Introduction
The Qur’an, the Islamic Holy Book, has
been recognized by the scholars, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, as inimitable not
only in its contents but also in its language and style. In this paper, an
attempt has been made to underline some of the linguistic beauties of the Qur’an
in the light of views and comments of some eminent Qur’anic scholars.
The Qur’an is a Linguistic
Miracle
The Holy Qur’an is unique not only in its meaning, thought
and message but also in its form, intonation and diction. Revealed more than
fourteen hundred years ago to the Prophet Muhammad (sws), it is undoubtedly a
masterpiece of literature. The unmatched beauty and power of its language,
rhythm and cadences have inspired Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike. The
French scholar Paul Casanova, thus, pays his tributes to the miraculous language
of the Qur’an in the following words: “Whenever Muhammad was asked a miracle, as
a proof of the authenticity of his mission, he quoted the composition of the
Qur’an and its incomparable excellence as proof of its Divine origin. And, in
fact, even for those who are non-Muslims nothing is more marvellous than its
language which with such a apprehensible plenitude and grasping sonority with
its simple audition ravished with admiration those primitive peoples so fond of
eloquence. The ampleness of its syllables with a grandiose cadence and with a
remarkable rhythm have been of much moment(um) in the conversion of the most
hostile and the most sceptical.”
Regarding the style and the structure of the Qur’an, Dr Fadl al-Rahman Ansari,
the eminent theologian, observes: “The problem may be viewed in three
dimensions, namely, (i) intonation, (ii) diction, and (iii) thought, and the
Qur’an is inimitable and unique in each.”.
The Holy Qur’an’s “depths in the dimension of meaning and its heights in respect
of grandeur are simply immeasurable by human genius”, he continues. The American
scholar Harry Gaylord Dorman regards the style of the Qur’an as a miracle: “It
(the Qur’an) is a literal revelation of God, dictated to Muhammad by Gabriel,
perfect in every letter. It is an ever-present miracle witnessing to itself and
to Muhammad, the Prophet of God. Its miraculous quality resides partly in its
style so perfect and lofty that neither men nor jinn could produce a single
chapter to compare with its briefest chapter, and partly in its content of
teaching, prophecies about the future, and amazingly accurate information such
as the illiterate Muhammad could never have gathered of his own accord.”
The Inimitable Language of the Qur’an
Linguistically, the Qur’an is neither poetry nor prose but
it draws the beautiful qualities of both in such a splendid manner that it is
more elegant than poetry and more fluent that prose. In the preface of his
translation of the Qur’an, Ahmed ‘Ali describes the beauty of the Qur’anic
language in these words: “The Qur’anic Arabic is distinguished by sublimity and
excellence of sound and eloquence, rhetoric and metaphor, assonance and
alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhyme, ellipse and parallelism. Its cadences and
rhythm, pauses and stops, imply eloquent speech and duration.”
The Qur’an is incomparable in its style. In all kinds of
expression and address such as encouragement, dissuasion, praise, censure,
demonstration and explanation, the exposition of the Qur’an is of the highest
degree. It has such sweetness and pleasure that no human tongue can resemble it.
It is a recognized fact that the Qur’an did not follow the unnatural rhetorical
style in vogue at the time of its revelation. Instead of following the most
favourite themes of romance and military expeditions of the time, the Qur’an
introduced a wide range of subjects related to various aspects of individual and
collective life such as spiritual, ethical, social, economic, political, and
legal etc.
The Impact of the Qur’an on the Arabic Language
The unparalleled sublimity of the language of the Qur’an
has put an enduring impact on the Arabic language itself and has endowed it with
a unique position among other languages. According to the French Orientalist,
Ernest Renan (1823-1894): “The Arabic language is the most astonishing event of
human history. Unknown during the classical period, it suddenly emerged as a
complete language. After this, it did not undergo any noticeable changes, so one
cannot define for it an early or a late stage. It is just the same today as it
was when it first appeared.”
This is actually an acknowledgement of the miraculous nature of the Qur’an,
which has been recognized by both the scholars of the past and the present.
Jurji Zaydan (1861-1914), for instance, says: “No religious book has had such an
impact on the language in which it was written as the Qur’an has had on Arabic
literature.”
