(This writing is based on the views and insights of Javed
Ahmad Ghamidi expressed in his books and lectures)
Background
The Qur’an is a unique Book. It is God’s final guidance to
mankind. Before it, He revealed this guidance to many of His
messengers. After the Old and New Testaments, it is the Final
Testament of God. It presents the same religion that was
revealed to all the previous messengers of God. However,
contrary to the previous divine scriptures, it has been
preserved in its original language.
Its genre is different from books that we are generally used
to. It is thus essential for every serious student of the
Qur’an to have a basic understanding of its genre. If this
understanding can be supplemented to include its theme and
structure, the student may find this divine book much more
engaging. He will be enthralled by reading it and enchanted by
its nuances. It will captivate the mind and mesmerize the
heart. It will grip both intellect and emotion and transport
us to a domain of comprehension in which we are able to relish
the works and dealings of our Creator. We may not see God but
we may be able to experience Him by appreciating the ways He
speaks to human beings.
Genre
The Qur’an is a literary masterpiece which stands unparalleled
in the realm of human literature. If conventional
classifications are used, it is indeed difficult to categorize
the genre of this book. However, its closest similarity is to
a book of dialogues between real characters of 7th century
Arabia. These characters appear in a specific milieu and
converse with one another. Scenes and Acts change to bring one
or more of these characters on stage. These changes signify a
shift in the discourse. The Almighty Himself is the author of
these divine dialogues.
The word qala (to say) and its declensions which frequently
appear in the Book are a testimony to this dialogue-nature of
the Qur’an. Similar is the case with the frequent mention of
the invocative ya ayyu (O you …). At other instances, the
speaker and the spoken to, have to be ascertained through the
occasion and the context. In conventional dialogue works, the
name of the speaker is written by the author. In the case of
the Qur’an, this has to be understood by the reader.
Dialogues of the Plato, Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Sir
Muhammad Iqbal’s “Javed Namah” are some works in the human
sphere that can be cited as parallels yet very rudimentary
examples of the genre of the Qur’an.
As far as the characters of the Qur’an are concerned, they can
be specified as:
Gabriel
Prophet(s)
Satan
Believers
Hypocrites
Polytheists
People of the Book (Jews and Christians)
A structured conversation between these characters of 7th
century Arabia can be observed in the words of God in the
Book. It originates from one of them and is directed to one or
more of them. These characters speak to each other and the
conversation rapidly shifts back and forth between these
characters. If these “leaps” of conversation are accounted
for, much of the apparent disjointedness of the discourse can
become meaningful as a well-directed dialogue between the
characters.
At times, the discourse is directed towards multiple
addressees. Sometimes, the words spoken take the form of a
powerful oration directed to specific addressees. At other
times, it is in the form of a monologue which is not
specifically directed towards anyone. Similarly, at times, the
nature of address is indirect. At still other times, an entity
is addressed but the direction of address is towards someone
else. Other instances show how what is said is actually said
in the heart but not uttered. Those who have a literary taste
can well appreciate these nuances and subtleties.
The nature and shift in address is a powerful tool that brings
out the tone of the speaker. It expresses emotions like love,
hate, rebuke and praise. At times the oration abruptly stops
to express anger. At other times, what is understood to be
implied is left out. Accounts of the previous prophets
typically suppress many details that are obvious. Sometimes,
the addressee cannot be determined from the beginning of a
dialogue: it gradually unfolds as the discourse proceeds
forth.
Such is the powerful nature of these utterances that they stir
the mind and stimulate the soul. The reader is captivated by
the profundity of arguments and is forced to form an opinion
because what is said does not merely constitute a compelling
intellectual argument couched in classical Arabic language; it
has repercussions on the life of a person. He is motivated to
adopt a certain attitude and to forsake another. He finds out
that what is at stake is of immense proportion. Arguments are
expressed to make a point. Many a time these arguments are
explicit and at other times they are expressed in a subtle way
in the form of oaths and adjurations. Linguistic tools that
are employed for this purpose need great attention. The most
common of these is the definite article alif lam. Many a time,
it specifies a particular entity it qualifies.
In short, the dialogue-nature of the Qur’an must be
appreciated to have a deeper understanding of this Book. It
has a point to prove and a purpose to achieve.
The obvious consequences of this dialogue nature of the Qur’an
are as follows:
1. It is essential to determine the primary addresser and
addressee of each surah. In other words, who among these
characters is speaking to whom. Within a surah they may shift
to a secondary addressee. The addresser may change as well.
