Grammatical Shift For The Rhetorical Purposes: Iltifāt And Related Features In The Qur'ān
M A S Abdel Haleem
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 1992, Volume LV, Part 3.
© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.
In a study which has been described as pioneering, Neue
Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft,[1]
Theodor Nöldeke 'discussed in detail the "Stylistische und syntaktische
Eigentümlichkeiten der Sprache des Korans" (pp. 5-23) thereby collecting
together everything that had occurred to him in this respect during his protracted
and intensive study of the Holy Book of the Muslims.[2] Among the
examples Nöldeke discusses (pp. 13-14) are Q. 7 (not 77 which is clearly
a misprint in his text): 55,[3] 27:61; 35:27, 6:99, 20:55, 10:23,
etc. where there is a sudden shift in the pronoun of the speaker or the person
spoken about, known as iltifāt in balāgha (Arabic rhetoric),
though Nöldeke does not refer to the term here. Introducing his discussion
of this feature, Nöldeke remarks that 'the grammatical persons change from
time to time in the Qur'ān in an unusual and not beautiful way (nicht schöner
Weise)' (p. 13). This is a personal value judgement. Arab writers, in contrast
see the matter differently. Ibn al-Athīr, for instance, after studying
this stylistic feature, as we shall see below, classed it among the 'remarkable
things and exquisite subtleties we have found in the Glorious Qur'ān.'[4]
It will be seen that the examples Nöldeke cites immediately following the
statement quoted above do not occur haphazardly in the Qur'ān but follow
a pattern. Examination of where exactly the shift occurs and why, will show
how effective the technique is in these examples and why Muslim literary critics
and exegetes greatly admire iltifāt and its related features. Nöldeke
further remarks (p. 14) that in a few places the second and third person plural
are exchanged abruptly: 30:38, 49:7, 10:23. Here again it will be seen that
the changes are made according to an effective pattern and that the frequency
of occurrences of this type is much greater than is indicated by Nöldeke.
The impression that the incidence of iltifāt in the Qur'ān
is low can also be gained from books on balāgha in Arabic.[5]
These tend to confine themselves to specific examples, including, for instance
Q. 1:4, 36:22, 10:22, 35:9, 108:2, repeated with little variation,[6]
to represent the various types of iltifāt between 1st, 2nd and 3rd
persons. That these only represented a small sample is made clear by reference
to the books[7] of Ibn al-Athīr (637/1239)[8] who
discusses some 20 examples, Suyūtī (911/1505), who deals with
about 35 examples[9] of iltifāt and related features,
and Badr al-Dīn al-Zarkashī (794/1391) who provides the most extensive
treatment of this phenomenon and includes about 50 examples.[10]
Still, it will be seen from our treatment below that the feature occurs much
more extensively in the Qur'ān than even these figures suggest. Accordingly,
the way it is treated in these works does not give an accurate picture. We are
told there are six types of change in person, but for one of these(1st to 2nd
person) they all give just one example - Q. 36:22 and indeed, as we shall see,
even that is doubtful. The change from 2nd to 1st person does not occur in the
Qur'ān. However, it will be seen that other types are used far more frequently;
for instance the change from 3rd to 1st person is represented by well over a
hundred examples. Identifying the precise extent to each type will help us to
understand the nature and function of the feature under discussion.
It has, moreover, been argued that almost all examples of iltifāt
in the Qur'ān are to be found in the Makkan surās.[11]
This conclusion was perhaps based on surveying examples used in balāgha
books It will be seen that a survey of the Qur'ānic text itself gives a
different picture.
Iltifāt has been called by rhetoricians shajā'at al-`arabiyya[12]
as it shows, in their opinion, the daring nature of the Arabic language. If
any 'daring' is to be attached to it, it should above all be the daring of the
language of the Qur'ān since, for reasons that will be shown below, it
employs this feature far more extensively and in more variations than does Arabic
poetry. It is, therefore, natural to find that al-Mathal al-Sā'ir
of Ibn al-Athīr which deals with adab al-katib wa'l-shā'ir,
uses mainly Qur'ānic references in discussing iltifāt. No one
seems to quote references in prose other than from the Qur'ān: and indeed
a sampling of hadīth material found not a single instance.[13]
It is hoped that our discussion will explain why this should be so.
Nöldeke treated the verses referred to above as peculiarities in the language
of the Qur'ān. As will be seen below. it would not be correct to assume
that this stylistic feature is exclusively Qur'ānic in Arabic, though it
is an important feature of the style of the Qur'ān. As has been noted,
Nöldeke in his discussion did not mention the term iltifāt.
Nor did Wansbrough, who dedicated a section to 'Rhetoric and allegory'[14]
under the 'Principles of exegesis', list iltifāt in his 'Index of
technical terms'.[15] Likewise, Bell-Watt dedicates
a section to 'Features of Qur'ānic style';[16]
the author of the article on 'Kor'an' in the Encyclopaedia
of Islam has a section on 'language and style'[17],
and the author of the article on the 'Qur'ān I' in The
Cambridge history of Arabic literature includes a section on 'language
and style'.[18] but none of these writers mentions
the word iltifāt. It therefore seems necessary to deal with this
important feature of Arabic literary and Qur'ānic style.
In this article I shall discuss the meaning of iltifāt, other terms
used to describe the phenomenon, the development of iltifāt in balāgha
books, the conditions set for certain types of iltifāt and the types
of iltifāt in general (giving the extent of each), and its place
in balāgha. Along with iltifāt I shall discuss analogous
features of this nature, involving grammatical shift for rhetorical purposes;
though some of these were not generally labelled as iltifāt, they
were none the less considered as related to it. In the discussion of specific
examples I shall point out where these shifts occur and attempt to explain their
effects. Finally I shall deal with the function of iltifāt and its
related features in general. It is hoped that all this will help to clarify
the nature of this stylistic feature and explain its use in the Qur'ān.
The Meaning Of Iltifāt
Lexically iltifāt means 'to turn/turn one's face to'. There is the
famous line:
'my eye turned to the remains of (my beloved's) encampment; when they passed out of sight, my heart turned to them'.
The word came to be used for turning aside in speech to talk about something before continuing with the original subject. Al-Asma'ī (216/831) is said to have used it in this sense. Referring to the line by Jarīr.[19]
'Do you forget (how it was) when Sulaima bid us farewell at the bashām (balsam). May the bashām be watered abundantly!'
Asma'ī commented: 'Instead of continuing to compose his verses
the poet turned to (iltafat ilā) the bashām to wish
it well.' From the above examples and others similar,[20] one may
assume that the name iltifāt may have owed its origin to the context
of departure and turning back towards the encampment and memory of the beloved,
thus attaching an additional emotive aspect to the word.
The word iltifāt, here still almost literal, was given a technical
meaning as early as the time of Asma'ī. But already by the time
of Ibn al-Mu'tazz (296/909) we find that the use of the term to denote, broadly,
parenthesis, has become secondary; it now refers more frequently to what is
defined as departure by the speaker from address to narration or from narration
to address and the like (wa-mā yushbih dhālik). The phenomenon
had been recognized and described by such earlier authors as al-Farrā'
(207/822); Abū 'Ubayda (210/825); Ibn Qutayba (276/889) and al-Mubarrad
(285/898). who discussed examples of transition in persons; but it was not until
Ibn al-Mu'tazz. that it was given the name iltifāt.[21]
The two meanings (parenthetical and transitional) co-existed (being sometimes juxtaposed as we see in Baqillanī's i'jāz) apparently for about two centuries. Qudama b. Ja`far (337/948) defines iltifāt thus:
while a poet expresses a meaning he may doubt or suspect that someone might reject what he is saying or ask him to explain the reason for it, so the poet returns to what he has said to emphasize it, give the reason, or resolve any doubt about it.[22]
For Al-'Askarī (d. after 395/1005) this is the second type of iltifāt, while the first is that explained earlier by Asma'ī.[23] By the time we come to Zamakhsharī (538/1143) we find him right from the beginning of his tafsīr[24] using iltifāt only in the sense of transition in persons; he is, moreover credited with a lucid explanation of the rhetorical effects of this stylistic feature so that what he said sometimes repeated verbatim by many subsequent authors. Finally, when balāgha assumed its canonical form in the Miftāh al-`ulūm of Sakkākī (626/1228), the meaning of transition had clearly become the only one used and that of parenthesis relegated to the past. It may also be noted that Sakkākī added to transition in persons the further dimension of transition from perfect to imperfect verbs.[25] However, for fuller definitions of iltifāt in this final sense, it is to Ibn al-Athīr (637/1239) and Zarkashī (794/1391) that we must turn. The former considered iltifāt part of the essence of `ilm al-bayān and the basis of balāgha. 'Its meaning (of turning) is taken from the turning of a person from his right to left as he turns his face once this way and once the other; such is this type of speech since one turns in it from one form to another. One would for instance turn from addressing a person to talking (about him) in the 3rd person; or - from 3rd to 2nd person; or turn from perfect to imperfect verb or vice versa; or turn in such other ways as will be detailed below.' 'Iltifāt', he continues, 'is also called shajā'at al-`arabiyya' (the daring of the Arabic language). 'A daring person', he explains, 'undertakes what others do not dare, and such is iltifāt in speech, which', he thinks, 'is peculiar to Arabic.'[26] Al-Zarkashī for his part, defined iltifāt as:
the change of speech from one mode to another, For the sake of freshness and variety for the listener, to renew his interest, and to keep his mind from boredom and frustration, through having the one mode continuously at his ear.
