INDIRCT: Indirect Address

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    التعريض
    INDIRCT: Indirect Address
    CategoryFigurative Speech
    (ʿilm al-bayān)
    SubcategorySemantic Ambiguity
    Built upon5 sources
      
    Annotation Unit
    ARDT CodeINDIRCT
    Level1 (Rhetorical device)
      
    Included in Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.1
    v0.1.0
      
    External Identifiers
    BALAGHAScoreINDIRCT: Indirect Address
    BalaghaBaseQ61
    OpenAlexW4415342206
      
    Applications
    BalaghaCorpusSee examples
     
    About this page
    Created22 April 2024
    Modified2 November 2026
     
    Cite this page
    🔗 DOIhttps://doi.org/10.64393/balagha.Q61
     
    Use this page
    DownloadPDF     JSON     HTML

    Definition

    Indirect Address (al-taʿrīḍ) is an Arabic rhetorical device in which the communicator conveys an intended meaning indirectly, so that the addressee or real target recovers that meaning from the context, direction, or circumstances of the speech rather than from an explicit statement of it.[1][2][3][4][5]

    Background Information

    The Arabic name al-taʿrīḍ reflects the oblique character of the operation. ʿAkkāwī notes the lexical sense of ʿarraḍa as speaking indirectly about something without making it explicit. Hence ʿurriḍa lahu, "it was hinted at him".[2].

    al-Nābulusī, as presented by Cachia, explains the name in terms of directing the speech toward a "side" (ʿarḍ) that indicates the intended meaning rather than stating it directly.[2][3]

    Linguistic Operations

    • The communicator expresses an overt proposition while intending the addressee to recover a further meaning that is not stated explicitly.[1][2][3][5]
    • The intended meaning is recovered from contextual cues — including the situation, direction of the speech, relationship between the participants, or implications generated by the discourse — rather than being explicitly encoded in the wording.[1][2][3][5]
    • In one common realization, there are two distinct audiences: a surface addressee to whom the speech is formally directed and a real target who understands that the message is intended for them. Al-Qazwīnī explicitly illustrates this with an utterance in which the person addressed is not the person intended; rather, another person who is present is the real target.[1][2][4]
    • The surface expression may also be general rather than addressed to a particular alternative person: the intended target or implied meaning can still be recovered from the circumstances and context of the utterance.[1][2][3][5]
    • Taʿrīḍ is distinguished from Implicit Reference (al-kināya): in kināya, an expressed item leads to a related meaning, whereas in taʿrīḍ an unexpressed intended meaning is inferred from the discourse context. Al-Nābulusī makes this distinction explicitly, while Ṭabāna explains that the indication of taʿrīḍ arises through contextual clues, allusion, and signalling (al-qarīna wa-al-talwīḥ wa-al-ishāra).[3][5]

    Communicative Enhancements

    • By not addressing the real target directly, the communicator avoids provoking a defensive reaction, backlash, or confrontation. Abd al-Ghani (2011) makes this the primary motivation for the device: direct address in contexts of criticism, rebuke, or warning may provoke anger (ghaḍab), accusation (ittihām), or distortion (talwīm); Indirect Address delivers the message while bypassing these risks.[1]
    • The real target receives the message with greater force precisely because they were not directly confronted: understanding that the speech was aimed at them without being told so increases its rhetorical impact. Abd al-Ghani (2011) illustrates this with Qurʾān 39:65 — the polytheists understand that if even the Prophet were subject to such consequences, their own situation is far graver, a conclusion they reach themselves rather than being told.[1]
    • The communicator is protected from accountability: because no direct statement was made, the real target cannot easily hold the communicator to account for what was said. ʿAkkāwī (1996) records this in the hadith on maʿārīḍ providing latitude against falsehood.[2]
    • In contexts where disclosure itself is dangerous — political, social, or religious — Indirect Address serves the function of a cipher (al-shifra), communicating to those who know how to read the context while remaining opaque to those who do not. Abd al-Ghani (2011) uses precisely this military term.[1]
    • ʿAkkāwī (1996), citing Ibn Qutayba, notes that the device is considered more elegant (alṭaf) and better (aḥsan) than explicit statement, because it allows the addressee to arrive at the meaning themselves rather than having it imposed on them.[2]

    Applying the Recognition Framework

    The 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:

    • Use the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.
    • Apply the substitution test in Step 2.
    • Consider contextual indicators in Step 3.
    • Use the Diagnostic Communicative Enhancements section of this page in Step 4.