The noted American historian and author of the famous “The 100”, Michael Hart
gives his opinion in the following words: “The centrality of the Koran in the
Moslem religion and the fact it is written in Arabic have probably prevented the
Arab language from breaking up into mutually unintelligible dialects, which
might otherwise have occurred in the intervening thirteen centuries.”
Gorge Sale, the well-known orientalist and translator of the Qur’an, regards the
language of the Qur’an as “the standard of the Arabic tongue”.
A Challenge to Unbelievers
The Qur’an has challenged the disbelievers that if any one
thinks that it is a product of human imagination and not a Divinely revealed
book, then he should do his best and make all possible efforts to produce ten
surahs, or even a single surah, of similar merit. The challenge appears at four
different places: 2:23-24, 10:38, 11:13-14, and 17:88:
And if you doubt any part of what We have bestowed from on
high, step by step, upon Our servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah of similar
merit, and call upon any other than God to bear witness for you- if what you say
is true! And if you cannot do it – and most certainly you cannot do it- then be
conscious of the fire whose fuel is human beings and stones which awaits all who
deny the truth! (2:23-24)
And yet, they [who are bent on denying the truth] assert,
“He [Muhammad] has invented it!” Say [unto them]: “Produce, then, a surah of
similar merit; and [to this end] call to your aid whomever you can, other than
God, if what you say is true! (10:38)
And so they assert, [Muhammad himself] has invented this
[Qur’an]! Say [unto them]: “Produce, then, ten surahs of similar merit, invented
[by yourselves], and [to this end] call to your aid whomever you can, other than
God, if what you say is true! And if they [whom you have called to your aid] are
not able to help you, then know that [this Qur’an] has been bestowed from on
high out of God’s wisdom alone, and that there is no deity save Him. Will you,
then, surrender yourselves unto Him?” (11:13-14)
Say: “If all mankind and all invisible beings would come
together with a view to producing the like of this Qur’an, they could not
produce its like even though they were to exert all their strength in aiding one
another!” (17:88)
There have been a number of people, like Musaylamah Ibn
Habib, Tulayhah Ibn Khuwaylid, Nadhr Ibn al-Harith, Ibn al-Rawandi, Abu al-‘Ala
al-Ma‘arri, Ibn al-Muqaffa‘, al-Mutanabbi, who did attempt to produce a book
equal to the Qur’an but they failed miserably and ultimately had to admit that
it was simply not possible to produce the like of the Divine Book. In fact,
their efforts look ridiculous when compared with the literary majesty of the
Qur’an. F.F. Arbuthnot remarks: “From the literary point of view, the Qur’an is
regarded as a specimen of the purest Arabic, written in 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 as elegant
writing is concerned none has as yet succeeded.”
In his commentary on the Qur’an, Sheikh Tantawi Jawhri
narrates an amazing story demonstrating the inimitability of the Qur’an. He says
that an Egyptian writer, Kamil Gilani told him that one day he was with an
American orientalist called Finkle, with whom he enjoyed a deep intellectual
relationship. “Tell me, are you still among those who consider the Qur’an a
miracle?” Whispered Finkle in Gilani’s ear, adding a laugh to indicate his
ridicule of such belief. He thought that Muslims could only hold this belief in
blind faith. It could not be based on any sound, objective reasoning. “Before
issuing any pronouncement on the style of the Qur’an,” Gilani said, “We should
first have a look and see if we can produce anything comparable to it.”
Gilani then invited Finkle to join him in putting a
Qur’anic idea into Arabic words. The idea he chose was: “Hell is extremely
vast.” Finkle agreed, and both men sat down with pen and paper. They produced
about twenty Arabic sentences. ‘Hell is extremely vast,’ ‘Hell is vaster than
you can imagine,’ ‘Man’s intellect cannot fathom the vastness of Hell,’ were
some of the sentences they produced. They tried until they could think of no
other sentence to express this idea. Gilani looked at Finkle triumphantly. “Now
that we have done our best, we shall be able to see how the Qur’an stands above
all works of men,” he said. “What, has the Qur’an expressed this idea more
eloquently?” Finkle enquired. “We are like little children compared to the
Qur’an,” Gilani told him. Amazed, Finkle asked what was in the Qur’an. Gilani
recited this verse from surah Qaf: On that Day We will ask Hell: “Are you full?”
