11. QUR’AN: THE UNIQUE BOOK
The word Quran, a verbal noun, is equivalent in meaning to Qira’ah, as both come from the verb Qara’a, which means to read. That is, the Quran literally means a reading or a recitation. However, the term Qur’an has been historically used specifically to refer to the book which was revealed by Allaah to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Jibreel. The term Quran is mentioned in a number of places throughout the book in reference to itself. For example,
“Verily, this Quran guides (man) to that which is most just.” (Soorah al-Israa’ (17:9)
The name Qur’aan is used to refer to both the Quran as a whole as in the previously quoted verse, as well as to each verse or group of verses:
“And if the Quran is recited, you should listen to it quietly (and be silent).” (Soorah al-Aa‘raaf (7:38)
The Book has also been referred to by other names, for example, the Furqaan (The Distinction),
“Blessed is He Who revealed the Furqaan to His slave in order that he may be a warner to all worlds.” (Soorah al-Furqaan (25):1)
And,theDhikr (TheReminder),
“Verily, We revealed the Dhikr and verily, We will preserve it.” (Soorah al-Hijr (15:9)
The Qur’aan itself could be defined as Allaah’s words which were revealed in Arabic in a rhythmical form to the Prophet Muhammad. Its recitation is used in acts of worship and even its smallest chapter (Soorah) is of a miraculous nature.
The Prophet’s divinely inspired statements which were recorded by his followers are generally referred to as Hadeeths. For example, the Prophet’s companion (Sahaabee), ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, reported that he once said, “Verily, deeds are (judged) by their intentions.”However, in some of his statements, the Prophet attributed what he said to Allaah. For example, another Sahaabee, Abu Hurayrah, reported that the Prophet said, “Allaah, Most High, said, ‘I am as My slave thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. So if he remembers Me to himself, I will remember him to Myself, and if he remembers Me in a group, I will remember him in a better group.’”In order to distinguish this type of hadeeth from the previous type, it is referred to as Hadeeth Qudsee (Holy Hadeeth) and the former referred to as Hadeeth Nabawee (Prophetic Hadeeth).
The Quran, however, is not considered the same as Hadeeth Qudsee for a number of reasons. First, the Quran is from Allah, both in its wording and in its meaning, while in the case of Hadeeth Qudsee, its meaning is from Allah, but it’s wording was from the prophet. Second, Allaah challenged the Arabs and mankind in general to produce even one chapter equivalent to one of the Quran chapters and their inability to do so proves its miraculous nature. This is not so in the case of Hadeeth Qudsee. Third, the recitation of the Quran is used in Salaah and is itself considered a form of worship. The Prophet said, “Whoever reads a letter from Allah Most High’s book will get a good deed (recorded for him) and each good deed is worth ten times its value. And, I am not only saying that Alif Laam Meem is a letter, but I am saying that Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter, and Meem is a letter.”Whereas the recitation of Hadeeth Qudsee carries none of these properties.
The Mode of Presentation
The Quran is God’s final communication of His divine will to human kind. It is the Creator speaking to human beings and it takes the form of human conversation. As humans change subjects randomly during conversation, the topics of the Quran change in a seemingly random way. Consequently, the format of the Quran is quite unique among books. As a whole is not a book in the usual sense of the word wherein there is an introduction and explanation of the subject followed by a conclusion. Neither is it restricted to only a presentation of historical events, problems of philosophy, facts of science, or social laws, though all may be found woven together in it without any apparent connection and links. Subjects are introduced without background information, historical events are not presented in chronological order, new topics sometimes crop up in the middle of another for no apparent reason, and the speaker and those spoken to change direction without the slightest forewarning. The reader who is unaware of the Quran’s uniqueness is often puzzled when he finds it contrary to his understanding of a book, especially a “religious” book. Hence, the Quran may seem disorganized and haphazard to him. However, to those who understand its subject matter, aim, and its central theme, the Quran is exactly the opposite.
The Main Theme
The subject matter of the Quran is essentially man: man in relation to his Lord and Creator, Allaah, man in relation to himself, and man in relation to the rest of creation. The main theme that runs throughout the Quran is that Allah alone deserves worship and that man should submit to Allaah’s laws in his personal life and in his relationship with creation in general. Or, in other words, the main theme is a call to the belief in Allah and the doing of righteous deeds as defined by Allah.
If the reader keeps in mind these basic facts, he will find that from the beginning to the end, the Quran’s basic topics are all closely connected to its main theme and that the whole book is a well-reasoned and cohesive argument for its theme. The Quran keeps the same object in view, whether it is describing the creation of man and the universe, or events from human history. Since the aim of the Quran is to guide man, it states or discusses things only to the extent relevant to this aim and leaves out unnecessary and irrelevant details. It also repeats its main theme over and over again in the presentation of each new topic.