    Recognition

    Indirect Address may be present when:

    • The utterance communicates an intended meaning that is not explicitly stated in its wording.[1][2][3][5]
    • The intended meaning becomes recoverable when the utterance is interpreted within its discourse or situational context.[1][2][3][5]
    • The overt proposition remains intelligible in itself, but the surrounding context indicates that the communicator intends the addressee to infer something further or different from it.[2][3]
    • In the audience-displacement form, a surface addressee and a distinct real target can be identified, with the latter recovering the message despite not being directly addressed.[1][2][4]

    The following diagnostic tests aid identification:

    • The unstated-meaning test: Is there an intended meaning which the communicator does not state explicitly?
    • The context-dependence test: Would that intended meaning become difficult or impossible to recover if the utterance were removed from its discourse or situational context?
    • The directness test: Could the intended meaning have been stated directly, but the communicator instead conveys it through an oblique formulation?
    • The audience-displacement test: Where applicable, is the utterance formally addressed to one party while its real rhetorical force is directed toward another? This is a strong indication of taʿrīḍ, but is not required in every instance.

    Subtypes of Indirect Address

    ʿAkkāwī (1996), citing Ibn Maʿṣūm al-Madanī, records six subtypes of Indirect Address:[2]

    • Descriptive Indirection (al-mawṣūf).[2]
    • Attributive Indirection (al-muḍāf).[2]
    • Appealing Indirection (al-istiʿṭāf wa-al-istimāḥa).[2]
    • Reproachful Indirection (al-malāma).[2]
    • Inductive Indirection (al-istidrāj).[2]
    • Precautionary Indirection (al-iḥtirāz).[2]

    Examples

    آذَيْتَنِي فَسَتَعْرِفُ

    "You have harmed me, so you will find out."

    Explanation
    Al-Qazwīnī gives this as an example of taʿrīḍ in which the person overtly addressed is not the person actually intended. The communicator directs the words to one addressee while intending another person who is with them. The utterance therefore illustrates the audience-displacement realization of the device particularly clearly.[4]

    وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
    القرآن — الزمر: ٦٥

    "And it has already been revealed to you and to those before you that if you associate [anything] with Allah, your work will surely become worthless, and you will surely be among the losers."
    Qurʾān, 39:65

    Explanation
    This verse is framed as a direct address to the Prophet ﷺ, warning him against polytheism. Abd al-Ghani (2011) explains that this is Indirect Address aimed not at the Prophet — who is divinely protected from such an act — but at all who followed or would follow him. The apparent address to the Prophet serves as the vehicle through which a warning is delivered to his community and to polytheists. The real intended audience understands that if the Prophet himself were to commit such an act his deeds would be nullified, so their own situation is far more precarious — achieving maximum rhetorical impact without directly confronting the intended target.[1]

    وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ
    القرآن — آل عمران: ٧

    "And none will be reminded except those of understanding."
    Qurʾān, 3:7

    Explanation
    Abd al-Ghani (2011) discusses a series of Qurʾānic verses which speak of ūlū al-albāb ("those of understanding/intellect"). These verses — Qurʾān 3:7, 13:19, 14:52, 5:100, 7:32, 10:24, 6:98 — are cited as examples of Indirect Address directed at those who disbelieve, hinting that they lack understanding, without stating this directly.[1]

    فَرِحَ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ بِمَقْعَدِهِمْ خِلَافَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَكَرِهُوا أَن يُجَاهِدُوا بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَقَالُوا لَا تَنفِرُوا فِي الْحَرِّ قُلْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ أَشَدُّ حَرًّا لَّوْ كَانُوا يَفْقَهُونَ
    القرآن — التوبة: ٨١

    "Those who stayed behind rejoiced in their staying behind the Messenger of Allah and disliked striving with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah and said, 'Do not go forth in the heat.' Say: 'The fire of Hell is more intense in heat.' If only they could understand."
    Qurʾān, 9:81

    Explanation
    Abd al-Ghani (2011) explains that the statement Qul nāru jahannama ashaddu ḥarran ("Say: the fire of Hell is more intense in heat") is not intended to merely inform the hypocrites of a fact about hellfire. The real intended meaning, conveyed indirectly, is that these hypocrites are destined for Hell — the fire that will engulf them being far more severe than the summer heat of the expedition to Tabūk they wished to avoid. This message is delivered without an explicit statement that they are destined for Hell.[1]

    وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَاءَ مَدْيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَّةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ يَسْقُونَ وَوَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمُ امْرَأَتَيْنِ تَذُودَانِ قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُمَا قَالَتَا لَا نَسْقِي حَتَّى يُصْدِرَ الرِّعَاءُ وَأَبُونَا شَيْخٌ كَبِيرٌ فَسَقَى لَهُمَا ثُمَّ تَوَلَّى إِلَى الظِّلِّ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ
    القرآن — القصص: ٢٣–٢٥

