WISH: Wish

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    التمني
    WISH: Wish
    CategorySentence Construction & Syntactical Stylistics
    (‘ilm al-ma‘ānī)
    SubcategorySentence-Type Switches
    Built upon7 sources
      
    Annotation Unit
    ARDT CodeWISH
    Level1
     Has 2 Level2 subunits
     Has 6 Level3 subunits
      
    Included in Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.1
    v0.1.0
      
    External Identifiers
    BALAGHAScoreA-6
    BalaghaBaseQ47
    OpenAlexW4415329732
      
    Cite this page
    🔗 Live DOI10.64393/balagha.Q47
     
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    Definition

    Wishing (al-tamannī) is an Arabic rhetorical device where a communicator requests the occurrence of a beloved (maḥbūb) matter whose occurrence is not hoped for or anticipated.[1][2][3][4]

    This excludes matters whose occurrence is expected or anticipated as likely (al-tarajjī, hope), which is treated as a distinct category from Wishing.[2][3][4]

    Ghānī gives a differently-scoped formulation, defining Wishing as the request for a beloved or desired matter that is difficult to attain because of its impossibility or remoteness of attainment.[5] Ghānī's treatment of ʿasā is internally ambiguous: it initially appears among additional tools used in relation to Wishing, but is subsequently explicitly treated, together with laʿalla, as a tool of al-tarajjī (hope).[5] This ambiguity has therefore not been incorporated into the core definition or mechanism.

    Nāṣif's does not give a definition of Wish.[6]

    Linguistic Operations

    • The matter requested in Wishing is either (1) impossible, or (2) possible but not anticipated as attainable.[2][1][3]
    • Wishing is distinguished from al-tarajjī (hope): Wishing may apply to impossible matters, whereas al-tarajjī applies only to possible matters.[2][3][4]
    • The device is expressed primarily by the particle layta, and secondarily — for a rhetorical purpose (li-gharaḍ balāghī) — by hal, law, and laʿalla, which are not originally Wishing particles.[2][1][6][3][4]
    • hal is originally an interrogative particle (adāt istifhām).[4]
    • law is originally a particle denoting the negation of a consequence due to the negation of its condition (ḥarf imtināʿ li-imtināʿ); ʿAbdul-Raof notes that it signifies something difficult or impossible to attain.[4][7]
    • laʿalla is originally a particle of al-tarajjī.[4][5]
    • When hal, law, or laʿalla are used for Wishing, the imperfect (muḍāriʿ) verb occurring as their response (jawāb) is put into the subjunctive (naṣb).[2][6][4]
    • layta is occasionally preceded by the vocative particle yā (e.g. yā laytanī), with scholarly disagreement over whether yā here functions as a true vocative or merely as a particle of alerting (tanbīh).[4]

    Recognition

    Wishing may be present when:

    • layta introduces a request for a beloved matter.[2][1][3][4]
    • hal, law, or laʿalla governs a subjunctive verb expressing a desire for a beloved matter not anticipated as occurring.[2][6]
    • The matter expressed is either impossible, or possible but not anticipated as attainable.[2][1]

    Diagnostic Communicative Enhancements

    • Using hal for Wishing can present an impossible wished-for matter in the form of something possible, since hal is originally an interrogative particle concerned with something whose occurrence is possible.[4]
    • Using law for Wishing can emphasise the remoteness or difficulty of attaining the wished-for matter.[2][4]
    • Using laʿalla for Wishing can present an impossible wished-for matter as though it were possible, since laʿalla is originally a particle of al-tarajjī.[4]
    • Conversely, layta may be used for a matter belonging to al-tarajjī, presenting the hoped-for matter in the form of the impossible as an exaggeration of the remoteness of its attainment.[2]
    • The forms hallā, lawlā, and lawmā may express regret over an unrealised matter; ʿAbdul-Raof specifically describes their pragmatic function as raising a feeling of regret in the addressee's mind, while Funūn associates these forms with al-tandīm (regret) and al-taḥḍīḍ (incitement).[7][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:

    • 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.

