The style of rhetorical questions in the holy Qur'an

Qur'an which is the last revelation that has been sent to human beings, has a particular style for its audience. Questions provide one such style in the Qur'an. Of the six thousand two hundred and thirty six verses of the Qur'an, one thousand two hundred and sixty of them are questions. This shows that almost one fifth of the Qur'an consists of questions. The real meaning of questioning is to seek knowledge and get information about something one does not know. Therefore, questions indicate that one would like to know something from the audience. However, in the Qur'an, questions are not used for the purpose of seeking knowledge from the audience. Thus, the Qur'an uses questions in the metaphorical sense, since the all-knowing Allah would not ask questions for the purpose of seeking knowledge. The literal questions in the Qur'an usually appear in the format of reports from a person or group. There are two meanings of metaphorical questions: the first is to disapprove of something, the second is to get approval in the form of agreement or acknowledgment. In this study, we will explore the rhetorical and negative questions in the Arabic language and literature. We will then identify these types of questions in the Qur'an and provide some explanations on their usage.