He goes on in the following paragraph to say:
Each of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd persons has its appropriate context in which it is used. The general opinion is that iltifāt is 'transition' from one of them to another after using the first. Sakkākī said it is either this or it is using one in a place where another ought to have been used.[27]
After dealing with all types of transition in persons Zarkashī concludes
with a section on transition to other than persons under the heading yaqrub
min al-iltifāt naql al-kalām ilā ghayrih, making these related
to iltifāt. Of the two it is Ibn al-Athīr's definition that
is the more precise and his explanation more lucid. Other accounts include those
of Sharaf al-Dīn al-Tībī (743/1342)[28] and
al-Khatīb al-Qazwīnī (793/1395), both concise, and the
rather more extensive but unoriginal one by Suyūtī (911/1505).
The treatment by Ibn al-Athīr as a writer on the rhetoric of prose and
poetry and by Zarkashī as a writer on `ulūm al-Qur'ān
have thus remained the best examples on the subject.
Other Terms Used To Describe Iltifāt
The phenomenon of transition has not surprisingly, also been designated by other technical terms. Ibn Wahb (312?/9247) called it al-sarf; Ibn Munqidh (584/ 1188) called it al-insirāf[29] (both of these meaning lexically 'to depart'); Al-San'ānī (1114/1702) called it iltifāt and referred also to its older name, al-i'tirad[30] (parenthesis), while 'Izz al-Dīn b. `Abd al-Salām (660/1262) and Zamlakānī (727/1327) reported that it was called al-talwīn and talwīn al-khitāb[31] (varying the address). Although insirāf did not gain popularity it is actually just as apt. We shall, however, retain here the more recognized term iltifāt, the others having now become obsolete.
Conditions Of Iltifāt
In discussing iltifāt as it has become well established in balāgha,
all authors begin with types involving transition in persons and, indeed, some
of them stop there. It is with this kind only that authors mentioned conditions
of iltifāt. The first condition is that the pronoun in the person/thing
one turns to should refer to the same person/thing from which one turned. Thus
there is no iltifāt in: 'You are my friend' but there is iltifāt
in Q. 108:2.
'We have given you abundance, therefore pray to your Lord', since
the reference here is to one and the same, i.e. God. Another suggested condition
stipulates that the transition should be between two independent sentences.
This perhaps resulted from the observation of a limited number of examples,
and was thus rightly refuted by reference to many other examples that do not
involve two independent sentences, for example Q. 25:17.[32]
Types Of Iltifāt And Related Features
These can be of the following types:
No. I is the most commonly known and was called iltifāt before other types were labelled as such or as related to iltifāt.
Nos. I-IV were dealt with by Zarkashī and Suyūtī, for
instance, in a chapter entitled al-iltifāt, though some of the types
were considered only as related to iltifāt. No. V was considered
as iltifāt by some, according to Zarkashī. No. VI was dealt
with along with iltifāt, by Qazwīnī , Subkī and Hāshimī
for instance, under a general heading combining them both: khurūj al-kalām
'alā muqtada'l- zāhir (departure from what is normally
expected). In fact, in all these types we have a departure from the normally
expected usage of language in a particular context for a particular rhetorical
purpose.
I.
(1) Transition from 3rd to 1st person. This is the most common type - I have come across over 140 instances in the Qur'ān. |
(2) From 1st to 3rd person is second with nearly 100 instances. |
(3) From 3rd to 2nd person - nearly 60 instances. |
(4) From 2nd to 3rd person - under 30 instances. |
(5) From 1st to 2nd person - of which there is only one example which is quoted by every author, but which one could argue is not iltifāt. |
(6) From 2nd to 3rd person, of which there is no example in the Qur'ān as Suyūtī himself pointed out (Itqan, III, 254). |
The poet here talks to himself in the 2nd person, then about
himself, then he returns to speak in the first person. It is noteworthy that
these lines are always quoted to illustrate this type.
For no. 5 it is Q. 36:22 that is always quoted:
'why should I not worship Him who created me? and to Him you shall return'.
It was suggested that 'you' is in place of 'I shall return'. This, however, does not have to be so, as Suyūtī indeed said (p. 253). The speaker could simply be warning his addressees that they shall return to God, in which case the condition of iltifāt does not obtain here. Suyūtī also quotes Q. 6:73 but this will be discussed under change in tense.
It will be observed for examples of other kinds of iltifāt that
a great many of them involve God talking in the 1st person or about Himself
in the 3rd person; but He does not talk to himself in the 2nd person.
Examples from poetry suggest that a poet talks to himself when he reproaches,
pities or encourages himself, which clearly does not befit God as seen in the
Qur'ān, where 'He has power over all things' (2:20); 'has knowledge of
everything' (4: 176); He is 'Performer of what He desires' (85:16) and is 'the
Creator of all things' (39:62). This may explain the lack of examples in the
Qur'ān of types 5 and 6.
I shall now list occurrences of the four remaining sub-types of iltifāt
in person. These lists are not meant to be final but to give what is hoped will
be a fair picture of the use of iltifāt in the Qur'ān. It should
be pointed out that the word containing the pronoun from which the transition
takes place does not necessarily immediately precede that to which the transition
occurs; but in any case, nobody makes proximity a condition of iltifāt.
1. 3rd - 1st person
2:23, 47, 73, 83, 118, 160, 172; 3:25, 58, 168; 4:30, 33, 37, 41, 64, 74, 114,
174; 5:14, 15, 19, 32, 70, 86; 6:22. 92. 97, 98, 99, 107, 110, 114, 126; 7:37,
57; 8:9, 41; 10:7, 11, 21, 22, 23, 28; 11:8; 13:4; 14:13; 16:2, 40, 66, 75,
84; 17:1, 21, 33, 97; 18:7; 19:9, 21, 58; 20:53, 113; 21:29, 37; 22:57, 67;
24:55; 25:17, 32, 45, 48, 56; 26:198; 27:60, 81; 28:57, 61, 75; 29:4, 7, 23;
30:16, 28, 34, 47, 51, 58; 31:7, 10, 23; 32:12, 16, 27; 33:9, 31; 34:5, 9; 35:9,
27; 36:8, 37; 37:6; 39:2, 3, 16, 27, 49; 40:5. 70, 84; 41:12, 28, 39; 42:7,
13, 20, 23, 35, 38, 48; 45:31; 46:7, 15; 47:13; 48:25. 49:13; 52:21, 48; 53:29;
54:11; 55:31, 58:5; 59:21; 61:14; 65:8; 66:10; 67:5, 17; 68:15, 35; 69:11; 70:7;
72:16; 76:9; 80:25; 86:15; 87:6; 88:25; 89:29; 92:7; 96:15.
2. 1st - 3rd person
2:5, 23, 37, 161, 172; 3:57, 151; 4:30, 33, 69, 122; 6:90, 95, 111, 112, 127;
7:12, 58, 101, 142; 8:4; 10:22, 25; 14:46; 15:28, 96; 16:52; 17:1; 20:4; 21:19;
22:6; 23:14, 57, 78, 91, 116; 24:35, 46; 25:31, 47, 58; 26:5, 9, 213; 27:6;
28:13, 59, 62; 29:3, 40, 67, 69; 30:54, 59; 31:11, 23; 32:25; 33:9, 46, 50;
34:21; 35:31, 32, 38; 36:36, 74; 37:33; 38:26; 40:61, 85; 41:19, 28, 40, 45,
53; 44:6; 45:22, 30; 48:2; 51:58, 53:30; 54:55; 57:27; 60:3; 65:10; 66:12; 67:19;
68:48; 76:6, 24, 29; 87:6; 94:8; 95:8; 97:4; 108:2.
3. 3rd - 2nd person
1:5; 2:21, 25, 28, 60, 83, 214, 229, 233; 3:180; 4:11; 6:6; 8:7, 14; 9:19, 69;
10:3, 68; 11:14; 16:55, 68, 74; 19:89; 21:37; 23:15, 65; 27:90; 30:34; 31:33;
33:55; 34:37; 35:3; 36:59; 37:25; 38:59; 43:16, 47:22, 30; 50:24; 52:14, 19,
39; 55:13, 56:51, 91; 57:17, 20; 67:13; 75:34; 76:22, 30; 77:38, 43; 78:30,
36; 80:3; 87:16.
4. 2nd - 3rd person
2:54, 57, 85, 88, 187, 200, 216, 226, 229, 286; 4:9; 10:22; 16:69, 72; 24:63;
28:16; 30:38; 31:32; 32:10; 45:35; 47:23; 67:18; 75:31.
In the first kind (3rd - 1st) we notice that in the great majority of verses,
God is involved in the speech. The transition in this type introduces two powerful
elements that accord with the dramatic nature of the language of the Qur'ān,
that is: the 1st person itself (which is more powerful than the 3rd as it brings
God Himself to speak), and secondly, the element of plurality which expresses
more power than does the singular. We may begin by considering the first example
Nöldeke introduced after his remark that 'the grammatical persons change
from time to time in the Qur'ān in an unusual and not beautiful way', Q.
27:61.
'Who created the heavens and the earth and sent down for you water from the sky wherewith We caused to grow joyous gardens?'
The point of emphasis here is the great power which caused joyous gardens to grow, a contrast between the abstraction of creative power and the personal involvement of aesthetic creativity. This is not a matter of personal taste or opinion; it is clear from the rest of the verse which goes on to emphasize the point and describe the garden: 'whose trees you could never cause to grow'. Here God reserves for Himself the power to cause them to grow and hence the shift at this point from 3rd person singular to 1st person plural. As it comes suddenly, the shift makes the listener feel afresh the true meaning of the concepts of both 1st person and of plurality, so that the grammatical forms are here given much more weight than they normally carry.[33] A longer statement in place of this concise, powerful one would have been required if 'normal' grammatical rules had been used without the change in person commented on by Nöldeke. The effect in this example is, moreover, achieved with no loss of clarity since it is obvious that the verse speaks about God before and after the transition. Interestingly, such a technique is also often used with other verses dealing with water, with the shift always occurring at a semantically important point as in Q: 6:99, 7:57, 13:4, 15:66, 20:53, 25:48, 31:10, 35:9, 41:39. In 13:4, for instance, the shift does not occur at making the plants grow but at making their produce different in taste, which is the point in context:
'It is He that... In the land there are adjoining plots: vineyards and cornfields and groves of palms, the single and the clustered. Their fruits are nourished by the same water: yet We make the taste of some more favoured than the taste of others. Surely in this there are signs for men of understanding.'
