THE INIMITABILITY OF THE QUR'AN
We have so far considered the miraculous characteristics of the Qur'an from the scientific and historical points of view. In addition to these, the Qur'an also possesses an astounding, inimitable style from the literary perspective. It first needs to be stated that the exposition in the Qur'an addresses all human groupings from all ages. No matter what the reader's education and cultural level, the Qur'an is written in a clear, comprehensible language which can be understood by everyone. In one verse, Allah reveals the following about the Qur'an: We have made the Qur'an easy to remember… (Qur'an, 54:22) Despite having such an easily comprehensible style, it has never been possible to imitate the Qur'an from any point of view. Some of the verses in which Allah draws attention to the inimitable nature of the Qur'an are: If you have doubts about what We have sent down to Our servant, produce another sura equal to it, and call your witnesses, besides Allah, if you are telling the truth. (Qur'an, 2:23) Do they say, "He has invented it"? Say: "Then produce a sura like it and call on anyone you can besides Allah if you are telling the truth." (Qur'an, 10:38) One of the reasons that the Qur'an is described as miraculous stems from the fact that, as emphasized in the verses above, nothing like it can ever be written by human endeavour: The greater the scale of that impossibility, the greater the size of the miracle which we see before our very eyes. Therefore, the fact that the style of the Qur'an has been incapable of imitation by even one out of the billions of people down the centuries is one of the proofs of its miraculous nature. In his book, The Construction of the Bible and the Qur'an, F. F. Arbuthnot makes the following comment about the Qur'an: From the literary point of view, the Koran is regarded as a specimen of the purest Arabic, written on half poetry and half prose. It has been said that in some cases grammarians have adopted their rules to agree with certain phrases and expressions used in it, and that though several attempts have been made to produce a work equal to it as far elegant writing is concerned, none has as yet succeeded.245 The words employed in the Qur'an are exceedingly special, both in terms of meaning and also of fluency and effect of style. However, those who are unwilling to believe that the Qur'an is a holy book in which Allah has revealed His commandments and prohibitions, have come up with a variety of excuses as to why they should not follow it. They have attempted to take refuge from its beauty by turning to denial. Allah reveals the following about the deniers' descriptions of the Qur'an: We did not teach him poetry nor would it be right for him. It is simply a reminder and a clear Qur'an so that you may warn those who are truly alive and so that the Word may be carried out against the disbelievers. (Qur'an, 36:69-70) The Superior Nature of the Rhyming Scheme in the Qur'an Prof. Adel M. A. Abbas' book,Science Miracles Another of the elements which make the Qur'an inimitable stems from its literary structure. Despite being in Arabic, the Qur'an bears no similarity to the forms used in Arabic literature. The rhyming system in the Qur'an is known as "rhymed prose" and linguists describe the use of this rhyme in the Qur'an as a miracle. In his book Science Miracles, a work prepared to demonstrate that the Qur'an is a linguistic miracle, the well-known British scientist Professor Adel M. A. Abbas carried out a wide-ranging study of the letters and rhyming scheme used in the Qur'an by means of graphics and diagrams. Some rather striking facts were established in this book with regard to the rhyming system in the Qur'an. As we know, 29 Suras in the Qur'an begin with one or more symbolic letters. These letters are known as "muqatta'ah-letters" or "initial letters." Fourteen of the 29 letters in Arabic comprise these initial letters: Qaf, Sad, Ta, Ha, Ya, Sin, Alif, Lam, Mim, Kaf, 'Ayn, Nun, Ra, Ha. Of these letters, when we look at the use of the letter "Nun" in Surat al-Qalam we see rhyming with the letter "Nun" in 88.8% of the verses. 84.6% of Surat ash-Shu'ara', 90.32% of Surat an-Naml and 92.05% of Surat al-Qasas are rhymed with "Nun." When applying these studies to the whole Qur'an, 50.08% is rhymed with the letter "Nun." To put it another way, more than half the verses in the Qur'an end with the letter "Nun." In no literary work of comparable length has it been possible to rhyme with a single sound in more than half the text. This applies to all languages, not just to Arabic. Distribution of verses ending with the letter "Nun" from those suras beginning with initial letters: When a general examination of the rhyme scheme in the Qur'an is made, we see that around 80% of the rhymes consist of just three sounds (n, m, a) consisting of the letters Alif, Mim, Ya and Nun. 246 Excluding the letter "Nun," 30% of the verses are rhymed with "Mim," "Alif" or "Ya." The formation of rhymed prose with just two or three sounds in a poem of 200-300 lines may give that work an important quality, sufficient for it to be described as a masterpiece by literary critics today. However, bearing in mind the length of the Qur'an, the information it contains and its wise exposition, the extraordinary manner in which its rhymed prose system is used becomes even clearer and more beautiful. The Qur'an indeed contains an ocean of information relating to a wide variety of subjects. They include: religious and moral guidance, lessons from the lives of the peoples of the past, the message of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah, the physical sciences and historical accounts of important events. But all of this, although wonderful in itself, is delivered with the most fantastic literary rhythm and excellence. It is simply not possible for so much rhymed prose by use of so few sounds in the Qur'an, with its varied and knowledgeable subject matter, to be achieved by human endeavour. From that point of view, it is not surprising that Arab linguists describe the Qur'an as "very definitely inimitable."
