The Miraculous Nature of the Qur'an: Language, Style, and Beauty

Introduction

The Qur'an, the holy scripture of Islam, has long been revered by Muslims for its miraculous nature. This reverence is not limited to its content or spiritual significance alone; it extends to the very language, style, and beauty of the text itself. Throughout history, Muslim scholars and contemporary literary specialists have upheld the view that the Qur'an's language is inimitable (Mu’jiz) and its composition miraculous. This essay explores the various facets of the Qur'an's miraculous nature, focusing on its language, style, beauty, and the factors contributing to its uniqueness.

I. The Inimitable Language of the Qur'an

A significant aspect of the Qur'an's miraculous nature is its language, which Muslim scholars have consistently described as unparalleled. The term "I'jaz" (inimitability) is frequently used to characterize the Qur'an's linguistic features. Abu Sulayman Hamd ibn Muhammad al-Khattabi (319–388 AH/931– 998 AD), a renowned Shafa'i jurist, emphasized the eloquence of the Qur'an, stating that it employs the most eloquent words in ideal forms of composition, embodying the truest meanings. “The Qur’an is inimitable”, he writes, “in that it employs the most eloquent words in ideal forms of composition (ahsan nuzum al-ta’lil), embodying the truest meanings.” This eloquence goes beyond mere linguistic beauty; it is a central aspect of the Qur'an's miraculous nature.

Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (338–403 AH/950–1013 AD), an Asha'rite Islamic scholar, expanded on this idea by connecting the Qur'an's inimitability to its use of literary devices, such as similarity, emphatic statements, contrasting pairs, metaphor, and more. He argued that the Qur'an employs these devices so masterfully that no one can replicate its usage and eloquence. He explained that the Qur’anic inimitability is connected with the nuzum and badi’. The badi’ denotes that branch of eloquence that deals with the use of literary devices such as the mumathalah (similarity), mubalaghah (emphatic statement), mutabaqah (contrasting pairs), tajnis (paronomasia), isti’arah (metaphor) etc. While I'jaz encompasses various aspects, according to Baqillani, its primary essence resides in the entirety of the Qur'an's nazm, which refers to the distinctive connection between words and their meanings. Al-Baqillani's view highlights the importance of linguistic subtleties in appreciating the Qur'an's miraculous language.

Similarly, Abu al-Qasim al-Zamakhshari (1075-1144), in his commentary on the Qur'an Al-Kashshāf ʿan Ḥaqāʾiq at-Tanzīl (“The Discoverer of Revealed Truths”), praised its well-composed and well-knit discourse. He thanked God for revealing “kalaman mu’allafan munazzaman” meaning “a well-composed and well-knit discourse”.   Like Al-Baqillani and others, he emphasized the unique relationship between words and meanings in the Qur'an, further cementing the idea that the Qur'an's language is inimitable.

II. The Role of Literary Devices and Subtleties

Abu Bakr al-Jurjani (d.471/1078), a Persian grammarian of the Arabic language, delved deeper into the literary devices and subtleties employed by the Qur'an in his book Dala’il al-I’jaz. He, too, connected the Qur'an's inimitability to its composition, arguing that it establishes a natural connection between words while adhering to grammatical rules and meanings. The Qur’an miraculously maintains this nazm while fully adhering to m’ani al-nahw (grammatical rules or meanings). This viewpoint underscores the intricate balance between eloquence and adherence to linguistic norms found in the Qur'an.

III. Modern Perspectives on the Qur'an's Language

Contemporary Muslim scholars and literary specialists continue to recognize the beauty, style, and inimitability of the Qur'an's language. The renowned Egyptian Poet Mustafa Sadiq al-Raf'I (1880–1937), highlighted the musical form (al-Nuzum al-Musiqi) of the Qur'an's language as an aspect of its inimitability. Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966), a renowned Egyptian author, poet and ideologue, emphasized the artistic, imaginative, and vivid representations and depictions found in the Qur'an's language, drawing parallels with modern educational psychology's understanding of the role of mental images in information processing. To him “al-taswir al-fanni” is the most revealing aspect of the Qur’an’s inimitability, meaning it’s artistic, imaginative, and vivid representations and depiction of thoughts, ideas, incidents, and scenes. Exploring this facet of the Qur'an in the context of modern educational and learning psychology holds significant interest. Contemporary psychology has demonstrated the crucial role played by mental images, vivid representations, and imaginative depictions in the processes of encoding, storing, and retrieving information. An example of this can be seen in the work of Allan U. Paivio, an emeritus psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario, who researches memory and encoding through a combination of imagery and verbal forms. Applying his findings to certain techniques used in the Qur'an could shed valuable light on the subject.

