The Qur’an is full of beautiful and subtle linguistic nuances that add depth and meaning to the text. The placement of words, prepositions, and pronouns in the Qur’an is not arbitrary, but rather carefully chosen to convey specific meanings and to emphasize certain ideas.

 

In speaking of His Mercy, Allah says in Surah Hud verse 63,

 

قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَةٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّى وَءَاتَىٰنِى مِنْهُ رَحْمَةًۭ فَمَن يَنصُرُنِى مِنَ ٱللَّهِ إِنْ عَصَيْتُهُ

He said, “O my people, have you considered: if I should be upon clear evidence from my Lord and He has given me mercy from Himself, who would protect me from Allāh if I disobeyed Him?

 

And He says in the same surah, verse 28,

 

قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَةٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّى وَءَاتَىٰنِى رَحْمَةًۭ مِّنْ عِندِهِۦ فَعُمِّيَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنُلْزِمُكُمُوهَا وَأَنتُمْ لَهَا كَـٰرِهُونَ

He said, “O my people, have you considered: if I should be upon clear evidence from my Lord while He has given me mercy from Himself but it has been made unapparent to you, should we force it upon you while you are averse to it?

 

In verse 63, we see that the prepositional phrase مِنْهُ has been placed before the noun رَحْمَةًۭ (mercy), whereas in verse 28 the opposite is the case – first comes the noun رَحْمَةًۭ (mercy) followed by the prepositional phrase مِّنْ عِندِهِ.

 

A quick look at the rest of the verse shows the precision and beauty behind this word order: In verse 63, the focus of the rest of the verse is on Allah Himself, and so the preposition “minhu” comes first, emphasizing the source of the mercy, which is Allah.

 

Whereas, in verse 28, the rest of the verse focuses on the mercy itself, and so the noun “rahmah” comes first, emphasizing the quality of mercy and the fact that it comes from Allah.

 

These subtle differences in word order serve to enrich the meaning and understanding of the verses, and demonstrate the precision and beauty of the Qur’anic language.

 

And Allah knows best.