbul: Mat.ba‘at Wizārat al-Ma‘ārif, 1954), p. 29.
21. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 135; idem, Gharīb al-H.adīth, vol. 1, pp. 439-40; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 1, p. 216.
22. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 139. According to Abū ‘Ubaydah the verse means that their hearts become empty of reasoning, for they have no intellect (لا عقول لهم), see Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 344; Another interpretation is given by Ibn ‘Abbās, that their hearts become empty due to their fright and terror, see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 321.
23. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 140; al-Farrā’ gives “misguidance” instead of “infidelity” as the metaphor for "death" in this verse, see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 353.
24. This is the view of Ibn Qutaybah and Abū ‘Ubaydah, see Ta’wīl, p. 140 and Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 303. This is also the view of Mujāhid and Qatādah. According to al-D.ah.h.āk, wizr means shirk (polytheism). See al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 30, p. 150. According to al-Murtad.á, sin is called wizr because it is a burden for the sinner. However, anything which can be a burden can be called wizr. Therefore, it is possible that the term wizr in the above verse means the Prophet's sorrow of his people's disbelief when he and his companions were still in a weak position; see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 508.
25. Ibn Qutaybah, Tafsīr, p. 532. This is also the view of Ibn Zayd when he said that wizr means "the Prophet's sin before his prophethood". See al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 30, p. 150. The word athqāl (load) is also a metaphor for sin in Q. 29:13; see Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 140 and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p.331.
26. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 145; al-Zamakhsharī gives "the permanent reward", whereas al-T.abarsī gives "Allah's reward" and "Allah's Paradise" for the meaning of رحمة الله in the above verse, see al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 226 and Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 485.
27. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl. pp. 145-6; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 431 and vol. 4, p. 400 and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 7, p. 229 and vol. 14, p. 321.
28. For further details, see Jamāl al-Dīn Abū al-Faraj ‘Abd al-Rah.mān ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhat al-A‘yūn al-Nawāz.ir fī ‘Ilm al-Wujūh wa ’l-Naz.ā'ir, ed. Muh.ammad ‘Abd al-Karīm Kāz.im al-Rād.ī, 2nd ed. (Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Risālah, 1405/1985), pp. 331-4; idem, Muntakhab Qurrat al-‘Uyūn ’l-Nawāz.ir fī ’l-Wujūh wa ’l-Naz.a'ir fī ’l-Qur’ān al-Karīm (Summary of Qurrat al-‘Uyūn), ed. Muhammad al-Sayyid al-Saft.āwī and Dr. Fu'ād ‘Abd al-Mun‘im Ah.mad (Alexandria: Munsha'at al-Ma‘ārif, n.d.), pp. 135-8; al-H.usayn ibn Muh.ammad al-Dāmaghānī, Qāmūs al-Qur’ān aw Is.lāh. al-Wujūh wa al-Naz.ā'ir fī ’l-Qur’ān al-Karīm, ed. ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Sayyid al-Ahl (Beirut: Dār al-‘Ilm lil-Malāyīn, [1403-4]/1983), pp. 199-202; and Abū al-Fad.l Hubaysh ibn Ibrāhīm [al-] Tiflīsī, Wujūh (Vujūh-i) Qur’ān, ed. Dr. Mahdī Muh.aqqiq (Tehran: 1360/[194] ), 4th ed., pp. 112-4.
29. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 147; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, p. 93; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 49. Other Qur’ānic verses in which dhikr is a metaphor for sharaf according to Ibn Qutaybah are Q. 21:10 and 23:71.
30. See Ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhah, pp. 302-6; idem, Qurrah, pp. 117-22; al-Dāmaghānī, Qāmūs, pp. 180-3; and Tiflīsī, Wujūh, pp. 103-7.
31. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 167-8; and Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 14, p. 83. According to al-T.abarsī and al-Murtad.á the poem is the elegy of Jarīr on ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 64; and Amālī, vol. 1, pp. 38-9.
32. For another example from the Qur’ān, see Q. 11:84. The Arabs used to mention a place when they mean its content. They say, for example, أكلت قـدرا (I have eaten a good pot). See al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, pp. 216-7. In the English language we say "the kettle boils" when we mean the water in it.
33. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 169-70; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 25, pp. 74-5; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, pp. 64-5; see also al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, pp. 140-2 and Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 4, pp. 153-4.
34. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 170. Ibn ‘Abbās's variant reading for ليزلقونك is ليزهقونك, meaning “in order to kill and to destroy you”, see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 341. Therefore, the verse means "they looked at you with a kind of look that if they could kill or destroy you with it, they would have done it". Al-Qurt.ubī asserts that ليزهقونك is also the variant reading of Ibn Mas‘ūd, al-A‘mash, Abū Wā'il and Mujāhid; see al-Jāmi‘, vol. 18, p. 255.
35. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 171; idem, Tafsīr, p. 482 and idem, Ta’wīl Mukhtalif al-H.adīth, ed. M.Z. al-Najjār (Beirut: Dār al-Jayl, 1393-1973), pp. 342-3. See also Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 7, p. 218; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 18, p. 256.
36. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 171. Al-Farrā’ says that the verse means "they were so frightened that their lungs swelled and pushed their hearts upward to their throat", see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 340. It is said that this happens when a person is in the state of fear, so that a coward is said to have his lung swollen. However, the expression is only to indicate the disturbance of the heart of a person who is in such extreme terror that his heart almost reaches his throat; see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 145.
37. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 172.
38. For further examples of hyperbole in poetry, see ibid., pp. 172-80.
39. Ibid., p. 181; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 290; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 9, p. 52; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 170.
40. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 181 and 155.
41. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p.123.
42. See al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 177; see also Abū al-Faraj al-As.bahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 19, p. 85.
43. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp.185-6 and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 41. Here al-T.abarsī is quoting Ibn Qutaybah. For another example of sarcasm in the Qur’ān, see Q. 11:87.
44. Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 12, p. 336; al-Zamakhsharī, Asās al-Balāghah (Beirut: Dār S.ādir - Dār Bayrut, 1965) p. 354 (s.v. صرم); and Lane, Lexicon, pt. 4, p. 1684 (s.v.صرم ).
45. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 186-7; idem, Tafsīr, p. 479; Ibn al-Anbārī, al-Ad.dād, p. 8; and Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 12, p. 336. This is also the view of Ibn ‘Abbās, al-Farrā’, and Abū ‘Amr ibn al-‘Alā'ī; see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 18, p. 241; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 336. Al-Qurt.ubī quotes another view of Ibn ‘Abbās, who said that the term صريم in the above verse means "black ashes" in the language of the Khuzaymah tribe. Another view is that of al-Thawrī who says that it means "the harvested field"; see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 18, p. 242; see also Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 3, p. 345; and Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 12, p. 336.
46. According to Abū Zayd سدفة in the language of Banī Tamīm means ظلمة (darkness), while in that of Qays it means ضوء (light). Al-As.ma‘ī was reported to have said that سدفة in the language of Najd means "darkness", while in that of others it means "light". According to Ibn Fāris سدفة means "the mixture of darkness" (إختلاط الظلام), see Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 1, p. 148. For further details, see Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 9, pp. 146-8; and Lane, Lexicon, pt. 4, p. 1333 (s.v. سدف).
47. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 178; see also Ibn al-Anbārī, al-Ad.dād, p. 9.
48. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 187.
49. See Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 3, p. 348.
50. See also Q. 2:230 and 249; 18:53, and 21:31.
51. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 187-8; idem, Tafsīr, p. 406; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi', vol. 1, p. 375 and vol. 11, pp. 3-4; Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 3, p. 462; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 39-40; and Ibn al-Anbārī, al-Ad.dād, p. 14.
52. Tiflīsī, Wujūh, p. 198; al-Dāmaghānī, Qāmūs, pp. 311-2; Ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhah, pp. 425-6; and idem, Qurrah, pp. 172-3. For further details on z.ann, see Lane, Lexicon, pt. 5, pp. 1924-5 (s.v. ظن).
53. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 188.
54. Al-Suyūt.ī, al-Itqān, vol. 2, pp. 203-5; al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 4, p. 159; Ibn Fāris, al-S.āh.ibī, p. 157; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 134.
55. Al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1503.
56. Al-Suyūt.ī, al-Itqān, vol. 2, pp. 232-3 and al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 4, pp. 392-4. Ibn Fāris said that according to some grammarians of the school of Bas.rah la‘alla signifies hope; others said that it is motivation, as in Q. 16:15; see Ibn Fāris, al-S.āh.ibī, p. 170.
57. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 188; idem, al-Shi‘r wa al-Shu‘arā’, ed. Ah.mad Shākir, 2 vols. (Cairo: Dār Ih.yā' al-Kutub al-‘Arabīyah, 1364 A.H.), vol. 1, p. 321; Abū al-Faraj al-As.bahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 17, p. 55; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 48 and 304; al-Murtad.á, Amālī, vol. 2, pp. 95-6; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 3, p. 21; Ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhah, p. 373; and idem, Qurrah, p. 150.
58. Ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhah, pp. 373-4; idem, Qurrah, p. 150; and al-Dāmaghānī, Qāmūs, p. 263. For further details, see Lane, Lexicon, pt. 4, p. 1544 (s.v. شرى).
