7. THE USE
OF REPETITION IN THE QUR’ĀN (2)
The use of repetition in the Qur’ān according
to scholars of tafsīr (commentary of the Qur’ān) serves many purposes,
among which are as follows:
1.
decision, taqrīr (التّقْرِيْر). If we repeat something it means it has
been decided by us. Allah said in the Qur’ān:
وَكَذَلِكَ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا وَصَرَّفْنَا
فِيهِ مِنَ الْوَعِيدِ
لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ أَوْ يُحْدِثُ لَهُمْ ذِكْرًا
(طه:113)
And thus We have
sent it down as a Qur’ān in Arabic,
and have explained therein in detail the
warnings, in
order that they may fear Allah, [i.e., leave
their sin] or
that it may cause them to have a lesson from
it (or
to have the honour for believing and acting
on its teachings) (Q. 20:13)
The repetition of warning in the Qur’ān with
the consequence of punishments indicates that it has been decided that
punishment will be inflicted upon non-believers.
2. alerting (التَّنْبِيه), such as the expression “O my
people” (يَاقَوْمِ) in
the following verses:
وَقَالَ الَّذِي آمَنَ
يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُونِ أَهْدِكُمْ سَبِيلَ الرَّشَاد. يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ
الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا مَتَاعٌ وَإِنَّ الْآخِرَةَ
هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ (غافر:38-39)
And the man who
believed said: “O my people!
Follow me, I will guide to the way of right
conduct [i.e.
guide you to Allah’s religion of Islamic
monotheism with
which Musa has been sent. O my people! Truly
this life of
the world is nothing but a (quick passing)
enjoyment,
and verily, the
Hereafter that is the home that
will remain forever.” (Q. 40:38-39)
A man among the Pharaoh’s
people secretly believed in Prophet Moses a.s. and asked his people to
follow him so that he would show him the right way. He said repeatedly: “O my
people” to make them pay attention to what he was going to say. In English,
during conversation, the interjection “mind!” or “mind you!” to attract the
listener’s attention is used, as if the speaker is saying “please note!” The
expression to that effect is also used by the Egyptians in their conversation when
they say khudh bālak! (خُذْ بَالَك!)
3. emphasis,
ta’kīd (التَّأْكِيْد) , such as the following
verse:
كَلَّا سَيَعْلَمُونَ . ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَيَعْلَمُونَ
(النبأ:4-5 (
Nay, they will come to know!
Nay, again,
they
will come to know!(Q. 78:4-5)
The Qur’ān commentator Ibn Kathīr called this repetition a severe threat and a direct warning.
كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ. ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوْفَ
تَعْلَمُونَ (التكاثر:3-4)
Nay,
you shall come to know! Again, nay!
You
shall come to know! (Q. 102:3-4)
Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said, “This is a
threat after a threat.”
فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا. إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ
يُسْرًا (الشرح:4-5)
Verily, along with every hardship is relief.
Verily, along with every hardship is relief (Q. 94:5-6)
Allah informs us that with
difficulty there is ease, and He reaffirms it by repeating it.
4. glorification and horrification (التَّعْظِيْمُ
وَالتَّهْوِيْل). The examples are as follows:
فَأَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ
مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ. وَأَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ
مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ
(الواقعة:8-9)
So those on the Right Hand (i.e., those who will
be given their Records in their right hands –
how
(fortunate) will be those on the Right Hand!
(As a
respect
for them, because they will enter Paradise).
And those
on the Left Hand (i.e., those who will be
given their Record in their left hands) – how
(unfortunate) will be those on the Left Hand!
(As a
disgrace for them, because they
will
enter Hell) (Q. 56:8-9)
On the Day of Resurrection people will be divided into three
categories: (a) people who will be given their Books of Records in their right
hands will be taken to the right side, and will be the residents of Paradise;
(b) people who will
be given their Books of Records in their left hands will be taken to the left
side, and will be the residents of Hell; (c) people who are the foremost and
nearest before Allah will have better status than those on the right side. They
are the chiefs of those on the right side, as they are the Messengers,
Prophets, true believers and martyrs. The explanation and reward of the
Foremost in in Faith in Paradise is explained in the next verses, namely, verse
10-26.
وَأَصْحَابُ الْيَمِينِ
مَا أَصْحَابُ الْيَمِينِ (الواقعة:27(
And those
on the Right Hand – how (fortunate)
will be
those on the Right Hand) (Q. 56:27)
These are people belonging to
the first category, and the explanation and reward of them in Paradise is
mentioned in the next verses, namely, verse 28-40.
وَأَصْحَابُ الشِّمَالِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الشِّمَالِ (الواقعة:41)
And those on the Left Hand – how (unfortunate)
will be those on the Left Hand) (Q. 56:4
These
are people belonging to the second category, and the punishment they will
suffer in Hell is mentioned in the next verses, namely, verse 42-55.
الْحَاقَّةُ. مَا الْحَاقَّةُ.
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ (الْحَاقَّةُ:1-3)
The Inevitable (i.e., the Day of
Resurrection)!
