Tasnif Style Guide

Tasnif Style Guide — Page 67

CHAPTER 6: PUNCTUATION 67 For sentences that are lengthy or are already utilizing several com- mas, a semicolon may be used to illustrate a greater pause that facilitates the readability for the audience. This comes in handy with the longer sentences that we frequently find in the writing of the Promised Messiah and classical works of Islamic scholarship. The following is an example of this usage of semicolons: " When the Promised Messiah as was performing his ablu- tions, he suddenly noticed the pensive gaze of a star- ing Pundit Lekh Ram, the man who constantly insulted him, wrote prophecies predicting his death, and mocked the faith of Islam; but instead of seeking the Promised Messiah's forgiveness, he briskly moved on when his eyes met the Promised Messiah's. Semicolons are imperative in dividing lists whose individual units consist of multiple elements separated by commas or additional descriptions. Semicolons help frame the structure of the sentence by clarifying the individual units that make up the list: ■ " The Promised Messiah as challenged all of the enemies of Islam, including the Christians, who published numerous leaflets against the Holy Prophetas, his blessed wivesra, and the Companions"; the Arya Samaj, who held numer- ous lectures against Islam and published books insulting Muslim saints; the atheists, who defied the very existence of God; and the Naturalists, who insisted that religious stories were mere myths. When they came to the mosque, they brought their