In the first set of examples cited above as discussed by Nöldeke (7:55;
35:27; 6:99; 20:55; 10:23), all but the last deal with water (Nöldeke does
not seem to have noticed this), and exhibit the same feature for the same effect.
10:23 also involves water but in a different context that will be explained
later.
The shift to 1st person of majestic plural is also suitable for expressing might,
e.g. 14:13:
'Then their Lord revealed to them: We will surely destroy the evildoers.'
The effect of the particle of oath 'la' and that of emphasis, nūn al-tawkīd, is made much more powerful by the presence of God to announce (in direct speech) the punishment Himself in the plural; see also 32:16, 33:9. Abundant giving is also expressed in 1st person plural as if to emphasize a multiplicity of giving, e.g. 4:114:
'There is no good in much of their conferences except in his who enjoins charity. kindness, and peace-making among the people. He that does this to please God, We shall bestow on him a vast reward.'
See also 2:172: 32:1G; 42:38. Similarly, reassuring the Prophet who was anxious that he might forget the Qur'ān was suitably expressed by a shift to the first person divine plural
'... your Lord who... We shall make you recite so that you shall not forget.'
Also 75:16 19.
It should be pointed out that in pre-Islamic literature, and during the time
of the revelation of the Qur'ān, pronouns do not appear to have been used
as indicative of status; they did not change with social status, and the plural
of majesty, in particular, does not appear to have been used by, or for addressing
or referring to, kings or chiefs. The Prophet and his early successors did not
use it for themselves not - in their letters to address kings or governors.[34]
It was clearly in the Qur'ān that such usage was introduced, as has been
shown, on the basis of a highly sophisticated application of the concept of
plurality.
2. 1st - 3rd person
This category is second in number but it is still large compared to those remaining.
It is noteworthy that, with the exception of a small number of cases, the person
involved in iltifāt in categories 1 and 2 is God, while in 3 and
4 this is less commonly the case. Again with the exception of four cases, we
find when God speaks in categories 1 and 2, He speaks in the first person plural;
in the other part of the transition, He is in the 3rd person singular, referred
to either as 'Allāh, 'He', 'He it is who' or 'rabb' in the
form of 'Your/their/his Lord, Lord of. Two related questions should be discussed
here:
While admitting that it is allowable for a speaker to refer to himself in the third person occasionally, Bell-Watt find that the extent to which the Prophet is being told about God as a third person is unusual.[35] Although 'it will be found that much of the Qur'ān is thus placed in the mouth of God speaking in the plural of majesty' (p. 65) they consider that:
difficulties in many passages are removed by interpreting the 'We' of angels rather than of God Himself speaking in the plural of majesty. It is not easy to distinguish between the two and nice questions sometimes arise in places where there is a sudden change from God being spoken of in the third person to 'We' claiming to do things usually ascribed to God, e.g. 6:99b. 25, 45;7. (p. 67)
It is difficult to agree that the 'We', in the two examples Bell-Watt give,
refers to the angels since the acts referred to (bringing forth the planets
and bringing water down from the sky) are definitely ascribed to God in other
parts of the Qur'ān (cf. 50:67, 16:65). Examination of the examples of
iltifāt shows that it is difficult from the grammatical point of
view to conclude - as Bell-Watt seem to do that a part of the statement is spoken
by one person (God) and the rest by another (the angels). Bell-Watt concluded:
'In the later portions of the Qur'ān, it seems to be an almost invariable
rule that the words are addressed by the angels or by Gabriel using the plural
"We" to the Prophet.' No examples are given to substantiate this statement.
Does it include a passage like 'O Messenger, We have sent you' (33:46)? But
we have to understand this in conjunction with Q. 61:9, 'It is He Who sent His
Messenger' - both verses are taken from 'the later portions of the Qur'ān'.
Such a procedure should be applied to any passage that may be cited as spoken
by the angels.
Commenting on Horovitz's observation that all of the Qur'ān must be regarded
as the utterance of God,[36] J. Wansbrough states:
Less dogmatic than Horovitz, Suyūtī adduced five passages in Muslim scripture whose attribution to God was at least disputed: Q. 6:104, 114 were the words of the Arabian Prophet; 19:64 (but curiously, not 19:9, 21 and 51:30) were the words of Gabriel; 37:164-66 were ascribed to the angels; finally verse 4 of the Fātiha may have been uttered by the faithful ('ibād) or could by insertion (taqdīr) of the imperative qulū be attributed to God.[37]
Suyūtī, however, did not consider 6:104, 114 as 'the words
of the Arabian Prophet'. He discussed the five passages at the end of a chapter
entitled fīmā unzil min al-Qur'ān 'alā lisān ba'd
al-sahāba ('on Qur'ānic passages that have been sent down
(revealed), put in the mouth of some of the companions'). The examples include,
for instance, passages introducing institutions such as the hijab for the Prophet's
wives, which `Umar had wished the Prophet would adopt. Suyūtī
introduced the five passages referred to above by saying: yaqrub min hādhā
mā warad fi'l-qur'ān 'alā lisān ghayr'illah, which again
means they were revealed placed on the tongue of other than Allāh. Suyūtī
introduces 6:114 thus: ' kaqawlihi' (i.e. 'as His [God's] saying'), then
comments 'fa-innahu awaradahā aydan 'alā lisānihi'
(i.e. 'He presented this verse also placed on his [the Prophet's] tongue').
The Verse of the Fātiha is an important example of iltifāt
(3rd - 2nd), being the first in the Qur'ān and much quoted.
Before discussing this verse, we must deal with the question of why God is referred
to, and so frequently, in the Qur'ān, in the 3rd person.
The first and most important reason for God's speaking about Himself in the
3rd person relates to the fundamental message of the Qur'ān, which is calling
men to the religion of tawhīd according to which 'there is
no god but Allāh '. The testimony begins with the negation of any other
god, then moves on to except only one, who is named Allāh. No pronoun,
even of the first person, will do here in place of the name.
'Call not upon another god with Allāh, lest you incur punishment' - 26:213.
This is clear in verses that show the contrast between Allāh - in this particular name - and any other assumed deity. In successive verses, for instance (27:60-4) we have a structure such as:
' . . . Who created the heavens and the earth and brought down for you water from the sky. . . another god besides Allāh? Yet they make others equal (to Him).'
The sequence ends with 'Say: " No one in the heavens or on earth has knowledge of the unseen except Allāh".' The Qur'ānic message is meant to be communicated to men naming Allāh as the lord they should serve. Knowledge of the unseen, creation and Judgement are the prerogative of Allāh in the religion of tawhīd and as such frequently accompany His name which is considered in Arabic grammar a'raf al-ma'āirf (the most definite of all definite pro/nouns). Similarly, in the Qur'ān hamd truly belongs to Allāh and it occurs in the text forty odd times together with the name of Allāh or, if it is with His pronoun, comes very soon after the name: in a few cases it combines with rabb (cf. also hudā). The Qur'ān describes Allāh, in His particular name, to believers and non-believers: He does such and such, e.g. 16:65-81; it is He Who.... 16:10-20. Adjectival structures, ordinary or relative, require a noun before them - in this case, Allāh. Such combinations occur frequently in the Qur'ān (e.g. 1:1 4, 59:22 4). The name of Allāh is also used in verses (frequently at the end, commonly introduced by kān) indicating that such is His way, e.g.
'That was Allāh's way with those who passed away of old - and the commandment of Allāh is certain destiny.' (33:38)
' Give . . . before death comes to one of you and he says "Reprieve me, Lord a while". .. But Allāh reprieves no soul when its term comes: Allāh has knowledge of all your actions.' (63:10-1)
The Qur'ān, it should be remembered, is not an autobiography of Allāh
which thus has to be cast wholly in the form of 'I' and 'me'; it is revealed
for men who will speak in their prayers and to each other about Allāh.
It urges the believers: 'Call, then unto Allāh, making your religion His
sincerely, though the unbelievers be averse' (Q. 40:14). It teaches them how
to call upon Him in this way: 
Al-hamdu li'llāh rabbi'l-'ālamin
(40:65). It is not surprising, then, that this comes at the beginning of the
Fātiha to be repeated in the obligatory prayers at least
17 times a day.
It should also be noted that in some verses God is mentioned more than once,
and is depicted from different perspectives so that we have a multiplicity of
viewpoints:
'We suffice you against the mockers who serve another god with Allāh. Certainly they will soon know. We know you are distressed by what they say. Proclaim your Lord: praise and prostrate yourself and worship your Lord until the certain end comes to you.' (15:95-99)
Here God Himself speaks in the 1st person plural of majesty to assure the Prophet:
from the point of view of the mockers, they serve another God beside Allāh;
and from the point of view of the Prophet, he should serve his caring, reassuring
Lord. 'All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies Allāh' (57:1,
59: 1, 61: 1, 62:1, 64: 1). From God's point of view, He proclaims to all that
this is the prerogative of Allāh, shared by no other deity, and believers
read this from their point of view, which is that of glorifying Allāh.