Isma'il Al-Faruqi argued that the Qur'an's beauty is not solely a matter of faith but a critical judgment based on literary analysis. “Without a doubt, the Qur’an is beautiful, indeed, the most beautiful literary composition the Arabic language has ever known. Its beauty, however, is not the consequence of faith but its’ very cause. The esthetic judgment – that the Qur’an is beautiful, nay, sublime – is not a pronouncement of faith. It is a critical judgment, reached through literary analysis. Hence, its beauty is not only held by Muslims but also by non-Muslims conversant with the literary esthetics of the Arabic language. Instead of beauty depending upon the divine origin and flowing out of faith in that origin, the divine origin of the Qur’an is the reasoned consequence of its literary beauty. Beauty is the cause and evidence for its divine origin.”

Fazlur Rahman (1919–1988), the late liberal Muslim scholar, noted that the Qur'an's linguistic nuances defy translation, and it is regarded as the perfection of Arabic language and literature by Arab Christians as well.  “There is a consensus among those who know Arabic well, and who appreciate the genius of the language, that in the beauty of its language and the style and power of its expression, the Qur’an is a superb document. The linguistic nuances simply defy translation. Although all inspired language is untranslatable, this is even more the case with the Qur’an.”

John L. Esposito (b.1940), the renowned contemporary Christian scholar of Islam, agrees with this conclusion: “Indeed, throughout history, many Arab Christians as well have regarded it as the perfection of Arabic language and literature.” Long before Esposito, Philip K. Hitti (1886–1978), a Maronite Christian scholar of Islam, observed: “No small measure of its force lies in its rhyme and rhetoric and in its cadence and sweep, which cannot be reproduced when the book is translated.”

IV. Historical Proof of Inimitability

One historical proof of the Qur'an's inimitable language is the challenge it posed to the polytheists of Makkah during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The Qur'an challenged them to produce a book similar to it, even one chapter, as a demonstration of their literary prowess. Despite their best efforts, they could not surpass the eloquence and beauty of the Qur'an's language. This challenge is often cited as evidence of the divine origin of the Qur'an's language.

The polytheists of that era held a deep-seated hostility towards the emerging faith and were determined to defeat the Prophet (SAW) at any cost. They prided themselves on their literary prowess, eloquence, and poetic skills, and it was not entirely unwarranted. It was in this context that the Qur'an issued a challenge to them: to produce a book comparable to it (as mentioned in Qur'an 2:23 and 52:34), or even ten chapters (suwar) like it (as mentioned in 11:13), or simply one chapter. Interestingly, the shortest chapter in the Qur'an contains fewer than thirty words. This challenge demonstrated that Allah (SWT) had not made it insurmountable, providing them with ample opportunity to meet it. However, they were unequivocally informed that they would fail, thereby substantiating that the Qur'an was not a creation of human origin but indeed divine.

It is important to recognize that, viewed through the lens of historical context rather than hindsight, this challenge was an immense one with high stakes. If they had succeeded in producing even a single verse or chapter equivalent to the Qur'an, it would have granted the Meccans a decisive victory over the Prophet, sparing them from the arduous struggle they would later engage in, along with the substantial financial, human, social, and political costs it entailed. Despite their multiple attempts, the Meccans were unable to surpass the eloquence and literary beauty of the Qur'an.

Professor Gibb noted: “But the Meccans still demanded of him a miracle, and with remarkable boldness and self-confidence Mohammed appealed as the supreme confirmation of his mission to the Koran itself. Like all Arabs, they were connoisseurs of language and rhetoric. Well then, if the Koran were his own composition other men could rival it. Let them produce ten verses like it. If they could not (and it is obvious that they could not), then let them accept the Koran as an outstanding evidential miracle.”

