Asyndetic and Syndetic Clauses in Qur’an

Abstract

The paper deals with complex sentences composed of concomitant, inde- pendent, simple clauses of Arabic language shown on examples of the text of Qur’an. Such sentences may be in different mutual relations, depending on their meaning. Sometimes, such sentences may express a single meaning so they seem like a single expression in which another clause appears as part of the first one, as if there is no difference between them.

There may be a quite contrary relation between these clauses manifested in complete difference so they may not be related under any criterion, neither by meaning nor by common formal features. Relation between conjunctions of the first type of sentences is marked by full unity (ittiḥād tāmm) of the content presented as their full mutual connectivity (kamāl al-ittiṣāl) or semi-full connectivity (šibh kamāl al-ittiṣāl) when there is no full unity of meaning between them. Rela- tion between conjunctions of the second type of these sentences is marked by full contrast (tabāyun tāmm) of their contents manifested as their full non-connectivity (kamāl al-inqiṭā‘) or semi-full connectivity (šibh kamāl al-inqiṭā‘), when in a complex sentence expression of three clauses the third clause may be connected with the first one by wa conjunction but cannot be connected with the second one as, in that case, the meaning would be wrong.

Every mentioned type of connectivity or non-connectivity between these clauses is achieved in various ways without the wa conjunction. This is why such sentences are ğumla al-faṣl (asyndetic or clauses with no conjunction). However, when the level of connectivity of these clauses is in the middle between full connectivity (kamāl al-ittiṣāl) and full non-connectivity ( kamāl al-inqiṭā), or semi-full connectivity (šibh kamāl al-ittiṣāl) and when there is a connector (ǧāmi‘) between them which is present in both clauses as a common element and which enables their explicit connection by means of wa conjunction into a meaningful complex sentence, such clause is marked as ğumla al-faṣl (syndetic or conjunction clause).