IMPERAT: The Imperative
| IMPERAT: The Imperative | |
|---|---|
| Category | Sentence Construction & Syntactical Stylistics (‘ilm al-ma‘ānī) |
| Subcategory | Sentence-Type Switches |
| Balagha-Corpus.com | |
| Corpus data | See examples |
| Balaghascore.com | |
| Code | A-3 |
| BalaghaBase.org | |
| Code | Q44 |
| OpenAlex | |
| ID | W4415329869 |
| Cite this page | |
| 🔗 DOI | 10.64393/balagha.Q44 |
| Download PDF | |
| Taxonomy | |
| ARDT | v0.1.0, v0.1.1 |
Definition
The role of the imperative is to communicate a compelling command from someone in a position of authority to a subordinate.
The imperative is may be recognised by the following:
- A verb in the imperative case
- Prefix of li to a present tense verb in the jussive mood
- Use of ʿalā and hattā
- Use of verbal noun in place of the imperative
For rhetorical purposes, the imperative may be used for purposes other than for commanding.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Examples
1) To advise
اُدرسْ جيدًا لهذه الاختبارات!
Study well for these exams!
2) To give a choice
خُذْ هذا الكتاب أو تلك المجلة.
Take this book or that magazine.
3) To denote an equal choice
زرني أو لا تزرني اليوم، سأراك غداً في أي حال.
Whether or not you visit me today, I will see you tomorrow in any case.
4) To supplicate
ربِّ زِدْنِي عِلْماً
“Oh my Lord, increase me in knowledge!”
Quran 20:114
5) To challenge
عِشْ حياتك بدون خوف من أي بشر.
Live your life without fearing any human.
6) To threaten
اُحضرْ إلى الشغل متأخراً مرة ثانية والمدير سيطردك.
Come to work late again, and the manager will fire you.
7) To express sarcasm
اِفعلْ ما تشاء، لا يهمني.
Do whatever you want, I don’t care.
8) To plea
ساعدني!
Help me!
9) To give permission
خذ راحتك.
Take your time.
10) For a weaker person to petition someone in authority
أيها الملك، كن كريماً تجاه شعبي.
Oh King, be generous towards my people!
11) To insult
كن كسولاً مثل أصدقائك.
Be lazy like your friends.
References
- ↑ Muhammad Abdel Haleem, ‘Rhetorical Devices and Stylistic Features of Qur’anic Grammar’, The Oxford Handbook of Qur’anic Studies, ed. Mustafa Shah and Muhammad Abdel Haleem (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020), 333, ISBN 9780199698646. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199698646.013.22
- ↑ Hussein Abdul-Raof, Arabic Rhetoric: A Pragmatic Analysis (Oxford: Routledge, 2006), 117-118, ISBN 9780415386098. DOI: 10.4324/9780203965399
- ↑ Ayman Amin Abd Al-Ghani, Al-Kāfī fī al-Balāgha: Al-Bayān, wa al-Badiʿ wa al-Maʿānī (Cairo: Dār al-Tawfīqiyya lil-Turāth, 2011), 331-335.
- ↑ Ḥafnī Nāṣif, Muḥammad Diyāb, Sultan Muḥammad and Muṣṭafā Ṭammām, Durūs al-Balāgha (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 2012), 31-32, ISBN 9786144162798.
- ↑ Hashim Muhammad, First Steps to Understanding Balaghah (Leicester: Al-Qalam Publications, 2016), 20-22, ISBN 9780957653474.
- ↑ Basil Hatim, Arabic Rhetoric: The Pragmatics of Deviation from Linguistic Norms, LINCOM Studies in Communication 04 (Munich: Lincom Europa, 2010), 153-159, ISBN 9783929075731.
Page history
- 2026-02-10 - Migration to Semantic Device Identifiers: Renamed from A-3: The Imperative to IMPERAT: The Imperative.
- 2025-11-20 - Page incorporated into the Arabic Rhetorical Device Taxonomy (v0.1.1).
- 2024-04-22 - Page created: The Imperative.
