15. THE RHETORICAL
EXPRESSIONS OF THE QUR’ĀN (2)
3. Jinās based on the difference of the kinds and
number of their letters. (a) Jinās based on the difference of the kinds of
their letters is divided into two types:
(1) al-Jinās al-Muḍāri‘ (الجناس المضارع, similar jinās), and (2) al-Jinās al-Lāḥiq الجناس اللاحق), joined jinās); (b) Jinās based on the difference of the
number of their letters is called Imperfect Jinās (al-Jinās al-nāqiṣ
,(الجناس الناقص
(1) al-Jinās al-Muḍāri‘
(الجناس المضارع, similar jinās), if their letters are similar or close
to each other in articulation, such as
in the following verse:
وَهُمْ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ وَيَنْأَوْنَ عَنْهُ وَإِنْ
يُهْلِكُونَ إِلَّا
أَنْفُسَهُمْ
وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ (الأنعام:26)
And
the prevent others from [following] him (i.e.
Prophet
Muhammad) and they themselves keep
away from him, and (by doing so) they destroy
not but their ownselves, yet they
perceive (it) not Q.
6:26)
The term yanhawna meaning
“they prevent”, while yan’awna meaning
“they keep away.” Both are different in meaning, but close in articulation.
The other example is the following
verse:
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ. الْجَوَارِ الْكُنَّسِ
(التكوير:15-16(
So verily, I swear by the planets that recede
(i.e.,
disappear during the day and appear during
the night). And by the planets that move swiftly
and hide themselves (Q. 81:15-16)
The term al-khunnas
means “they recede, they withdraw”, whereas al-kunnas means “they
disappear.” They are different in meaning, but close in articulation.
The example with the sayings of the
Prophet is as follow:
الْخَيْلُ
مَعْقُودٌ فِي نَوَاصِيهَا الْخَيْرُ إِلَى
يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَة (رواه البخاري)ِ
Horses are tied with goodness at their
forelocks
till the
Doomsday (Reported by Bukhārī)
It means horses
always bring goodness if they are used properly. The term al-khayl means
“the horses”, whereas al-khayr means “goodness”. Both are
different in meaning, but close in articulation.
(2) al-Jinās al-Lāḥiq الجناس اللاحق), joined jinās) when their articulations
are very dissimilar, such as the following verses:
وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ
لُمَزَةٍ (الهمزة:1)
Woe to
every slandered and
backbiter (Q. 104:1)
The term humazah means
“slanderers”, whereas lumazah means “backbiters.” They are different in
meaning and in the articulation of”h (هـ)” through
the throat in the first word and “l(ل)
” through the palate and the tongue in the second.
وَإِنَّهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ لَشَهِيدٌ. وَإِنَّهُ لِحُبِّ
الْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ (العاديات:7-8)
) And
to that he bears witness (by his deeds).
And verily, he is
violent in the love
of wealth (Q.
100:7-8)
The
term lashahīd means “he bears witness”, whereas lashadīd means
“he is violent.” Both are different in meaning, and very dissimilar between the
articulation of letter “h(هـ) ” in the first word and letter “d(د) ” in the second word.
ذَلِكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَفْرَحُونَ فِي
الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْر
الْحَقِّ وَبِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَمْرَحُونَ
(غافر:75)
That was because you had been exulting in the
earth
without any right (by worshipping others
instead
of Allah and by committing crimes),
and that
you used to rejoice extremely
(in your
error) (Q. 40:75)
This is what the angels would say in the Hereafter to those who rejected
the truth. The term tafraḥūn means “you exult”, whereas tamraḥūn means
“you rejoice.” Both are different
in meaning, and there is very dissimilar between the letter “f(ف)
” in the first word and letter “m
(م)” in the second word.
فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ. وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ
فَلَا تَنْهَرْ (الضحى:9-10)
Therefore, treat not the orphan with oppression.
And repulse not
the beggar (Q. 93:9-10)
After
mentioning Allah’s favours to the Prophet s.a.w. among which are: He gave him a refuge after
being an orphan, guiding him after being unaware of the right way, made him
rich after being poor, He asked him to treat well the poor and the needy. The
term taqhar means “you oppress”, whereas tanhar means “you repulse.”
Both are different in meaning, and there is very dissimilar between the letter
“q
(ق) ”
in the first word and letter “n(ن)
” in the
second word in articulation.
The example from the
sayings of the Prophet is his long du‘ā’ (supplication)
as follows:
...
للَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِى لَكَ شَاكِرًا لَكَ ذَاكِرًا... رَبِّ تَقَبَّلْ تَوْبَتِى
وَاغْسِلْ حَوْبَتِى... (رواه أبو داؤد
و ابن حبان)
“… O Allah, make me thankful to You,
remember
You… and accept my repentance,
and wash
away my offence…”
(Reported by Abū Dā’ūd and
Ibn Ḥibbān)
The term shākiran means “thankful,” whereas
dhākiran means “remembering.” Both are different in meaning, and letter
“sh(ش)
in the first word is quite dissimilar from the
letter “dh(ذ)
” in the
second word. The term tawbatī means “my repentance,” whereas the term ḥawbatī
means “my offence.” Both are different in meaning, and letter “t(ت) ” in the first word (which is
through dental articulation) is quite dissimilar with letter “ḥ(ح) ” (which is articulated
through the throat) in the second word.