2. The changes and shifts between the speaker and the spoken
to must be minutely and meticulously observed. Sometimes these
shifts are very subtle and at others very apparent. These
shifts also account for many apparent jumps, leaps and
disjointedness the reader may experience.
3. Characters or entities that were not present in 7th century
Arabia are not discussed simply because the dialogue is
between existing entities except if they are referred due to
some reason. Hence, Buddhism and Hinduism, for example, are
never brought up in the Qur’an for this very reason.
4. Since the foremost addressees of the Qur’an are the
entities living in Arabia, it will contain many localized
issues that relate only to the setting and culture of 7th
century Arabia. In this regard, it may be of interest to note
that certain beliefs of Arab Jews are discussed that were
specific to them, for example regarding Ezra (sws) to be the
son of God. It is known that other Jews do not have this
belief.
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Together with this dialogue-genre of the Qur’an, its theme and
structure should also be understood. They are briefly
described below:
Theme
In order to understand the theme of the Qur’an, some
background needs to be understood.
The religious history of mankind can be divided into two
distinct eras. The first era which occupies the major portion
of this history can be called the prophetic era. In this era,
the Almighty sent His representatives on earth to guide
mankind. They were called prophets (anbiya’). It began with
Adam (sws) and ended on Muhammad (sws). The second era, which
began with the demise of Muhammad (sws), will end on the Day
of Judgement is devoid of these representatives.
The first era has a feature which is wholly and solely
specific to it. It is in fact a certain unalterable practice
of God called sunnatullah by the Qur’an. The second era does
not have this feature. The Qur’an which was revealed in the
first era has eternally preserved this practice of God: this
practice is nothing but a divine scheme devised and executed
by God either through natural disasters or through His
messengers
and their followers and as such does not relate to the
shari‘ah (divine law) revealed by Him. Simply put, it is: God,
through natural disasters or through His messengers, punishes
and humiliates in this very world their foremost and direct
addressees who deliberately deny the truth communicated to
them by their respective messenger,
and rewards in this very world those among them who adhere to
the truth. In the case when this humiliation takes place
through the messengers and their followers, they act as
nothing but divine weapons. It is God’s retribution carried
out by God Himself. The purpose of this worldly retribution is
to make mankind mindful of the most important reality that it
tends to forget: reward and punishment in the Hereafter on the
basis of a person’s deeds. This reward and punishment, which
is to take place in the Hereafter, is substantiated visually
by the Almighty through the agency of His messengers so that
mankind may always remain heedful of this reality. The court
of justice which will be set up for every person on the Day of
Judgement was set up for the nations of messengers in this
world so that the latter could become a visual testimony to
the former. To put it another way: before the advent of the
greater Day of Judgement, several lesser days of Judgement
were brought about in this world in which people were rewarded
and punished on the basis of their deeds so that they could
become a visual evidence to the judgement that will take place
in the Hereafter. The Qur’an refers to this in the following
words: لِئَلاَّ يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى
اللّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ (165:4) (so that
mankind after the coming of these messengers is left with no
excuse against the Almighty, (4:165)).
Owing to this specific feature of the prophetic era, certain
directives of the Qur’an are specific to this era and cannot
be extended to the post-prophetic era. This of course does not
mean that they lose their relevance to the post-prophetic era.
It only means that while they cannot be applied in this
post-prophetic era, their application in the prophetic era has
already afforded mankind with certain testimonies which have a
profound bearing on its attitudes towards life in this
post-prophetic era. It is imperative that the basis of the
directives of the Qur’an be understood in order to appreciate
which of them is confined to the prophetic era and which is
applicable to both eras. It is by not differentiating between
these directives that many misconceptions have arisen in
understanding the Qur’an.
It is in this background that the theme of the Qur’an can now
be put forth. It emerges from its subject-matter reflected in
its genre described earlier. This theme is a description of
the warning (indhar) delivered by Muhammad (sws) to his
foremost addressees that culminated in their worldly
punishment.
In other words, it was the last time that the established
practice of God referred to earlier came into play. The Qur’an
refers to this established practice in the following words:
وَلِكُلِّ
أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولٌ فَإِذَا جَاء رَسُولُهُمْ قُضِيَ بَيْنَهُم
بِالْقِسْطِ وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ
For each community, there is a messenger. Then when their
messenger comes, their fate is decided with fairness and no
injustice is shown to them. (10:47)
It is an unrelenting law of God that relates solely to His
messengers:
سُنَّةَ
مَن قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَا وَلاَ تَجِدُ
لِسُنَّتِنَا تَحْوِيلاً.
