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"definition": "Wise Response (al-uslūb al-ḥakīm) is an Arabic rhetorical device in which the addressee is met with other than what they expect:[1][2][3][4] either by (1) setting aside the questioner's question and answering a question they did not ask, or (2) by carrying the speaker's words to a meaning other than what they intended — signalling that this is the question they ought to have asked, or the meaning they ought to have intended.[1][2][3][4]",
"linguisticOperation": "From the sources\nIn the first subtype, the respondent sets aside the question actually posed and answers a different, implied question - one the respondent deems more appropriate or instructive.[1][2][3][4]\nIn the second subtype, the respondent takes the interlocutor's words and carries them to a meaning other than what the speaker intended, steering the exchange toward a more fitting or more edifying interpretation.[1][2][3][4]\nIn both cases, the response indicates that the questioner ought to have asked another question, or intended another meaning.[1][2][3][4]",
"recognition": "Encyclopedia Interpretation\nThe following diagnostic tests aid identification:\n\nTest 1 (Subtype 1): Can you identify a question that was posed and a response that addresses a different — typically more important or more appropriate — question? If so, the first subtype may be operative.\nTest 2 (Subtype 2): Can you identify words whose apparent meaning (as intended by the speaker) is set aside, with another meaning substituted and presented as what the speaker ought to have intended? If so, the second subtype may be operative.",
"diagnosticCommunicativeEnhancements": "From the sources\nSignalling to the questioner that the question posed was less apt or less important than the question implied by the answer - that is, guiding the interlocutor toward what they ought to have asked.[1][2][3]\nProducing wit (al-ẓarf) by moving the speech from the apparent intended meaning to another meaning.[2]\nDeflecting a questioner or extracting oneself from an uncomfortable inquiry.[2]\nPresenting what is more important, more fitting, or more worthy of attention in place of the matter explicitly asked about.[2][3]\nʿAkkāwī (1996) notes that al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 255 AH) devoted a chapter to this style under the name al-lughz fī al-jawāb (the riddle in the answer), and that it was used by the Arabs for various rhetorical purposes — including wit, deflecting a questioner, presenting what is more important, and mockery of the questioner (al-tahakkum).[2][4]\n\nApplying the Recognition Framework\nThe information on this page can be used to evaluate whether this device is present in a candidate lexical item using the Specific Device Recognition part of the Universal Framework for Identifying Arabic Rhetorical Devices:\n\nUse the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.\nApply the substitution test in Step 2.\nConsider contextual indicators in Step 3.\nUse the Diagnostic Communicative Enhancements section of this page in Step 4.",
"differentFrom": "Encyclopedia InterpretationIGNORNC: Feigned Ignorance ʿAbbās (2007) discusses Feigned Ignorance as a related but distinct neighbouring device, operating through feigned questioning rather than redirected answering.[3]",
"notes": "Al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 255 AH) devoted a chapter to this phenomenon in al-Bayān wa-l-Tabyīn under the name al-lughz fī al-jawāb (the riddle in the answer).[2]\nLater rhetoricians (al-mutaʾakhkhirūn) applied the name al-qawl bi-l-mūjib to this device. Al-Qazwīnī divided it into two subsections in al-Talkhīṣ and al-Īḍāḥ. ʿAtīq (2002) notes that Ibn Abī al-Iṣbaʿ al-Miṣrī defined it as the speaker addressing the interlocutor with the interlocutor's own words, taking a term from those words and establishing through it the opposite of the interlocutor's intended meaning — because it is a refutation of the opponent using the content of their own speech.[4]",
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"text": "Aḥmad al-Hāshimī, Jawāhir al-Balāgha fī al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ (Windsor: Hindāwī Foundation, 2019), 383-384, ISBN 9781527316386.",
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"text": "Inʿām Fawwāl ʿAkkāwī, Al-Muʿjam al-Mufaṣṣal fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: Al-Badīʿ wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Maʿānī (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 143-144.",
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"text": "Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās, Al-Balāgha: Funūnuhā wa-Afnānuhā - ʿIlm al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ (Amman: Dār al-Furqān lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2007), 292-298.",
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"text": "ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Badīʿ (Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-ʿArabiyya lil-Ṭibāʿa wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 2002), 182-188.",
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"arabic": "يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ",
"english": "They ask you concerning the new moons. Say: they are signs to mark fixed periods for people and for pilgrimage. (al-Baqara 2:189)",