It is important, then, when discussing reference to God in the 3rd person in
the Qur'ān to bear in mind two things: the principle of tawhīd
and the multiplicity of viewpoints observed in the language of the Muslim scripture.
In the following examples of the second category of iltifāt we see
that there is a shift from the 1st person to the 3rd, in which God is referred
to as Allāh or rabb, emphasizing tawhīd, and showing
the multiplicity of viewpoints: 'Eat of the good things wherewith We
have provided you, and render thanks to Allāh if it is He whom you
worship' (2:172).'We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve,
because they ascribe partners to Allāh' (3:151). 'David, We have
appointed you a viceroy in the land; therefore judge between men justly and
follow not caprice lest it leads you astray from the way of Allāh' (38:26).
'We have given you a manifest victory, that Allāh may forgive you,...
that Allāh may help you.' (48:1-3). (In this connexion we should remember
that the Prophet used to repeat astaghfir Allāh.) (Cf. also Q. 4:106,
8:10). Finally: 'We have given you abundance: Pray then to your Lord
and sacrifice to Him - it is he that hates you who is cut off.' (Q. 108).
3. 3rd-2nd person
The shift in most examples of this kind appears to be for the purpose of honouring,
reproach, threat and sometimes request. The first example of iltifāt
in the Qur'ān, much quoted in balāgha books, is of this kind:
verse 4 of the Fātiha, coming after praise in the 3rd person:
'Praise belongs to Allāh, the Lord of all Being, the All-Merciful. the All-Compassionate, the Master of the Day of Judgement. You only we serve, You alone we ask for help.'
Zamakhsharī explains (and he is repeatedly quoted) that when the servant
talks about Allāh Who is worthy of praise, and the great qualities mentioned,
his mind thinks of this great God who is worthy of praise, of full submission
to Him, and whose help should be sought in important matters. The servant then
addresses this distinguished Lord, 'You alone do we worship': after the
introduction which demonstrates that He is truly worthy of being worshipped,
direct address is more indicative of the fact that He is being worshipped for
that distinction.[38]
One may add that the shift to 2nd person is also important here because the
servant is about to ask Him to: 'Guide us . . .'. The 3rd person was suitable
at the beginning to name the Lord Who should be praised and served at the beginning
of the book of tawhīd. No pronoun of any kind would have
served here, and as was said, in Islam praise most truly belongs to that particular
name - Allāh. Honouring by addressing is observed in such examples as those
speaking of the blessed in Paradise: 'Happy in what their Lord has given them
. . . " Eat and drink in health as a reward for what you need to do "'
(Q. 52:18 - 19). The address here is announced without an introduction such
as 'it will be said to them' - a feature of Qur'ānic style known as hadhf
al-qawl which gives a statement immediate and dramatic effect.[39]
Examples of this are found, particularly in the kind of iltifāt
under discussion, to be used for various effects. Thus in 'Their Lord
shall give them to drink a pure draught: this is a reward for you and
your striving is thanked' (Q. 72:22), the address is honorific while'
They say: "The All-Merciful has taken unto Himself a son"; you
have indeed advanced something hideous! . . .'(Q 19:88 ff.), the address is
a threat, as also in Q. 16:55, 36:59. In Q. 2:28. 10:3, 37:25 it is rebuke and
scorn. The effect of iltifāt in such examples is that it makes God
Himself appear in the midst of a situation to address a particular group at
a crucial point.
Shift to 2nd person can be for request as in:
'And your Lord inspired the bees: "Make your homes in the mountains, trees, and what men thatch. Feed on every kind of fruit and follow the ways of your Lord, easy to go upon." From their bellies comes forth a syrup of different hues wherein is healing for men. Surely in this is a sign for those who would give thought.' (Q. 16:68-69)
The switch back to 3rd person in 'from their bellies comes forth . . .' emphasizes to men the wondrous act. In Q. 80:1-3, we have an example of how the Qur'ān revitalizes grammatical forms by drawing attention to them afresh. The passage is clearly addressed to the Prophet as a reproach but it begins by talking about him.
'He frowned and turned away that the blind man came to him. How could you tell? He might have sought to purify himself. . . but to the one who reckons he is self-sufficient you pay attention?'
By merely using the 3rd person at the beginning, God is already expressing
displeasure at what the Prophet did and upbraiding him before all listeners;
turning to the 2nd person after that is in itself a reprimand; the shift is
sudden and powerful. The grammatical concept of 2nd person is here given an
added effect which is maintained in a number of the following verses.
4. 2nd-3rd Person
This is less frequent than the previous three kinds. We have had in 16:69 an
example of how the use of 3rd person expresses wonder and in 80:1 displeasure,
making listeners a witness to this. 16:72 shows a similar effect:
'Allāh has given you spouses from among yourselves and through them has given you sons and grandsons. He has provided you with good things: will they then believe in falsehood and deny Allāh's favours?'
In 47:23 we have:
'If you turned away, would you than haply work corruption in the land and break your bonds of kin? Those are they whom Allāh has cursed . . .'.
The indicative pronoun 'ulā'ika (those) expresses ib'ād li'l-tahqīr (distancing for humiliation). But distancing can also be for honouring, as is recognized in virtually all balāgha books[40] as a feature of Arabic rhetoric. Thus in 30:38 which was cited by Nöldeke, we have an example of honouring:
'That which you give in usury, that it may increase upon the people's wealth, increases not with Allāh; but what you give in alms desiring Allāh's face, those [who do it for the face of God] - they receive recompense manifold!'
Nöldeke also cited 10:22. This reads:
'It is Allāh that conveys you by land and sea, and when you are in the ships - and the ships run with them rejoicing in a favouring wind, a raging tempest overtakes them. Billows surge upon them from every side and they fear they are encompassed by death. They pray to Allāh with all fervour: "Deliver us from this peril and we will be truly thankful." Yet when He does deliver them, they rebel in the earth wrongfully. O Men, your insolence is only against yourselves.'
Here, the shift to 3rd person adds another dimension, making the sea travellers
seem truly helpless, far away, cut off from anyone to aid them except the Lord
they feel they have to turn to. This would have been lost if the verse continued
in the initial second person. Moreover, had the verse continued to address them
in the 2nd person, then listeners to the Qur'ān who sit in the security
of their homes, some never going to sea, would have been less convinced and
less affected. He shifted to addressing them again only when the travellers
had landed and began, in safety, 'to rebel wrongfully'. Moreover, as Arab writers
of tafsīr and balāgha have observed, when He spoke of
the travellers in the 3rd person, He made others witness how they behaved in
their helplessness compared to their subsequent behaviour in safety.
In tafsīr and balāgha hooks writers are moved to high
praise of iltifāt in this verse, which Nöldeke, clearly viewing it
from a purely formal standpoint, failed to appreciate. Nor is this verse an
exception in the Qur'ān: the same idea of seafarers is expressed in 31:31-
2 with iltifāt to 3rd person producing the same effect, and the
theme of helplessness at sea is particularly emphasized in such verses as 17:69,
36:43. 42:32 - 4.
II. Change In Number
The shift here is between singular, dual and plural of which over fifty examples
can be found: 2:34, 38, 40, 106, 123, 217: 7:24, 127, 14:31, 37; 15:49; 16:65;
17:36; 20:37, 40, 41, 81, 124; 22:45; 23:51, 66; 27:84; 29:8, 57; 31:15; 32:13;
34:12, 45; 35:40; 43:32, 69; 46:5; 50:30; 54:17, 22, 32, 40; 55:31; 65:11; 68:44;
69:44; 70:40; 73:12; 74:16, 31; 75:3; 77:39; 90:4; 98:8; 100:11.
In many of these examples it is God that is involved in iltifāt;
the shift to the plural of majesty expresses power with remarkable effect, e.g.:
'No! I swear by the reproachful soul! What, does man reckon We shall not gather his bones? Yes indeed; We are able to shape again his fingers.'(Q. 75:1 - 4)
It is the singular that is fitting for 'I swear'; the sudden shift to the plural
expresses, as it were, multiplicity of power in answer to the pre-Islamic Arabs'
incredulity at the idea of putting scattered bones together again at the resurrection.
The sudden shift recharges the concept of plural as a grammatical form with
its full sense of majesty (see also 55:31. 73:22, 2:40, 13:31, 43:32). The Qur'ān
uses the singular pronoun for God particularly in such contexts as those expressing
worship (yā ib'ādī), prohibition of shirk and wrath; the
use of the singular is clearly important in such contexts, and when there is
a sudden shift to the plural of majesty it sharpens the listener's sense of
the contrast between the two grammatical forms, investing 'we' when it comes
after 'I' with enhanced meaning. The Qur'ān thus revitalizes grammatical
forms (2:32. 14:31, 20:71, 29:8, 31:15).
This type was regarded as yaqrub min al-iltifāt (related to iltifāt)
by such writers as Zarkashī,[41] and Suyūtī.[42]
III. Change Of Addressee
Various addressees within the same or adjacent verses are sometimes spoken to in the Qur'ān. Iltifāt in such verses has the original lexical meaning of actually turning from one direction/person to another. In these examples we normally find the first addressee addressed again with others when there is a request that applies to them all. Thus in 2:144:
'Turn your face towards the Holy Mosque; and wherever you (Muslims) are, turn your faces towards it.'
The Prophet, in answer to his personal prayer to be directed to a new qibla, is requested to turn his face to the mosque in Makka. Then he and all the Muslims are requested to do so wherever they may be. In 10:87 there is more than one shift:
'We revealed to Moses and his brother: " Take you (dual) for your people in Egypt certain houses; and make your (pl.) houses a direction for prayer and perform the prayers; and do thou give good tidings to the believers."'