Bear in mind the practice about the messengers We had sent
before you and you will not find any change in Our practice.
(17:77)
The above mentioned theme of the Qur’an is derived from it
subject matter as follows.
According to the Qur’an, while a prophet (nabi) merely
delivers glad tidings and warnings to his people, a messenger
(rasul), which is a special cadre among the prophets,
delivers glad tidings and warnings to his people in such a
conclusive way that they are not left with any excuse to deny
it. In the terminology of the Qur’an, this is called itmam al-hujjah:
رُّسُلاً
مُّبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ لِئَلاَّ يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى
اللّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ وَكَانَ اللّهُ عَزِيزًا
حَكِيمًا .
These messengers who were sent as bearers of glad tidings and
of warnings so that after them people are left with no excuse
which they can present before God. (4:165)
The Qur’an refers to the deliberate denial of the disbelievers
in the following words:
فَلَمَّا
جَاءهُم مَّا عَرَفُواْ كَفَرُواْ بِهِ فَلَعْنَةُ اللَّه عَلَى
الْكَافِرِينَ
So when there came to them that which they recognized, they
disbelieved in it. So let the curse of Allah be on the
disbelievers. (2:89)
It is after this phase of itmam al-hujjah that the divine
court of justice is set up on this earth. Punishment is meted
out to the rejecters of the truth and those who have accepted
it are rewarded, and, in this way, a miniature Day of
Judgement is witnessed on the face of the earth. It is evident
from the Qur’an that the various phases of the preaching
endeavour of a rasul include indhar (warning), indhar-i ‘am,
itmam al-hujjah
and hijrah wa bara’ah.
Each surah of the Qur’an is revealed in either of these phases
to which its content and context clearly testify.
By the itmam al-hujjah phase, the believers have become
distinct and segregated from the disbelievers and organized as
a separate unit. It is after this phase that the messenger
decides the fate of his nation on behalf of God. It is in
reality the Almighty who determines this task as pointed out
before.
It is evident from the Qur’an that in the Judgement phase, the
punishment of the disbelievers normally takes two forms
depending upon the situation that arises.
If a messenger has very few companions
and he has no place to migrate from his people and attain
political power, then he and his companions are sifted out
from their nation by the Almighty. Their nation is then
destroyed through various natural calamities like earthquakes,
typhoons and cyclones. The Qur’an says:
فَكُلًّا
أَخَذْنَا بِذَنبِهِ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ
حَاصِبًا وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَخَذَتْهُ الصَّيْحَةُ وَمِنْهُم
مَّنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَغْرَقْنَا.
So each one of them We seized for their crime: of them,
against some We sent a violent tornado with showers of stones;
some were caught by a mighty blast; some We sunk in the earth;
and some We drowned in the waters. (29:40)
The ‘Ad, nation of Hud (sws), the Thamud nation of Ṣalih (sws)
as well as the nations of Noah (sws), Lot (sws) and Shu‘ayb (sws)
were destroyed through such natural disasters when they denied
their respective messengers as is mentioned in the various
surahs of the Qur’an.
In the case of Moses (sws), the Israelites never denied him.
The Pharaoh and his followers however did. Therefore, they
were destroyed.
In the second case, a messenger is able to win a fair number
of companions and is also able to migrate to a place where he
is able to acquire the reins of political power through divine
help. In this case, the messenger and his companions subdue
their nation by force. The forces of the messenger are
destined to triumph and humiliate his enemies. The punishment,
which in the previous case descended from the heavens, in this
case emanates from the swords of the believers. It was this
situation which arose in the case of Muhammad (sws). His
opponents were punished by the swords of the Muslims.
Referring to this form of divine punishment, the Qur’an
asserts:
قَاتِلُوهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمُ اللّهُ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ وَيُخْزِهِمْ
وَيَنصُرْكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ.
Fight them and God will punish them with your hands and
humiliate them and help you to victory over them. (9:14)
فَلَمْ
تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ.
[Believers!] It is not you who slew them; it was [in fact] God
who slew them. (8:17)
In other words, as pointed out earlier, it is the Almighty
Himself who punishes the immediate and direct addressees of
messengers if they deny their respective messengers; the
messengers and their companions are no more than a means of
carrying out this Divine plan.
