Ḥall wa ʿaqd (lit. ‘loosening and binding’, ‘prosification and versification’), are two figures of speech (sing. ṣanʿa) that have contrasting meanings and functions, involving the conversion of poetic verse into prose and vice versa. These terms may also be employed in a non-literary context, where the expression ahl al-ḥall wa’l-ʿaqd (lit. ‘people who loosen and bind’) was used by classical scholars to designate those members of the religious, political or scholarly elites who are qualified to be involved in electing (and occasionally deposin…