Two subjects for one action
The suspicion of bringing two agents for one action (1)
The origin of this suspicion
is the Almighty’s saying: (Their hearts are distracted, and
those who do wrong whisper, “Is this not a human being like you? Then do you practice magic while you see?”) (2). Their evidence in this verse is the combination of: “and they whisper,” “those who do wrong,” because they asserted that the “waw” in “they whispered” is the agent, just as they asserted that “those” in “those who do wrong” is also the agent.
And since every action requires only one agent, they shouted at the top of their voices, saying:
The Qur’an made a mistake by making two agents for one action?!
The response to the doubt:
The Sheikh of the rhetorical interpreters, Imam Jar Allah Mahmoud bin Omar Al-Zamakhshari, said: “Those who wronged replaced the ‘waw’ with ‘wa-asraw’ to indicate that they are the ones who are known for their gross injustice in what they kept secret.
Or it came in the language of those who said: The fleas ate me.
Or it is in the accusative case of blame.
Or it is a subject whose predicate is ‘wa-asraw an-najwa’ which was presented before it and the meaning is:
These people kept secret. So the apparent was placed in the place of the implicit to record their action as injustice (3).
The Imam - may God have mercy on him - mentioned four opinions in explaining this structure, all of which are correct and eloquent:
The first: That ‘those who wronged’ is a replacement for each of each of the meaning of the ‘waw’ in ‘wa-asraw’ because it is a group waw meaning the collection.
The second: That it came in the language of some Arab tribes, which combine the pronoun if it is the subject and what it explains.
Accordingly, the noble hadith came: [Angels take turns among you at night, and angels during the day] (4).
The third: That it is in the accusative case of blame. ... on the assumption of an omitted verb, which is: I blame or single out those who were unjust for blame.
Fourth: That it is the subject, and what precedes it is a predicate of it, i.e. those who were unjust whispered secretly.
As for what necessitated presenting its predicate before it, “they whispered secretly,” it is to record against them the ugliness and obscenity of their injustice. All of this is good speech of the utmost value.
Imam Al-Shawkani repeats what Imam Jar Allah - may Allah have mercy on him - said and adds something new to what he said, and from this new thing: “those who were unjust” is the subject of an omitted verb, the estimation of which is: those who were unjust say.
Then he cites another verse from the Book of Allah, which is the saying of the Almighty: (Then many of them became blind and deaf) (5).
The verse combines the pronoun, which is “and” in “blind” and “deaf,” and the apparent noun “many.” He
also mentioned the poet’s saying:
But the diaspora of his father and mother
in Hauran squeezes the salt of his relatives (6)
. The witness is in the verse where the poet, who is an eloquent Arab, uses his words to argue between the feminine nun in “they squeeze” which is the subject of “squeezes” and the apparent noun “his relatives” and there is only one verb in the speech for which one subject is sufficient (7).
There are other schools of thought on the issue, including:
* That “those who wronged” is the subject, while “waw” is the sign of the plural of the subject and nothing else, and that the Arabs used to do that even in the dual, so they would say:
Your two brothers stood up. As those who adopted this school of thought cited the poet’s saying:
They blame me for buying the palm trees
, my people, so they all isolate
where he combined the “waw” in “they blame me” with the apparent noun in “my people” (8).
This is what the commentators and some grammarians said about this construction and its interpretation in several aspects of validity. Without them having knowledge that some people will come and say the same as what the instigators of these doubts said, with their compound ignorance of the language of revelation and its expressive and rhetorical characteristics, and they are commoners or semi-commoners in it.
In conclusion:
What was presented in response to this doubt shows you the extent to which these extremists have gone too far in their attacks on the Qur’an, and who are excessive in showing hatred and attacking it. They are like someone who wants to cross an ocean in a boat made of “reeds”, without having a deterrent from themselves to save their dignity if there is any on their faces.
Before we bid farewell to the discussion in response to what they raised about the verse, we add two additions to what the imams mentioned in terms of rhetorical guidance:
One of them: In the methods of the science of semantics, which is one of the three sciences of rhetoric (semantics - rhetoric - invention), there is a method that those who raise these doubts know nothing about, which is what rhetoricians call “rhetorical resumption.”