What is the
Inevitable? And what will make you
know what the
Inevitable is? (Q. 69:1-3)
One of
the names of the Day of Judgement is al-Ḥāqqah (the Inevitable), because
on this day the promise and the threat will inevitably occur.
After mentioning the punishment
inflicted on disbelievers in the past (verse 4-11) Allah described briefly the
horror and the calamity of the Day of Resurrection: the trumpet [of judgment]
shall be sounded with a single blast, and the earth and the mountain shall be
lifted up and crushed with single stroke (verse 14), and the sky will be rent
asunder (verse16) which is, as put by
Muhammad Asad, “probably, as a metaphor
for a total breakdown of the cosmic order.”[1]
الْقَارِعَةُ.مَا الْقَارِعَةُ.
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْقَارِعَةُ (الْقَارِعَةُ:1-3)
The striking (Hour,
i.e., the Day of Resurrection).
What is the Striking (Hour)? And what will
make you know what the Striking
(Hour) is? (Q. 101:1-3)
Like al-Ḥāqqah (the
Inevitable) al-Qāri‘ah (the Striking Hour) is another name of the Day of
Judgement. Other names of it are: al-Ṭāmmah , الطَّامَة) the Disaster), al-Ṣākhkhah ,
الصَّاخَّة) the Second blow of the Trumpet on the Day of Resurrection), and al-Ghāshiyah
, الْغَاشِيَة) the Overwhelming). The
repetition of these names indicates the glory or the horror of the Day of
Judgement.
5. freshening and renewing (التَّطْرِيَةُ وَ
التَّجْدِيْد) through repetition the
part of expression which could be forgotten in a long verse, such as the
following verses:
إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ
كَوْكَبًا
وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ
لِي سَاجِدِينَ (يوسف:4)
(Remember)
when Yūsuf (Joseph) said to his
father: “O my father! Verily, I
saw (in a dream)
eleven stars and the sun and the moon – I saw
them prostrating themselves to me (Q. 12:4)
ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ
لِلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا فُتِنُوا ثُمَّ جَاهَدُوا وَصَبَرُوا
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنْ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ
رَحِيمٌ (النحل:110)
Then, verily, your
Lord for those who emigrated after
they had been put to trials and thereafter
strove hard
and fought (for the cause of Allah) and were
patient,
verily Your Lord, afterward, is
Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful (Q. 16:110)
ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ
لِلَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ
وَأَصْلَحُوا إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنْ بَعْدِهَا
لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (النحل:119)
Then, verily, your
Lord for those who do evil
(commit sins and are disobedient
to Allah) in
ignorance and afterward repent
and do
righteous deeds, verily, your
Lord thereafter,
(to such) is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful (Q. 16:119)
وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ كِتَابٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ
مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَهُمْ وَكَانُوا
مِنْ قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ
عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ مَا عَرَفُوا
كَفَرُوا بِهِ فَلَعْنَةُ
اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ (البقرة:89)
And
when there came to them (the Jews), a Book
(this Qur’ān) from Allah
confirming what is with
them [the Taurāt (Torah) and the Injīl
(Gospel),
although aforetime they had invoked Allah (for
coming of Muhammad) in order to gain victory
over those who
disbelieved, then when there
came to them that which they had recognized,
they disbelieved in it
So let the Curse of Allah
be on the
disbelievers. (Q. 2:89)
Commenting the above verse Abū ‘l-‘Āliyah said:
The Jews used to ask
Allah to send them
a prophet so that they would gain victory
over the Arab disbelievers. They used to say,
“O Allah! Send the Prophet that we read about
–
in the Torah – so that we can torment and kill
the disbelievers alongside him.” When Allah
sent
Muhammad s.a.w. and they saw that he was
not one
of them, they rejected him and
envied the Arabs, even though they knew
that he was the Messenger of Allah.
لَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ
يَفْرَحُونَ بِمَا أَتَوْا وَيُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يُحْمَدُوا بِمَا لَمْ يَفْعَلُوا
فَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّهُمْ
بِمَفَازَةٍ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (آل عمران:188)
Think
not that those who rejoice in what they have
done (or bought about), and love
to be praised for
what they have not done,--think
not you that they
are rescued from the torment, and
for them is
a painful torment (Q.
3:188)
This
verse is not about the Muslims, but about the People of the Scriptures (Jews
and Christians) and the hypocrites. Ibn ‘Abbas said that when the Prophet asked
the Jews of Madinah something they hid their knowledge and gave him an
incorrect answer; they rejoice in it and departed after showing off. Abū Sa‘īd
al-Khudrī said that when the Prophet went to the battle the hypocrites stayed
behind and rejoiced in not joining the Prophet in the battle. When the Prophet
returned they swore to having some excuse, and wanted to be praised for what
they have not done. (CIVIC, 19 February, 20160)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري )ت. 310 هـ (
تفسير القرطبى )ت. 671 هـ (
تفسير ابن كثير )ت. 774 هـ(
Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān.
Gibraltar: Dār al-Andalus Ltd, 1984.
https://islamqa.info/ar/82856
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