| Answer: Before an attempt is made to answer your
questions, I would like to allude to a few tips which, if kept in consideration,
might prove useful in studying and analyzing the Qur’ān.
Firstly, it must be realized that the Qur’ān has been
revealed in the most exquisite and impeccable diction of the Arabic language.
The verses of the Qur’ān have been set in the highest possible literary style
and in the most subtle literary construction. Among many other literary features
of the Qur’ānic Arabic, a very distinctive one is its brevity. This is often
achieved by means of the literary device called ellipsis (hazf) in which words
which are understood to be implied are suppressed so that the desired meaning is
conveyed in as minimum number of words as possible.
Secondly, it is worth observing that a great percentage of
linguistic patterns and styles are common to almost all the languages. The
easiest way to comprehend what has been said in a foreign language is to look
for similar styles in one’s own language. Consequently, the literary device of
ellipsis mentioned before is not just confined to the Arabic language; it is
found in almost all the languages and a little deliberation will reveal its
presence in one’s own language.
Thirdly, it is to be noted that the grammar of a language
is only a secondary tool to understand the language and it only supplements the
primary one, which is comprehending the language through the direct method. The
meaning which a sentence directly conveys without analyzing its syntactical
construction should be understood in the light of common sense. However, the
meaning which is finally thought to be implied must also be supported by the
rules of syntax.
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To appreciate the verse 13 of Sūrah Muhammad, consider the
sentence: ‘after Pakistan had won the match, Lahore became a happy place’.
Without going into any grammatical analysis, the meaning which directly emanates
from this sentence is that the event had made the the inhabitants of Lahore
happy. In other words, by refering to Lahore the people of Lahore have been
implied. Rhetorically, the sentence would be analyzed as one in which by
mentioning the adverbial object (zarf) ie ‘Lahore’, the contained adverbial
object (mazrūf) ie ‘the people of Lahore’ have been implied. Syntactically, the
sentence would be analyzed as one in which the adjunct (mudhāf) ie ‘people’ has
been suppressed. A little deliberation will show that the linguistic style
adopted in verse 13 of Sūrah Muhammad is similar to the one discussed in this
example: The antecedent of the verb ahlaknāhum is not qaryah (city) but the
adjunct (mudhāf) ie ahli qaryah (people of the city) which is plural and being
very apparent has been suppressed. Incidentally, though the word qaryah in the
verse is singular, the addition of the particle ka ayyin, which in grammatical
parlance is called ‘ka ayyin khabriyah’, has given the whole expression a plural
sense. The translation of the first part of the verse in the following words
will, perhaps, make the point more clear: ‘And many a city did We destroy... ‘
The answer to your second question also pertains to
understanding a particular type of ellipsis, which can be appreciated if the
following verse of Sūrah An’ām is analyzed as an example: Wa lahu mā sakana
fil laili wan nahār. A mention of the opposites lail (night) and nahār (day)
points to the fact that a verb opposite in meaning to sakana (to stop) like
taharraka (to move) has been suppressed before nahār. Consequently, the correct
translation of the verse would be: to him belongs that which stops in the night
and that which moves in the day. A study of the first part of the verse about
which you have inquired (47:14), similarly, reveals that a sentence which is
opposite in meaning to the last part of the verse ie ittaba’ū ahwā a hum has
been suppressed. If this suppression is disclosed, the verse would read
something like this: ‘afa man kāna ‘alā bayyinatin min rabbihi kaman zuyyina
lahu sū u amalihi wa [man ittaba’u huda allah ka man] ittab u ahwā a hum’. The
antecedent of the verb wattaba’ū is actually the man in the suppressed part of
the verse. The verse can be translated thus: Is the one who is on a manifest
evidence from his Lord equal to one whose foul deeds seem fair to him? and are
the ones who who follow their own whims equal to those who follow divine
guidance? It should be clear that the conjunctive particle (mausūl) man comes
both for singular and plural nouns. Consequently, the plural verb ittaba’ū has
rightly come for a plural subject man. For examples, in which man has been used
in the plural sense, please look up 10:42 and 20:36. |