The second addressee may not have been there at the moment the first was originally spoken to, but a shift is made as when, in the Qur'ān, God addresses Moses and his people. Thus Satan is addressed, when he requests a respite in order to tempt the children of Adam (who were not yet born). He is told:
'Depart (sing.)! Those of them that follow thee - surely Hell will be your (pl.) recompense.'
The shift has a powerful effect: anyone that follows Satan at any time or place
is thus addressed directly by God with this strong warning, rather than merely
being informed that any one of 'them' will meet with such a reward. Although
iltifāt of this kind has its real lexical meaning, it has, in addition,
a rhetorical effect, since a person in the second group of addressees can see
that he is connected with what has been requested of the first addressee, be
it favourable or otherwise. Since the person who is the first addressee is normally
included in the second address, this type meets the condition of iltifāt
mentioned earlier. God as seen in the Qur'ān has access to everybody and
may address them whenever He wishes, as is seen in some examples of this type
of iltifāt in the Qur'ān. Since no distinction is shown in
contemporary English between singular, dual and plural second person pronouns,
in translations of such Qur'ānic passages the shift may go unobserved and
its effect be lost.
Here is a list of over twenty examples of this type: 2:144, 148, 150; 4:109;
5:48; 6:133; 7:3; 10:87; 12:29; 16:2; 17:63; 27:93; 28:35; 29:46; 31:31; 33:4,
19, 51; 39:31; 42:13; 48:9; 58:2; 65:1; 69:18; 73:20.
This category was considered yaqrub min al-iltifāt by such writers
as Suyūtī,[43] Zarkashī,[44] Subkī.[45]
In fact the name iltifāt fits this category well, as it is a turning
from one person to another.
IV. Change In Verb Tense/Mood
A shift to the imperfect tense serves a number of purposes. It may conjure up
an important action to the mind as if it were happening in the present.
'Remember Allāh's favour when there came against you hosts... from above you and below you, when eyes grew wild and hearts reached the throats and you think (wa tazunnūn) vain thoughts about Allāh. There were the believers sorely tried.' (33:10-11)
'He it is Who created you from dust, then from a drop (of seed) then from a clot, then He brings you forth as a child.' (Q. 40:67)
The shift may take place because the second remarkable action continues to happen now:
'He sent down water from the sky . . . and then the earth becomes green upon the morrow.' (Q. 22:63)
'Allāh has made all that is in the earth subservient to you and the ships run upon sea by His command.' (Q. 22:65)
A shift to the perfect tense has the effect of making the act appear already completed, hence its frequent use in talking about the hereafter:
'On the day when We shall set the mountains in motion... and We mustered them (hasharnāhum) . . .'. (Q. 18:47)
'When the trumpet is blown and all in heavens and earth became terrified (fuzi'a).' (Q. 27:87)
A shift from the indicative to the imperative mood highlights a requested act:
'We appointed the House to be a place of visitation for the people, and a sanctuary and: Take to yourselves Abraham's station for a place of prayer!' (Q. 2:125)
'Say: "My Lord has enjoined justice, and set your faces upright (toward Him) at every place of worship!"' (Q. 7:29)
Prayer being a pillar of Islam, the imperative here is more effective than the indicative which gives a piece of information. Similarly, highlighting a good thing is sometimes effectively achieved by a shift from the indicative to the imperative mood:
'.... the fire which has been prepared for the disbelievers, whose fuel is men and stones; and give glad tidings to those who believe and do good works! ' (Q. 2:23-4)
The shift to the imperative bashshir is employed in such other instances
as 36:11, 39:17, 61: 13. In addition to these, there are more examples of category
IV at: 2:25, 125; 7:29; 11:54; 16:11; 18:47; 22:25, 31, 63, 65; 27:87; 33:10;
35:9; 36:33; 39:68; 40:67.
The shift in the tense of the verb was considered iltifāt by Sakkākī,
as mentioned earlier, and also by Ibn al-Athīr.[46] It was considered
related to iltifāt - (yaqrub min al-iltifāt) by other
writers such as Qazwīnī,[47] Zarkashī,[48]
Suyūtī,[49] and al-Hashimī.[50]
What is involved in this and in the earlier types of iltifāt is
the same phenomenon, a grammatical shift for a rhetorical purpose.
V. Change In Case Marker
This category differs from other categories discussed here in three respects:
In spite of these restrictions, examples of this type have been called iltifāt
and, at the very least, we may legitimately recognize that such a construction
has by its very nature the right to be considered in terms of iltifāt.
Zarkashī reports that 2:177 and 4:162 have been considered iltifāt
according to some,[51] and the claim appears to have justification
as a shift is involved, and it appears to be employed for rhetorical effect.
Q. 2:177 counts those who are truly pious, who believe, observe the prayers,
give of their substance, however cherished:
'but the righteous. . . and those who fulfill their covenant (al-mūfūn) when they have one and endure with fortitude (al-sābirīn) misfortune hardship and peril (of conflict), those are they who are true in faith.'
Al-sābirīn is in parallel with al-mūfūn,
which is a nominative, and should therefore be nominative (al-sābirūn),
but there is a shift to the accusative case. How is this to be explained? According
to the reports of Zarkashī, it is iltifāt. As will be seen
below, departure from what is normally expected is done only for a special purpose.
Here it can be seen to emphasize the importance of al-sābirīn.
The need to emphasize the importance of this particular class of people is borne
out by the fact that al-sābirīn is mentioned four times
in the same sūra, being associated particularly with misfortune,
hardship, and the battlefield (2:153, 155, 177, 249). The verse following our
example of iltifāt here speaks of retaliation in homicide, and fighting
comes in the sūra soon after.
While emphasizing the importance of al-sābirīn, the
shift in the case marker does not cause any confusion about the role of the
word involved and its relationship to other parts of the sentence. The case
marker is only one of many (stronger) indications of that relationship, including
the order within a series of conjunctions, the adjectival form in the masculine
plural.[52]
Before we go any further, we would consider other opinions
about the explanation of this type of shift. In this connexion, J. Burton[53]
quotes a hadīth that involves examples discussed here
(4:162).[54]
'Urwah questions: 'A'ishah about a number of verses:
4:162 lākin al-rāsikhūna fī'l'ilm minhum
wa'l-mu'minūna yu'minūna bi-mā unzila ilaika
wa mā unzila min qablika wa'l-muqīmīna
al-Sālat wa'l-mu'tuūna al-zākat wa'l-mu'minūna
bi'llahi wa'l-yawm'l-ākhir ula'ika sanu'tīhim
ajran 'aziman.
5:69 inna 'lladhīna āmanū wa 'lladhīna hādū
wa'l sabi'una
20:63 qālū: inna hādhāni la-sāhirāni
'A'ishah replied: 'That was the doing of the scribes. They wrote it out wrongly.'
Burton does not appear to question the refutation by Muslims of another report
of `Uthmān that speaks of wrong writing, and concentrates on
that of `A'isha, commenting, 'as the isnāds of `A'isha's reports
are sound, the reports themselves could not just be spirited away'[55]
(p. 182). He does not give a source for the soundness of the isnād,
nor for isnāds in general. He gives an account of what Suyūtī
said about the difficulties seen in such reports.[56]
But Suyūtī speaks only of an isnād of 'A'isha's
hadīth which he regards as sound.[57]
This, however is questionable. Suyūtī gives the isnād
as: [58]
Here we have Abū Mu'āwiya as a link in the isnād, and
he has been weakened by such hadīth scholars as Tirmidhī,
Ibn Hanbal and al-Hākim in a way that makes it difficult
to consider the hadīth sound;[59] it is moreover
not included in any of the authoritative al-kuttab al-sitta.[60]
In his article, Burton discusses three verses: 2:177; 4:162; 5:69. In the case
of 2:177, he gives a lengthy report on the various opinions of Muslim authors
on wa'l-sābirīn (which, incidentally, does not occur
in 'A'isha's hadīth, which he quotes). These opinions can
be divided into the following categories.[61]
No. 4 amounts to the same thing as iltifāt: a grammatical shift
for a rhetorical purpose. No. 3 has the same intention but 4 is preferable since
it does not require implying such things as an omitted verb like amdah.
The second example given by Zarkashī as iltifāt in case marker
is Q. 4 162.
'But those of them that are firmly rooted in knowledge, and the believers . . . that perform the prayer and pay the alms. . .'
The shift (from nominative to accusative again) occurs here with those 'that perform the prayer' (wa'l-muqīmīn). Highlighting prayer here is understandable in the light of the fact that prayer is mentioned nine times in sūra 4, including a long passage about its importance in war, peculiar to this sūra, and how the hypocrites perform it languidly (43:77, 101-3, 142, 167). Here again Burton has detailed the views of Muslim scholars in connexion with the verse,[62] which can be summarized as follows:
No. 4 is less likely to be the case as it requires taqdīr or separation
of the noun from the preposition that governs it. No. 2 is the more plausible
explanation and it has the same function as that suggested for iltifāt.
Zamakhsharī, whose views on this verse are not included in the account
Burton gives of the views of Muslim authors, recognized the rhetorical effect,
rejecting any claim that it was a case of grammatical error in the written text
of the Qur'ān, a claim which, in his opinion, could be advanced only by
someone who did not read through al-kitāb, and did not know the
ways of the Arabs in their speech, particularly in their use of the accusative
case for singling something out.[64]
Similar to Q. 2:177 and 4:162, which Zarkashī reported were considered
iltifāt by some, is Q. 5:69, which is the last of the three verses
discussed by Burton.