    Types of Wish

    Wishing may be described along two independent dimensions: according to the attainability of the wished-for matter, and according to the linguistic tool through which Wishing is realised.

    WISH-AT: By Attainability

    The sources distinguish between Wishing for a matter that is impossible and Wishing for a matter that is possible in itself but not anticipated as attainable.[2][1][3]

    WISH-IM: Wishing of the Impossible

    A request for a beloved matter whose occurrence is not hoped for because it is impossible.[2][1][3]

    أَلَا لَيْتَ الشَّبَابَ يَعُودُ يَوْمًا فَأُخْبِرَهُ بِمَا فَعَلَ الْمَشِيبُ

    Oh, would that youth might return one day, so that I could tell it what old age has done.

    Explanation
    The communicator wishes for the return of youth, an impossible matter, using the primary Wishing tool layta.[8]

    لَيْتَ الشَّمْسَ تَعُودُ إِلَى الأُفُقِ بَعْدَ غُرُوبِهَا لِأَشْهَدَ هَذَا الْمَنْظَرَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى.

    I wish the sun would return to the horizon after its setting, so that I could witness this sight once more.

    Explanation
    The communicator wishes for an impossible matter: the reversal of the sun after it has set.

    WISH-PU: Wishing of the Possible-but-Unanticipated

    A request for a beloved matter that is possible in itself but whose attainment is not anticipated or realistically hoped for.[2][1][3]

    يَا لَيْتَ لَنَا مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ قَارُونُ

    Would that we had the like of what Qārūn has been given!
    Quran 28:79

    Explanation
    The wished-for matter is possible in itself, but its attainment is not realistically hoped for.[8]

    لَيْتَ لِي وَظِيفَةً مِثْلَ الَّتِي حَصَلَ عَلَيْهَا صَدِيقِي فِي تِلْكَ الشَّرِكَةِ الْكُبْرَى.

    I wish I had a job like the one my friend got at that major company.

    Explanation
    The wished-for matter is possible in itself, but the communicator does not anticipate attaining it.

    WISH-LR: By Linguistic Realisation

    In this encyclopedia, Wishing is also classified according to the linguistic tool through which it is realised. This operational classification reflects the source-attested distinction between the original Wishing tool layta and the three non-original tools hal, law, and laʿalla.[2][1][6][3][4]

    WISH-LT: Wishing with layta

    layta is the original or primary tool of Wishing.[2][1][6][3][4]

    أَلَا لَيْتَ الشَّبَابَ يَعُودُ يَوْمًا فَأُخْبِرَهُ بِمَا فَعَلَ الْمَشِيبُ

    Oh, would that youth might return one day, so that I could tell it what old age has done.

    Explanation
    layta, the primary Wishing tool, expresses the wish for the return of youth.[8]

    لَيْتَنِي أَعُودُ إِلَى أَيَّامِ الطُّفُولَةِ.

    I wish I could return to the days of childhood.

    Explanation
    The communicator uses layta, the primary tool of Wishing, to express a wish for something unattainable.

    WISH-HL: Wishing with hal

    hal, originally an interrogative tool, may be used in place of layta to express Wishing for a rhetorical purpose.[1][4]

    فَهَلْ لَنَا مِنْ شُفَعَاءَ فَيَشْفَعُوا لَنَا

    Then are there any intercessors for us, to intercede on our behalf?
    Quran 7:53

    Explanation
    hal is used here to express Wishing in place of the primary tool layta.[8]

    هَلْ لِي مِنْ سَبِيلٍ فَأَعُودَ إِلَى شَبَابِي؟

    Is there any way for me to return to my youth?

    Explanation
    The communicator uses hal, an interrogative particle, to express Wishing for an impossible matter as though it were possible.

    WISH-LW: Wishing with law

    law may be used in place of layta to express Wishing for a rhetorical purpose.[2][1][6][3][4]

    فَلَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

    If only we had a return, so that we might be among the believers!
    Quran 26:102

    Explanation
    law is used here to express Wishing in place of the primary tool layta.[9]

    لَوْ أَنَّ الزَّمَانَ يَعُودُ فَأُصْلِحَ مَا أَفْسَدْتُ.