    "And when he came to the water of Madyan, he found there a crowd of people watering, and he found apart from them two women keeping back. He said, 'What is your circumstance?' They said, 'We do not water until the shepherds dispatch [their flocks]; and our father is a very old man.' So he watered [their flocks] for them; then he went back to the shade and said, 'My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need.'"
    Qurʾān, 28:23–25

    Explanation
    Abd al-Ghani (2011) explains that Moses' prayer — Rabb innī limā anzalta ilayya min khayrin faqīr ("My Lord, indeed I am in need of whatever good You would send down to me") — is Indirect Address. Moses had watered the flocks for the two women and recognised he was in need of shelter and sustenance; he saw that God had already provided the means through his encounter with the women. Rather than asking explicitly for food, shelter, and a wife, Moses used the form of the supplication to indirectly signal his need, relying on the preceding context to convey his full meaning to God without stating it explicitly.[1]

    وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ
    القرآن — البقرة: ٢٥٣

    "And He raised some of them in degree."
    Qurʾān, 2:253

    Explanation
    Abd al-Ghani (2011) explains that the phrase wa-rafaʿa baʿḍahum darajāt is Indirect Address understood by exegetes as an indirect reference to the elevated rank of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ above all other Messengers, without naming him explicitly. Naming him explicitly would have been a direct statement that could have bred discord among the followers of different prophets and risked being taken as a pretext for rivalry and boasting. The indirect form delivers the message without creating that social risk.[1]

    وَمَنْ رَكِبَ الثَّوْرَ بَعْدَ الْجَوَادِ
    أَنْكَرَ أَظْلَافَهُ وَالْغَبَبْ

    "Whoever rides an ox after a fine horse
    will find strange its cloven hooves and its hanging dewlap."

    Explanation
    Al-Mutanabbī uses this verse as an indirect attack on Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī. The overt statement concerns someone accustomed to riding a fine horse who subsequently rides an ox and therefore finds the ox's features objectionable. The criticism of Kāfūr is not stated in the wording itself, but is recovered from the context: someone like Kāfūr, who had experience of the "ox" before the "fine horse", would not find returning to it strange. The verse therefore communicates an insulting comparison indirectly, while leaving the intended meaning unstated.[3]

    قالت الأم لابنتها أمام أخيها المهمل: "ما أجملَ من يحافظ على كتبه ويعتني بدروسه."

    "The mother said to her daughter, in front of her careless brother: 'How admirable is the one who looks after his books and takes care of his lessons.'"

    Explanation
    The speech is formally addressed to the daughter, but the real target is the careless brother who is present and understands that the praise is meant as an indirect rebuke to him. The communicator avoids confronting him directly while still delivering the intended message.

    As the guest continued talking late into the evening, the host glanced at the clock and said, "The last train leaves in ten minutes."

    Explanation
    The host explicitly states only a fact about the train timetable, but in the circumstances the guest understands the unstated intended meaning: it is time to leave. The additional meaning is recovered from the situation and direction of the remark rather than being stated directly.

    See Also

    Notes

    • The plural form al-maʿārīḍ appears in the cited hadith ("In indirect address there is latitude against lying"). ʿAkkāwī (1996) cites this hadith as evidence of the device's recognised function as providing latitude (mandūḥa) to the speaker.[2]
    • ʿAkkāwī (1996) notes that Ibn Qutayba discussed and defined the device in his work ʿUyūn al-Akhbār, grouping it with metonymy in an independent chapter.[2]

    References

    1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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), 107-113.
    2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Inʿam Fawwal ʿAkkawi, al-Muʿjam al-Mufassal fi ʿUlum al-Balagha: al-Badiʿ wa-l-Bayan wa-l-Maʿani (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 383-384.
    3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Pierre Cachia, The Arch Rhetorician: Or The Schemer’s Skimmer: A Handbook of Late Arabic Badīʻ Drawn from ʻAbd al-Ghanī an-Nābulsī’s Nafaḥāt al-Azhār ʻala Nasamāt al-Asḥār, Studies in Arabic Language and Literature 3 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998), pp. 66-67; §101, ISBN 9783447040327.
    4. ↑ a b c d Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qazwīnī, known as al-Khaṭīb al-Qazwīnī, al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ, ed. and comm. Ibrāhīm Shams al-Dīn (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2003), 249-250, ISBN 9782745139078.
    5. ↑ a b c d e f g Badawī Ṭabāna, Muʿjam al-Balāgha al-ʿArabiyya, 3rd rev. and expanded ed. (Jeddah: Dār al-Manāra; Riyadh: Dār al-Rifāʿī, 1988), 412-413.

    Page History

    You are viewing the live version of this page. Would you like to view the version included in the Arabic Rhetorical Device Taxonomy (v0.1.1)?
    Retrieved from "https://al-balagha.com/index.php?title=INDIRCT:_Indirect_Address&oldid=19536"