Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1
PhD student Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran
2
Associate Professor Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran
3
Assistant Professor Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran
10.22034/dqm.2025.19951.1125
Abstract
Iltifāt has several designations, and its naming varied according to the views of the early grammarians who addressed this stylistic device. The designation commonly used today is “iltifāt,” and the origin of this rhetorical term is traced back to al-Aṣmaʿī. In rhetorical terminology, iltifāt refers to a shift in discourse style from one direction to another. Since early times, Qur’anic exegetes have paid close attention to the linguistic and structural aspects of iltifāt in the Noble Qur’an, clarifying the intended benefits and subtleties underlying it. This study aims to highlight the aesthetic and rhetorical beauty of this stylistic device—iltifāt—in Qur’anic discourse through Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb, given that iltifāt exerts a psychological effect and possesses an argumentative dimension within the context of Qur’anic verses.
The study also focuses on two principal axes related to the structure of iltifāt: the first examines its manifestations at the syntactic level, tracing contextual variations in al-Rāzī’s interpretation; the second sheds light on the differences among rhetoricians regarding the ordering of known elements and the extent to which these differences are reflected in the arrangement of pronouns. This is undertaken prior to critiquing this hierarchy in light of the philosophical, communicative, and interpretive dimensions carried by pronouns. Accordingly, understanding the mature dimensions of the Noble Qur’an invariably leads to uncovering the hidden aspects of its many concepts.
Iltifāt, as one of the rhetorical devices, plays an effective role in the study of the secondary meanings of the Qur’an and their artistic implications. This article, which adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology, arrives at findings indicating that iltifāt is characterized by its ability to focalize meaning; it is one of the stylistic devices that draws attention to the nature of the situational context within the Qur’anic passage. A shift in pronoun while maintaining a constant referent indicates a change in the type of reference within the discourse and a transformation in its purposes. Moreover, this stylistic device functions as a technique that enables the concentration of meaning in the listener’s mind through semantic intensification, restriction of purpose and its specification by the pronoun’s referent, as well as elevation in the degree of argumentation.
Likewise, al-Rāzī, in his exegesis, addressed the rhetorical secrets of iltifāt and clarified its effect on the meaning and context of the verse, along with the multiple rhetorical functions it carries—such as arousing anticipation, suggestion, and the realization of argumentative strategies—which deepens the layers of meaning within the text.
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