The rule of this method is that a sentence of speech comes before it that raises a subtle question in the mind of the listener that creeps into his soul or flows like water in a green branch, then another sentence comes to answer that question, which has no image in the speech. Rather, it flashes like a ray in the mind of the listener. Examples of it in the Qur’an include:
(And We decreed for him that matter: that the root of these people will be cut off in the morning) (9). So the sentence “that the root of these people will be cut off in the morning” is an answer to a question that can be estimated as: What is that matter that God decreed? (10).
And similar to it is the Almighty’s saying: “Then Satan whispered to him, saying, ‘O Adam, shall I direct you to the tree of immortality and a kingdom that will not decay?’” (11).
The phrase “Satan whispered to him” raised a pleasant question in the soul: “What did Satan say to Adam?” The answer was:
“He said, ‘O Adam, shall I guide you to the tree of immortality and a kingdom that will not decay?’”
This is the rhetorical resumption according to rhetoricians, which is – once again – “
the revelation of a revealed sentence as an answer to a question contained in the sentence before it.”
The verse before us: “And those who did wrong whispered secretly” follows the pattern of the rhetorical resumption that you know, because the phrase “And those who did wrong whispered secretly” raises the same question in the soul: Who are those who whispered secretly? The answer was: “Those who did wrong.”
It cannot be said that this question does not require being raised in the context, because the reference of the pronoun, which is “and” in “whispered,” is mentioned before it in the Almighty’s saying:
“The reckoning of the people has drawn near, while they are in heedlessness turning away. There comes to you no reminder from their Lord renewed except that they listen to it while they are playing. Their hearts are distracted…” (12).
Because we say that the events mentioned at the beginning of The Surah is a general event, it is the conditions of all people, except for those whom Allah has protected.
As for the secret whispering, it is a specific event that occurred with the polytheists of the Arabs, so it is not the “people” before it who did it, rather its doers are those who said:
(Is this not but a human being like you? Do you then practice magic while you are seeing?) (13).
Accordingly, “those who wronged” is not the subject of “confiscated,” rather the subject of “confiscated” is the waw.
As for “those who wronged,” its occurrence is in a new statement, it is news about the bulk of the question: Who are those who confided in the secret?
This is another way to respond to those who raise this doubt, who are knowledgable and ignorant.
As for the second addition, it is another style of Arabic rhetoric, the key to the overwhelming miracle.
This style was discussed by the undisputed Sheikh of rhetoricians, Imam Abdul Qaher Al-Jurjani, and he called it:
“Idmar on the condition of interpretation” (14).
The rule of this style is that you bring the pronoun first and then explain it by mentioning its reference. An example of it in poetry is the poet’s saying:
It is the world that says with its fullness,
Beware, beware of my violence and killing
And do not be deceived by my smile
, for my words are funny and the action is tearful
. The interpretation of the verse “And those who wronged whispered secretly” in this style is common and wonderful.
He brought the pronoun first “And they whispered” then explained it secondly like this “those who wronged.”
The eloquence of this style is to stir the feelings and to excite the soul about the consequences of the speech, how it will be, so that the meaning for which the speech was presented can be fully established in the souls; because if the soul obtains something after waiting for it, that thing will settle in it. Those
who raise these doubts are deprived of these rhetorical characteristics; because they are ignorant of them. People - as the proverb says - are enemies of what they do not know.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) This is not their expression, but rather an alternative expression of ours. As for their expression, it is "He brought an agent pronoun when there is an agent" and it is wrong - as you can see - because there is nothing wrong with bringing an agent pronoun referring to the agent in eloquent speech, such as: My good-natured friend came.
(2) Al-Anbiya: 3.
(3) Al-Kashshaf (2/562).
(4) Narrated by the two sheikhs: Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
(5) Al-Ma'idah: 71.
(6) Diaf and Hawran: two places. As-Salit: oil.
(7) Fath Al-Qadir (3/469-470).
(8) Ad-Durr Al-Masun (8/132-133).
(9) Al-Hijr: 66.
(10) See: Al-Idah by Al-Khatib Al-Qazwini: Chapter on separation and connection.
(11) Taha: 120.
(12) The Prophets: 1-3.
(13) The Prophets: 3.