    If only time could return, so that I might put right what I spoiled.

    Explanation
    The communicator uses law to express Wishing for an unattainable return to the past.

    WISH-LA: Wishing with laʿalla

    laʿalla, originally associated with al-tarajjī (hope), may be used in place of layta to express Wishing for a rhetorical purpose.[2][1][6][4]

    أَسِرْبَ الْقَطَا هَلْ مَنْ يُعِيرُ جَنَاحَهُ لَعَلِّي إِلَى مَنْ قَدْ هَوِيتُ أَطِيرُ

    O flock of sandgrouse, will anyone lend me a wing, so that perhaps I might fly to the one I love?

    Explanation
    The verse employs hal and laʿalla in expressing the impossible wish of obtaining a bird's wing and flying to the beloved.[9][10]

    لَعَلَّ الشَّبَابَ يَعُودُ يَوْمًا فَأَسْتَدْرِكَ مَا فَاتَنِي.

    Perhaps youth might return one day, so that I could make up for what I missed.

    Explanation
    The communicator uses laʿalla, normally associated with al-tarajjī, to express Wishing, presenting an impossible wished-for matter as though it were possible.

    Different From

    • al-tarajjī (Hope): Wishing concerns a beloved matter whose occurrence is not hoped for or anticipated, including something impossible or something possible but not realistically hoped for. By contrast, al-tarajjī concerns a beloved possible matter whose occurrence is hoped for.[2][1][4]

    Notes

    Technical

    • Ghānī's treatment differs from the principal formulation found in the other definitional sources: he defines Wishing in terms of impossibility or remoteness of attainment. His treatment of ʿasā is also internally ambiguous, since it initially appears among additional tools discussed in relation to Wishing but is subsequently explicitly classified, together with laʿalla, as a particle of al-rajāʾ.[5]
    • ʿAbdul-Raof discusses wish constructions within his treatment of word order rather than providing a separate formal definition of Wishing.[7]
    • ʿAbdul-Raof describes hallā, lawlā, and lawmā as producing regret specifically in the addressee's mind; Funūn associates these forms with al-tandīm (regret) and al-taḥḍīḍ (incitement).[7][4]
    • Nāṣif's supplied page begins with the four tools of Wishing and does not contain a definition of the device.[6]

    References

    1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Aḥmad al-Hāshimī, Jawāhir al-Balāgha fī al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ (Windsor: Hindāwī Foundation, 2019), 101-102, ISBN 9781527316386.
    2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Maʿānī (Cairo: Dār al-Āfāq al-ʿArabiyya, 2006), 88-91, ISBN 9773440764.
    3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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), 428.
    4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās, Al-Balāgha: Funūnuhā wa-Afnānuhā - ʿIlm al-Maʿānī (Irbid: Dār al-Furqān lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 1997), 156-161.
    5. ↑ a b c d 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), 353-356.
    6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Ḥafnī Nāṣif, Muḥammad Diyāb, Sultan Muḥammad and Muṣṭafā Ṭammām, Durūs al-Balāgha (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 2012), 38, ISBN 9786144162798.
    7. ↑ a b c d Hussein Abdul-Raof, Arabic Rhetoric: A Pragmatic Analysis (Oxford: Routledge, 2006), 119-120, ISBN 9780415386098. DOI: 10.4324/9780203965399
    8. ↑ a b c d ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Maʿānī (Cairo: Dār al-Āfāq al-ʿArabiyya, 2006), 89, ISBN 9773440764.
    9. ↑ a b ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Atīq, ʿIlm al-Maʿānī (Cairo: Dār al-Āfāq al-ʿArabiyya, 2006), 90, ISBN 9773440764.
    10. ↑ Aḥmad al-Hāshimī, [ Jawāhir al-Balāgha fī al-Maʿānī wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Badīʿ] (Windsor: Hindāwī Foundation, 2019), 102, ISBN 9781527316386.



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