'Those who believe and those who are Jews, and Sabaeans and Christians - whosoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good work - there shall no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve'
Sābi'ūn appears to he a coordinate with the accusative nouns before it and should accordingly have been accusative, but it is nominative. Here again there is another (if less common) reading wa'l-sābi'īn making it accusative with no shift. Muslim scholars have expressed various views to explain the nominative sābi'ūn. Burton has given an extensive report of these grammatical views. Some, for instance, see the nominative as justifiable because when inna is followed by an invariable noun (here al-ladhina), a following noun in conjunction could either be accusative governed by inna, or nominative, canceling the government of inna.[65] Rāzī prefers this view. Others see the nominative as marking a fresh sentence, with an unexpressed predicate, i.e.: wa'l-sābi'ūn kadhālik in the sense that those who believe, the Jews, the Christians, those who believe in God and the Last Day and do good work shall not fear nor shall they grieve, and this also applies to the sābi'ūn. As Khalīl and Sibawaih put it (Burton p. 193).
The sābi'ūn have not been co-ordinated with the foregoing groups to bring out that, of all the groups mentioned, they are the most forward. The intended effect of the verse is something like: 'God will accept repentance from these groups, should they believe and do good works and He will wash away their sins, so that even the sābi'ūn will be treated in this manner if they too believe'.
Burton remarks that men who knew the Qur'ān by heart could make the mental comparison between this verse and Q. 2:62, and we may also add Q 22: 17 - in both of these, sābi'īn is in the accusative in a sequence of accusatives, thus giving rise to no question such as we have in Q. 5:69.
Burton continues (p. 189):
There does not appear to be anything in the grammatical structure of the two contexts that would adequately explain the differing inflections assumed by the same word: sābi'īn/ūn
Rāzī has, in fact, made the comparison between the three verses: Burton ends his article by remarking (p. 196) that:
placing Q. 5:69 alongside Q. 2:62 and Q. 22:17: . . . Rāzī argues that God Most High must have had His reasons for the distinctions between the inflections of the verses. Were we capable of fathoming those reasons, we should indeed have achieved perfection. When we admit that we are incapable of divining those reasons, we recognize the weakness of our human intellects, not any weakness in the Divine Word.
Rāzī's Arabic version is:
It appears from Burton's translation that Rāzī is of the view that
we are incapable of perceiving the reasons for these divine variations. In fact,
Rāzī preferred the view of Farra' for justifying the nominative. This
preference, however, is not specifically attributed to Rāzī in Burton's
article (which would have made Rāzī's view clear), but is merely given
as 'now seen to be preferable' (p. 194).[66]
It was also Rāzī who refuted Zamakhsharī's view that a noun coordinated
with inna and its ism could be made nominative only after the
predicate had been expressed, but again this refutation was not clearly attributed
to Rāzī in Burton's article. Rāzī, moreover, included the
views of other Muslim authors which Burton also included. Thus Rāzī
and other Muslims have produced explanations for the shift. In fact, closer
reading of Rāzī's statement quoted above gives a different view from
that presented by Burton:
Since the speaker has the most perfect judgement, these variations must have their sound reasons and benefits; if we are able to understand those reasons we will attain (the desired) perfection (in understanding these matters) but if we fail, we should attribute any failure to the shortcomings of our perception rather than blame them on the speech of the Most Wise.
Thus, it is not 'His [God's] reasons' but 'their sound reasons',
the word fawa'id 'benefits' was left out in Burton's version and obviously
these benefits are for men, not God, and it is not the hypothetical 'were
we capable of fathoming those reasons', but the open conditional 'if
we are able to understand' - the conditional particle Rāzī used
is in, not law. He used in again, in 'if we fail',
not 'when', implying that scholars try and some succeed in attaining
the desired perfection of understanding. He himself has preferred one opinion
Rāzī is simply being modest in not asserting categorically that his
opinion is right - which is traditional in Islamic religious scholarship.
As regards Burton's statement that 'there does not appear to be anything in
the grammatical structure of the. . . contexts that would adequately explain
the differing inflections', if we look beyond the grammatical structure to the
semantic context of the situation in 5:69, it is, in fact, different from those
of 2:62 and 20:17. Before this verse we read:
O People of the Book: you do not stand on anything, until you perform the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to you from your Lord. (Q. 5:68)
In 5:65 after reporting grave misdeeds of the People of the Book, it goes on:
If the People of the Book would believe and be Godfearing, surely We should remit their sins and admit them to Gardens of Bliss.
Likewise Q. 5:73-3 reads:
They are unbelievers who say 'God is one of three in a trinity': for there is no god except one God. If they desist not from their word, verily a grievous penalty will befall the unbelievers. Will they not turn to God and seek his forgiveness, for God is all-forgiving, all-compassionate.
Thus, before and after 5:69 the importance of true belief and good deeds are stressed: in spite of any straying, even by the sābi'ūn, those who return to true belief and good work shall not fear or grieve. The context of 2:62 and 22:17 is quite different from this. Judging from the context of the situation, then, sābi'ūn in 5:69 could be said to require highlighting in the way suggested by Zamakhsharī, Khalīl and Sībawaih:[67] even the Sābi'ūn will be forgiven if they believe. . . others will the more readily be forgiven, the Sābi'ūn being of all the categories listed the most clearly astray. According to this opinion, sābi'ūn has been singled out by a shift in the case marker for special effect. In this case it would not differ from 2:177 and 4:162, both of which had been understood as iltifāt.
VI. Using A Noun In Place Of A Pronoun
This is a substantial category of which I have recorded well over a hundred
examples from the Qur'ān; in fact there are many more. Writers on balāgha
place it along with iltifāt under the broader heading of al-khurūj
'alā muqtadat'l-zāhir (departure from what is normally
expected).[68] In both there is actually a departure of one kind
or another, be it in person, number, addressee, case, reference (noun/pronoun),
or tense/mood of a verb. There is no difference between replacing a pronoun
by a noun for special effect and replacing 1st person by the 2nd, or singular
by plural, for a similar effect. The condition of iltifāt obtains
in the present category since the person is the same in the noun used and the
pronoun it has replaced. To that extent, there is no reason to treat examples
of this category in the Qur'ān differently from those treated under iltifāt
and related features. In fact, when Zarkashī was discussing the reasons
for iltifāt and giving examples to illustrate his point he included
an example[69] involving the use of a noun in place of a pronoun
(Q. 44:4-6). This category comprises the following: 2:59, 60, 64, 105, 107,
109, 112, 115, 153, 157, 207; 3:5; 4:26, 27, 28, 32, 80, 81, 84, 87, 88, 92,
94, 95, 99, 100, 103, 104, 106, 110, 113, 176; 5:39, 40, 54, 83, 97, 98; 6:1,
21; 8:13; 12:87, 90: 13:2, 3; 14:1, 6, 11, 20, 21, 25, 27, 34, 47, 51; 16:18,
19, 84; 17:22; 19:19, 56, 69, 91, 92, 93; 20:130; 21:39; 22:31 58, 60, 61, 62,
72, 78, 23:27, 58, 59; 24:38. 62, 64; 25:17; 28:64, 56, 68, 70, 75, 87, 29:5,
10, 20, 45, 63; 32:3; 33:2, 13, 17, 25, 50; 35:3, 28; 38:4, 26, 27; 39:2, 3,
22; 40:6, 21, 44; 41:27; 42:5, 47, 49, 53; 46:11; 47:4; 57:9, 21, 29; 59:18;
60:1; 61:13; 63:1, 9; 67:11; 74:31; 110:3.
A large number of the examples involve substituting the name of Allāh (sometimes
rabb) for His pronoun. Thus: 'To Allāh belongs the East and the
West; whithersoever you turn there is the face of Allāh; Allāh
is all-embracing, all-knowing' (1:115). Instead of 'His face' and 'He is' we
have the name, which is more important than the pronoun; it makes the matter
explicitly exclusive to Allāh. Stating the name of Allāh, moreover,
in the three successive statements makes each of them absolute, independent
and quotable. This is a common feature in the language of the Qur'ān appropriate
to a book which asserts that it is the word of God for all times and places.
A great many verses end with such absolute, independent, quotable statements
as: 'Allāh has power over all things', 'Allāh is all-hearing, all-knowing'.
'Allāh is with the stead-fast', 'Allāh is merciful, compassionate',
and the like. Such endings give the statements force and conclusiveness. There
are moreover, certain words in the Qur'ān that tend to collocate specifically
with the noun Allāh (and less frequently with rabb) rather than
with the pronoun. We have already mentioned al-hamd (praise);
other such words are: fadl (bounty), rizq (provision),
sabīl (the way), ajal (the term set by Allāh), ba'th
(resurrection) and, to a certain extent, huda (guidance). This
collocation highlights exclusivity, and contrast with other than Allāh
is normally implied.
When a derived (mushtaqq) noun is used instead of a pronoun, it indicates
causality. Thus in Q. 38:27:
'We have not created the heaven and earth and all that is between them in vain. That is the opinion of those who disbelieve, and woe to those who disbelieve from Hell-fire.'
Repeating the noun (lilladhīna kafaru), instead of using a pronoun (lahum) indicates that their disbelief is the cause of their opinion and their doom. Indication of causality in such cases is expressed in Islamic jurisprudence in the formula:
'Linking the judgement/proposition to a derived noun (rather than to a pronoun) indicates the causality of the derivational origin.'
A frequently quoted example of the technique of using a noun in place of a pronoun is Q. 33:50:
'O Prophet, We have made lawful for you . . . and a believing woman, if she gives herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to take her in marriage, this is for you only, not for the rest of the believers.'
'- if she gives herself "to the Prophet" rather than "to you".' This restricts the ordinance to the person of the Prophet, emphasized by the repetition of the Prophet'. Q. 110:2-3 gives us two examples of this technique.
'When Allāh's help and victory come, and you see men entering the religion of Allāh in throngs, then proclaim the praise of your Lord. . .'