Issa J. Boullata, the emeritus professor of Islam at McGill University, points out, “The fact that the qur’anic challenge [tahaddi] has never been taken up successfully, either in Muhammad’s lifetime or later on, gave Muslim thinkers cause to consider this as a divine authentication of the Qur’an and proof of the veracity of his prophethood.”

From these historical as well as internal factors, al-Faruqi concludes, that the Qur’an is “so beautiful that it is inimitable; it is so inimitable that it is miraculous. It is therefore not the work of humans but of God.”

V. Alternative Views on the Qur'an's Miraculous Nature

While the majority of scholars and thinkers have emphasized the linguistic inimitability of the Qur'an, there are alternative views. Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Nazzam (d. 232/846), a Mu’atazilite theologian, argued that the Qur’an was not miraculous in its language or style but was simply a scripture, like other scriptures, containing rules and regulations about religious matters. He argued that the Qur'an's miracle lay in its reports of the past and its inimitability in the sense that God prevented opponents from producing similar texts. Its’ inimitability lay in “sarafa” meaning that God averted the attention of the opponents from producing anything like the Qur’an though they could do so.

This notion was accepted by a few Muslim scholars such as Hisham al-Fuwati (d. 218/833), I’bbad ibn Sulayman (3rd/9th century) and al-Rummani (d. 386/996). Some contemporary Shi’ites like Ali Dashti (1894–1982), an Iranian rationalist and contemporary statesman, also argued that neither Qur’anic Arabic nor the Qur’an’s style was miraculous. He wrote: “The Qor’an contains sentences which are incomplete and not fully intelligible without the aid of commentaries; foreign words, unfamiliar Arabic words, and words used with other than the normal meaning; adjectives and verbs inflected without observance of the concords of gender and number; illogically and ungrammatically applied pronouns which sometimes have no referent; and predicates which in rhymed passages are often remote from the subjects. These and other such aberrations in the language have given scope to critics who deny the Qor’an’s eloquence.” The German expert in Eastern studies, Gerd R. Puin, the specialist in Semitic languages Theodor Noldeke, and folklorist Alan Dundes have continued to promote these incorrect assertions.

This view is highly disputed for a great many scholars have roundly rejected the presence in the Qur’an of any such linguistic aberrations.  On the other hand, Dashti himself observes that: “In all fairness the Qor’an is a wonder. Its short suras of the Meccan period are charged with expressive force and persuasive power. Its style has no precedent in the Arabic language. Its effusion from the tongue of an illiterate man with no education, let alone literary training, is a phenomenon which, in this respect, can justifiably be described as a miracle.” He concludes by contending that, “The Qor’an is miraculous because it enabled Mohammad, single-handedly and despite poverty and illiteracy, to overcome his people’s resistance and found a lasting religion; because it moved wild men to obedience and imposed its bringer’s will on them.”

Though scholars, like al-Nazzam and Dashti, do not deny the divine and miraculous nature of the Qur’an, they do deny the fact that the miracle lies in its language, beauty or style. Their views were debated and rejected by their followers. For instance, al-Nazzam’s student al-Jahiz and other known Mu’atazilites like al-Qadi ‘Abd al-Jabbar, rejected his views viz-à-viz the Qur’anic I’jaz. Even a modernist like Fazlur Rahman observes that the question of ideas and doctrines apart, it appears certain that the claim of the miraculous nature of the Qur’an is connected with its linguistic style and expression. Unfortunately, non-Arab Muslims do not realize this enough; while they correctly assume that the Qur’an is a book of guidance and hence may be understood in any language, they yet not only deprive themselves of the real taste and appreciation for the Qur’anic expression but – since even a full understanding of the meaning depends upon the linguistic nuances – also cannot do full justice to the content of the Qur’an.

Conclusion

The miraculous nature of the Qur'an encompasses various dimensions, with its language, style, and beauty being central elements. Muslim scholars, both historical and contemporary, have consistently praised the Qur'an's language as inimitable and its composition as miraculous. This view is supported by historical challenges that the Qur'an posed to its detractors. While alternative perspectives exist, they have not gained widespread acceptance among scholars. The Qur'an's language remains a testament to its divine origin and a source of inspiration for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.