The punishment and humiliation of nations towards whom
messengers were sent generally took place in two ways: nations
who primarily subscribed to monotheism were spared if they
accepted the supremacy of their respective messenger, while
nations who persisted with polytheism were destroyed. The
latter fate is in accordance with the fact that polytheism is
something that the Almighty never forgives:
إِنَّ
اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ
ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى
إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا
God never forgives those guilty of polytheism though He may
forgive other sins to whom He pleases. Those who commit
polytheism devise a heinous sin. (4:48)
Consequently, the Israelites were not wiped out as a nation
because, being the People of the Book, they were basically
adherents to monotheism. Their humiliation took the form of
constant subjugation to the followers of Jesus (sws) till the
Day of Judgement as referred to by the following verse:
إِذْ قَالَ
اللّهُ يَا عِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ
وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ
اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِلَى يَوْمِ
الْقِيَامَةِ.
Remember when God said: “O Jesus! I will give death to you
and raise you to Myself and cleanse you from those who have
denied; I will make those who follow you superior to those who
reject faith till the Day of Resurrection.” (3:55)
If this theme of the Qur’an is understood, there is a very
important consequence of it that must be appreciated. It
relates to the established practice of the Almighty that only
He has the authority to punish people for the crimes of
polytheism (shirk), disbelief (kufr) and apostasy (irtidad).
He did so through His messengers in the prophetic era and will
do it again on the Day of Judgement. However, in the
post-prophetic era, neither an individual nor a state has the
right to punish people for these crimes.
Structure
The Qur’an itself has alluded to its structure and format in
the following words:
وَلَقَدْ
آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِّنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ.
[O Prophet!] We have bestowed upon you seven mathani
which is the great Qur’an. (15:87)
If the implications of the above cited verse are unfolded, it
means that the Qur’an revealed by the Almighty to Muhammad (sws)
has seven distinct chapters and within each chapter surahs
occur in pairs with regard to their respective themes. This
pairing of surahs is very meaningful. Each member of a surah
pair complements the other in some way or another. Thus even a
cursory look can detect a similarity between Surah al-Ḍuha
(93) and Alam Nashrah (94) and between Surah al-Falaq (113)
and Surah al-Nas (114). A deeper deliberation will unfold this
similarity between other surah pairs. Some surahs are an
exception to this scheme as Surah al-Fatihah, which is like an
introduction to the whole Qur’an. Some other surahs like Surah
al-Nur (24) and Surah Ahzab (33) occur as a supplement or as a
conclusion of a chapter.
Following is a brief description of the seven Qur’anic
chapters indicating the place of revelation of each surah.
Chapter I {Surah al-Fatihah (1) - Surah al-Ma’idah (5)}
Makkan: (1)
Madinan: (2)-(5)
Chapter II {Surah al-An‘am (6) - Surah al-Tawbah (9)}
Makkan: (6)-(7)
Madinan: (8)-(9)
Chapter 3 {Surah Yunus (10) - Surah al-Nur (24)}
Makkan: (10)-(23)
Madinan: (24)
Chapter IV {Surah al-Furqan (25) - Surah al-Ahzab (33)}
Makkan: (25)-(32)
Madinan: (33)
Chapter V {Surah Saba (34) - Surah al-Hujurat (49)}
Makkan: (34)-(46)
Madinan: (47)-(49)
Chapter VI {Surah Qaf (50) - Surah al-Tahrim (66)}
Makkan: (50)-(56)
Madinan: (57)-(66)
Chapter VII {Surah al-Mulk (67) - Surah al-Nas (114)}
Makkan: (67)-(112)
Madinan: (113)-(114)
Some other features of these Qur’anic chapters are as follows:
1. Each chapter of the Qur’an begins with one or more Makkan
surah and ends with one or more Madinan surah. Both the Makkan
and Madinan surahs are in harmony and consonance with one
another in each chapter and relate to one another in the same
manner as roots and stems are related to their branches.
2. Within each chapter the sequence of the surahs is
chronological.
3. Each chapter discusses some aspect of the overall theme of
the Qur’an by delineating some phase(s) of the warning
delivered by Muhammad (sws) to his addressees. As such, each
chapter discusses some part of the phases of this warning.
4. Each chapter has its own theme around which its surahs
revolve. Following are the themes of each chapter:
Chapter I: (Fatihah (1) – Ma’idah (5))
The theme of the first chapter is to communicate the truth to
the Jews and Christians [of prophetic times] in a conclusive
manner, to institute a new ummah in their place, its spiritual
purification and segregation from the disbelievers and a
description of its final covenant with the Almighty.
