Humorous verse – Jani Fulani said that I missed him

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks here about a beautiful rhetorical device in Arabic literature called paronomasia (or jinas), which uses two identical words in form but with different meanings, creating linguistic beauty and wit.

Explaining the Concept:
The Pope explains that paronomasia plays with words that share the same sound but have distinct meanings, giving depth and humor to the expression. He then provides a personal example to illustrate this idea.

The Humorous Example:
He recalls that when he returned weekly from his travels, one of the workers would greet him, saying, “We’ve missed you, Sayidna!” and then start asking for many favors. So the Pope jokingly said:
“A man came and said he missed me (wahashtuh), then made so many requests that he annoyed people (wahashtuh again), and they sent him away because of his annoyance.”
Here, the word wahashtuh has two different meanings — “missed me” and “caused trouble.”

Linguistic Artistry and Humor:
Through this story, Pope Shenouda shows his sharp linguistic sense and humor, teaching a literary concept in a joyful, relatable way.

Educational Message:
Knowledge can be shared with joy and simplicity, and the Arabic language’s richness allows learning to be both elegant and entertaining.

Message:
The beauty of language lies not only in meaning but in how words are used with wisdom and joy — as Pope Shenouda beautifully demonstrated through his clever example of jinas.

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