stands alone, mean "Thou art divorced." This class also includes all pronouns the meaning of which is only to be known from the context, e.g. one day the Prophet not knowing who knocked at his door said, "Who art thou?" The man replied, "It is I." Muhammad answered, "Why dost thou say I, I? Say thy name that I may know who thou art." The pronoun "I" is here 'kinayáh.'
The most important and most difficult branch of exegesis is "istidlál," or the science of deducing arguments from the Qurán. This too is divided into four sections, as follows:—
(1.) Ibárat, or the plain sentence. "Mothers, after they are divorced, shall give suck unto their children two full years, and the father shall be obliged to maintain them and clothe them according to that which is reasonable." (Súra ii. 233.) From this verse two deductions are made. First, from the fact that the word "them" is in the feminine plural, it must refer to the mothers and not to the children; secondly, as the duty of supporting the mother is incumbent on the father, it shows that the relationship of the child is closer with the father than with the mother. Penal laws may be based on a deduction of this kind.
(2.) Ishárat, that is, a sign or hint which may be given from the order in which the words are placed.
(3.) Dalálat, or the argument which may be deduced from the use of some special word in the verse, as: "say not to your parents, "Fie" (Arabic "uff") (Súra xvii. 23). From the use of the word "uff," it is argued that children may not beat or abuse their parents. Penal laws may be based on "dalálat," thus: "Their aim will be to abet disorder on the earth; but God loveth not the abettors of disorder." (Súra v. 69.) The word translated "aim" is in Arabic literally yasa'úna, "they run." From this the argument is deduced that as highwaymen wander about, they are included amongst those whom "God loveth not," and that, therefore, the severest punishment may be given to
them, for any deduction that comes under the head of "dalálat" is a sufficient basis for the formation of the severest penal laws.
(4.) Iqtizá. This is a deduction which demands certain conditions: "whosoever killeth a believer by mischance, shall be bound to free a believer from slavery." (Súra iv. 94). As a man has no authority to free his neighbour's slave, the condition here required, though not expressed, is that the slave should be his own property.
The Qurán is divided into:—
(1). Harf (plural Hurúf), letters. The numbers given by different authorities vary. In one standard book it is said that there are 338,606 letters.
(2). Kalima (plural Kalimát), words, stated by some to amount to 79,087; by others to 77,934.