59. Ibn al-Anbārī, al-Ad.dād, p. 34.
60. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 189; idem, Tafsīr, p. 270; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 412; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 487; al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 4, pp. 288-9; and Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 6, p. 104; see also Lane, Lexicon, pt. 8, p. 2933 (s.v. ورء). According to al-Qurt.ubī, some commentators say that وراء in this verse means "behind", but the majority say it means أمام ("before"), as Ibn ‘Abbās and Ibn Jubayr read أمامهم instead of وراءهم. Al-Māwardī mentions three views concerning the use of وراء meaning أمام, as follows: (1) It is possible in any condition and place, because it belongs to al-ad.dād; (2) It is possible only with time, because it can be passed by man, so that it becomes behind it; and (3) It is possible only with bodies which have no direction (في الأجسام التي لا وجه لها), such as two stones which are opposite each other, so that they are behind each other; this is the view of ‘Alī ibn ‘Īsá. See al-Jāmi‘, vol. 11, pp. 35-6.
61. Ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhah, pp. 608-9; idem, Qurrah, pp. 233-4 (mentions three homonyms only); Tiflīsī, Wujūh, p. 307; and al-Dāmaghānī, Qāmūs, p. 486.
62. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 189-90; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 205. However, according to al-Zajjāj and al-T.abarī, ba‘d will not mean kull, see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 54; and al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 25, p. 55.
63. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 190. According to al-Qayrawānī there is an ellipsis of the expression أحبتـه ("she liked") in the above verse rather than interpreting "all" as "some", so that the verse means "she has been given all things she liked"; see Makkī ibn Abī T.ālib al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān [mistakenly] attributed to al-Zajjāj; re-ed. by Ibrāhim al-Abyārī, 3 pts. with continuous pagination (Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-Lubnānī, 1406/1986), pt. 3, p. 783.
64. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 190; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 35; and Ibn al-Anbārī. al-Ad.dād, pp. 249-50.
65. See al-Farrā‘, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 20-1.
66. Lane, Lexicon, pt. 6, p. 2462 (s.v. فوق).
67. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 67. Ibn ‘Abbās was reported to have mentioned as something above the gnat. According to Abū ‘Ali al-Fārisī, fawqa is possible to mean "smaller" if it refers to quality, such as the هذا صغيروفوق الصغير ("This is small and above small") and هذا قليل و فوق القليل ("This is little and above little"). But it is not possible to say هذه نملة و فوق النملة ("This is an ant and above the ant") and حمار وفوق الحمار ("a donkey and above the donkey") to mean respectively smaller than the ant and the donkey, because they are not qualities but nouns. See al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 1, pp. 107-8.
68. For further details, see T.iflisī, Wujūh, pp. 228-9; Ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhah, pp. 473-4; idem, Qurrah, pp. 188-9; and al-Dāmaghānī, Qāmūs, pp. 364-5.
69. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 190-1. For more examples, see Q. 2:182 and 229. See also Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 2, pp. 184-5 and Lane, Lexicon, pt. 2, pp. 745 (s.v. خشي) and 823 (s.v. خوف).
70. Lane, Lexicon, pt. 2, p. 745 (s.v. خشي).
71. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 191; idem, Tafsīr, p. 271; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 5, p. 169; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 3, p. 50 and vol. 18, p. 303; see also Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 73; Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 2, pp. 494-5; and Lane, Lexicon, pt. 2, p. 794 (s.v., خوف).
72. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 18, p. 303.
73. Ibn al-Anbārī, al-Ad.dād, pp. 9-10; see also ‘Ubayd ibn Sallām, Lughāt al-Qur’ān, pp. 183-4, n. 5.
74. Ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhah, p. 308; idem, Qurrah, p. 123; Tiflīsī, Wujūh, pp. 109-10; al-Dāmaghānī, Qāmūs, pp. 197-8; and Ibn ‘Abbās, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, pp. 55 and 65.
75. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 192; idem, Tafsīr, pp. 227-8; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 2, p. 534; Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 6, pp. 153-4; Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 6, p. 260 (s.v. يئس); al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 3, p. 53; and al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 1, pp. 109-10. It is said that ya'isa meaning ‘alima is the language of Hawāzin tribe, see al-Zarqānī, Manāhil al-‘Irfān, vol. 1, p. 390. Ibn Qutaybah does not give us any example for the basic meaning of ya'isa in the Qur’ān which is in Q. 12:87; see Ibn al-Jawzī, Nuzhah, p. 633; idem, Qurrah, p. 246; and al-Dāmaghānī, Qāmūs, p. 501. There are variant versions in the verse in question: (a) ibn fāris Zahdam; the horse Zahdam belonged to Suh.aym ibn Wathīl al-Yarbū‘ī; therefore, in this case, the poem belonged to his son Jābir ibn Suh.aym; (b) ibn qātil Zahdam; Zahdam was a person killed by Wathīl; in this variant version the poem belonged to Suh.aym; (c) ibn fāris Lāzim; Lāzim was the horse of Suh.aym; in this variant version, the poem belonged to Jābir ibn Suh.aym; see Ibn al-Kalbī, al-Khayl: Nasab al-Khayl fī ’l-Jāhilīyah wa ’l-Islām (Leiden: N.p., 1928), p. 17, quoted by ‘Abd al-Salām M. Hārūn in Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 6, p. 154, n. 1.
76. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 194.
77. Ibid., p. 197; al-A‘shā's version of the poem is حتى إذا ما أوقد بـه * فالجمر مثل ترابها ("Until it was kindled, then the firebrand was like its dust"); see Maymūn ibn Qays al-A‘shá, Diwān al-A‘shá (Beirut: Dār S.ādir, 1966), p. 18.
78. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 193. Al-Farrā’ says that if a transitive verb has two objects, and one of them is a person, the person should be mentioned first, although it can be mentioned second; for further details, see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 79-80. Al-Zamakhsharī said that wa‘d is mentioned first in the verse to indicate that Allah does not break His promise, let alone breaking away from His messengers; see al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 713.
79. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 193. Al-Farrā’ gives the interpretation of the above verse, namely, "if you worship them, they will be enemies for me [namely, Prophet Abraham] till the Judgement Day". In this case, there is no inversion; see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 281.
80. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 193. See also al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 725.
81. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 95. According to al-Zajjāj both words have the same meaning, except that daná means "to be near" (qaruba), whereas tadallá means "to become nearer" (زاد في القرب), see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 173.
82. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 193 and idem, Tafsīr, p. 500. This interpretation of Ibn Qutaybah is cited by al-T.abarsī under the name of al-Qutaybī, but without mentioning the occurrence of inversion, see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 396. Al-Qayrawānī mentions two interpretations of this verse, also without mentioning the occurrence of any inversion in it, as follows: (1) بل الإنسان بصيرة على نفسه ("but man shall be an eye-witness against himself") and (2)الإنسان ، بصيرة على نفسه بل ("but man, [there] shall be an eye-witness againnst himself"). The second interpretation is like the expression زيد في داره غلام ("Zayd, there is a boy in his house"). This is the interpretation to which al-Qayrawānī leans. See I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, pp. 536-7.
83. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 195.
84. Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 92.
85. Al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 202.
86. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 439.
87. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 193, 195 and 197-8; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 38-9. From here, namely page 198, Ibn Qutaybah deals with the inversion by mistake up to page 205 inclusively. He then begins examining this particular inversion we are dealing with again.
88. For further details, see al-T.abarsi, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, pp. 47-8; see also al-Murtad.á, Amālī, vol. 2, pp. 115-9.
89. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 205-6; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 133; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 15, p. 126; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 10, p. 351; al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 713; and al-T.abarsi, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 449.
90. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 206; Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 10, p. 460; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 725.
91. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 21-2.
92. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 9, p. 67.
93. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 180. This view of al-Zajjāj was chosen by al-S.ābūnī, see M.A. al-S.ābūnī, S.afwat al-Tafāsīr (Beirut: Dār al-Qur’ān al-Karīm, 1402/1981), vol. 2, p. 24.
94. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 206; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 269; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p. 79; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 30, p. 137; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 725.
95. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 207-8.
96. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 7, pp. 91-2; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 357; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, pp. 370-1.
97. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 7, p. 92.
98. Ibid.
99. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 358.
100. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 7, p. 93.
101. See al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 8, p. 33; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, pp. 437-8.
102. Ibn al-Munayyir, al-Ins.āf (in the margin of al-Kashshāf), vol. 2, p. 53, quoted by Dr. Labīb al-Sa‘īd, Difā‘, pp. 75-6.
103. Niz.ām al-Dīn al-Nīsābūrī, Gharā'ib al-Qur’ān wa Raghā’ib al-Furqān, in the margin of al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 8, p. 31.
104. For further details, see Ibn al-Jazarī, al-Nashr, vol. 2, pp. 263-4.
105. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 208; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 723.
106. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 442.
107. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 8, p. 164; al-Suyūt.ī, al-Itqān, vol. 3, p. 33; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 39.
108. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 11, p. 260 and al-Suyūt.ī, al-Itqān, vol. 3, p. 33. See also al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 725.
109. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 208-9; and al-T.abarsī, Jāmi‘, vol. 16, p. 167.
110. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 35.
111. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 209.