The following four principles should be kept in mind by the new reader of the Quran if he or she is to avoid unnecessary confusion and disorientation:
- “The book is the only one of its type in the world.”
- “Its literary style is quite different from all other books.”
- “Its theme is unique.”
- “Preconceived notions of a book are only a hindrance to the understanding of the Quran.”
THE MIRACLE OF THE QURAN
The Miracles Given to the Prophets
Man has a natural distaste towards submitting to another human being unless he is forced to by physical strength or his mental superiority, or if he is shown feats far beyond the human. In the first two cases he yields reluctantly, while in the third he yields because of his belief in a higher force or power defying all human comparison. Because of this, Allaah favored His messengers not only with revelation, but also with miracles, clearly proving to the people the divine origin and truthfulness of their messages. The inability of the people to imitate the miracles of the prophets made them willingly bear witness to Allaah’s unity and obey the commandments of the prophets.
Due to the difficulties involved in communication and transportation, the early prophets were sent only to the people among whom they were raised. Therefore, the miracles which they brought were particularly suited to the areas of knowledge in which their people excelled in order for the miracles to have the maximum effect on them. For example, Prophet Moosaa (Moses) was raised up among the Egyptians who were noted for their mastery of the occult arts, sorcery, and magic. Allaah gave him the miracle of being able to place his hand in his cloak and his hand. When sorcerers and magicians were gathered to challenge Prophet Moosaa, the staff which they cast appeared to the audience as snakes. Then Allaah turned Prophet Moosaa’s staff into a real snake which swallowed up the optical illusions of his opponents. That defeat was sufficient proof for the magicians and sorcerers who knew that no man could change the nature of a stick as Moosaa apparently had done. They fell on their faces in submission and sincere belief in the god of Moosaa, in spite of the threats on their lives uttered by their master, the Pharaoh. Another example is that of Prophet‘Eesaa (Jesus) , who was chosen by Allaah from among the Jews. The Jews were especially noted for their exceptional abilities in the field of medicine. Jewish doctors were highly respected and revered for their seemingly magical ability to mend bones, heal wounds, and cure the sick. Thus, Allaah favored Prophet ‘Eesaa with the miraculous ability to make the blind see, the lame walk, and bring the dead back to life. These abilities were clearly beyond those of the Jewish doctors of that day and they knew well that no mere man could do feats. Yet, Allaah gave Prophet ‘Eesaa an even more dazzling miracle: he was able to mold birds out of clay, breathe on them, and they would fly away. Since the Prophet Muhammad was to be the last of the prophets, sent not only to a particular people, but to all of mankind, Allaah gave him a miracle which not only amazed the people among whom he was raised, but which would challenge and amaze the human mind until the last days of this world. Prophet Muhammad, like the other prophets before him, was given a number of other miracles whose effects were basically limited to the people of his time; for example, the splitting of the moon at his tribe’s request for a sign, the outpouring of water from his hands on one occasion when he and his companions were short of water, and the phenomenon of pebbles and rocks giving Salaams to him (greeting him with the phrase,“Assalaamu‘alaykum,’ which means “Peace be on you”), just to mention a few. However, the miracle of Prophet Muhammad which was consistent with Allaah’s aid to the prophets before him was a literary miracle.
The Arabs had very little in the way of unique skills or accumulated knowledge, but they took great pride in their oratory and literary skills. Yearly contests were held in fairs like that of ‘Ukkaadh, in which many lines of speeches and poems were recited from memory. Their language had reached development and eloquence and was considered the highest quality human beings could possess. In fact, the ten most famous poems were so revered that they were etched in gold and hung in the Ka‘bah for “Alif Laam Meem” or “Qaaf” or “Noon,’ tantalizing the Arab mind, as if they say “from these letters which you combine to form your daily conversations, as well as your great works of poetry and prose, is formed a book whose shortest chapter does not exceed three lines, yet you cannot imitate it no matter how hard you try!” The Prophet stated, “All Prophets were given something which would cause people to believe in them. The thing which I was given is none other than a revelation (the Quran) which Allaah revealed to me. So I hope that I will have the most followers on the Day of Judgement.”
The Challenge
The Quran is not only unique in the way in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle itself.