Chapter II: (An‘am (6) – Tawbah (9))
The theme of the second chapter is communication of the truth
to the polytheists of Arabia in a conclusive manner, spiritual
purification of the believers and their segregation from the
disbelievers and a description of the last miniature Day of
Judgement witnessed in this world before the advent of the
greater Day of Judgement.
Chapter III: (Yunus (10) – Nur (24))
The theme of this chapter is to warn the Quraysh, to give glad
tidings to the Prophet (sws) and his followers of the
domination of the truth in Arabia and to spiritually purify
them and separate them from the disbelievers. The aspect of
glad tidings of dominance of the truth is prominent in this
theme.
Chapter IV: (Furqan (25) – Ahzab (33))
The theme of the fourth chapter is validation of the
prophethood of Muhammad (sws) and with its reference meting
out warnings and glad tidings to the Quraysh, the spiritual
purification of the believers and their segregation from the
disbelievers. In this regard, the status of Muhammad (sws) and
the Qur’an are explained to his followers.
Chapter V: (Saba’ (34) – Hujurat (49))
The theme of this chapter is validation of the belief of
monotheism and with its reference meting out warnings to the
Quraysh, giving glad tidings of the dominance of truth to the
Prophet (sws) his followers and the spiritual purification of
the believers and their segregation from the disbelievers.
Chapter VI: (Qaf (50) – Tahrim (66))
The theme of the fifth chapter is validation of the Day of
Judgement and with its reference meting out warnings and glad
tidings to the Quraysh, the spiritual purification of the
believers and their segregation from the disbelievers. The
requirements of obeying and submitting to God and His Prophet
are mentioned under this purification and segregation and
keeping in view the situation of that time.
Chapter VII: (Mulk (67) – Nas (114))
The theme of the seventh chapter is to warn the leadership of
the Quraysh of the consequences of the Hereafter, to
communicate the truth to them in a conclusive manner, and, as
a result, to warn them of a punishment, and to give glad
tidings to Muhammad (sws) of the dominance of his religion in
the Arabian peninsula.
5. The sequence between the chapters can be understood from
the following illustration:
If we recall the theme of the Qur’an described earlier, it
was: a description of the warning (indhar) delivered by
Muhammad (sws) to his foremost addressees that culminated in
their worldly punishment. The two primary addressees were the
People of the Book of Arabia and the Polytheists of Arabia
belonging to the era of Muhammad (sws).
Chapter 2 depicts the worldly judgement of the direct and
foremost addressees of Muhammad (sws) and as such is the
culmination of the warning delivered by him. It can thus also
be regarded as the climax of the Qur’an. From chapter 7 to
chapter 3 the addressees are the Polytheists of Arabia and in
chapter 1 the addressees are the People of the Book. Chapter 2
portrays the fate of both these religious groups in this
world. In other words, the topic of indhar after passing
through various phases reaches its peak of worldly judgement
in this chapter from both sides. The only difference is the
addressees.
It may also be noted:
i. In chapters 6, 5, 4 and 3, besides the theme of delivering
warnings, the theme of spiritual purification of the believers
and their segregation from the disbelievers is also added.
ii. Chapter 1 has been placed the foremost because the
recipients of the Qur’an are its addressees the foremost.
iii. Except for chapter 1, the Makkan surahs of each chapter
discuss delivering of warnings and glad tidings and of
communicating the truth to the addressees in a conclusive
manner, while the Madinan surahs discuss the spiritual
purification and segregation of the believers.
It can thus be concluded that the description of the miniature
day of judgement that happened in Arabia as a consequence of
Muhammad’s conclusive communication of the truth has been
eternally preserved in the Qur’an in this beautiful sequence.
In other words, the Qur’an validates to the ultimate extent
this premise of religion that one day a greater day of
judgement will be set up for all the people of this world.
Conclusion
In the foregoing paragraphs, the genre of the Qur’an, its
theme and structure are described to introduce this divine
Book to the common reader. It is in the form of divine
dialogues that are preserved in a meaningful format with a
specific theme.
It has been revealed by the Lord of the heavens and the earth
purely for the guidance of earthlings. Let them read it for
this purpose!
Introducing Al-Bayan
As a student of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (www.javedahmadghamidi.com),
I would like to introduce his annotated translation of the
Qur’an published in five volumes in Urdu.
It is called Al-Bayan. Most readers may already be familiar
with it. This annotated translation brings out the dialogue
genre of the Qur’an described earlier. The theme and structure
of the Qur’an referred to earlier are also encapsulated in
this translation.
Readers are may find it useful for their study.
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