And Hell will answer: “Are there any more?” (50:30). Finkle was startled on
hearing this verse. Amazed at the supreme eloquence of the Qur’an, he openly
admitted defeat. “For you to acknowledge the truth,” Gilani replied, “is nothing
strange, for you are a man of letters, well aware of the importance of style in
language.” This particular Orientalist was fluent in English, German, Hebrew and
Arabic, and had spent all his life studying the literature of these languages.”
The Qur’an is Untranslatable
The language of the Qur’an is so unsurpassable in its
expression as well as meaning that it is not possible for a translator or
commentator to translate it completely into any other language. The fact is that
it is simply impossible for a mortal human being to encompass the eternal Word
of God. The view is shared by all the great scholars and translators of the
Qur’an. Marmaduke Pickthall, the renowned English translator of the Qur’an,
observes in the foreword of his translation: “The Qur’an cannot be translated.
That is the belief of old-fashioned sheikhs and the view of the present writer.
The book is here rendered almost literally and every effort has been made to
choose befitting language. But the result is not the Glorious Qur’an, that
inimitable symphony, the very sound of which moves men to tears and ecstasy. It
is only an attempt to present the meaning of the Qur’an – and peradventure
something of the charm-in English. It can never take place of the Qur’an in
Arabic, nor is it meant to do so.”
Muhammad Asad, one of the great Qur’anic translators,
exegete and scholars of modern times, regards it as “impossible to ‘reproduce’
the Qur’an as such in any other language.”
Regarding his own translation, he says: “I am fully aware that my rendering does
not and could not really ‘do justice’ to the Qur’an and the layers upon layers
of its meaning.”
He further remarks that “let the reader remember that the very uniqueness of the
Qur’an consists in the fact that the more our worldly knowledge and historical
experience increase, the more meanings, hitherto unsuspected, reveal themselves
in its pages.”
And, “The longer I worked on this holy task, the more I realized how distant any
human intellect is –and always be – from a complete understanding of the Word of
God.”
‘Abdullah Yusuf ‘Ali, the famous English exegete of the Qur’an, is reported to
have once said: “The best translator of the Qur’an is Time.”
Another modern translator of the Qur’an, Arthur J. Arberry, has made similar
comments; he observes, “In making the present attempt… to produce something
which might be accepted as echoing however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the
Arabic Koran, I have been at pains to study the intricate and richly varied
rhythms which-apart from the message itself-constitute the Koran’s undeniable
claim to rank amongst the greatest literary masterpieces of mankind…” This very
characteristic feature—“that inimitable symphony” as the believing Pickthall
described his Holy Book—has been almost totally ignored by previous translators;
it is therefore not surprising that what they have wrought sounds dull and flat
indeed in comparison with the splendidly decorated original.”
The French scholar Edward Montet declares: “the Coran (Qur’an)… its grandeur of
form is so sublime that no translation into any European language can allow us
to appreciate it.”
John Naish, a Christian clergyman, recognizes the fact in the following words:
“The Qur’an in its original Arabic dress has a seductive beauty and charm of its
own. Couched in concise and exalted style, its brief pregnant sentences, often
rhymed, possess an expressive force and explosive energy which it is extremely
difficult to convey by literal word for word translation.”
The Qur’an at a number of places introduces itself as a
book of guidance for the entire humanity as, for example, in surah Baqarah, it
says:
It is the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was
revealed, which is the Guidance for humankind, and has all clear signs for
guidance and is a criterion [to judge between right and wrong]. (2:185)
It is, therefore, the duty of every Muslim to read and
understand it, and communicate its message to others according to his or her
capacity. A translation of the Qur’an is certainly not equivalent to the Qur’an
but it is indeed a means to approach its message if we do not know Arabic. That
is why its scholars have always been trying to render the message of the Qur’an
into other languages and it has been translated into almost all major languages
of the world. In English alone, there exist more than thirty translations of the
Qur’an today, which have been done by Muslims as well as non-Muslims. In the
words of Hamilton Gibb:
As a literary monument, the Koran [Qur’an] thus stands by
itself, a production unique to the Arabic literature, having neither forerunners
nor successors in its own idiom. Muslims of all ages are united in proclaiming
the inimitability not only of its contents but also of its style.
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