(14) Evidence of the Miracle (163) Investigation by Sheikh Mahmoud Muhammad Shakir, Al-Khanji Library, Cairo.
is the Almighty’s saying: (Their hearts are distracted, and
those who do wrong whisper, “Is this not a human being like you? Then do you practice magic while you see?”) (2). Their evidence in this verse is the combination of: “and they whisper,” “those who do wrong,” because they asserted that the “waw” in “they whispered” is the agent, just as they asserted that “those” in “those who do wrong” is also the agent.
And since every action requires only one agent, they shouted at the top of their voices, saying:
The Qur’an made a mistake by making two agents for one action?!
The response to the doubt:
The Sheikh of the rhetorical interpreters, Imam Jar Allah Mahmoud bin Omar Al-Zamakhshari, said: “Those who wronged replaced the ‘waw’ with ‘wa-asraw’ to indicate that they are the ones who are known for their gross injustice in what they kept secret.
Or it came in the language of those who said: The fleas ate me.
Or it is in the accusative case of blame.
Or it is a subject whose predicate is ‘wa-asraw an-najwa’ which was presented before it and the meaning is:
These people kept secret. So the apparent was placed in the place of the implicit to record their action as injustice (3).
The Imam - may God have mercy on him - mentioned four opinions in explaining this structure, all of which are correct and eloquent:
The first: That ‘those who wronged’ is a replacement for each of each of the meaning of the ‘waw’ in ‘wa-asraw’ because it is a group waw meaning the collection.
The second: That it came in the language of some Arab tribes, which combine the pronoun if it is the subject and what it explains.
Accordingly, the noble hadith came: [Angels take turns among you at night, and angels during the day] (4).
The third: That it is in the accusative case of blame. ... on the assumption of an omitted verb, which is: I blame or single out those who were unjust for blame.
Fourth: That it is the subject, and what precedes it is a predicate of it, i.e. those who were unjust whispered secretly.
As for what necessitated presenting its predicate before it, “they whispered secretly,” it is to record against them the ugliness and obscenity of their injustice. All of this is good speech of the utmost value.
Imam Al-Shawkani repeats what Imam Jar Allah - may Allah have mercy on him - said and adds something new to what he said, and from this new thing: “those who were unjust” is the subject of an omitted verb, the estimation of which is: those who were unjust say.
Then he cites another verse from the Book of Allah, which is the saying of the Almighty: (Then many of them became blind and deaf) (5).
The verse combines the pronoun, which is “and” in “blind” and “deaf,” and the apparent noun “many.” He
also mentioned the poet’s saying:
But the diaspora of his father and mother
in Hauran squeezes the salt of his relatives (6)
. The witness is in the verse where the poet, who is an eloquent Arab, uses his words to argue between the feminine nun in “they squeeze” which is the subject of “squeezes” and the apparent noun “his relatives” and there is only one verb in the speech for which one subject is sufficient (7).
There are other schools of thought on the issue, including:
* That “those who wronged” is the subject, while “waw” is the sign of the plural of the subject and nothing else, and that the Arabs used to do that even in the dual, so they would say:
Your two brothers stood up. As those who adopted this school of thought cited the poet’s saying:
They blame me for buying the palm trees
, my people, so they all isolate
where he combined the “waw” in “they blame me” with the apparent noun in “my people” (8).
This is what the commentators and some grammarians said about this construction and its interpretation in several aspects of validity. Without them having knowledge that some people will come and say the same as what the instigators of these doubts said, with their compound ignorance of the language of revelation and its expressive and rhetorical characteristics, and they are commoners or semi-commoners in it.
In conclusion:
What was presented in response to this doubt shows you the extent to which these extremists have gone too far in their attacks on the Qur’an, and who are excessive in showing hatred and attacking it. They are like someone who wants to cross an ocean in a boat made of “reeds”, without having a deterrent from themselves to save their dignity if there is any on their faces.
Before we bid farewell to the discussion in response to what they raised about the verse, we add two additions to what the imams mentioned in terms of rhetorical guidance:
One of them: In the methods of the science of semantics, which is one of the three sciences of rhetoric (semantics - rhetoric - invention), there is a method that those who raise these doubts know nothing about, which is what rhetoricians call “rhetorical resumption.”