0 Comments
THE QUR'AN IS THE WORD OF ALLAH
All that we have seen in this work shows us one clear fact: The Qur'an, this extraordinary book which was revealed to the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (saas), is a source of inspiration and true knowledge. The book of Islam-no matter what subject it refers to-is being proved as Allah's Word as each new piece of historical, scientific or archaeological information comes to light. Facts about scientific subjects and the news delivered to us about the past and future, facts that no one could have known at the time of the Qur'an's revelation, are announced in its verses. It is impossible for this information, examples of which we have discussed in detail in this book, to have been known with the level of knowledge and technology available in 7th century Arabia. With this in mind, let us ask: Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known that our atmosphere is made up of seven layers? Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known in detail the various stages of development from which an embryo grows into a baby and then enters the world from inside his mother? Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known that the universe is "steadily expanding," as the Qur'an puts it, when modern scientists have only in recent decades put forward the idea of the "Big Bang"? Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known about the fact that each individual's fingertips are absolutely unique, when we have only discovered this fact recently, using modern technology and modern scientific equipment? Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known about the role of one of Pharaoh's most prominent aids, Haman, when the details of hieroglyphic translation were only discovered two centuries ago? Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known that the word "Pharaoh" was only used from the 14th century B.C. and not before, as the Old Testament erroneously claims? Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known about Ubar and Iram's Pillars, which were only discovered in recent decades via the use of NASA satellite photographs? The only answer to these questions is as follows: the Qur'an is the Word of the Almighty Allah, the Originator of everything and the One Who encompasses everything with His knowledge. In one verse, Allah says, "If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found many inconsistencies in it." (Qur'an, 4:82) Every piece of information the Qur'an contains reveals the secret miracles of this divine book. The human being is meant to hold fast to this Divine Book revealed by Allah and to receive it with an open heart as his one and only guide in life. In the Qur'an, Allah tells us the following: This Qur'an could never have been devised by any besides Allah. Rather it is confirmation of what came before it and an elucidation of the Book which contains no doubt from the Lord of all the worlds. Do they say, "He has invented it"? Say: "Then produce a sura like it and call on anyone you can besides Allah if you are telling the truth." (Qur'an, 10:37-38) And this is a Book We have sent down and blessed, so follow it and have fear of Allah so that hopefully you will gain mercy. (Qur'an, 6:155) All Prophets were given one supplication (Du'A in Arabic) that they could make to Allah and he would undoubtedly grant it, which each prophet ultimately used in deliverance from their rebellious people in accepting them as prophets and messengers. With the exception of the Nation of Yunus a.s. (Jonah) who after he was saved from the belly of the whale, returned to give his message to his people and they accepted it, and therefore didn't perish. In addition to the supplication they were granted; they were also accompanied by miracles (which the angels and the great holy spirit called Gabriel a.s. also known has the messenger of revelation to the prophets) to reinforce them and to prove that they were prophets. These miracles were always miracles for the eye...and those who witnessed these miracles where often overwhelmed with faith and accepted. But, we know that all people weren't so easily convinced; even if initially they did arrogance or the societal positions they held solidified the resistance of justice that many of the prophets were warning they're people about. This is why the poor were usually the one to easily accept because suffering & oppression is a condition that keeps the heart humble, but affluence is a condition that hardens the heart especially if it is attained through unjust ways. The Qur'an differs in that it is a miracle that is meant to be constantly present from its revelation until the day it is taken from the earth prior to the last day (through the death of everyone who has memorized it and the physical books themselves). The previous miracles were for the eye, the quran is the miracle of the ear. No one who wasn't present can witness the Miracles of Jesus a.s. or Moses a.s. and therefore only can be grateful for the stories left to us about their occurrences. Like the weakening of a communication each successive generation that hears about the miracle isn't as moved like the first two generations...Those who witnessed these events share the story with enthusiasm as if they are seeing it all over and thus the convincing power is still there. But with later generations it becomes no more than folk-lore, then finally myth until doubt in the occurrence begins to set in which resembles many people regard to religion today. But I you make an effort to learn Arabic then the one who gave the miracles to his favored sons i.e. (Prophets/Messengers who are referred to this way as beloved to him, not begotten) is now conveying the message directly to the one reading. This is the task incumbent upon all of us...translation is not the word of god, but instead its the best attempt of one to relay the message. In following the translation consecutively we would finally arrive at a completely interpreted 3rd party message far from the truth....This is similar to any human chain of dissemination; the more people the message crosses the more distorted it becomes until it reaches its destination... The Quran eradicates this from taking place because the miracle is forever present. One only has to make an effort to learn the Arabic then the miracles will open up. Linguistic, historical, legislative, confirmation and correction of previous scripture that have been deliberately distorted, stories of the previous prophets whose stories we can still find repeating themselves in today's world & finally scientific explanation that originates in revelation not the other way around...and are still continuing to unfold today. |
AuthorThe Non-Linear Eye versus the Linear Ear... ArchivesCategories |