In 'the religion of Allāh' in place of 'His' there is emphasis and contrast
with the religion of others, 'the praise of your Lord' instead of 'His' reminds
the Prophet at the time of victory of the care of his Lord and echoes the request
made repeatedly early in his career: 'Be thou patient under the judgement of
your Lord' and 'proclaim the praise of your Lord'. (Q. 15:98, 52:48; 68:48).
Iltifāt And Related Features: A Characteristic Of The
Style Of The Qur'ān
There are examples of iltifāt in pre-Islamic Arabic. Indeed nearly
all authors on iltifāt as well as early writers on the Qur'ān,
and Zamakhsharī in his tafsīr who was frequently quoted by
subsequent authors, state that it is a well-known feature in Arabic, well established
in pre-Islamic poetry. Yet even what these authors themselves say makes it clear
that the extent and variety of iltifāt in the Qur'ān goes far
beyond what they have cited in poetry. Even Ibn al-Athīr, whose book was
not on the Qur'ān but on adab al-kātib wa'l-sha'ir, recognized
this:
If you examine the text of the Qur'ān you will find much iltifāt (ashya' kathīra); something of this (shay' min dhālik) is also found in poetry.[70]
The overwhelming majority of his examples are from the Qur'ān. The lists
included above give a clear picture of the extent of the feature in the Qur'ān.
As was said earlier, it has been suggested that almost all examples of iltifāt
in the Qur'ān are to be found in the Makkan sūras. This is
not so. As is clear from the lists provided, sūra 2 (which was revealed
over a long period in Madina) contains many instances of iltifāt
(see also sūras 6 and 8). Even in a very late, very short, Madinan
sūra (110) we find iltifāt.
As God speaks in the Qur'ān, He is seen to have access to everybody present
or absent, in time (past or future) and place. We have seen in examples of type
I (iltifāt in person) how God addressed generations not yet born
(to warn them against following Satan, for instance). Only limited kinds of
iltifāt can be expected in poetry, as is observed in examples quoted
in balāgha books: Imru' al-Qays's lines, for instance, are a form
of monologue. This may be partly explained by the fact that, with a few exceptions,
such as the poetry of 'Umbar b. Abī Rabī'a, there is very little dialogue
in Arabic poetry. God also speaks about Himself in various ways:
'A book We have sent down to thee that thou mayst bring forth mankind from darkness to light by the leave of their Lord to the path of the All-Might, the All-laudable, Allāh, to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth.' (Q. 14:2)
Here we have various aspects, shown in italics each with a shift - either in
number person or reference (noun in place of pronoun). In the Qur'ān Allāh
speaks to the Prophet, the believers, the unbelievers, and sometimes
to things; and He speaks about them, sometimes commenting on or addressing
them at an important point with approval or disapproval. He informs, orders,
prohibits, urges, reprimands, promises or warns, all with reference to this
world and the next. The limits of a Qur'ānic verse are different from those
of an ordinary sentence and many encompass a number of sentences, with different
persons, with Allāh at the centre of the situation with access to all,
speaking from the viewpoint of various aspects of His Godhead about the various
persons/things or talking to them from their multiple viewpoints - this can
hardly be expected in poetry. Qur'ānic material is complex and dense: in
addition to al-jumla'l-khabariyya (declarative statements) there is an
unusually high frequency of al-jumla'l-inshā'iyya (affective statements).
All this facilitates the frequent use of iltifāt and its related
features.
The use of direct speech is, moreover, an obvious feature of the style of the
Qur'ān: so is the omission of the introductory 'he says'. Thus God addresses
bees (16:68-9) and mountains (34:10) for instance. The use of the direct speech
of the unbelievers in the Qur'ān is important as it records exactly what
they utter so that they may be judged by what they themselves have professed
rather than by what anybody has reported (see for instance 22:51-69, 26:16-31).
Such techniques frequently give rise to the employment of iltifāt.
We have also seen how for various theological and rhetorical reasons, certain
words collocate with others in the Qur'ān; and how the principle of tawhīd
and the technique of contrast, the multiplicity of viewpoints, the use of independent,
quotable statements, together all affect grammatical forms and give rise to
shifts in these which could not be expected in other Arabic poetry or prose,
not even the hadīth of the Prophet or hadīth
Qudsi.[71]
As can be attested by examining the Arabic text of the Qur'ān and books
on balāgha and tafsīr such as those by `Abd
al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī and Zamakhsharī, for instance, there
are two general features that mark the use of language in the Qur'ān conciseness
of statement, and the loading of economical statement with maximum effect. These,
together with the other factors mentioned, account for the high frequency of
the employment of iltifāt, and its related features.
The Place Of Iltifāt And Related Features In Balāgha
Books
In balāgha hooks, this phenomenon is normally discussed under `ilm
al-mā`anī, for instance, by Sakkākī
and Qazwīnī and modern writers. Some classical authors, however, treated
it under `ilm al-badī', as did al-Tībī,
placing it under tahsīn ma'nawī (semantic refinement/enhancement),
as opposed to tahsīn lafzī (verbal embellishment).
Sakkākī mentioned it briefly under badī' and referred
to his earlier discussion under mā'anī. Suyūtī
treats iltifāt as a type of badī' in the Qur'ān.
The former (mā`anī school) saw it as a departure
from what is normally expected, a type of khurūj al-kalām 'alā
muqtada'l-zāhir. This represents a formal viewpoint.
The latter (badī' school), on the other hand, looked at it as the
effect of rhetorical shift - that is, semantic enhancement - as observed in
Tībī's analysis. This represents a functional viewpoint. The
discussion of iltifāt is, however, the same in both schools, and
the difference is merely one of a heading. Authors of balāgha books
recognize that a speaker departs from what is normally expected only 'for considerations
required by the situation in certain contexts', as Al-Hāshimī puts
it:[72]
Meeting this requirement of the context is the central issue in `ilm
al-mā`anī. The 'semantic enhancement' as viewed
in badī'' is rather general; departure from what is normally expected
for considerations seen by the speaker, as viewed in mā`anī,
is more specific and to the point. In the final analysis, what various authors
discuss under fawā'id al-iltifāt[73] are detailed
examples of semantic enhancement and the considerations seen by the speaker.
The Functions Of Iltifāt And Its Related Features
As we have seen, iltifāt and the related features discussed above
involve a grammatical shift. They are discussed in mā`anī,
under the general heading of khurūj al-kalām 'alā muqtada'l-zāhir.
Departure from what is expected is done li'qtida' al-hal lidhalik
li-'urūd i'tibār ākhar altaf min dhālik al-zāhir[74]
(because the situation requires such departure, to meet a consideration more
subtle than is normally expected). Departure from the normal without benefit
is forbidden in balāgha mumtani' fi bāb al-balāgha.[75]
Ibn al-Athīr explains that the shift from one form to another is done only
when it is required for some special reason: al-'udūl 'an sīgha
min al-alfāz ilā ukhrā lā yakūn illā li-naw'
khusūsiyya iqtadat dhālik.[76]
With every shift, then, it is natural to ask the reason for such a departure
from the norm. Thus Muslim writers on iltifāt normally include a
section on asbāb/fawā'id al-iltifāt (the reasons
for/beneficial effects of iltifāt). Zamakhsharī[77]
who presents the material in his tafsīr mainly in a question and
answer format introduced by 'If you said why? how? etc....', ' I would say ...',
gives a threefold answer to explain iltifāt:
This explanation was copied, nearly always verbatim, by subsequent authors.
The general observation about the Arabs' habit of seeking to raise the interest
of the listener made by Zamakhsharī in connexion with Imru' al-Qays's lines
was taken unfairly by some authors as representing the reason given by writers
of balāgha for iltifāt. Such authors then retorted that
this could not be the reason, since there are long stretches of material without
iltifāt.[78] Zamakhsharī, was not of course, setting
out to write a chapter on iltifāt, but dealing with examples as
he met them in his tafsīr, and offering eloquent elucidation of
the powerful effect of iltifāt in such examples.
Zarkashī presents a representative section on the asbāb of
iltifāt (pp. 325- 33). After referring to the general benefit of
raising interest and the objections levelled at this by some authors, he gives
examples of specific benefits. There is, for instance, the intention to honour
the addressee, as in Q. 1:4; adding a useful piece of information contained
in a noun used in place of a pronoun (44:6); showing others by a change from
2nd to 3rd person how badly the original addressees have behaved, so that they
are turned away from (10:22); the explicit indication by the speaker, through
change from 1st singular to 1st plural, that the action is exclusively his (35:9);
showing a particular interest in something at which the shift takes place (41:
12) and reproving by suddenly turning to address someone you have been talking
about (19:99).
Muslim writers on balāgha and tafsīr and Arab literary
critics who discussed examples of iltifāt in the Qur'ān (including
those cited by Nöldeke and mentioned at the beginning of this article)
showed the beneficial points and powerful effect of iltifāt. It
should be pointed out that the finer points of certain types of iltifāt
may not appear in the translation of the Qur'ān into a European language
(like English or German) which naturally differs from Arabic in certain aspects
of style. This, however, is a problem of translation for which solution should
be sought. We are here concerned with Qur'ānic material in Arabic and a
feature of style of the Arabic language in general. It was suggested earlier
that Nöldeke viewed the examples he cited from a purely formal, grammatical
standpoint. As has been observed, he did not mention the term iltifāt
in discussing the examples he cited. Recognizing that the feature under discussion
is very old in Arabic (and is still used in modern Arabic),[79] has
a technical name and countless examples, and recognizing further that a shift
or departure from what is normally expected for no reason is inadmissible (mumtani')
in balāgha, Arab critics, rhetoricians and exegetes have, on the
other hand, considered the rhetorical purpose and explained the powerful effect
of the grammatical shift.
