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6. THE USE OF REPETITION IN THE QUR’ĀN (1) Repetition which is in Arabic takrār 1) ( َت ْك َرارliterally means “going back to a thing.” Technically, it means “repeating a word or a phrase more than once for various reasons, such as emphasis )(التوكيد, exaggeration, )(التهويل, glorification ()التعظيم, etc.” Repetition has been used by the Arabs in their poetry as a good style in their expression. Muslim scholars mentioned the types of repetition as follows: a. Repetition of words and meanings, either (1) connected either in the same verse, or at the end of a verse with the beginning of its following verse, or at the end of the verse itself, or with another verse following it, or (2) disconnected, either in the same surah (chapter) of the Qur’ān, or throughout the Qur’ān. (1) The example the repetition of words and meanings connected in the same verse is as follows: َ ات َه ْي َه َ َه ْي َه )63:ون (المؤمنون َ ات ِل َما ُتو َع ُد Far, (very) far is that which you are promised (Q. 32:36) This is in the beginning of the verse. It can also be at the end of the verse, such as: (21 :ت ْاْلَرْ ضُ دَ ًّكا د ًَّكا (الفجر ِ َك َّل إِ َذا ُد َك Nay! When the earth is ground to powder (Q. 89:21) )22 :ص ًّفا (الفجر ُ َك َو ْال َمل َ ص ًّفا َ ك َ َو َجا َء َر ُّب And your Lord comes with the angels in rows (Q. 89:22) The example of repetition of words and meanings at the end of a verse connected with the beginning of its following verse, is as follows: ْ َو ُي َطافُ َعلَي ِْه ْم ِبآ ِن َية مِنْ ِفضَة َوأَ ْك َواب َكا َن .2يرا َ ار ِ ت َق َو 1
The word is commonly mispronounced as tikrār (with kasrah “i”), especially when it is combined in the expression م َِرارًّ ا َو َت ْك َرارًّ ا (“repeatedly”, “time and again”) for easy pronunciation. 2 The letter alif in يرا َ ار ِ َق َوis additional; when we stop we do not say ْاريْر ِ َق َو (qawārīr), but اري َْر ِ ( َق َوqawārīra), sometimes written with sukūn on the alif as اري َْر ْا ِ َق َوfor the sake of rhyme rā in previous and following verses.