112. According to al-T.abarsī, this is also the view of the majority of the philologists (ahl al-lughah), see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 82.
113. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 5, p. 292; see also al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 279-80. Al-T.abarsī mentions the fourth view which is almost similar to the third, see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 82.
114. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 199; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 99; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 15, p. 253.
115. This is one example of the expresssion "some" which means "one" in the classical Islamic literature. It is said "some scholars say" or "some jurists say" when it sometimes means "one scholar" and "one jurist".
116. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 199; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 64.
117. Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 63-4.
118. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 2, p. 214; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 99-100.
119. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 203; and idem, Tafsīr, p. 68.
120. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi', vol. 2, pp. 214-5.
121. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 203.
122. Al-Farrā’ mentions both views and says that both are correct; see, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 99-100. For further details on the above verse, see al-Murtad.á, Āmālī, vol. 1, pp. 154-7.
123. Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 64 and vol. 2, p. 39.
124. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, pp. 311-2. Lane mentions two Arabic words for the "key", مِفتاح with its plural مَفاتيح, and مِفتَـح with its plural مَفاتح. مَفاتحis also the plural of مَفْتح which means "a place in which things are reposited, stowed, laid up, kept, preserved, or guarded (syn. مخزن and خِزانه); a hoard, a treasure, or a buried property (syn. كنـز)"; see Lane, Lexicon, pt. 6, p. 2329 (s.v. فتح).
125. Al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 266. Ibn Qutaybah mentions Qatādah's view only, namely, عصبة constitutes between ten and forty people, see Tafsīr, p. 335.
126. See Asad, The Message, p. 603, n. 85.
127. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 199 and 203; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 310.
128. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 200 and 204; idem, Tafsīr, p. 536; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, pp. 285-6; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 307; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 30, p. 180; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p. 162; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 530; and Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 3, p. 234.
129. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 200 and 205; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 83.
130. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 205, and al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 19, p. 34.
131. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 205; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 274; and al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 19, p. 34.
132. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 210. Al-Zamakhsharī says that the meaning of the verse in question is "love and desire to worship the calf had penetrated into their hearts like the penetration of gum into clothes", see al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 90.
133. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 61; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 47; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 163; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 2, p. 31.
134. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 210.
135. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 119; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 2, p. 405; and Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 2, p. 227.
136. What al-Qurt.ubī means is that, it is like أيّاما معدودات, which means في أيّام معدودات, see al-Jāmi', vol. 2, p. 405.
137. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 210; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 386; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 779.
138. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 10, p. 301; see also al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 431.
139. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 211; and Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 2, p. 79 (s.v. كفت).
140. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 212-3. It is assumed here that Ibn Qutaybah reads also h.ūr ‘īin in dative case, like فاكهة and لحم طير, see Ta’wīl, p. 213. Al-Farrā’, al-Qurt.ubī, al-T.abarsī and al-Zamakhsharī mention three possible readings of حورعين : حورٍ عينٍ (genitive), حورًا عيناً (accusative), and حورٌ عينٌ (nominative). (1) حورٍ عينٍ is the reading of H.amzah and al-Kisā’ī and others, because it is affected by a hidden verb, namely, يتنعّمون بـ ("they enjoy") as if it is said تنعمون بأكواب و فاكهة و لحم طير و حورعين ("They enjoy bowls, fruit, flesh and companions pure, most beautiful of eye"). (2) حورًا عيناً is the reading in Ubayy ibn Ka‘b's and Ibn Mas‘ūd's codices which is also the reading of al-Ashhub al-‘Uqaylī, al-Nakhā‘ī, and ‘Īsá ibn ‘Umar al-Thaqafī. The noun is affected by the hidden verb و يتزوجون ("and they marry"). (3) حورٌ عينٌ which is the reading of the jumhūr, as if it is said و عندهم حورٌ عينٌ ("and with them companions pure, most beautiful of eye"). For further details, see al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, pp. 123-4, al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, pp. 204-5; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, pp. 215-6. For a slightly different interpretation, see al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, pp. 1441-2.
141. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 213; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 124. According to al-Qurt.ubī, the ellipsis of the verb is due to its being related to the verb foddering, see al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 357.
142. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 213; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 123; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 205. Lane translates the above poem as follows: "When the females content with their husbands (or with their beauty) shall go forth (or went forth) one day, and shall lengthen (or lengthened) with black collyrium the eyebrows and the eyes." See Lane, Lexicon, pt. 3, p. 1215 (s.v. زج). Al-Numayrī was a camel-herdsman (راعي الإبل); see Brockelmann, Ta’rīkh, vol. 1, p, 217; and Nicholson, A Literary History, p. 245.
143. Ibn Qutaybah. Ta’wīl, p. 214; this view was also mentioned by later commentators, such as al-Qayrawānī, Ibn Kathīr and al-Zamakhsharī; see I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 1, p. 21; Tafsīr, vol. 2, pp. 533-4; and al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 691.
144. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 9, pp. 318-9. See also al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 1, p. 21
145. See Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 331.
146. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 9, p. 319; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 7 ad 63.
147. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 9, p. 319; Asad, The Message, p. 465; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 293.
148. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 215; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 491.
149. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol.15, p.240. For further details, see al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, pp. 1349-50.
150. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 215.
151. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 216; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 78; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 1, p. 14. It was said that Ishmael was still young at the time, and Abraham alone built the Ka‘bah. This is an isolated view, and therefore, according to al-T.abarsī, is unacceptable. Both Abraham and Ishmael built the Ka‘bah, although Ishmael merely handed stones to Abraham, according to Ibn ‘Abbās. Moreover, both prayed that their duty be accepted by Allah, indicating that both built it. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 207; see also al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 104.
152. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 2, p. 126; al-Farrā’ mentions the variant reading of ‘Abd Allāh only, see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 78 and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 207.
153. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 217 and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 120. Al-T.abarsī mentions the ellipsis of both terms wa qad.á and wa aws.á, in the above verse, see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, pp. 408-9.
154. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 10, p. 237.
155. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 218; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 116; al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 1, p. 19; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 10, p. 223; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 759.
156. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 217; idem, Adab al-Kātib, p. 235; and idem, Gharīb al-H.adīth, vol. 1, p. 538. Al-T.abarī and al-Qurt.ubī mention dhahaba only, see Jāmi‘, vol. 1, p. 154l; and al-Jāmi‘, vol. 1, p. 262.
157. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 224; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 19, pp. 194-5; and al-Zamakshsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1574. Al-T.abarsī mentions the ellipsis of either of the two main clauses, namely, ليبعثنّ ("they will verily be raised") or إنّ في ذلك لعبرة ("verily, there is an example in them"), see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 429.
158. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 223-4; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 4.
159. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 75. Al-T.abarsī mentions a similar view to that of al-Farrā’, see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, pp. 140-1.
160. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 225. Beside the ellipsis of lā, both al-Qurt.ubī and al-T.abarsī also mention the ellipsis of كراهةً (lit, "disliking"), so that the verse means كراهةً أن تزولَ ("disliking them to deviate"), see al-Jāmi‘, vol. 14, p. 356 and Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 412; see also al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1181.
161. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 14, p. 356. Al-Zamakhsharī also mentions this interpretation with the ellipsis of min, so that the verse means مِن أن تزولَ ; see al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1181.
162. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 225 and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 70.
163. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, p. 306. As in the previous verse (Q. 35:41), al-T.abarsī also mentions the occurrence of the ellipsis of كراهةً or لا (namely, لئلاّ) in this verse, see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 130. Al-Zamakhsharī gives two interpretations of the verse أن تحبط أعمالكم, as follows: (a) لأجل حبوط ("because it brings your good deeds to nought"), and (b) لحبوط أعمالكم أي لخشية حبوطها "for bringing your good deeds to nought, namely, for fear of bringing them to nought"). He cites the variant reading of Ibn Mas‘ūd فتحبطَ أعمالكم ("so that your good deeds come to nought"), see al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1385. According to Ibn ‘Abbās the occurrence of the ellipsis of لا in يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا in Q. 4:176 meaning ... أَنْ لاَ تَضِلُّوا is the language of the Quraysh, see Gharīb al-Qur’ān, p. 43.

164. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 9, pp. 249-50 and al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 28.
165. Ibn Qutaybah Ta’wīl, p. 226; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 14, p. 361, and vol. 15, p. 195; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 156; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, pp. 412-3; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1182. In fact, the earth has been mentioned earlier in the previous verse (Q. 35:44). The above verse was misquoted by Ibn Qutaybah when he used بظلمهم rather than بماكسبوا. However, a similar verse using the term بظلمهم and عليها rather than بما كسبوا and على ظهرها is as follows: وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِمْ مَا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ (النحل : ٦١) "Now, if God were to take men [immediately] to task for all the evil that they do [on earth], He would not leave a single living creature upon its face." (Q. 16:61, Asad).
166. Ibn Qutaybah Ta’wīl, p. 226.
167. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p. 158; and Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 4, p. 579.
168. See Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 529.
169. See al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1627.
170. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 228; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 159. Asad translates ālā’ as "powers" since the repeated verse "bears not only on the bounties which God bestows on His creation but, more generally, on all manifestations of His creativeness and might...", and refers the dual كما ("of you both") to "the two categories of human beings, men and women, ..." rather than man and jinn. For further details, see The Message, pp. 824-5, n. 4.
171. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1436.
172. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 227.
173. Ibid., p. 228; idem, al-Shi‘r wa al-Shu‘arā’, vol. 1, p. 357; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 231 and vol. 2, pp. 7-8; and al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 22, p. 98.
174. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 228; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 289; see also al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1588.
175. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, pp. 245-6; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 19, p. 252. Other examples are the people of Hijāz say وزنتك حقّك and كلتك طعامك, whereas others say وزنت لك حقّك and كلت لك طعامك; see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 451.
176. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 230; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 27; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 414; and Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 3, p. 42.
177. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 229; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 229; and Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 4, p. 265.
178. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 219.
179. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 14, pp. 324-5. For other interpretations, see al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1170; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 401.
180. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 222; al-Farrā’, and Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 377. Instead of مشترِكة, al-Zamakhsharī interprets the ellipsis of the clause as "is not only for them, because the idolaters are their partners in it (the world)", see al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 445.
181. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 7, pp. 199-200. See also al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 413.
182. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 221; idem, al-Shi‘r wa ’l-Shu‘arā', vol. 1, p. 26; Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih, al-‘Iqd al-Farīd, vol. 1, p. 101; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān. vol. 1, p. 74. According to Abū al-Faraj al-As.bahānī and al-Mufad.d.al, instead of khāmirī it is abshirī in the poem; see al-As.bahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 21, p. 136; and C.J. Lyall, ed., The Mufad.d.alīyāt: An Anthology of Ancient Arabian Odes; compiled by al-Mufad.d.al son of Muh.ammad [al-D.abbī] according to recension and with the commentary of Abū Muh.ammad al-Qāsim Muh.ammad al-Anbārī, 1st ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921), p. 197. According to al-Jāh.iz. the poem belongs to Ta’abbat.a Sharran, whereas according to al-Murtadá, it might belong to Ta’abbat.a Sharran or al-Shanfará; see al-Jāh.iz., al-H.ayawān, vol. 6, p. 450 and al-Murtad.á, Amālī, vol. 2, p. 72.
183. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 230; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 5, p. 242; and Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 1, p. 519.
184. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 231.
185. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 6, p. 141.
186. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 238; and al-Murtad.á, Amālī, vol. 1, pp. 83-4 in which al-Murtad.á is quoting Ibn Qutaybah. The asbāb al-nuzūl of these verses as reported by Ibn Ish.āq from Ibn ‘Abbās is that al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, al-‘Ās. ibn Wā'il, al-Aswad ibn ‘Abd al-Mut.t.alib and Umayyah ibn Khalaf met the Prophet and said to him: "O Muhammmad, let us worship what you worship, and you worship what we worship, so that we share all together in all of our matters. If what you are bringing is better than what we have, then we will have our share from it by joining you. But if what we have is better than what you have, then you will have your share by joining us." Then Allah revealed: "Say: O disbelievers!...". See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p. 224.
187. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 552; and al-Murtad.á, Amālī, vol. 1, p. 84.
188. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, pp. 225-9; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 552; al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1638; al-Murtad.á , Amālī, vol. 1, p. 85; and Mah.mūd ibn H.amzah ibn Nas.r al-Kirmānī, Asrār al-Takrār fī ’l-Qur’ān, ed. ‘Abd al-Qādir ‘At.ā (Cairo: Dār al-I‘tis.ām, 1398/1978), pp. 226-7.
189. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 239. If the repetition of the above verse serves as reminder to people about Allah's favours, why does it also occur after mentioning something other than favours, even punishment or threat? To this, al-Murtad.á gives us his answer as follows: Although the punishment is itself not a favour, but mentioning, describing or giving a warning of it is a great favour. This is because punishment as well as reward is intended only for those who deserve it. See al-Murtad.á, Amālī, vol. 1, p. 88 and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 206. Asad, however, renders the translation of ālā’ here as "powers" adopting the interpretation of some of the earliest commentators, such as Ibn Zayd; see p. 208, n. 170 above and Asad, The Message, pp. 824-5, n. 4.
190. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 240. Al-Qurt.ubī is quoting the interpretation of Ibn Qutaybah, whom he called al-Qutabī, on the above verse, see al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, pp. 159-60. For other examples of repetition, see Q. 102:3-4; 94:5-6; 75:34-5; 82:17-8; 54:15, 17, 22, 32, 40 and 51. Partial repetition of words is also treated by Ibn Qutaybah, namely, when a letter is substituted by another in the repeated word, because the speaker does not like to repeat the same word, such as حَسَن and بَسَن, عَطْشان and لَطْشان, and شَيطان and لَيْطان. However, he does not mention any example from the Qur’ān for this partial repetition, and hence, we do not deal with it in this study.
191. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 240; Abū Mans.ūr ‘Abd al-Mālik al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah wa Asrār al-‘Arabīyah (Egypt: al-Mat.ba‘ah al-Adabīyah, 1318 A.H.), p. 216; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 211; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 3, pp. 818-9. It is said that the date-palm and the pomegranate were singled out in this verse because at that time they were people's main food and were grown abundantly from Madinah to Makkah and Yaman. Another view is that both are not only fruit; the date-palms are food and fruit, whereas the pomegranates are fruit and medicine; this is the view of Abū H.anīfah. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 186. According to al-Farrā’, the date-palm and the pomegranate were singled out in this verse to attract the inhabitants of Paradise (ترغيبا لأهل الجنة), see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 119. For further details, see al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1438.
192. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 240-1 and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 57. It was reported by Muh.ammad ibn Ka‘b al-Qurazī that three people were talking together between the Ka‘bah and its curtains. Two of them were Qurayshīs, and the other was a Thaqafī, or two Thaqafīs and one Qurayshī. One of them asked: "Do you think that Allah hears our conversation?" The other answered: "If you speak loudly He will hear it, but if you speak secretly He will not." But another one said: "If He hears you when you speak loudly He will also hear you when you speak secretly." Then the above verse was revealed. See al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 25, p. 60; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, p. 119. Al-Zamakhsharī simply makes the distinction between the two terms by saying that سِرّ is something a person says to himself or to others in privacy (في مكان خال, lit. "in a vacant place"), and نجوى is something people talk among themselves; see al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1335.
193. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 241; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 57.
194. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 243; see also al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, pp. 135-6.
195. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 291.
196. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 242. See also Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 6, p. 158; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 8, p. 251, vol. 14, p. 147, vol. 15, p. 75, and vol. 18, p. 275.
197. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 244; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 1, p. 132.
198. For further details, see al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 374.
199. Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 211.
200. See Ibn al-Anbārī, al-Ad.dād, p. 216.
201. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 7, p. 170.
202. Al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 8, p. 97.
203. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 439.
204. See al-Sakkākī, Miftāh. al-‘Ulūm, p. 367.
205. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 245-6; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 26 and 211.
206. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 246-7.
207. Al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 394.
208. Al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1554. لأقسم was also the reading of al-H.asan, al-A‘mash and Ibn Kathīr; see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p. 59.
209. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 207; Ibn al-Anbārī, al-Ad.dād, pp. 215-6; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 19, pp. 91-2. See also al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 1, p. 133; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, pp. 393-5; and al-Zamakshsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1554.
210. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 247; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 143.
211. Idem.
212. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 247-8 and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 149. For the location of the poem, see W. Ahlwardt (ed.), Kitāb al-‘Iqd al-Thamīn fī Dawāwīn al-Shu‘arā’ al-Jāhilīyīn (al-Nābighah, ‘Antarah, T.arafah, Zuhayr, ‘Alqamah, Imru’ al-Qays) (Greifswald, 1870. Reprint of the edition 1870; Osnabrück, Biblio Verlag, 1972), p. 57.
213. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 248; idem, Adab al-Kātib, p. 547; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 304; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 513; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 672.
214. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p. 119.
215. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wil, p. 248; idem, Adab al-Kātib, pp. 547-8; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 215; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 19, p. 126; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 407. For further examples from the Qur’ān mentioned by Ibn Qutaybah, see Ta’wīl, pp. 248 and 250, (Q. 23:20, 19:25, 68:6, 60:1, and 22:25). It is also possible that instead of omitting bi in the interpretation of the above verse, it is put in place of min, so that the verse means عينـا يشرب منها as translated by Dawood above. For further details, see below p. 298.
216. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 250. Although al-Qurt.ubī gives the same interpretation, he says that the position of the particle min in this verse is صلة ; see al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 56.
217. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 250; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 674.
218. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 7, p. 293. The last view is mentioned by al-Zamakhsharī, see al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 480.
219. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 250; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 24; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān., pt. 2, p. 673.
220. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, p. 8.
221. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 250-1; idem, Adab al-Kātib, p. 549; the translation of the verse is based on Ibn al-Sayyid's commentary. Sarh.ah is the name of a kind of thorny tree, but is used here as a metaphor for a woman. Poets had promised ‘Umar ibn al-Khat.t.āb not to celebrate a woman in their poetry, and the poet here uses the name of a tree as a metaphor for his beloved. Here, the preposition على is additional, as the verb تروق is a transitive verb which does not require a preposition. It is said راقني الشيء (the thing pleases me), not راق عليّ الشيء . See Ibn al-Sayyid, al-Iqtid.āb, p. 458, quoted by al-Sayyid Ah.mad S.aqr in Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 250, n. 6. Lane gives us some details of the Sarh.ah tree. He says that it is "a certain kind of trees, of great size, or seldom eaten by the camels, &c. [sic], but used for their shade: they grow in Nejd, in plain, or soft and in rugged ground, but not in sand nor upon a mountain; and have a yellow fruit; or any tree without thorns". See Lane, Lexicon, pt. 4, p. 1344 (s.v. سرح).
221. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 251. According to al-Zamakhsharī, the pronoun hi in amrihi belongs to Allah, as translated by Pickthall above, or to the Prophet, see al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 964.
222. Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 69.
223. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Ijmā‘, vol. 12, p. 323.
224. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 251.
225. See al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 799. Al-T.abarsī gives slightly different interpretations, also indicating that inna is not additional in this verse; see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, pp. 466-7.
227. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 251.
228. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1482; see also al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 288; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 5, p. 24.
229. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 251; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 12, p. 23; and Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 12, p. 164. According to Muh.ammad Ibrāhīm Jum‘ah, instead of إنّ الخليفة, it reads يكفي الخليفة ; see Jum‘ah, Jarīr (Cairo: Dār al-Ma‘ārif, 1965), p. 68.
230. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 12, p. 23.
231. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 251-2; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1360.
232. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 56.
233. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 61.
234. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, p. 208; see also below, p. 290. It seems to me that Ibn Qutaybah was not sure whether in in the above verse is additional or not. In his work Ta’wīl, he mentioned the above verse as an example of the occurrence of the additional إن, then said وقال بعضهم ("and some of them said") mentioning the first interpretation (that إن is additional in the above verse); then, he said again وقال بعضهم, mentioning the second interpretation (that إن is original); see Ta’wīl, pp. 251-2. However, in his work Tafsīr, Ibn Qutaybah commented on the verse with إن as an original meaning لم ("not"), then said ويقال ("and it is also said") mentioning the view that إن in this verse is additional; see Tafsīr, p. 408.
235. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, p. 208.
236. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 251; idem, al-Shi‘r wa ’l-Shu‘arā’, vol. 1, p. 197; al-As.bahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 9, p. 11 and vol. 13, p. 136; and al-Jāh.iz., al-Bayān wa ’l-Tabyīn, 3 vols. in one binding (Cairo: al-Mat.ba‘ah al-Tijārīyah, 1926-7), vol. 1, p. 86
237. This is one of two interpretations given by al-Zamakhsharī; the other interpretation is with the ellipsis of أذكر (remember) preceeding إذ; see al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 67.
238. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 252 and idem, Tafsīr, p. 45.
239. Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 36.
240. This is al-Qurt.ubī's version of al-Zajjāj's interpretation, see al-Jāmi‘, vol. 1, p. 262. Al-T.abarsī's version is "The beginning of your creation was when He said..."; see Jāmi‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 73.
241. See al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 1, pp. 153-4; and Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 1, p. 72.
242. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 1, pp. 261-2; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 1, p. 12.
243. See Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 73.
244. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 252.
245 Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 14, pp. 62-3.
246. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 252.
247. Ibid.; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 58; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 12, p. 124. According to al-Farrā’, mā in this verse is صلة, see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 133.
248. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 252. It is also said that ما in this verse is صلة . For further details, see Al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 446.
249. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 253.
250. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 15, p. 285. According to a h.adīth reported by Bukhārī and Muslim on the authority of Ibn Sa‘d al-Sa‘īdī, Paradise has eight gates and will be opened before its companions come to them. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 511.
251. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 68.
252. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 253.
253. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 330. The expression "our way" in this verse, according to al-T.abarsī, means "our religion", see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 275.
254. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 254; Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 11, p. 568 (s.v. قمل); and al-T.abarī, Jami‘, vol. 4, p. 85.
255. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 15, p. 104.
256. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 254, and al-Murtad.á, Amālī, vol. 3, p. 49.
257. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 322.
28. See Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 112. However, Abū ‘Ubaydah was said to have been asked by al-Thawrī the meaning of وجهَه in the above verse, and said that it meantجاهَه (His glory, dignity, honour). It is like the expression لفلان وجه في الناس , meaning "Such-and-such has an honour among people". See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 322. In this case, I lean to what he himself wrote in his work Majāz al-Qur’ān rather than what is reported to be his statement to al-Thawrī.
259. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 314. This is also the interpretation given by al-Dāmaghānī, Tiflīsī and Ibn al-Jawzī; see Qāmūs, p. 483; Wujūh, p. 304; and Nuzhah, p. 618 and idem, Qurrah, p. 235. Although Ibn al-Jawzī mentions الذات as the meaning of وجه, after giving examples from the Qur’ānic verses, including the above verse, he mentions أي الله . What he means is that وجه الله means "Allah" Himself; see Nuzhah, p. 618.
260. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1069.
261. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 254. This is also the view of al-Dāmaghānī, Tiflīsī and Ibn al-Jawzī; see Qāmūs, p. 483; Wujūh, p. 304; Nuzhah, p. 618 and Qurrah, p. 235 .
262. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 255; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 16.
263. Al-T.abarī, Tafsīr, vol. 1, p. 40.
264. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 1, p. 99.
265. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 255.
266. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 193.
267. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 255; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 1, pp. 98-9. Al-As.bahānī states that the above line of verse was recited by either Labīd, Ish.āq, or Ibrāhīm to his two daughters while he was dying; the two daughters wore their mourning dress and attended the court of Banī Ja‘far ibn Kilāb for one year of mourning for their father's death; see al-As.bahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 14, pp. 101-2.
268. See al-Sakkākī, Miftah. Al-‘Ulūm, p. 402.
269. Ibid., p. 403. Sometimes what is thought to be h.aqīqah is in fact kināyah. A friend said jokingly that in order to see a dentist a man had to go abroad, because in his homeland he was not able to open his mouth; he had to keep his mouth shut.
270. The kunyah had become more commonly used since the second/eighth century. With some exceptions, such as Anas ibn Mālik, it became impolite to address someone directly with his name in this time, unless he was socially inferior to the speaker. The honoric title (laqab), such as Fakhr al-Dīn ("Glory of the Faith") and ‘Alā’ al-Dīn ("Loftiness of the Faith") was intrduced, and the nisbah (lit., "kinship", "affilication" or "affinity") developed. Besides the old tribal and genealogical nisbahs, such as al-Qurashī (from the Quraysh tribe), there appeared other types of nisbahs, such as the bearer's place of birth or residence (e.g., al-Rāzī, "from the town of Rayy"), of his religious rite (e.g., al-Mālikī, "the adherent of the Mālikī rite") and of his profession (e.g., al-Bāqillānī "the green-grocer"). The patronymic - namely, the name derived from that of a parent, consisting of Ibn ("son of") or Bint ("daughter of") followed by the name of one of the parents, usually the father, or ancestors - based on profession also developed, such as the name Ibn al-Khāt.ib ("son or descendant of the preacher"). An example of a complete name is ‘Imād al-Dīn (laqab) Abū al-Fidā' (kunyah), Ismā‘īl (name) Ibn al-Athīr (patronymic) is simply called Ibn al-Athīr. Since more than one well-known person bears this name, his laqab or kunyah is added to it and becomes ‘Imād al-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr and Abū al-Fidā’ Ibn al-Athīr. See A.F.L. Beeston, "Arabic Nomenclature," Arabic Literature, pp. 19-20. Al-Sakkākī includes the patronymic in the category of kunyah; see Miftah. al-‘Ulūm, p. 402.
271. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 256.
272. Ibid.; al-‘Uzzá is the name of an idol in pre-Islamic Arabia, see idem, al-Ma‘ārif, ed. Tharwat ‘Ukāshah (Egypt: Dār al-Ma‘ārif, [1969]), p. 75.
273. Idem, Ta’wīl, pp. 257-8; and idem, al-Ma‘ārif, p. 330.
274. See idem, al-Ma‘ārif, pp. 331, 70, 146. Abū Hurayrah's personal name could also be ‘Abd al-Rah.mān, ‘Abd ‘Amr, ‘Umayr ibn ‘Āmir and others, see ibid, p. 158. Ibn Qutaybah states further that the kunyah which consists of Abū and the name of the first son is sometimes considered a unit by the Arabs. They write, for example, ‘Alī ibn Abū T.ālib and Mu‘āwiyah ibn Abū Sufyān, rather than respectively ibn Abī T.ālib and ibn Abī Sufyān in genitive case, see idem, Ta’wīl, p. 257. See also al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1641.
275. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 260. We are told that it was the Arabs' tradition to name their children with the names of animals and things, such as the leopard, the wolf, the lion, and the stone. When a child was born he was named with something their parents saw or heard and with which they were optimistic, such as the stone which is the symbol of solidness, patience and eternity; see al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 248. At present we have Fahd (a cheetah, a panther, a lynx) who is the king of Saudi Arabia, and Asad (a lion) who is the president of Syria. In the West we have, for example, names such as: Leo (a lion), Deborah (a bee), Arthur (a bear) and Ursula (a she-bear).
