The Miraculous Eloquence of The Qur'an
Quran
The Miraculous Eloquence of The Qur'an
Q: If the literary fluency and eloquence of the Qur'an is beyond explanation in terms of ordinary reality, that is so only for Arab speaking people (non-Arabs are far removed from the language). Why do Muslims claim that the Qur'an is a miracle for all o f mankind?
A: The miraculous semblance of the Qur'an is not limited to its literary fluency and eloquence, rather the Qur'an is miraculous from every aspect. The following are some illustrations of the Qur'an's supernatural traits: 1. The Qur'an incompasses many sciences such as ethics, divine & judicial law, news of the unseen, and other detailed information, which are so deep-rooted that no man has the ability to compile such a work. 2. The carrier of the Qur'an was untaught; and just as it has been mentioned, this divine book, which contains every axiom needed for worldly and spiritual sucess - written in an unparalleled manner - can benefit the most intellectual of people. Accumu lating such knowledge and truth is beyond the competence of ordinary mortal ability, especially for someone who is untaught - And thou didst not recite any book before it (the Qur'an) and thou didst not transcribe one with that right hand of thine, for t hen would have doubted those who utter falsehood (29:48). 3. The Qur'an is harmonious and without contradiction. The Holy Qur'an is a book that over a period of twenty-three years, full of ups and downs and constantly changing times, it was revealed without its' miraculous harmony being effected - Do they no t think about the Qur'an? And if it had been from any other than God, they would surely have found in it much discrepancy (4:82). 4. The Qur'an displays literary fluency and eloquence. Fundamentally, (Allah's) divine wisdom necessitates that the miracle of each prophet coincides with the most prevalent skills and sciences of his time, in order that their miraculous contributions t o humanity could be clearly observed by the masses (just as Imam Haadi (AS) indicated in his reply to Ibn Sakeet). For everyone the esthetic and spiritual melody of the Qur'an is evident, however its' eloquent methodology is exclusively for those who are familiar with the Arabic language. Interperting the supernatural eloquence of the Qur'an can only be done by some one who has mastery over the various techniques of literary and poetic eloquence. The most renowned critics of their time (when the Qur'an was being revealed) - Waleed bin Mugayarah Makhzumi, U'tba bin Rabia', and Tufail bin Amr - testified that the Qu r'an was more eloquent and superior than all other works. One century later (after the Qur'an was revealed), unsucessfully, personalities like Ibn Abi Al-Au'jaai, Ibn Maqfa', Abu Shakir Desani, and Abdul Malik Basari tried (for a whole year) to refute an d oppose the Qur'an (its' eloquence). Sufficent proof of the Qur'an's eloquence has been written in the Qur'an itself - Say thou, `if men and the jinn united that they bring the like of this Qur'an, they would bring not the like of it, even though they m ay help each other' (17:88) - and history supports this notion. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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S: Insofar as a word denotes a meaning - it is a verbal indication coined by man - it is impossible that a word signifies an meaning that is beyond mortal comprehension. In other words, human beings due to social needs - because of social interaction - c oined words to convey the meaning of things and ideas that they have in their minds. Therefore, competence in disclosing the meaning of things is relevant to the word coined by humans; thus the eloquence of the Qur'an can not be beyond the ability of man kind to compose the likes of it (the Qur'an).
A: It is correct that words are coined to indicate upon the meaning of things and that the coiner is mankind. However, this disposition is correct only for individual words, not for the composition of the various types of sentences, which have their own particular style and beauty. Assembling individual words to create various compound sentences that convey different meanings depends upon one's knowledge of literary eloquence and fluency. Scholars of literary eloquence clearly state that the amount of k nowledge and information about the affairs, psychological states, and emotions of human beings have a great affect upon (eloquent) expression; insofar as the more one knows about these things, the more eloquent his expression will be. In conclusion, it is clear that attributing the coinage of words to mankind is no proof for the absence of a text that is beyond ordinary human comprehension. Such an argument (previously stated), is like saying that the inventor if chess must be the mos t skillful player and the inventor of the tambourine must be the best at playing it. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 pg. 69 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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Set Principles In A Changing Society, Eternal Islam
S: Socialologist, law makers, and economist all believe that laws and regulations must change and evolve in accordance with the social changes of each society. However, by contrast, the Qur'an and its' principles are associated with a particular society, which existed fourteen centries ago in the Arabian Peninsula; thus it is not suitable for todays' society.
A: First and foremost, this argument claims that mankind and his legislation is similar to God and His legislation, while it is evident that the limited intellect of human beings along side other limitations is the cause of his ever-changing laws. On the other hand, God the Exalted, who has eternal knowledge, is aware of every detail of the mortal world; hence, with ease, He is able - in one compilation (the Holy Qur'an) - to set forth laws that are need by mankind til the Day of Judgment. Secondly, the basis of legislation in the Qur'an is the innate (awarness of) monotheism and (endeavor for) moral excellence of human beings, which does not change with the changing of time or place. The Qur'anic view on legislation is that laws must be m ade based on man's intrinsic aptitude, which is unchanging. However, by contrast, those who are of the opinion that laws change and evolve with social evolution believe that spirituallity and morality have no place (in legislation). book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 pg. 63 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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Abrogation of (Qur'anic) Verses
Q: Is not the aborgation of verses, which has been clearly mentioned in the Quran (2:106), nothing more than conspicuous contradiction of the Qur'anic view (about things) and its laws?