The rule of this method is that a sentence of speech comes before it that raises a subtle question in the mind of the listener that creeps into his soul or flows like water in a green branch, then another sentence comes to answer that question, which has no image in the speech. Rather, it flashes like a ray in the mind of the listener. Examples of it in the Qur’an include:
(And We decreed for him that matter: that the root of these people will be cut off in the morning) (9). So the sentence “that the root of these people will be cut off in the morning” is an answer to a question that can be estimated as: What is that matter that God decreed? (10).
And similar to it is the Almighty’s saying: “Then Satan whispered to him, saying, ‘O Adam, shall I direct you to the tree of immortality and a kingdom that will not decay?’” (11).
The phrase “Satan whispered to him” raised a pleasant question in the soul: “What did Satan say to Adam?” The answer was:
“He said, ‘O Adam, shall I guide you to the tree of immortality and a kingdom that will not decay?’”
This is the rhetorical resumption according to rhetoricians, which is – once again – “
the revelation of a revealed sentence as an answer to a question contained in the sentence before it.”
The verse before us: “And those who did wrong whispered secretly” follows the pattern of the rhetorical resumption that you know, because the phrase “And those who did wrong whispered secretly” raises the same question in the soul: Who are those who whispered secretly? The answer was: “Those who did wrong.”
It cannot be said that this question does not require being raised in the context, because the reference of the pronoun, which is “and” in “whispered,” is mentioned before it in the Almighty’s saying:
“The reckoning of the people has drawn near, while they are in heedlessness turning away. There comes to you no reminder from their Lord renewed except that they listen to it while they are playing. Their hearts are distracted…” (12).
Because we say that the events mentioned at the beginning of The Surah is a general event, it is the conditions of all people, except for those whom Allah has protected.
As for the secret whispering, it is a specific event that occurred with the polytheists of the Arabs, so it is not the “people” before it who did it, rather its doers are those who said:
(Is this not but a human being like you? Do you then practice magic while you are seeing?) (13).
Accordingly, “those who wronged” is not the subject of “confiscated,” rather the subject of “confiscated” is the waw.
As for “those who wronged,” its occurrence is in a new statement, it is news about the bulk of the question: Who are those who confided in the secret?
This is another way to respond to those who raise this doubt, who are knowledgable and ignorant.
As for the second addition, it is another style of Arabic rhetoric, the key to the overwhelming miracle.
This style was discussed by the undisputed Sheikh of rhetoricians, Imam Abdul Qaher Al-Jurjani, and he called it:
“Idmar on the condition of interpretation” (14).
The rule of this style is that you bring the pronoun first and then explain it by mentioning its reference. An example of it in poetry is the poet’s saying:
It is the world that says with its fullness,
Beware, beware of my violence and killing
And do not be deceived by my smile
, for my words are funny and the action is tearful
. The interpretation of the verse “And those who wronged whispered secretly” in this style is common and wonderful.
He brought the pronoun first “And they whispered” then explained it secondly like this “those who wronged.”
The eloquence of this style is to stir the feelings and to excite the soul about the consequences of the speech, how it will be, so that the meaning for which the speech was presented can be fully established in the souls; because if the soul obtains something after waiting for it, that thing will settle in it. Those
who raise these doubts are deprived of these rhetorical characteristics; because they are ignorant of them. People - as the proverb says - are enemies of what they do not know.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) This is not their expression, but rather an alternative expression of ours. As for their expression, it is "He brought an agent pronoun when there is an agent" and it is wrong - as you can see - because there is nothing wrong with bringing an agent pronoun referring to the agent in eloquent speech, such as: My good-natured friend came.
(2) Al-Anbiya: 3.
(3) Al-Kashshaf (2/562).
(4) Narrated by the two sheikhs: Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
(5) Al-Ma'idah: 71.
(6) Diaf and Hawran: two places. As-Salit: oil.
(7) Fath Al-Qadir (3/469-470).
(8) Ad-Durr Al-Masun (8/132-133).
(9) Al-Hijr: 66.
(10) See: Al-Idah by Al-Khatib Al-Qazwini: Chapter on separation and connection.
(11) Taha: 120.
(12) The Prophets: 1-3.
(13) The Prophets: 3.
(14) Evidence of the Miracle (163) Investigation by Sheikh Mahmoud Muhammad Shakir, Al-Khanji Library, Cairo.
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment