Less Form, More Meaning: A Case Study of al-IẖtibÄ k in the Qur’an Through the Prism of Dependency Grammar

Ellipsis pervades the Qur’anic discourse. One pervasive form of it is al-iẖtibÄ k (“interchangeable ellipsis†). In terms of the interface between Qur’anic exegesis and Arabic rhetoric, the phenomenon of al-iẖtibÄ k is far more than a rhetorically heuristic technique for surface-structure analysis. It is a fruitful tool for pragmasemantic inferences of discursive implicatures defined as a fundamental mode of text construction and a logical hermeneutic of text consumption. The veracity of al-iẖtibÄ k has received little attention in non-Arabic research. Consequently, this article revisits the typology of al-iẖtibÄ k through the lens of Osborne’s dependency grammar to argue for its relevance to Qur’anic epistemology and axiology. Using a dependency grammar approach to al-iẖtibÄ k , the article conducts a qualitative content analysis of representative Qur’anic verses to highlight the symbiotic relationship between Qur’anic exegesis and Arabic rhetoric. Al-iẖtibÄ k is found to be related to givenness and newness of information structure which impact its interpretation and resolution—a finding in line with Winkler’s argument. Al-iẖtibÄ k proves to be a central discourse marker of interaction between the Qur’an and its recipients who take part in filling the elliptical slots co(n)textually.