(b) Jinās based on the difference of
the number of their letters is called Imperfect Jinās (al-Jinās al-nāqiṣ ,
(الجناس الناقص is when the number of
letters is more, either one or more, either in the beginning, the middle or the
end of the word. The examples are from the Qur’ān are as follows:
وَالْتَفَّتِ السَّاقُ بِالسَّاقِ. إِلَى
رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمَسَاقُ (القيامة:29-30)
And one
leg will be joined with another
leg (shrouded).Then drive will be on that Day
to your Lord (Allah) (Q. 75:29-30)
The term al-sāq means
“the leg”, and al-masāq means “the drive”. Both are different in
meaning, and the term al-masāq has one letter more than al-sāq, namely letter “m(م) ”
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ...
(الحديد:25)
Indeed We have sent Our Messengers
with clear proofs … (Q. 57:25)
The
term arsalnā means" We
have sent”, whereas rusulanā means “Our Messengers.” Both are different
in meaning. The term arsalnā has one letter more than rusulanā,
namely, letter alif (أ).
إِنَّ رَبَّهُمْ بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَخَبِيرٌ
(العاديات:11)
Verily, that Day I(i.e., the Day of
Resurrection)
their Lord will be Well-Acquainted with them
(as to their deeds and will reward them
for their deeds) (Q.
100:11)
The term rabbahum means
“their Lord,” whereas bihim means “with them.”
Both are different in meaning. The term rabbahum has one letter more
than bihim, namely, letter “r(ر) ”
... وَلَكِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ (القصص:45)
… But it is We Who kept sending
(Messengers) (Q. 28:45)
The term lākinnā
means “but we”, and kunnā means “we were”. Both are different in
meaning. The term lākinnā has one letter more than kunnā, namely,
letter “l(ل)
”
وَفَجَّرْنَا الْأَرْضَ
عُيُونًا فَالْتَقَى الْمَاءُ عَلَى أَمْرٍ قَدْ قُدِرَ (القمر:12)
And We caused springs to gush forth from the
earth. So,
the waters (of the heaven and the earth)
met for a matter predestined (Q. 54:12)
The term qad means “already,”
whereas qudira means “predestined.” Both are different in meaning. The
ter qudira has one letter more than qad, namely, letter “r(ر)
”
4. Inverted jinās (al-Jinās
al-Ma‘kūs, الجناس
المعكوس), also called jinās
al-qalb (جناس القلب) and jinās al-tabdīl (جناس التبديل). It is divided into two types: (a) inversion of letters,
either full inversion or partial inversion, and (b) inversion of words, either
fully or partly.
a. Full inversion of letters is called palindrome,
where they can be read both forwards and backwards, such as “radar”, and “race car.”
The examples from the Qur’ān, are as follows:
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ (المدثر:3)
And magnify your Lord (Allah) (Q. 74:3)
The letters of رَبَّكَ فَكَبِّر are ر ب ك ف ك ب ر
and can be read inverted.
لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنْبَغِي لَهَا أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا
اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ
وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ (يس:40)
It is not for the
sun to overtake the moon,
nor does the night
outstrip the day. They all
float, each in an orbit (Q. 36:40).
The letters of كُلٌّ فِي فَلَك are: ك ل ف ي ف ل ك and can be read inverted.
The example of partial
inversion in the Qur’ān is as follows:
...إِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَنْ تَقُولَ فَرَّقْتَ بَيْنَ
بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
وَلَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلِي
(طه:94)
…[Aaron said to Moses]: “ Verily, I feared lest you
should say:
‘You have caused a division among the
Children of Israel, and you say have not
respected my word!’” (Q. 20:94)
respected my word!’” (Q. 20:94)
The
term bayna means “between”, and banī means “the children of”.
Both are different in meaning. The partial inversion is between bayna and banī, where
letter y-n (ين)(in the first word is inverted
with n-y (ني)in the second.
The example from the ḥadīth of the Prophet is
as follows:
اللَّهُمَّ اسْتُرْ عَوْرَاتِنَا وَآمِنْ رَوْعَاتِنَا
(رواه أحمد)
O Allah, cover our faultiness, and safeguard
our
splendour (Reported by Ahmad)
The
term ‘awrātinā means “our faultiness”, whereas raw‘ātinā means
“our splendour”. Both are different in meaning. The partial inversion is
between ‘a-w-rعور) (in the first word and r-w-‘a (روع) in the second word.
(CIVIC, 20
May, 2016)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
https://islamwich.com/2013/04/03/quranic-challenge/
https://old.uqu.edu.sa/page/ar/43947
http://www.hamzatzortzis.com/essays-articles/exploring-the-quran/the-inim
