PRONOUN: Forward-Pointing Pronoun
| PRONOUN: Forward-Pointing Pronoun | |
|---|---|
| Category | Sentence Construction & Syntactical Stylistics (ʿilm al-maʿānī) |
| Subcategory | Referential Switches |
| Built upon | 4 sources |
| Annotation Unit | |
| ARDT Code | PRONOUN |
| Level | 1 (Rhetorical device) |
| ↳ Has 2 subtypes | |
| Included in Taxonomy | |
| ARDT | v0.1.1 v0.1.0 |
| External Identifiers | |
| BALAGHAScore | A-13 |
| BalaghaBase | Q50 |
| OpenAlex | W4415329655 |
| Cite this page | |
| 🔗 Live DOI | 10.64393/balagha.Q50 |
| Use this page | |
| Download | PDF JSON  |
Definition
Forward-Pointing Pronoun (al-iḍmār maqām al-iẓhār) is an Arabic rhetorical device in which a pronoun is used in place of a more explicit referential expression, particularly by introducing the pronoun before its referent or explanatory content has been fully disclosed.[1][2][3]
Background Information
The Arabic designation al-iḍmār maqām al-iẓhār literally means "using a pronoun in place of explicit expression." It describes the substitution of a pronoun for a more explicit form of reference. In the case of ḍamīr al-shaʾn wa-l-qiṣṣa, the pronoun is introduced before the matter it anticipates has been explained, creating anticipation and lending the subsequent disclosure greater prominence.[2][3]
In Arabic, the unmarked use of language (al-aṣl fī al-kalām) requires that a pronoun refer back to a noun already established in the discourse; a pronoun that instead points forward to a noun introduced only later is therefore a marked, rhetorically motivated departure from this norm.[1]
Linguistic Operations
- In Arabic, the unmarked norm (al-aṣl fī al-kalām) is that a pronoun refers backward to a noun already present in the discourse. Any departure from this norm that is rhetorically motivated constitutes a marked use.[1]
- In Forward-Pointing Pronoun, a pronoun appears in the discourse before its referent — the noun it points to — has been named. This creates a temporary gap in the addressee's understanding, which is held open until the referent is subsequently provided.[1]
- The temporary withholding of the referent is the operative mechanism: it produces a state of uncertainty and expectation in the addressee, and when the referent is finally named, it is received with heightened attention and is more firmly retained.[1]
- Al-ʿAlawī (as cited in Akkāwī, 1992) describes the two named subtypes of this device — ḍamīr al-shaʾn and ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa — as operating through the deliberate act of first concealing the referent and then explicating it (iḍmāruhu awwalan wa-tafsīruhu thāniyan). The ambiguous element thereby invites longing and reflection (tashawwuq wa-tafkīr) in the addressee.[3]
- Al-Marāghī (pp. 143–149) independently discusses ḍamīr al-shaʾn wa-l-qiṣṣa under al-iḍmār fī maqām al-iẓhār. He treats the two designations together, identifying the construction as a pronoun whose explanatory content follows, rather than distinguishing two separate rhetorical operations.[2]
Recognition
Forward-Pointing Pronoun may be present when:
- A pronoun appears in the discourse without any preceding noun or nominal expression that could serve as its referent.[1]
- The noun to which the pronoun refers is introduced only after the pronoun — that is, the pronoun precedes its referent in the text.[1]
- The pronoun is a third-person form (huwa, hiya, innahu, innahā) standing as the subject or topic of the sentence, with the substantive content that clarifies its referent following immediately.[4][3]
The following diagnostic tests aid identification:
- Ask whether the pronoun has an antecedent earlier in the same passage. If no prior noun has been named that the pronoun could refer back to, and the referent instead appears later in the same sentence or immediately following clause, Forward-Pointing Pronoun may be in operation.
- Ask whether the sentence remains fully intelligible if the pronoun is replaced by the noun that follows it. If the substitution produces a more explicit but less striking formulation, the forward-pointing pronoun is functioning rhetorically.
