The Rhetorical Mysteries of Verbal Ellipsis in the Holy Quran and Criticism of its Persian Translations

Ellipsis is a rhetorical skill and an accurate technique used to convey meaning more eloquently. The Holy Quran, which is at the zenith of eloquence and rhetoric, utilizes ellipsis as a rhetorical technique. Given the extreme importance of the verbal ellipsis in the Quran and its reflection and impact on the Persian translations of the Quran, the present study deals with the concept of ‘ellipsis’, rhetorical mysteries of verbal ellipsis, reasons for verbal ellipsis, implications resulting from ellipsis and a review of the Persian translations of the Quran. Through this research, we found out that ‘emphasis’, ‘exaggeration’, ‘brevity’ and ‘specification’ are among the rhetorical purposes of verbal ellipsis. The review of the Persian translations revealed that since the source language and the target language do not have identical vernal ellipsis structure, its appearance or ellipsis in translation will not be identical either. Hence, translators have followed different techniques with respect to verbal ellipsis. At the same time, they have mentioned the omitted segments wherever this has not flawed or has improved the translation of the Quran. Also, they have avoided mentioning the unnecessary omitted segments which could otherwise blemish the rhetorical mysteries of the Quran.