Ulum Al Quran : An Introduction To The Sciences Of Quran by Ahmad von Denffer

The Qur'an is the revelation from Allah for the guidance of mankind and not poetry or literature. Nevertheless it is expressed verbally and in written form, and hence its literary forms and style may be considered here briefly.

Broadly speaking there are two main literary forms:

 Prose.

 Poetry.

By prose is meant a way of expression close to the everyday spoken language, and distinct from poetry insofar as it lacks any conspicuous artifice of rhythm and rhyme.

Not only European orientalists have described some passages of the Qur'an as more 'poetic' than others: the opponents of Mu4ammad had already used this argument, accusing him of being a poet or a soothsayer. This is refuted by the Qur'an itself:

'It is not the word of a poet; little it is ye believe! Nor is it the word of a soothsayer: little admonition it is ye receive. (This is) a message sent down from the Lord of the worlds' (Al- Qur'an 69: 40-43)

The accusations against Muhammad refuted in the above passage are based on the usage of a particular style, employed in the Qur'an, which is said to be like saj' or close to it.

The word saj' is usually translated as 'rhymed prose', i.e. a literary form with some emphasis on rhythm and rhyme, but distinct from poetry. Saj' is not really as sophisticated as poetry, but has been employed by Arab poets, and is the best known of the pre-Islamic Arab prosodies. It is distinct from poetry in its lack of metre, i.e. it has no consistent rhythmic pattern, and it shares with poetry the element of rhyme, [Called fasila ( pl. fawasil) when used for the Qur'an] though in many cases somewhat irregularly employed.

Ibn Khaldun (d. 809H/1406), the well-known author of the muqaddima pointed out in a passage on the literature of the Arabs the difference between literature and the Qur'an in general and between saj' and the Qur'an in particular:

'It should be known that the Arabic language and Arab speech are divided into two branches. One of them is rhymed poetry ... The other branch is prose, that is, non-metrical speech ... The Qur'an is in prose. However, it does not belong in either of the two categories. It can neither be called straight prose nor rhymed prose. It is divided into verses. One reaches breaks where taste tells one that the speech stops. It is then resumed and "repeated" in the next verse. (Rhyme) letters, which would make that (type of speech) rhymed prose are not obligatory, nor do rhymes (as used in poetry) occur. This situation is what is meant by the verse of the Qur'an:

'God revealed the best story, a book harmoniously arranged with repeated verses ...' (Al-Qur'an 39: 23).

[Ibn Khaldun: The Muqaddima, Princeton, 1967, Vol. 3, p.368; Ibn Khaldun: Muqaddima, Cairo, n.d., p.424.] Examples:

A good example for a saj'-like passage in the Qur'an would be Sura al-ikhlas (112: 14). It is somewhat irregular in its rhythm, and it has a rhyme ending with the syllable "ad":

Qul huwa llahu ahad Say: He is God the One and Only Alahus samad God the Eternal, Absolute Lam yalid wa lam yulad He begetteth not nor is He begotten wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad And there is none like unto Him.

Of the many passages more like plain prose, although not quite identical to it, as the kind of end-rhyme indicates, the following may serve as an example:

'Inna auhaina ilaika kama We have sent thee inspiration as We sent it auhaina ila nuhin wa nabiyina to Noah and the messengers min ba'dihi wa auhaina ila after him: We sent inspiration to ibrahima wa isma'ila wa Abraham, Ismail, ishaqa wa ya'quba Isaac, Jacob wa-l-asbati wa 'isa wa ayyuba and the tribes, to Jesus, Job, wa yunusa wa haruna wa Jonah,Aaron, and sulaimana wa ataina dawuda Solomon, and to David Zabura. Wa rusulan qad we gave the Psalms. Of some apostles qasasnahum 'alaika min We have already told thee qablu wa rusulan lam the story, of others naqsushum 'alaika wa We have not.

kallama llahu musa taklima. And to Moses God direct spoke.

Rusulan mubashshirina wa Apostles who gave good news as well as mundhirina li'alla yakuna warning that mankind after li-nnasi 'ala llahi hujjatun (the coming) of the apostles should have ba'dar rusuli wa kana llahu no plea against God; 'azizan hakima (Al-Qur'an 4: 163-165) for God is exalted in power, wise.