Communicative Enhancements
- Generating uncertainty and thereby heightening the addressee's interest and anticipation, by creating a temporary gap in reference that is held open until the referent is named.[1] Once the referent is finally named, it lends it greater prominence and impact.[1][3]
- Enhancing the retention of the referent in the mind of the addressee: once the referent is provided, it is received with greater attention and more firmly remembered than if it had been stated directly from the outset.[1]
- Creating prominence and noteworthiness (tafkhīm) for the referent, by first withholding it and then revealing it — the ambiguity produces a state of longing and reflection (tashawwuq wa-tafkīr) before resolution.[3][4][2]
- Producing the sense that what follows is especially weighty, extraordinary, or newsworthy — the pronoun signals to the addressee that something significant is about to be disclosed.[1][4]
- The lack of explicit prior referent compels the mind to search for meaning and produces a stronger impression than the explicit noun would have done in its place.[4]
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:
Subtypes of Forward-Pointing Pronoun
The sources distinguish two rhetorically motivated subtypes of Forward-Pointing Pronoun.[1][3][4][2]
PRONOUN-PPR: Pronoun of Prominence (ḍamīr al-shaʾn)
| Annotation Unit | |
|---|---|
| ARDT | PRONOUN-PPR |
| Level | 2 (Subtype) |
| BalaghaBase | Q458 |
| Official Arabic name | ḍamīr al-shaʾn[3] |
A form of Forward-Pointing Pronoun in which a pronoun whose referent is the matter, affair, or proposition that follows it is used. It denotes something strange or remarkable (gharāba), causing the mind to reach forward in anticipation of what is to come.[4] Al-ʿAlawī (as cited in Akkāwī, 1992) holds that it serves the purposes of exaggeration and glorification (tafkhīm) by concealing the referent first and revealing it second.[3] The pronoun in this subtype is typically masculine singular (huwa), though it may also appear in the feminine (hiya).[4]
Background Information
The Arabic designation ḍamīr al-shaʾn literally means "pronoun of the matter or affair": the pronoun anticipates the shaʾn (shaʾn), the matter or affair that is subsequently stated and explained.[3]
Hatim explicitly identifies this form as the "Pronoun of Prominence" (ḍamīr al-shaʾn).[1] Akkāwī discusses ḍamīr al-shaʾn together with ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa, explaining their rhetorical operation as concealing the referent first and explaining it second (iḍmāruhu awwalan wa-tafsīruhu thāniyan), thereby producing anticipation and reflection (tashawwuq wa-tafkīr) and contributing to prominence or glorification (tafkhīm).[3]
Al-Marāghī likewise explicitly identifies ḍamīr al-shaʾn within the combined construction ḍamīr al-shaʾn wa-l-qiṣṣa, associating it with rhetorical magnification and emphasis, without separately defining it as an independent subtype.[2]
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
Say: "He is Allah — The One and Only."
Qur'an 112:1
- Explanation
- The pronoun huwa precedes its referent Allāh. No noun has been named before it; the addressee is momentarily held in suspense until the referent is disclosed. The prominence and noteworthiness of what follows — the oneness of God — is thereby underlined.[1][3]
هُوَ الصِّدْقُ — ذَلِكَ مَا يَبْقَى.
It is honesty — that is what endures.
- Explanation
- The pronoun huwa opens the sentence before its referent al-ṣidq (honesty) has been named, creating a moment of anticipation. The quality being praised — honesty — is received with greater weight once revealed.
إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ وَاضِحٌ.
Indeed — the truth is clear.
- Explanation
- The pronoun innahu precedes the disclosure of the statementʾs central content. The addressee is briefly held in suspense before the proposition concerning the truth is clarified.
"It was this: the entire research archive had survived the fire."
- Explanation
- The pronoun it appears before the matter to which it refers has been disclosed. The expression was this sustains the anticipation until the following clause reveals that the research archive survived the fire. This delayed disclosure gives the unexpected news greater prominence.
PRONOUN-PDC: Pronoun of Disclosure (ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa)
| Annotation Unit | |
|---|---|
| ARDT | PRONOUN-PDC |
| Level | 2 (Subtype) |
| BalaghaBase | Q459 |
| Official Arabic name | ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa[3] |
A form of Forward-Pointing Pronoun in which a pronoun whose referent is the narrative, disclosure, or report that follows is used. This creates the tellability or newsworthiness of what follows: the pronoun signals that what is about to be said is of significance, generating uncertainty that is then resolved by the content of the disclosure.[1] The pronoun in this subtype typically appears in the feminine singular (innahā), referring to the qiṣṣa (story, narrative, or matter) that follows.[1][3]
Background Information
The Arabic designation ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa literally means "pronoun of the matter or account": the pronoun anticipates the qiṣṣa (qiṣṣa), the matter or account that is subsequently stated and explained.[3]
Hatim explicitly identifies this form as the "Pronoun of Disclosure" (ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa), explaining that it creates uncertainty before resolution and highlights the "tellability" or "newsworthiness" of the proposition that follows.[1] Akkāwī discusses ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa together with ḍamīr al-shaʾn within the same rhetorical account.[3]
Al-Marāghī also explicitly includes ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa within the same construction, describing the magnification and glorification of the matter subsequently disclosed. His discussion supports the designation and shared rhetorical function, rather than a separate subtype-specific operation.[2]
فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى ٱلْأَبْصَارُ وَلَٰكِن تَعْمَى ٱلْقُلُوبُ ٱلَّتِي فِي ٱلصُّدُورِ
For truly it is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts within the breasts.