By the term miracle we mean the performance of the supernatural or extraordinary even which cannot be duplicated. It has been documented that Prophet Muhammad challenged the Arabs to produce a literary work of a similar caliber as the Qur’aan, but they were unable to do so, in spite of their well-known eloquence and literary powers. The challenge to reproduce the Quran was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages:
1. The Whole Quran: In the Quran, Allaah commanded the Prophet to challenge all of creation to create a book of the stature of the Quran,
“Say: even if all of mankind and the Jinn gather together to produce something like this Quran, they will not be able to do so in spite of their cooperation with each other.” (Soorah al-Israa’ (17:88)7
2. Ten Soorahs (Chapters): Shortly after the previous challenge, Allaah again commanded His Messenger to dare those of the Arabs who claimed that the Qur’aan was Muhammad’s invention to produce ten chapters like any ten of the Soorahs of the Qur’aan:
“Or if they say that he invented it, say (to them), ‘Bring ten invented Soorahs like it. And you may call on whosoever besides Allah that you are able (to help you) if you are (really) truthful (in what you say). If they do not answer your (request for help), then know all of you that it was only revealed by Allaah’s knowledge.’” (Soorah Hood (11:13-14)8
One Soorah: In the very next Soorah, which was revealed, Allaah brought the challenge to its utmost peak by asking those who denied its divine origin to imitate even a single Soorah, the shortest of which consisted of only three verses, Soorah al-Kawthar.
“Or if they say that he has invented it, say (to them), ‘Bring a single Soorah like it.’” (Soorah Yoonus (10:38)9
This final challenge was repeated some time later as follows:
“And if you all are in doubt about what We have revealed to Our servant, bring a single Soorah like it.” (Soorah al-Baqarah (2:23)10
These challenges were not just empty words with no one caring to prove them wrong. Prophet Muhammad’s call to monotheism, to the abolition of idolatry in all of its forms, and to the equality of slaves and their masters threatened the whole socio-economic framework of Makkan society in general, and the position of the ruling Qurayshee tribe, from which Prophet Muhammad came, in particular. Makkah, the trading center of Arabia, as well as its spiritual center, desperately wanted to stop the spread of Islaam. The challenge was straightforward; all that the Prophet’s opponents had to do to crush the movement was to make up a single Soorah like any one of those which the Prophet and his followers were reciting to the people. A number of Qurayshee orators and poets tried to imitate the Quran, but of course they failed. Unable to match the Prophet’s challenge, the Quraysh looked for other methods of crushing the Islamic movements. They resorted to offering Prophet Muhammad vast amounts of wealth, the position of king over them, and the most noble and beautiful of their women in exchange for his promise to stop inviting people to Islaam. However, his only reply was that even if the sun were placed in his right hand and the moon in his left, he would not cease to call others to Islaam. The Quaraysh also resorted to torturing their slaves and relatives who had embraced Islaam in a vain attempt to cause them to revert to paganism. Later they organized an economic boycott against the Prophet and the members of his clan, Banoo Hashim, in an attempt to starve them into submission. But even this plan eventually failed. Finally, the plotted to kill him in his home by sending armed young men from each of the clans of Quraysh in order that the guilt of his murder be shared by all and revenge by the Prophet’s clan be made impossible. However, Allah enabled the Prophet and his followers to flee Makkah and join a new band of converts who had arisen among the tribes of a city to the north called Yathrib.
Islaam spread rapidly through the calms of Yathrib, and within a year Muslims became the city’s majority. The Prophet was then made the ruler and the name of the city was changed to Madeenah. Over the next eight years the clans of Makkah and its neighboring lands mounted a series of unsuccessful battle campaigns against the emerging Muslim state in Madeenah, ending with the Muslim invasion of Makkah itself. All of this bloodshed could have been avoided if only the Quraysh and their allies had been able to produce a mere three lines of poetry or flowing prose similar to the shortest Soorah of the Quran. Hence, there can be no doubt about the inimitability of the Quran literary style, about the miracle of its rhyme and the extraordinary nature of its rhythm.
It has been suggested that the inimitability of the Quran is not necessarily unique, for great poets like Shakespeare, Chaucer, or great poets in any language tend to have distinctly different styles which set them apart from their contemporaries. However, if some leading poets of today were to make an in- depth study of Shakespeare’s writings and write a sonnet in Shakespeare’s style in old ink and on old paper, then claim that he had discovered a lost poem of Shakespeare’s literary world, his claim would probably be accepted, even after careful study. Even the greatest poets could be imitated, no matter how unique their style was, just as the famous painters have been imitated.
The Quran, however, is far above this level, as attempts to forge chapters have been made throughout the ages, yet none have withstood close scrutiny. And, as was mentioned before, the incentive to imitate the Quran existed during the time of its revelation more so than at any other time at a time when literacy skills were at their peak, yet there was no successful attempt.
By Bilal Philips
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