The Qur'an contains many narratives (qisas, sg. qissa), referred to in the Qur'an itself:

'We do relate unto thee the most beautiful of stories, in that We reveal to thee this (portion of the) Qur'an ...'(Al-Qur'an 12: 3).

These narratives, which illustrate and underline important aspects of the Qur'anic message, fulfil their functions in a variety of ways. The following are some of the more common patterns:

Explanation of the general message of Islam.

 General guidance and reminder.

 Strengthening the conviction of the Prophet and the believers.

 Reminder of the earlier prophets and their struggle.

 Indication for the continuity and truth of Muh. ammad's message.

 Providing arguments against some opponents of Islam, such as e.g. Jews and Christians.

 As far as the contents of these narratives are concerned, one may, broadly speaking, distinguish between the following three kinds:

 Stories of the Prophets of Allah, their peoples, their message, their call, their persecution, etc.; such as e g. the narratives about Nuh (Sura 26), Musa (Sura 28), 'Isa (Sura 19) and many others.

 Other Qur'anic narratives about past people or events, such as the narratives about the Companions of the cave, or about Dhu-l-qarnain (Sura 18).

 References to events that took place during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, such as the battle of Badr (3: 13), the battle of Uhud (3: 121-8), the battle of Ah. Zab (33: 9-27), the israJ(17: 1), etc.

The Qur'an also employs similes (amthal, sg. mathal) in many places to explain certain truths or to drive home important points of the message, by likening it to something well known or describing it in a pictorial manner. [See, e.g. 16: 75-6.] 'He sends down water from the skies and the channels flow, each according to its measure; but the torrents bear away the foam that mounts up to the surface. Even so, from that (ore)

which they heat in the fire to make ornaments or utensils therewith there is scum likewise, thus doth God (by parable) show forth the truth and vanity, for thc scum disappears like froth cast out; while that which is for the good of mankind remains on the earth. Thus doth God set forth parables' (Al-Qur'an 13: 17).

More than 200 passages in the Qur'an open with the word 'Qul' (say:), which is an instruction to the Prophet Muhammad to address the words following this introduction to his audience in a particular situation, such as e.g. in reply to a question that has been raised, or as an assertion of a matter of belief, or announcement of a legal ruling, etc.

'Say: Nothing will happen to us except what God has decreed for us: He is our Protector ...' (Al-Qur'an 9: 51).

'Say: O people of the book. Do ye disapprove of us for no other reason than that we believe in God, and the revelation that has come to us and that which has come before (us) and perhaps that most of you are rebellious and disobedient?' (Al-Qur'an 5: 62).

'They ask thee concerning (things taken as) spoils of war. Say: (Such) spoils are at the disposal of God and the apostle: for fear God and keep straight the relation between yourselves: obey God and His apostle, if ye do believe' (Al-Qur'an 8: 1).

In a number of places the Qur'an employs oath-like expressions (aqsdm, sg. qasam). [For a brief discussion see also Abdullah Yusuf Ali, op. cit., App. XIV, pp. 1784-7.] Their function is to strengthen and support an argument, and to disperse doubts in the mind of the listener. In the Arabic text these passages are often opened by the word 'wa' or the phrase 'la uqsimu' (indeed I swear).

Sometimes an oath is taken by Allah himself:

'But no, by thy Lord, they can have no real faith until they make thee judge in all disputes between them and find in their souls no resistance against thy decisions but accept them with fullest conviction' (Al-Qur'an 4: 65).

Other oaths are taken by Allah's creation:

'By the sun and his (glorious) splendour, by the moon as she follows him, by the day as it shows up (the sun's) glory, by the night as it conceals it; by the firmament and its (wonderful) structure, by the earth and its (wide) expanse, by the soul and the proportion and order given to it ...' (Al-Qur'an 91: 1-7).

'I do call to witness this city ...' (Al-Qur'an 90: 1).

Man should only take an oath bv Allah the creator. but not by anything created.