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Iltifāt (التفات, iltifaat), also known as grammatical shift, refers to places where the Quranic text makes an unexpected switch of grammatical person (1st, 2nd, 3rd person) in pronouns referring to the same person or thing. Switches in pronoun number (singular, dual, plural) were also termed iltifāt or said to be related to iltifāt. Also considered by some scholars as iltifāt are unexpected changes of addressee, change of verb tense, change of grammatical case, and using a noun in place of a pronoun.<ref name="Haleem">M. A. S. Abdel Haleem (1992) [https://soas-repository.worktribe.com/output/411099 Grammatical Shift for rhetorical purposes: Iltifāt and related features in the Qurʾān] Qur'ān. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 55(3), 407-432. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00003621</ref> | Iltifāt (التفات, iltifaat), also known as grammatical shift, refers to places where the Quranic text makes an unexpected switch of grammatical person (1st, 2nd, 3rd person) in pronouns referring to the same person or thing. Switches in pronoun number (singular, dual, plural) were also termed iltifāt or said to be related to iltifāt. Also considered by some scholars as iltifāt are unexpected changes of addressee, change of verb tense, change of grammatical case, and using a noun in place of a pronoun.<ref name="Haleem">M. A. S. Abdel Haleem (1992) [https://soas-repository.worktribe.com/output/411099 Grammatical Shift for rhetorical purposes: Iltifāt and related features in the Qurʾān] Qur'ān. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 55(3), 407-432. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00003621</ref> | ||
Iltifāt is employed to a much greater extent and variety in the Quran than in pre Islamic or early Arab poetry and is an important technique in creating its distinctive style. In general, in the Quran these features seem to be intentional in order to achieve some rhetorical effect or for the sake of variety in pronouns. | Iltifāt is employed to a much greater extent and variety in the Quran than in pre Islamic or early Arab poetry and is an important technique in creating its distinctive style. In general, in the Quran these features seem to be intentional in order to achieve some rhetorical effect or for the sake of variety in pronouns. Some examples such as 19:63-64 and 10:22 discussed below have attacted criticism, however. There are also examples which some Muslim scholars have excused as iltifat but which, according to academic scholars, just seem to be unintended grammatical errors. This could indicate problems with the composition or preservation of the Quran. Some of these, as well as other grammatical errors, were even reportedly explained by Aisha and other companions as errors made by the first scribes to write down the Quran. | ||
==Academic views== | ==Academic views== | ||
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===In pronouns=== | ===In pronouns=== | ||
The Quran in some verses switches [[Arabic pronouns and the Quran|pronouns]] in | The Quran in some verses switches [[Arabic pronouns and the Quran|pronouns]] in unexpected ways. The most common are switches between the 1st and the 3rd person (over 140 instances 3rd to 1st person, and over 100 instances 1st to 3rd person). | ||
====Change from 1st to 2nd person==== | ====Change from 1st to 2nd person==== | ||
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It begins with an instruction to say "I am the messenger" (1st person) but ends up referring to him in the 3rd person ("his messenger, the unlettered prophet who believes in allah.."). | It begins with an instruction to say "I am the messenger" (1st person) but ends up referring to him in the 3rd person ("his messenger, the unlettered prophet who believes in allah.."). | ||
As can be seen, translators | As can be seen, translators added quotation marks (not a feature of the original text) so that the first part of the verse is the speech of Muhammad (which Allah commands him to say). Then, "So believe in Allah and His Messenger" is interpreted as the speech of Allah rather than Muhammad himself speaking with iltifat. | ||
====Change from 3rd person to 1st person==== | ====Change from 3rd person to 1st person==== | ||
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[Gabriel said], "'''And we''' [angels] descend not except by the order of your Lord. To Him belongs that before us and that behind us and what is in between. And never is your Lord forgetful -}} | [Gabriel said], "'''And we''' [angels] descend not except by the order of your Lord. To Him belongs that before us and that behind us and what is in between. And never is your Lord forgetful -}} | ||
Notice also a famous awkwardness in the 2nd verse. Suddenly, "we" now refers to angels. Translators always add clarifications in brackets to smooth over the abrupt change in narrator (neither Gabriel nor angels are mentioned in the original text). One | Notice also a famous awkwardness in the 2nd verse. Suddenly, "we" now refers to angels. Translators always add clarifications in brackets to smooth over the abrupt change in narrator (neither Gabriel nor angels are mentioned in the original text). One possibility is that this was the result of an editing oversight when the Quran was compiled. | ||
====Change from 3rd person to 2nd person==== | ====Change from 3rd person to 2nd person==== | ||
Again it | Again it is somewhat disguised in the translation, but the people are referred to as "they", then the next verse addresses them as "you". The "[And it will be said]" and quotation marks were added by translators: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|76|21|22}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|76|21|22}}| | ||
76:21 Upon the inhabitants will be green garments of fine silk and brocade. And '''they''' will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them a purifying drink. | 76:21 Upon the inhabitants will be green garments of fine silk and brocade. And '''they''' will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them a purifying drink. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
Without the interpolation in brackets introduced in some translations, it reads "and they will be adorned.. indeed this is for you a reward". | Without the interpolation in brackets introduced in some translations, it reads "and they will be adorned.. indeed this is for you a reward". | ||
====Change from 2nd person to 3rd person==== | |||
This example is frequently cited by critics as a grammatical error in which it is hard to discern any rhetorical benefit or intentional iltifat. The switch of pronoun occurs within a single clause of the sentence: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|10|22}}| | |||
It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea until, when '''you''' are in ships and '''they''' sail with them by a good wind and they rejoice therein, there comes a storm wind and the waves come upon them from everywhere and they assume that they are surrounded, supplicating Allah, sincere to Him in religion, "If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful."}} | |||
====Change from 2nd person to 1st person==== | ====Change from 2nd person to 1st person==== | ||
This example is debatable. "The Lord" is in the 3rd person the whole time. The difference is only in the possessive pronouns: | This example is debatable. "The Lord" is in the 3rd person the whole time. The difference is only in the possessive pronouns: | ||
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}} | }} | ||
The expected reading without iltifat would have been "Indeed, ''your'' Lord is Merciful and Affectionate". | The expected reading without iltifat would have been "Indeed, ''your'' Lord is Merciful and Affectionate". | ||
===In verbs=== | ===In verbs=== | ||