References
[1] Strassburg, Verlag von Karl J Trübner, 1910.
[2] R. Paret, The Cambridge History Of Arabic Literature, I (1983), 205.
[3] According to the numbering system used in the Egyptian edition of the Qur'ān which I follow, this is 7:57; similarly there is a slight difference in some other numbers; but as I include the Arabic version of citations there is no risk of confusion.
[4] al-Jāmi' al-Kabīr fi Sinā'at al-Manzūm min al-Kalām wa'l Manthūr, (ed.) M. Jawād and J. Sa`īd (Iraq, 1956), 98.
[5] See for instance al-Tibyān fi `ilm al-Ma'ānī wa'l-badī' wa'l-bayān, Husayn b. Muhammad al-Tībī (743/1342), (Baghdad, 1987), 284-8; al-Idāh fī'ulūm al-Balāgha, by M. M. A. al-Qazwīnī (793/1338) (Cairo, 1971), 43-5.
[6] This was a general practice for centuries, in writing textbooks on various subjects in Arabic, and not just balāgha where some striking examples were simply copied by successive writers who found these age-old examples adequate and saw no need to depart from them.
[7] al-Mathal al-Sā'ir fī adab al-Kātib wa'l shā'ir, II (ed.) M. M. `Abd al-Hamid (Cairo, 1933), 4-19: al-Jāmi` a'l-Kabīr fi Sinā'at al-Manzūm min al-Kalām wa'l Manthūr (Baghdad. 1956), 98-105.
[8] A. Matlūb, Muj'am al-Mustalahat al-Balāghiyya wa-tatawwurha, I (Baghdad, 1983), 302.
[9] al-Itqān fī `ulūm al-Qur'ān, III (Cairo, 1967), 253-9.
[10] al-Burhān fī `ulūm al-Qur'ān, III (Cairo, 1958), 314-37.
[11] Abū `Alī, M: Dirāsat fī'l-Balāgha, (Amman 1984), 127.
[12] See Ibn al-Athīr, al-Mathal al-sa'īr, II, 4.
[13] The famous al-Arba'īn of Nawawi, for instance (Beirut 1976).
[14] Qur'ānic Studies: Sources & Methods Of Scriptural Interpretation (Oxford 1977), 227-46.
[15] op cit., 249-51.
[16] Bell's Introduction To The Qur'ān: Completely Revised & Enlarged By W. Montgomery Watt, Islamic Surveys, Edinburgh University Press, 1970, 79-85.
[17] EI (2nd ed.) V, 419-21.
[18] op cit., 196-20.
[19] Abū Hilāl al-'Askarī, Kitab al-Sinā'atayn (Cairo, 1952), 392.
[20] See Al-Bāqillānī, M. b. T: I'jāz al-Qur'ān, (ed.) S. A. Saqr (Cairo, n.d.), 149-51.
[21] See Ma'āni'l-Qur'ān, I (Cairo, 1955) 60; Majāz al-Qur'ān, II (Cairo, 1954), 139; Ta'wīl mushkil al-Qur'ān, (Cairo, 1954), 223; al-Kāmil, II (Cairo, 1936), 729.
[22] Naqd al-shi'r (Cairo, 1963), 167.
[23] al-Sinā'atayn (Cairo, 1952), 392.
[24] Kashshāf, I (Beirut, 1967), 62-5 et passim.
[25] Miftāh al-`ulūm (Cairo, 1937), 95, 118.
[26] al-Mathal al-sā'ir, II (Cairo, 1939), 4.
[27] al-Burhān, III, 314-15.
[28] al-Burhān fī wujūh al-Bayān (Baghdad. 1967), 152.
[29] al-Badi' fī al-sā'ir (Cairo, 1960), 200.
[30] al-Risāla al-'asjadiyya (Tunis, 1976), 146.
[31] al-Fawā'id fi mushkil al-Qur'ān (Kuwait, 1967), 16: al-Kāshif 'an I'jāz al-Qur'ān (Baghdad, 1974) 100; see also Tibī, op. cit., 287. In A Tenth Century Document Of Arabic Literary Theory & Criticism (1950, 140) C. V. Grünebaum observes: 'Goldziher registers talawwun as a synonym of iltifāt. Talawwun in later usage is however a form of verse which allows the verse to he read in accordance with various meters.' The treatment given above shows that Goldziher was correct.
[32] See Zarkashī's Burhān, III, 31-2; al-Suyūtī, Itqān, III, 257.
[33] If we compare the use or pronoun here to that in other types, we can observe the contrast between the use of the 3rd person - abstract power, the 1st person plural - aesthetic power, and the 1st person singular - personal feeling, the shift emphasizing the quality of each.
[34] M. Sa'rān, al-Lugha wa'l-mujtama' (Cairo, 1963), 139-58.
[35] Bell's Introduction To The Qur'ān, 66.
[36] Koranische Untersuchungen (Leipzig, 1926), 5.
[37] Qur'ānic Studies, 14.
[38] Zamakhsharī, Kashshāf, I (Beirut, Dar al-ma'rifa, n.d. ), 64-5.
[39] Zarkashī, Burhān, III, 196; M, Abdel Haleem.'Al-Sayyāb: a study of his poetry', in R C Ostle (ed.) Studies In Modern Arabic Literature (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1975), 78-9.
[40] See for instance Qazwīnī, op cit., 26-7; A. al-Hāshimī, Jawāhir al-balāgha (Beirut, 1986), 129.
[41] op cit., 234.
[42] op cit., 258.
[43] op cit., 258.
[44] op cit., 334-5.
[45] Shurūh al-talkhīs (Cairo: Al-Halabi
& Co., 1937), 492.
[46] al-Mathal al-sā'ir, II, 13-19.
[47] op cit., 46-7.
[48] op cit., 336.
[49] op cit., 258-9.
[50] op cit., 241-2.
[51] al-Burhān, III, 325.
[52] See Hassān, T., al-Lugha'l- 'arabiyya mabanāhā
wa-ma'nāhā (Cairo, 1976), 233-40.
[53] 'Linguistic errors in the Qur'ān',
Journal of Semitic Studies, XXX, 2, 1988, 181-96.
[54] ibid., 181. Burton quotes another hadīth: 'When the copies
of the revelations which he had ordered to be made were submitted to him, `Uthmān
noted several irregularities. "Do not change them", he ordered, the
Arabs will change (or will correct them) as they recite".'
This, however does not involve any of our examples of iltifāt at
all and Burton gives an account (p. 182) of what Suyūtī said
[Suyūtī, op. cit., II, 270] about the difficulties seen in
that reports. Suyūtī then goes on to deal with the reports.
[55] The way Suyūtī, Tabarī and other Muslim scholars
dealt with such material testifies to their moral and academic integrity. There
was no attempt to ignore, 'spirit away', suppress or restrict the circulation
of any reports, however sound or fabricated, even when they were considered
absurd and even when they questioned fundamental matters of the Qur'ān.
[56] We should add to that Tabarī's comment that 'Ubayy's mushaf,
written by a different hand, in coinciding with the reading of our text shows
what is in our mushaf to be correct.' Tafsīr,
xi (ed.) M. M. Shākir (Cairo, n.d.), 394.
[57] op cit., 269, 272.
[58] op. cit, 395. See also Tabarī's Tafsīr,
9, 395.
[59] See Dhahabī: Mīzān al-i'tidāl,
VI, (ed.) A. M. and F. A. Al-Bijāwī (Cairo, 1963), 249, Ibn Rajah,
Sharh 'ilal al-Tirmidhī (Baghdad,
1369/1949), 347-9.
[60] See also criticism of the reports by M. A. Zarqānī: Manāhīl
al'irfān fī `ulūm al-Qur'ān (3rd ed. Cairo n.d.),
386-96.
[61] art. cit., 183-6.
[62] art cit. 186-8.
[63] It includes Hammad b. Salama and Aban b. `Uthmān: see Sharh
'ilal al-Tirmidhī, (ed.) S. J Al-Hamīd (Baghdad, 1396/1976),
347-9; for a general discussion, see also Tabarī's Tafsīr,
(ed.) M. M. Shāker (Cairo, n.d.) IX, 395-9.
[64] Kashshāf, I, 631-2.
[65] Or by reason of original grammatical structure before inna was introduced.
[66] Tafsīr, VI, part 12, 55.
[67] See Burton, 192-3.
[68] Qazwīnī, 42 6: Al-Hāshimī, 239-42.
[69] op. cit. 392.
[70] al-Mathal al-sā'ir, II, 9.
[71] I have checked Forty Hadith Qudsī,
selected and translated by E. Ibrahim and D. Johnson Davies (Damascus, 1980).
Interestingly, God speaks throughout in the first person singular pronoun.
[72] op. cit., 239.
[73] See Zarkashī, 355 ff.
[74] Al-Maghribī's commentary on Talkhīs
al-Miftāh, see Shurūh
al-talkhīs, I (Cairo Al-Halabi, 1937), 448.
[75] ibid., II, 57.
[76] al-Mathal al-sā'ir, II, 14.
[77] Kashshāf, I (Beirut Dār al-ma'rifa,
n.d.), 62-4.
[78] See an example referred to in Zarkashī's Burhān,
III, 326-8.
[79] Najib Mahfouz, the distinguished Arab novelist and winner of the Nobel
prize for literature in 1988 does so frequently in his novels written after
his naturalistic phase, where he uses the 'stream of consciousness' technique.
See H. El-Sakkout, The Egyptian Novel & Its Main
Trends 1913-1952, (Cairo: American University of Cairo Press, 1970),
115, 141.