A: Aborgation does not infer contradiction in view or in a particular ruling, rather it suggest that there has been a change in the referent or subject. Explination of this matter is that, sometimes on the account of an amelioration and/or variegation in the subject (of law) one particular ruling is applied, whereas at a different time or in face of different conditions - due to other existing variegations or the abscents of the first (amelioration/variegation) - another ruling is applied (differing fro m the first). This disposition is evident due to the fact that aborgated verses (of the Qur'an) give verbal evidence of the temporary state of a mentioned verdict. Examples of this disposition are found in the Holy Qur'an - And as to such of those who ar e guilty of lewdness from among your women, then bring four witness against them from among yourselves; and if they bear witness (to the fact), Confine them to the houses till death taketh them away or God maketh some way for them (4:15) & But forgive y e and overlook ye till God bringeth about His command... (2:109) - whereas the ending of these two verses indicate that the ruling mentioned in them are temporary. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 pg. 67 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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The Objection of The Angles To The Creation of Adam
Q: In the event of creating Adam(AS), why did the angles say that mankind would bring about corruption and bloodshed in the earth; is this not open objection (of God's decision)?
A: At the time God said, "Verily I (intend to) appoint a vicegerent in the earth," the angles conceptualized earthly beings that posses physical desires and live in a world of rivalry and constint change. It is not possible to live without socialization and order; hence these things (the abscents of socialization and order) are the causes of corruption and bloodshed. Thus, the angles statment in the presents of the Divine (God) was an attempt to understand the wisdom behind the creation of mankind in su ch a world. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 pg. 115 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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The Qur'anic invocation: "In the name of Allah"
Q: What is the wisdoms in repeating "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful" in the begining of each chapter of the Qur'an?
A: Just as every chapter has a particular objective, the invocation "In the name..." has its own particular purpose in relationship with each chapter; thus in order for each chapter to fulfill its intended goal this invocation must be repeated. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 (A Commentary on Qur'an) Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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The Interval Life Between Heaven and Hell (Barzakh)
S: Some say that the context of verse 28 of the chapter of The Cow (Al-Baqarah) and verse 11 of the chapter of The Believer (Al-Mu'min) - How can ye disbelieve in God; for ye were lifeless (in your mother's womb) He brought you to life. He causeth you to die and again (He will) restore you to life then unto Him will ye be returned (2:28) & They shall say, `O, our Lord! Twice didst Thou cause us to die, and twice didst Thou give us life, and (now) we do confess our sins: Is there then away to get out (of this)?' (40:11) - are the same; for they both speak about two lifes and two deaths. Therefore, both verses have one meaning - two lifes and two deaths - and neither of the two refers to an interval life (Barzak). And what is intended by death in the first verse is the physical state of man before his earthly life and spirit was breathe into him, while death in the second verse means earthly death (the removal of the soul from the earth). And what is intended by life in the first verse is the worldly li fe, while life in the second verse means life in the hereafter (on the Day of Judgement).
A: This saying in not correct because, the context of these two verses are different. In the first verse there is one (aboslute) death, one deprivation of life (to cause to die), and two endowments of live, whereas in the second verse there are two depri vations of life and two endowments of life. It is clear that deprivation of life is not possible unless there is life before it, however (aboslute) death is not dependant upon a previous life. Thereupon, death in the first verse is verse is different fro m `the deprivation of life', which comes in the first and second verses. According to this the first `deprivation of life' in the verse - Twice didst Thou cause us to die, and twice didst Thou give us life (40:11) - is after the life of this world and th e first endowment of life is also after this worldly life, which is related to the interval life between heaven and hell; and the second death and life is related to the Day of Judgment. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 pg. 111 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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Qur'anic Guidance for the Devout
Q: In the 2nd verse of the Holy Chapter of the Cow (Al-Baqarah) it is written that the Qur'an is a guide for those who are devout, when in fact they have already found guidance and become pious through their observance of divine law. How is it that the Q ur'an can guide such people (those who have already been guided)?
A: The devout have two types of guidance. The first is primordial, which is enjoyed by man's pure God-given nature. The second or subsequent guidance is that of the Qur'an, which in fact perfects primordial guidance. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 (A Commentary on Qur'an) Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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The Efficacy of Allah and (His) Servants
Q: In the Qur'an, from one point of view, action is ascribed to Allah - even actions concerning human will power. Likewise, from another point of view, the preformance of miracles are ascribed to the actions of prophets or angles. What is the solution fo r this contradiction?
A: there is no contradiction between these two points of view. That is because the actions of Allah are transcendent compared to the actions of His servants. Hence, the preformance of divine miracles can be ascribed to Allah - the same can be said about every action - from the point of view that their existences are dependant upon divine authorization. On the other hand, the preformance of such actions can be ascribed to prophets and angles from the point of view that they are mediators (of Allah's actions) or they are the direct actors in performing those acts - just as raising the dead, curing the sick, and giving life to a bird are ascirbed to Jesus (AS) in the Holy Qur'an. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 pg. 81 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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