276. Al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1641.
277. See Asad, The Message, p. 983, n. 1; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, pp. 236-237.
278. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 260-261.
279. Ibid., p. 261.
280. Ibid., pp. 261-2. ‘Uqbah was killed by ‘Alī at the battle of Badr, and Ubayy ibn Khalaf was killed by the Prophet at the battle of Uh.ud, see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 166; al-Qurt.ubī and al-Suyūt.ī were not sure of the name of the person meant here, either Ummayyah ibn Khalaf or his brother Ubayy; see al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 25 and al-Itqān, vol. 4, p. 88.
281. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 262-3. See also al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 974.
282. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 26.
283. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 263.
284. See Lane, Lexicon, pt. 5, p. 2004 (s.v. عرض).
285. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 263-4; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 160. Ibn ‘Abbās provides the example of ta‘rīd. in the above case as follows: "I want to marry a woman who has such-and-such characteristics" by mentioning those that are obviously hers; see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 338.
286. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 267; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 155. Ubayy ibn Ka‘b was said to have held the same view with that of Ibn ‘Abbās; see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 484. The expression "instilling allusions is an alternative to lying" is also the saying of the Prophet. ‘Umar said that by using allusion the Muslims can avoid lying. In fact, the use of allusion as an alternative to lying is a proverb among the Arabs. See Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 7, p. 183
287. Al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 11, p. 20; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 809.
288. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 268; idem, Mukhtalif al-H.adīth, p. 35; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 206-7. This statement of Prophet Abraham is, in fact, a confession on his part that it was he and not the chief idol who had destroyed the idols; see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 11, p. 300. This is one of the three lies he is alleged to have told. The other two are his statement after looking at the stars that he was sick (Q. 37:88-9) and his telling the Pharaoh that his wife Sarah was his sister because he feared for himself and his wife. A h.adīth mentioning these three lies was reported by al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Dārimī, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dā’ūd and Ah.mad; see A.J. Wensinck and J.P. Mensing, cont. J. Bergman, Al-Mu‘jam al-Mufahras li-Alfāz. al-H.adīth al-Nabawī (H.adīth Concordance), 8 vols. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1936-88), vol. 7, p. 550 (s.v.كذب ). It was also reported by al-Bayhaqī; see Abū Bakr Ah.mad al-Bayhaqī, Kitāb al-Sunan al-Kubrá, appended with al-Maridīnī ("Ibn al-Turkmānī")'s work al-Jawhar al-Naqī, and an index of h.adīths, ed. Dr. Yūsuf al-Mur‘ishlī, 10 vols. (Beirut: Dār al-Ma‘rifah, n.d.), vol. 7, p. 366. According to Ibn Qutaybah, these statements of Prophet Abraham are merely allusions. His statement إني سقيم ("verily, I am sick") means إني سأسقم ("verily, I shall be sick"). It is similar to the verse إنك ميت (lit. "verily you are dead") which means إنك ستموت ("verily, you will die"), see Q. 39:30. His statement that his wife Sarah was his sister was not a lie, because human beings as children of Adam are brothers and sisters. Moreover, Allah said that the believers are brothers and sisters (Q. 49:10). Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 267-8; and idem, Mukhtalif al-H.adīth, p. 35.
289. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 54. Al-Zamakhsharī mentions four interpretations on the above verse, as follows: (1) It is like the answer of a calligrapher to an illiterate or semi-illiterate person who asks him "Did you write this?" with "You did it." (2) They should not deny the act of the big idol, since whoever is worshipped and called a god has the right to be able to do such an act and more. (3) It is reported that Prophet Abraham said: "The largest of them has done it, because he was angry at being worshipped together with the small ones." (4) The variant reading of Muh.ammad ibn al-Sumayfi’ فعلّه كبيرهم , meaning فلعلّ الفاعل كبيرهم ("perhaps the executor was the big one among them"). See al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 887.
290. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 269; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 389. According to al-Farrā’ and Abū ‘Ubaydah the word aw (or) means wa (and), so that the verse means إنا علي هدى و إياكم في ضلال مبـين "We [who believe in Him] are on the right path, and you [who deny His oneness] have clearly gone astray." For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 14, pp. 298-9; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 22, p. 65; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 362.
291. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 269-70. The use of generic "you" is common in English. While talking about Lake Tempe near my home town (Sengkang, South Sulawesi), Mrs. Messie Stock who taught me English at Cokroaminoto University (Solo, Indonesia), asked me: "Can you swim in that lake?" When I answered: "No, I can't," she said: "I mean, can people swim there?" Then I realised that "you" here meant "people in general".
292. Ibid., pp. 272-3.
293. Ibid., p. 273. This is the view of Qatādah. However, according to Muqātil the man referred to in the above verse is al-Aswad ibn ‘Abd al-Asad. Another view says that it was Ubayy ibn Khalaf. Yet, another view says that it refers to all disbelievers; see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 19, p. 271.
294. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 273.
295. Ibid., p. 274. This is also the view of al-T.abarī, see Jāmi‘, vol. 11, pp. 115-116.
296. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 479. For further details, see al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 11, pp. 115-116.
297. Al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 133.
298. The conjecturers meant in this verse according to al-Farrā’ and Ibn Zayd are those who made conjectures in belying the Prophet that he was a magician, a poet, a soothsayer, and a tale-teller; see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 83; and al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 26, p. 119.
299. According to Mujāhid the expression قتِل الإنسان in the Qur’ān is meant to be the disbelievers among the people. The verse was revealed, as reported by al-D.ah.h.āk from Ibn ‘Abbās, in the case of ‘Utbah ibn Abī Lahab who became apostate after converting to Islam. The Prophet's imprecation against him took place when he was attacked by a lion on his business journey to Syria. His father mourned him, saying "Whatever Muh.ammad has ever said happens." See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 19, pp. 217-8. A third view is attributed to al-D.ah.h.āk, that the person referred to in the verse was Umayyah ibn Khalaf, see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 438. The verse ما أكفرَه has two interpretations: (a) it is ta‘ajjub (wonder) of man's unbelief (ungratefulness), as translated by Pickthall and Arberry respectively as "how ungrateful!" and "how unthankful he is!"; Ibn Jurayj says that it means "how strong is his disbelief"; this is also al-Zamakhshari's interpretation; (b) it is istifhām tawbīkh (now called istifhām tawbīkhī, a rhetorical question indicating reproach) as reported by Abū S.ālih from Ibn ‘Abbās, as translated by A. Yusuf Ali above. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 19, pp. 217-8; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 30, p. 35; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 237; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 438; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1579.
300. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 275. According to Ibn ‘Abbās the expression قاتلهم الله meaning “God’s curse be on them” is the language of H.imyar, see Gharīb al-Qur’ān, p. 71.
301. According to Ibn ‘Abbās the word qutila as in the above verses is meant lu‘ina (curse be!). This is also the view of the majority of grammarians and commentators, such as al-Farrā’, al-Zamakhsharī and Ibn al-Anbārī who say that those who are cursed by Allah are similar to dead and perished people. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 33; al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1409; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 23 and vol. 5, p. 153.
302. Ibn Fāris, al- S.āh.ibī, p. 169. Abū Lahab did actually perish a week after the battle of Badr. The term تَبّ indicates the occurrence of the imprecation; see al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1640. This is supported by Ibn Mas‘ūd's variant reading و قد تَبّ with the emphasis قد ; see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 558.
303. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 276. Even today the Arabs in Palestine and Lebanon still use the expression قبّحه الله ("may Allah make him disgraceful") or قبّح الله وجهَه ("may Allah make his face ugly") in praising a smart person or blaming a tricky one.
304. See Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 95.
305. See Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 448.
306. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 277; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 288.
307. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 279; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 8. Al-Zarkashī places this type of question in the above verse into the category of إناس (intimacy), whereas Ibn Fāris places it as إفهام(giving understanding), namely, that there was something important about Moses's staff which he did not know. See al-Zarkashī. al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 343.
308. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 279; al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1569; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 421.
309. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 279-80.
310. Al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 2, pp. 328-38.
311. Ibid., pp. 338-44.
312. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 280-1. See also Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 197; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, pp. 15 and 288.
313. According to al-Farrā’ the verse was revealed about Ibn al-Ziba‘rá and poets like him who ridiculed the Prophet with their satiric poems; see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 285.
314. Al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 247; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, pp. 250-1. There are many interpretations on the above verse, among which are as follows: (a) The opinion of Mujāhid, Muqātil, ‘Ikrimah and al-Kalbī that the person who informed the s.ah.ābah was Nu‘aym ibn Mas‘ūd al-Ashja‘ī as mentioned by Ibn Qutaybah above; (b) The opinion of al-Suddī that when the Prophet and his companions were preparing to go out and fight Abū Sufyān and his allies, the hypocrites came to them to stop them; (c) Abū Ma‘shar said that they were a group of people from the Hudhayl tribe among the people of Tihāmah who came to Madinah and informed the Prophet's companions about Abū Sufyān and his followers. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 4, pp. 279-80.
315. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 281-2. Al-Farrā’'s commentary on this verse is that Allah did not create the people among the two groups, the jinn and the human beings, except to believe in the oneness of God; see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 89. Al-Zamakhsharī's commentary is that Allah wants the people to worship Him based on their free will and not by force, because they are created with the ability to choose, and some of them choose not to worship Him; see al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1414.
316. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 55.
317. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 161.
318. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 283.
319. See al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 221.
320. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1387.
321. See Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 219; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 131. For further details, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, pp. 309-10 and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 70.
322. Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 219. According to Ibn Abī Dā’ūd al-Sijistānī this was the reading of Mujāhid, whereas Ubayy read بنو تميم أكثرهم , see Ibn Abī Dā’ūd al-Sijistānī Kitāb al-Mas.āh.if, pp. 304 and 106.
323. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 283; idem, Gharīb al-H.adīth, vol. 1, p. 232; al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 219; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān., pt. 3, p. 787. Al-T.abarsī mentions four views regarding the use of the plural قلوب instead of the dual in قلوبكما in this verse, as follows: (1) The dual is plural in meaning, namely, more than one, so that the plural form is used here for the dual; it is the same as the verse , وَكُنَّا لِحُكْمِهِمْ شَاهِدِينَ (الأنبياء : ٧٨) ("... and We bore witnesses to their judgement" Q. 21:78, Asad) in which هِم (their) is referring to two, namely, David and Solomon; (2) Most members of the human body consist of pairs, such as hands, legs and eyes; if the these pairs are mentioned in two persons (dual), such as their (dual) hands and their (dual) eyes, it is said respectively أيدِيهِما and أعُينهما in which hands and eyes are used in the plural instead of the dual. Although قلب (the heart) is not a pair in human body, it is annexed to and grammatically treated like the pair, so that it is said قلوبكما ; (3) Since كما is already in the dual, it is not necessary to put another dual before it; therefore قلب is said in plural, because, the plural is simpler. Moreover, unlike the dual, the plural and the singular forms have a similar i‘rāb. However, the Arabs also say qalbāhumā, and even mix the dual and the plural, as in the following poem: ظهراهـما مثل ظهـور الترسـين ("Their two backs are like the backs of two shields"). Here ظهـور is used in plural, although it is for the dual. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, pp. 312-3.
324. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 283; idem, Gharīb al-H.adīth, vol. 1, p. 232; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 118; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 5, pp. 72-3; al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 274; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 15. For more examples, see al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 3, pp. 787-90.
325. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 282. Ibn Fāris, al-S.āh.ibī, p. 212. The term طائفة according to Ibn ‘Abbās is for one to one thousand people according to one report, whereas according to another, from four to forty. However, there are different views concerning the minimum number of people for the term طائفة in the verse in question, as follows: (1) One person, according to Mujāhid and al-H.asan. It is because, according to Mujāhid, the term طائفة in فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِنْ كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ (التوبة : ١٢٢) "From within every group in their midst, some shall refrain from going forth to war, ... " (Q. 9:122, Asad) means one person. (Hereطائفة is translated by Asad, Pickthall and Ali as "some", "a party" and "a contingent" respectively). Moreover, the term طائفتان (two groups) in وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا (الحجرات : ٩)"Hence, if two groups of believers fall to fighting, ..." (Q. 49:9) means two fighting people, as the verse was revealed about them. (2) Two persons, according to ‘Ikrimah and ‘At.ā’. This is also the established view of Mālik who says that it is the same as that of bearing witness, where the minimum of two witnesses are required. (3) Three persons, according to al-Zuhrī, probably because it is the minimum number in Arabic plural. (4) Four persons, according to Ibn Zayd who says that the case is like that of adultery where four witnesses are required. This is also the view of Mālik in another report, al-Layth, al-Shāfi‘ī and Ibn Zayd. See al-Q urt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 12, p. 166; al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 936; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 124.
326. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 284; idem, Tafsīr, p. 316; al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 220; al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 765; and Ibn Fāris, al-S.āh.ibī, p. 211. For more examples, see Q. 63:4 and 4:69; and al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 233.
327. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 285. See also Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 14, p. 21; Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz, vol. 1, p. 79 and 131, vol. 2, pp. 44 and 195; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘, vol. 1, p. 365. However, it is also possible that the expression إنّا أخوكم here means "Verily, we are your brothers" (in plural) based on Sībawayh's view that the term أخ (brother), like أب (father), can also be formed in plural with أخون (أخين) and أبون (أبين) beside their respective broken plural إخوان and آباء. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 2, p. 138.
328. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 285. However, according to Abū ‘Ubaydah, the term junub is invariably used disregarding gender and number; therefore, هو (هي, هما, هم or هنّ) junub is used; see Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 155. See also al-Munjid fī ’l-Lughah wa ’l-A‘lām (Beirut: Dār al-Mashriq, 1969), p. 103 (s.v. جنب). However, some Arabs also sayهما جنبان (for the dual), هم أجناب and هم جنبون (for the masculine plural), and هنّ جنبات (for the feminine plural); see Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 1, p. 279.
329. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 285; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 19, p. 34, al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 83; and Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 45 and 261. For the meaning of amīr, see al-Munjid, p. 17 (s.v. امر).
330. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 286; Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 11, p. 315; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 14, p. 14, vol. 19, p. 47; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 427.
331. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 287; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 154 and 180; and Ibn Fāris, al-S.āh.ibī, pp. 217 and 224. It is possible that both forgot the fish; Yusha‘ forgot to carry it, or to tell Moses that it had escaped, whereas Moses forgot to tell Yusha‘ to carry it. It is also possible that the term نَسِيَا here means "both postponed"; in the du‘ā’ it is said أنسى الله في أجلك , meaning "may Allah postpone your instant of death"; because both of them left the fish, both postponed it; see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 11, pp. 12-3; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 480.
332. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 287. There are different views concerning messengers to the jinn, among which are as follows: (1) al-D.ah.h.āk: Allah sent messengers to the jinn just as He sent them to mankind; (2) al-Kalbi: The messengers are sent to mankind only, except Prophet Muhammad who was sent to mankind and the jinn; (3) Ibn ‘Abbās: Messengers among the jinn are those who convey the revelation they heard to their people; (4) Mujāhid: Messengers are from mankind, and warners are among the jinn; this is the explanation of Ibn ‘Abbās's view. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 7, p. 86; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 367; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 426. Al-D.ah.h.āk’s view is isolated; other views complement each other and confirm Ibn Qutaybah's view. For another example, see Q. 55:20 where pearl and coral stones are said to come from both salt and fresh waters, when it is meant from salt water only. (However, it is said recently that pearls are being successfully cultivated in fresh water).
333. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 288; and al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 219. According to al-Qayrawānī and al-T.abarsī the verse means (تقديره): والله أحق أن يرضوه ورسوله أحق أن يرضوه; al-T.abarsī explains further that the first يرضوه is dropped for easing (تخفيف), brevity (إيجاز), predominance (تغليب), and because it is indicated by the sentence itself. See al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 610; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 45 and vol. 1, pp. 89 and 100.
334. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 288; Ibn Fāris, al-S.āh.ibī, p. 218; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 157; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān., pt. 2, p. 611. According to Abū ‘Ubaydah the verse means: أو لهوا و إذا رأوا تجارة انفضوا إليها ("Yet, [it does happen that] when people become aware of [an occasion for] wordly gain, they rush headlong towards it, or a passing delight..."), see Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 258. Al-T.abarsī mentions two views regarding this verse: (1) The pronoun ها is used here exclusively for easing, brevity, and predominance, as the verse means: و إذا رأوا تجارة انفضوا إليها أو لهوا انفضوا إليه ("Yet, [it does happen that] when people become aware of [an occasion for] worldly gain, they rush headlong towards it, or a passing delight, they rush headlong towards it"), similiar to Abū ‘Ubaydah's view above; (2) The pronoun ها is used exclusively for the تجارة (worldly gain) because the تجارة is more important for them than the لهو (the passing delight), in this case, the beating of the drum, which only indicates the presence of the تجارة; this is the view of al-Farrā’ mentioned above. See Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 289; vol. 1, pp. 89 and 100.
335. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 289; see also al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 2, p. 611; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, pp. 89 and 100; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 434 and 445; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 8, p. 127. Again, the verse means نحن … راضون و أنت … راض ("we ... are content, and you ... are content"), see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 45.
336. See al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 239; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 147; apparently, this is also the view of al-Khalīl and al-Akhfash when they say that alqiyā is the dual intended for the singular, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 16.
337. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 291. This is the view of al-Farrā’ according to al-Zarkashī, see al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 239.
338. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, pp. 14 and 16.
339. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 147.
340. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1403; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 16; and al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 240.
341. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 291; and al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 78. This is also the view of al-Khalīl and al-Akhfash, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 16; see also Ibn Fāris, al-S.āh.ibī, pp. 218-9.
342. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 291; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol, 3, p. 78; Ibn Fāris, al-S.āh.ibī, pp. 218-9; and Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 4, p. 241. According to al-T.abarī, the verse was cited by Abū Tharwān; see Jāmi‘, vol. 26, p. 103.
343. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 292; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 3, p. 78; and al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 26, p. 103. There is a tradition where the Prophet said: الراكب شيطان والراكبان شيطانان والثلاثة ركب "A person travelling alone is a satan, two travellers are two satans, while three travellers make a travelling party." (Reported by Mālik, Abū Dā’ūd, al-Tirmidhī and Ah.mad ibn H.anbal); see Wensinck, al-Mu‘jam, vol. 3, pp. 125 and 130 (s.v. شطن).
344. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 292; al-T.abarī, Jāmi‘, vol. 26, pp. 103-4; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 17, p. 16; and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1403.
345. This is al-Farrā’'s interpretation, see Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 241-2. Another interpretation, however, is that the expression رَبِّ is إستغاثة (an appeal for help) addressed to Allah, and إرجعون is addressed to the angels. There is, then, an إلتفات here, or the expression is directed to both Allah and the angels; see al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 235. This is the view of Ibn Jurayj. The third interpretation is that irji‘ūn means the repetition of the word, namely إرجعن إرجعن , similar to ألقيا meaning ألق ألق mentioned above, which is the view of al-Māzinī and al-Mubarrad. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 12, p. 149. See also al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 117. The term إرجعون is originally إرجعوني. The letter yā’ is dropped for the sake of the rhyme. Such omissions occur several times in the Qur’ān, such as the omission of ي in أطيعون in Q. 3:50, 26:108, 110, 126, 144, 163, and 179, 43:63 and 71:3, and the omission of ي in فاعبدون in Q. 21:25 and 94, and 29:56.
346. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 293. For other examples, see Q. 54:49, 10:83, 11:14, and 44:36.
347. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 290-1.
348. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 289; al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 101; and al-Qayrawānī, I‘rāb al-Qur’ān, pt. 3, p. 923.
349 Asad, The Message, p. 293, n. 34.
350. Al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 3, p. 318. Al-Zarkashī mentions also the mubālaghah (hyperbole) as the objective of the iltifāt in the verse in question, see ibid., p. 329. The remaining examples from the Qur’ān given by Ibn Qutaybah are Q. 30:39 and 49:7, and the remaining ones given by al-Zarkashī are Q. 43:70-1, 21:92-3, and 21:92-93.
351. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 290.
352. Al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 3, pp. 322-3 and 330. According to al-T.abarsī, there is an ellipsis of قل لهم يا محمد "say to them O Muh.ammad", then the verse continues with "Indeed, [by this assertion] you have brought forth something monstrous.", see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 531. For other examples of this category of iltifāt from the Qur’ān, see al-Burhān, vol. 3, pp. 323-5.
353. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 290. Al-Qurt.ubī mentions three interpretations of the pronouns in the words لكم and فاعلموا , as follows: (1) both are for all the people; (2) both are for the idolaters; (3) in لكم it is for the Prophet and the believers, but in فاعلموا it is for the idolaters, see al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 9, p. 13. Al-T.abarsī also mentions three interpretations as follows: (1) both are for the Muslims; (2) both are for the unbelievers; (3) in لكم it is for the Prophet, whereas inفاعلموا here is no commentary; see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 147. Al-Zamakhsharī has the same interpretation as al-T.abarsī regarding the term لكم above, see al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 606.
354. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 290. The above reading is that of the majority of qurrā', except Ibn Kathīr, Ibn Muh.ays.in and Ibn ‘Amr who read it with yā’, namely, ليؤمنوا … و يعزّروه و يوقّروه و يسبّحوه. The first reading is chosen by Abū Hātim, the second by Abū ‘Ubayd. According to al-D.ah.h.āk the pronoun "him" in تعزّروه ("you might honour him") and توقّروه ("you might revere him") refers to the Prophet, whereas تسبّحوه ("you might glorify Him") refers to Allah. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 16, p. 266. The argument of those who read the above verse with ي is that at the end of the verse that follows, it readsفسيؤتيه "He will bestow on him" (Q. 48:10), instead of "on you", see al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 112.
355. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 290. Al-T.abarsī mentions two views on the above verse: (1) It means فمن ربّك و ربّه يا موسى ("Who, now, is this Sustainer of you and the Sustainer of him, O Moses?"), and (2) It means فمن ربّكما يا موسى وهارون ("Who, now, is this Sustainer of both of you, O Moses and Aaron?"). See Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, p. 13.
356. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 290.
357. Ibid., p. 291. However, there is also another interpretation that all human beings are referred to here, since they are all created from dust as they eat food which comes from it; see Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 5, p. 180.
358. Al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 3, p. 314.
359. Ibid., pp. 325-330.
360. Ibid., pp. 315-325.
361. Ibid., pp. 333-337.
362. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 294; al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 2, p. 292; and Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 3, p. 375.
363. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1036; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 13, p. 195; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 4, pp. 220-1.
364 Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 294.
365. See al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1193; al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 15, p. 42; and Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 3, p. 582. For further examples, see Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 294-5 and Q. 7:109-10 and 12:51-52.
366. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 295.
367. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 486 and al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 1193.
368. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 295.
369. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 6, pp. 374-375; and al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 268.
369. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 295; and idem, Tafsīr, p. 241.
370. See al-T.abarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 348; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 10, pp. 65-66.
371. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 296.
372. The verb tatlū in this verse means "to relate" and "to follow" according to ‘At.ā' and Ibn ‘Abbās respectively. The commentators also have different interpretations of على ملُك سليمان. It means "against the laws and prophethood of Solomon" according to Ibn al-‘Arabī; it means "during Solomon's reign" according to al-Zajjāj, as translated by Asad above; another view mentiond by al-Qurt.ubī says that it means "stories, characters and accounts of Solomon's reign". What the evil ones used to relate, to follow (or to practice, according to Asad) in this verse was sorcery. The above verse means "the evil ones (men or jinn) practiced sorcery during Solomon's reign", or "the evil ones related bad things about Solomon's reign, claiming that Solomon was not a prophet, and his magic power was merely the product of sorcery rather than a miracle from Allah". See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 2, pp. 41-3. The first interpretation was followed by Asad, the second by Pickthall and Ali.
374. See al-Farrā’, Ma‘ānī ’l-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 60-1; al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 221; and al-Zarkashī, al-Burhān, vol. 3, pp. 373-4. Al-T.abarsī adds further comment on this verse. He says thatفعل مضارع (imperfect verb) is also used to indicate habit, such as saying of a criminal "he steals and kills" (which corresponds to the English present simple tense indicating habitual actions); it is also a reproach for the crimes he did in the past and not what he will commit in the future. However, the crime committed by their ancestors in the verse in question is ascribed to them, namely the killing of prophets, for one of the following reasons: their remaining and following the same ways and religion of their ancestors suggested their participation in the crime; or they were content with their ancestors' actions, and by so doing, they belong to them. See Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 161.
375. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 297; and al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 221.
376. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 9, pp. 39-40.
377. See Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 163.
378. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 297; al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 221; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 20, p. 4.
379. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 296-7; Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih, al-‘Iqd al-Farīd, vol. 5, p. 231; and Abū al-Faraj al-As.bahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 15, p. 77. According to al-Mufad.d.al, the poem belongs to al-H.ārith ibn Wa‘lat al-Jarmī; see Lyall, ed., The Mufad.d.alīyāt, pp. 330-1.
380. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 297; and al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 2, p. 86.
381. The expression عذاب أليم is found in over fifty places in the Qur’ān, such as: Q. 3:77, 91, and 177; 5:36, 37, and 94; 6:70; and 7:73.
382. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 297; idem, al-Shi‘r wa ’l-Shu‘arā’, vol. 1, p. 332; Ibn Manz.ūr, Lisān, vol. 8, p. 164 (s.v.سمع ); Abū ‘Ubaydah, Majāz al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 282; al-T.abarī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 1, p. 95; Abū al-Faraj al-As.bahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 14, p. 33; and Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs, vol. 1, pp. 126-7.
383. Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, pp. 297-8 and idem, Adab al-Kātib, pp. 586-7. Ibn Qutaybah does not cite any example from the Qur’ān due to the vast number of times it appears, such as: h.afīz. in Q. 6:104, 11:57, 86, 34:21 and 50:32; qadīr in Q.2:20, 106, 109, 148, 259, and 284; samī‘ and ‘alīm in Q. 2:181, 224, 227, 244, and 256; bas.īr in Q. 2:96, 110 233, 227, and 265; and majīd in Q. 11:73 and 85:21. With regard to bādi’u ’l-khalq we do not find it in the Qur’ān; what we find is bada’a ’l-khalq (Q. 29:20), yabda’u ’l-khalq (Q. 10:4, 34, 27:64, 30:11 and 27), and yubdi’u ... ’l-khalq (Q. 29:19).
384 . Ibn Qutaybah, Ta’wīl, p. 298; and al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 222. The object مأتيّا in this verse is also the subject آتيا, because, al-T.abarsī states, in Arabic whatever you come to also comes to you, and vice versa. For example, it is said أتيت على خمسين سنة ("I have come to fifty years") can also be said أتت عليّ خمسون سنة ("Fifty years have come to me"). See Majma‘ al-Bayān, vol. 3, p. 521. The other example is حجابا مستورا "... a hidden barrier". (Q. 17:45). The word مستور (hidden) means ساتر (hiding) of what is behind it. This is the first interpretation. See al-Tha‘ālibī, Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 222. The second interpretation, however, says thatمستور here is in its original meaning, namely, hidden from our eyes. See al-Qurt.ubī, al-Jāmi‘, vol. 10, p. 271.