"explanation": "The Companions asked about the crescents and their condition. The Qurʾān sets aside that question and answers a different one: what is the benefit and purpose of the moon's phases for human life and worship. ʿAbbās (2007) notes that it is as if the response says: \"it befits you to ask about this\" — the practical and spiritual significance — rather than another matter.[3]"
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"inLanguage": "ar",
"arabic": "يَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلْ مَا أَنْفَقْتُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلِلْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ",
"english": "They ask you what they should spend. Say: whatever good you spend should go to parents, relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer. (al-Baqara 2:215)",
"explanation": "The questioners asked what they should spend. The response instead specifies the recipients of expenditure — the more practically important matter — indicating that this is the question more worthy of being asked.[1][3]"
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"arabic": "قِيلَ لتاجر: «كم رأس مالك؟» فقال: «إني أمين وثقة الناس بي عظيمة.»",
"english": "A merchant was asked: \"How much is your capital?\" He replied: \"I am trustworthy, and people's confidence in me is great.\"",
"explanation": "The questioner asked about the merchant's financial capital. The merchant sets aside that question and answers a different one — the qualities that help secure profit and success in trade: trustworthiness and the confidence of others. ʿAtīq (2002) notes that this signals to the questioner that these two qualities are what bring profit and guarantee success in trade.[4]"
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"arabic": "قِيلَ لشيخ هَرِم: «كم سنك؟» فقال: «إني أنعم بالعافية.»",
"english": "An aged shaykh was asked: \"How old are you?\" He replied: \"I am blessed with good health.\"",
"explanation": "The questioner asked about the shaykh's age. The shaykh sets aside that question and redirects to what is more apt: his enjoyment of good health — implying that this is the question more worthy of being asked.[4]"
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"arabic": "سألَ طالبٌ أستاذَه: «بأيِّ قلمٍ كتبتَ هذا الكتاب؟» فأجابه: «كُتِبَ هذا الكتابُ لينفعَكَ، فاقرأْهُ وانتفِعْ به.»",
"english": "A student asked his teacher: \"With what pen did you write this book?\" The teacher replied: \"This book was written to benefit you — so read it and benefit from it.\"",
"explanation": "The student asked about the instrument of composition. The teacher sets aside that question and answers a different one: what is the purpose of the book and what ought the student to do with it — implying that this is the question more worthy of being asked."
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"english": "A student asked, “Will this topic be on the exam?” The teacher replied, “You should revise everything we have covered this semester.”",
"explanation": "The student asks whether one particular topic will appear on the exam. The teacher sets that question aside and answers a different, more appropriate question: what the student ought to revise. The response thereby implies that the student should concern themselves with the whole course rather than trying to identify a single examinable topic."
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"arabic": "قال الحجاج للقبعثري متوعدًا: «لأحملنك على الأدهم.» فقال القبعثري: «مثل الأمير يحمل على الأدهم والأشهب.» فقال الحجاج: أردت الحديد. فقال القبعثري: لأن يكون حديدًا خير من أن يكون بليدًا.",
"english": "Al-Ḥajjāj threatened al-Qubʿatharī: \"I will load you upon the adham.\" — intending the black iron shackle. Al-Qubʿatharī replied: \"A prince like you loads people upon the adham and the ashab\" — taking the words to mean the black horse and the white horse. Al-Ḥajjāj said: \"I meant the iron.\" Al-Qubʿatharī replied: \"Better to be iron [ḥadīd = sharp, keen] than to be dull [balīd].\"",
"explanation": "Al-Qubʿatharī twice carries al-Ḥajjāj's words to meanings other than those intended. First, adham (intended as \"black iron shackle\") is redirected to \"black horse.\" Second, ḥadīd (intended as \"iron\") is redirected to its sense of \"sharp/keen\" — implying that it is better to be sharp-witted than dull.[2][3][4]"
},
{
"@type": "balagha:Example",
"exampleType": "source",
"exampleOf": "WISE",
"exampleOfName": "Wise Response",
"sourceReferences": [
"cite_note-atiq2-4"
],
"id": "S5RL4",
"url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/WISE:_Wise_Response#S5RL4",
"exampleOfEntity": {
"@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q77"
},
"inLanguage": "ar",
"arabic": "ولقد أتيت لصاحبي وسألته — في قرض دينار لأمر كانا فأجابني والله داري ما حوت — عيناً فنقلت له ولا إنسانا",
"english": "I came to my companion and asked him for the loan of a dinar for a matter that had arisen. He answered me: \"By God, my house contains neither an ʿayn nor a person.\"",
"explanation": "The questioner asked for a dinar (gold coin). The companion replied using ʿayn — which can mean both \"gold\" and \"eye\" — carrying it to the sense of \"eye.\" ʿAtīq (2002) notes that the speaker intended \"gold\" but the respondent carried the word to the sense of \"eye,\" signalling that lending from what he does not possess is impossible.[4]"
},
{
"@type": "balagha:Example",
"exampleType": "source",
"exampleOf": "WISE",
"exampleOfName": "Wise Response",
"sourceReferences": [
"cite_note-atiq2-4"
],
"id": "ASLQN",
"url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/WISE:_Wise_Response#ASLQN",
"exampleOfEntity": {
"@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q77"
},
"inLanguage": "ar",
"arabic": "طلبتُ منه درهماً — يوماً فأظهر العجب وقال ذا من فضة — يصنع لا من الذهب",
"english": "I asked him one day for a dirham — he showed astonishment and said: \"This is made of silver, not gold.\"",
"explanation": "The questioner asked for a dirham (silver coin). The respondent diverts the request by speaking about the dirham itself rather than responding to the request for it, thereby redirecting the exchange away from the intended request.[4]"
},
{
"@type": "balagha:Example",
"exampleType": "source",
"exampleOf": "WISE",
"exampleOfName": "Wise Response",
"sourceReferences": [
"cite_note-hashimi-1",
"cite_note-akkawi-2",
"cite_note-funun2-3"
],
"id": "UXNWW",
"url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/WISE:_Wise_Response#UXNWW",
"exampleOfEntity": {
"@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q77"
},
"inLanguage": "ar",
"arabic": "قال ابن حجاج البغدادي: قلتُ: ثقلتُ؛ إذ أتيت مرارًا — قال: ثقلتَ كاهلي بالأيادي قلتُ: طولتُ! — قال: أوليتُ طوْلا — قلتُ: أبرمتُ! — قال: حبلَ ودادي",
"english": "I said: \"I have become a burden, coming so often.\" He said: \"You have weighed down my shoulder with gifts.\" I said: \"I have overstayed.\" He said: \"You have bestowed generosity.\" I said: \"I have wearied you.\" He said: \"You have braided the rope of my friendship.\"",
"explanation": "The poet says he fears he has imposed through frequent visits. His companion each time redirects his words to a more flattering meaning. Each word is carried to a meaning other than what the speaker intended.[1][2][3]"
},
{
"@type": "balagha:Example",
"exampleType": "constructed",
"exampleOf": "WISE",
"exampleOfName": "Wise Response",
"id": "WBCMC",
"url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/WISE:_Wise_Response#WBCMC",
"exampleOfEntity": {
"@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q77"
},
"inLanguage": "ar",
"arabic": "قال رجلٌ لصديقه متذمِّرًا: «لقد أثقلتُكَ بزياراتي المتكرِّرة.» فردَّ عليه صديقُه: «نعم، أثقلتَني — أثقلتَني بالمحبَّة والأُنس.»",
"english": "A man said to his friend, apologetically: \"I have burdened you with my repeated visits.\" His friend replied: \"Yes, you have burdened me — burdened me with affection and companionship.\"",
"explanation": "The visitor uses أثقلتُكَ intending the negative sense of imposing or becoming a nuisance. His friend carries the word to a warmer meaning — that the weight is one of love and good company — implying that this is the sense the speaker ought to have intended."
},
{
"@type": "balagha:Example",
"exampleType": "constructed",
"exampleOf": "WISE",
"exampleOfName": "Wise Response",
"id": "WTU9Y",
"url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/WISE:_Wise_Response#WTU9Y",
"exampleOfEntity": {
"@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q77"
},
"inLanguage": "en",
"english": "A colleague said, “I’m afraid my proposal was rather weak.” She replied, “Weak? I thought it was remarkably restrained.”",
"explanation": "The speaker uses “weak” to mean lacking force or quality. The respondent carries the criticism toward a more favourable interpretation, treating the perceived lack of force as deliberate restraint. The response redirects the speaker’s intended meaning into one presented as more fitting."
}
],
"author": [
{
"@type": "Person",
"@id": "https://marathe.org/#mandar",
"honorificPrefix": "Dr",
"name": "Mandar Marathe",
"givenName": "Mandar",
"familyName": "Marathe",
"alternateName": "Dr Mandar Marathe",
"url": "https://marathe.org/",
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://marathe.org/"
},
"identifier": [
{
"@type": "PropertyValue",
"propertyID": "ORCID",
"value": "0000-0002-6927-6836",
"url": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6927-6836"
},
{
"@type": "PropertyValue",
"propertyID": "Google Scholar",
"value": "w-bT-iYAAAAJ",
"url": "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w-bT-iYAAAAJ"
}
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"https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/GRX-5034-2022",
"https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mandar_Marathe",
"https://independent.academia.edu/MandarMaratheUK",
"https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/Mandar-Marathe/34623281",
"https://arxiv.org/a/marathe_m_1.html",
"https://dblp.org/pid/413/7182",
"https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/mandar-marathe",
"https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandar-marathe-uk/",
"https://x.com/DrMMarathe",
"https://www.youtube.com/@drmandarmarathe",
"https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q19",
"https://balaghabase.org/wiki/Item:Q19"
],
"affiliation": [
{
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "The Arabic Research Institute",
"url": "https://arabicresearch.org/"
}
],
"owns": [
{
"@id": "https://marathe.org/#website"
},
{
"@id": "https://rhetorical-density.com/#website"
},
{
"@id": "https://balaghascore.com/#website"
},
{
"@id": "https://project.balaghascore.com/#website"
},
{
"@id": "https://al-balagha.com/#website"
},
{
"@id": "https://balaghabase.org/#website"
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