Draft 0.1
The Qur'an is a unique genre [1]. As previously discussed this uniqueness is achieved by
combining cohesive and rhetorical elements in every verse. [2] Many rhetorical examples
have already been provided, they include grammatical shifts, flouting of communicative
norms, stylistic variations, rhythm, sound, arrangement of words and phrases [3]. Another
rhetorical feature which has not been discussed is the use of ellipsis.
Ellipsis comes from the Greek word ‘ελλειψις’ meaning omission. From a literary point of
view ellipsis can be defined as the omission of a word or short phrase which can be
understood and recovered from the context of a sentence or verse.
Ellipsis is a universal literary rhetorical device that is used in many languages. In English
literature, some of the early adopters of ellipsis were Emily Dickinson and William
Shakespeare.
Ellipsis is used to achieve:
Emphasis
Conciseness
Economy
Mystery
Complication
Hesitation
Creating a sense of momentum in the progression of poetry
Creating a sense of confusion and uneasiness
When ellipsis occurs in the Qur’an its purpose is always rhetorical, that is: to please,
persuade and construct the best verbal forms.[4] As mentioned above ellipsis is a universal
literary and linguistic rhetorical device. It takes place in the Qur’an in various forms. Among
the common forms of ellipsis in the Qur’an are the ellipsis of the theme, subject, object,
adjective, the modified noun, prepositional phrase, the infinitive, as in[5]:
Deaf, dumb and blind, they will never respond. Qur’an 2:18
The topic - the hypocrites - is omitted; it should have appeared before the word - deaf. The
ellipted element can be easily recovered by looking at the context from Qur’an 2:8-17. This
form of ellipsis achieves economy and conciseness.
Another example is:
When (the embassy) came to Solomon, he said: “Will you furnish me with wealth?” Qur’an
27:36
Where the subject (the embassy) is omitted. And in:
They said: “We hear, and we disobey.” Qur’an 2:93
Where the two objects - what you said - and - your order - for the two verbs sami’na and
‘asaina respectively are omitted.
The Qur’an uses ellipsis in various forms to enhance the communicative effect of the text
and to achieve eloquence speech. It also achieves emphasis and economy of language. As
the famous literary critic Ibn ‘Atiyah concluded that if we were to screen the whole Arabic
language in search of a word to replace one word of the Qur’an expressing the meaning
equally, let alone more fully, we will find none.[6]
References
[1] http://hamzatzortzis.blogspot.com/2007/03/unique-genre-of-quran.html and http://www.
theinimitablequran.com/UniqueGenre.html
[2] Ibid
[3] http://hamzatzortzis.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20inimitability%20of%20the%
20Qur%27an
[4] H. Abdul Raof. Exploring the Qur'an. Al-Maktoum Institute Academic Press. 2003, p. 367-
398
[5] Ibid
[6] M. Abdullah Draz. The Qur’an: an Eternal Challenge (al-Naba’ al-‘Azim). Leicester: The
Islamic Foundation United Kingdom.
The Qur'an is a unique genre [1]. As previously discussed this uniqueness is achieved by
combining cohesive and rhetorical elements in every verse. [2] Many rhetorical examples
have already been provided, they include grammatical shifts, flouting of communicative
norms, stylistic variations, rhythm, sound, arrangement of words and phrases [3]. Another
rhetorical feature which has not been discussed is the use of ellipsis.
Ellipsis comes from the Greek word ‘ελλειψις’ meaning omission. From a literary point of
view ellipsis can be defined as the omission of a word or short phrase which can be
understood and recovered from the context of a sentence or verse.
Ellipsis is a universal literary rhetorical device that is used in many languages. In English
literature, some of the early adopters of ellipsis were Emily Dickinson and William
Shakespeare.
Ellipsis is used to achieve:
Emphasis
Conciseness
Economy
Mystery
Complication
Hesitation
Creating a sense of momentum in the progression of poetry
Creating a sense of confusion and uneasiness
When ellipsis occurs in the Qur’an its purpose is always rhetorical, that is: to please,
persuade and construct the best verbal forms.[4] As mentioned above ellipsis is a universal
literary and linguistic rhetorical device. It takes place in the Qur’an in various forms. Among
the common forms of ellipsis in the Qur’an are the ellipsis of the theme, subject, object,
adjective, the modified noun, prepositional phrase, the infinitive, as in[5]:
Deaf, dumb and blind, they will never respond. Qur’an 2:18
The topic - the hypocrites - is omitted; it should have appeared before the word - deaf. The
ellipted element can be easily recovered by looking at the context from Qur’an 2:8-17. This
form of ellipsis achieves economy and conciseness.
Another example is:
When (the embassy) came to Solomon, he said: “Will you furnish me with wealth?” Qur’an
27:36
Where the subject (the embassy) is omitted. And in:
They said: “We hear, and we disobey.” Qur’an 2:93
Where the two objects - what you said - and - your order - for the two verbs sami’na and
‘asaina respectively are omitted.
The Qur’an uses ellipsis in various forms to enhance the communicative effect of the text
and to achieve eloquence speech. It also achieves emphasis and economy of language. As
the famous literary critic Ibn ‘Atiyah concluded that if we were to screen the whole Arabic
language in search of a word to replace one word of the Qur’an expressing the meaning
equally, let alone more fully, we will find none.[6]
References
[1] http://hamzatzortzis.blogspot.com/2007/03/unique-genre-of-quran.html and http://www.
theinimitablequran.com/UniqueGenre.html
[2] Ibid
[3] http://hamzatzortzis.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20inimitability%20of%20the%
20Qur%27an
[4] H. Abdul Raof. Exploring the Qur'an. Al-Maktoum Institute Academic Press. 2003, p. 367-
398
[5] Ibid
[6] M. Abdullah Draz. The Qur’an: an Eternal Challenge (al-Naba’ al-‘Azim). Leicester: The
Islamic Foundation United Kingdom.
| Ellipsis in the Qur'an |