Qur'an 22:46
- Explanation
- The pronoun innahā precedes the disclosure — that it is the hearts, not the eyes, that are blind. The addressee is momentarily held in uncertainty before the content of the disclosure is revealed, lending the statement its arresting, newsworthy quality.[1]
أَلَا إِنَّهَا الشَّجَاعَةُ لَيْسَتْ غِيَابَ الْخَوْفِ، بَلْ هِيَ التَّقَدُّمُ رَغْمَهُ.
Know that truly — courage is not the absence of fear, but advancing in spite of it.
- Explanation
- The pronoun innahā opens the statement before the subject of the disclosure — the nature of courage — has been named. The form signals that a significant revelation is coming, and the addressee receives the definition with heightened attention.
إِنَّهُ مَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَنْجَحْ.
Truly — whoever fears God succeeds.
- Explanation
- The pronoun innahu does not refer to a previously mentioned noun. Instead, it points forward to the entire proposition that follows — namely, that whoever fears God succeeds. The addressee is momentarily held in anticipation before the content of the disclosure becomes clear.
هِيَ الْحَيَاةُ لَا تَدُومُ لِأَحَدٍ.
It is the nature of life — it lasts for no one.
- Explanation
- The pronoun hiya appears before the content it introduces has been disclosed. Rather than referring back to an earlier noun, it prepares the addressee for the proposition that follows, lending the statement greater weight and reflective force.
"It turned out that the witness had been telling the truth all along."
- Explanation
- The pronoun it anticipates the proposition expressed in the following clause: that the witness had been telling the truth. Rather than referring to an earlier noun, it introduces a disclosure whose content is supplied subsequently. The construction directs attention towards the revelation and emphasizes its significance.
Different From
- NOUNPRO: Nominal Prominence (al-iẓhār maqām al-iḍmār) — the inverse device: an explicit noun is used where a pronoun would be the expected, unmarked form. Forward-Pointing Pronoun introduces a pronoun before its referent has been named; Use of Noun in Place of Pronoun repeats an explicit noun after its referent has already been established.[1]
Notes
Technical
- Hatim (1997) notes that in Arabic grammar, certain constructions involve a pronoun that appears before its referent as a matter of grammatical necessity rather than rhetorical choice. Three such constructions are identified: the genitive of rubba (e.g. rubbahu rajulan); nouns following niʿma and biʾsa; and the construction known as al-maʿmūl li-awwal al-mutanāziʿayn. These are part of the grammatical system of Arabic and carry little if any rhetorical value; they are therefore distinct from the rhetorically motivated Forward-Pointing Pronoun described on this page.[1]
- Akkāwī (1992) also discusses the ḍamīr al-faṣl (also called ḍamīr al-ʿimād), a pronoun inserted between the subject and predicate of a nominal sentence to serve the function of specification and exclusivity (ikhtisāṣ). This pronoun does not point forward to an unnamed referent; it functions within a fully established nominal sentence and is therefore treated as a separate phenomenon from Forward-Pointing Pronoun.[3]
Historical
- The classical grounding for the principle that pronouns in Arabic are essentially backward-pointing — and that forward-pointing pronoun use therefore constitutes a departure from the norm — is traced by Hatim (1997) to al-Zarkashī's al-Burhān fī ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān (vol. 2, p. 482).[1]
- The terms ḍamīr al-shaʾn and ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa are established classical Arabic grammatical and rhetorical terms. Akkāwī (1992) attributes the account of their rhetorical function specifically to Yaḥyā ibn Ḥamza al-ʿAlawī.[3]
References
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Basil Hatim, Arabic Rhetoric: The Pragmatics of Deviation from Linguistic Norms, LINCOM Studies in Communication 04 (Munich: Lincom Europa, 2010), 73–75, ISBN 9783929075731.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Ahmad Mustafa al-Maraghi, ʿUlum al-Balagha: al-Bayan wa-al-Maʿani wa-al-Badiʿ, 4th ed. (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2002), 143-149.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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), 156.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās, Al-Balāgha: Funūnuhā wa-Afnānuhā - ʿIlm al-Maʿānī (Irbid: Dār al-Furqān lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 1997), 299–301.
Page History
- 2026-05-16 - Renamed from PRONOUN: Use of Pronoun in Place of Noun to PRONOUN: Forward-Pointing Pronoun to reflect wider scope of the Arabic definition of the device.
- 2026-02-10 - Migration to Semantic Device Identifiers: Renamed from A-9: Use of Pronoun in Place of Noun to PRONOUN: Use of Pronoun in Place of Noun.
- 2025-11-20 - Page incorporated into the Arabic Rhetorical Device Taxonomy (v0.1.1).
- 2025-04-15 - Page created: Use of Pronoun in Place of Noun.
