The Language of Quran: Easier than English

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xxiii] Cf. the radical novelty theory concerning Quranic language advanced by Bassam Saeh ( The Miraculous Language of the Qur’an, tr. Nancy Roberts, London: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2015): he argues that its miracle actually consists in the fact that the Qur’an can be understood despite nearly every phrase being unprecedented in Arabic. This theory has its own problems which I will not elaborate here. xvi] The mid-range of uṣūl are those usually spoken about, and others which can be added. As for surface-level uṣūl, these would describe how to make use of exegetical sources and evaluate their opinions, without engaging in tafsīr directly. Unfortunately, even this kind of advice is difficult to come across. Belief is a fundamental aspect of morality in the Quran, and scholars have tried to determine the semantic contents of "belief" and "believer" in the Quran. [112] The ethico-legal concepts and exhortations dealing with righteous conduct are linked to a profound awareness of God, thereby emphasizing the importance of faith, accountability, and the belief in each human's ultimate encounter with God. People are invited to perform acts of charity, especially for the needy. Believers who "spend of their wealth by night and by day, in secret and in public" are promised that they "shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." [113] It also affirms family life by legislating on matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. A number of practices, such as usury and gambling, are prohibited. The Quran is one of the fundamental sources of Islamic law ( sharia). Some formal religious practices receive significant attention in the Quran including the formal prayers ( salat) and fasting in the month of Ramadan. As for the manner in which the prayer is to be conducted, the Quran refers to prostration. [25] [110] The term for charity, zakat, literally means purification. Charity, according to the Quran, is a means of self-purification. [85] [114] Encouragement for the sciences Main articles: Surah and Āyah The first sura of the Quran, Al-Fatiha, which consists of seven verses Kalam Allah (Divine Speech): this means that these words are a direct communication from the Creator and Master of every living being. It occupies the highest level of authority for its believers, and it is clarified and supported by the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ. While the language of this particular revelation was Arabic, we also have many translations into different languages which help us to understand its meanings.

v] In his otherwise excellently argued ‘Preliminary Remarks on the Historiography of tafsīr,’ Walid Saleh overstates al-Suyūṭī’s “alliance to Ibn Taymiyya’s radical hermeneutical paradigm” (pp. 24, 32), meaning a ḥadīth-only approach to exegesis. Stephen Burge builds on this theory in his study of al-Suyūṭī’s methodology in al-Durr, but he alludes in his conclusion to the possibility of reading it instead as “a means by which someone reading an exegesis in the Sunnī core can easily see the relevant aḥādīth related to a particular exegesis” (‘Scattered Pearls,’ p. 271). I cannot see a basis to assume that al-Suyūṭī considered al-Durr as a full exegetical work; even the title is ambiguous in that regard. xv] In reality, these anwā‘ form one chapter, on which basis we may say the book contains 75 rather than 80. All the chapters except one begin with the sentence Bismillahir rahmanir raheem, 'In the name of Allah the most merciful and the most kind'. This is the thought with which Muslims should start every action.This chapter contains an extensive discursion concerning the possibility – expressed in some narrations – that some Quranic verses contain grammatical errors or mistranscriptions. As well as analysing the reports in terms of their transmission and possible meanings, al-Suyūṭī lists the range of explanations which have been provided for these difficult verses. This exemplifies the practice of tawjīh or takhrīj (explaining and defending verses and readings) at its most necessary juncture, but these are the skills which a serious student of this volume will hone more broadly. In 1936, translations in 102 languages were known. [143] In 2010, the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review reported that the Quran was presented in 112 languages at the 18th International Quran Exhibition in Tehran. [147]

According to Tabatabaei, there are acceptable and unacceptable esoteric interpretations. Acceptable ta'wil refers to the meaning of a verse beyond its literal meaning; rather the implicit meaning, which ultimately is known only to God and can not be comprehended directly through human thought alone. The verses in question here refer to the human qualities of coming, going, sitting, satisfaction, anger and sorrow, which are apparently attributed to God. Unacceptable ta'wil is where one "transfers" the apparent meaning of a verse to a different meaning by means of a proof; this method is not without obvious inconsistencies. Although this unacceptable ta'wil has gained considerable acceptance, it is incorrect and cannot be applied to the Quranic verses. The correct interpretation is that reality a verse refers to. It is found in all verses, the decisive and the ambiguous alike; it is not a sort of a meaning of the word; it is a fact that is too sublime for words. God has dressed them with words to bring them a bit nearer to our minds; in this respect they are like proverbs that are used to create a picture in the mind, and thus help the hearer to clearly grasp the intended idea. [135] [137] History of Sufi commentaries xiii] See my paper ‘The Shahin Affair’ concerning this gap. In my PhD thesis ‘Intraquranic Hermeneutics’ (and the forthcoming book from Edinburgh University Press, Explaining the Qur’an Through the Qur’an), I show how chapters from this work can contribute to a full hermeneutical account. The Quran most likely existed in scattered written form during Muhammad's lifetime. Several sources indicate that during Muhammad's lifetime a large number of his companions had memorized the revelations. Early commentaries and Islamic historical sources support the above-mentioned understanding of the Quran's early development. [25] University of Chicago professor Fred Donner states that: [64] Guessoum cites Ghaleb Hasan on the definition of "proof" according to the Quran being "clear and strong... convincing evidence or argument." Also, such a proof cannot rely on an argument from authority, citing verse 5:104. Lastly, both assertions and rejections require a proof, according to verse 4:174. [115] :56 Ismail al-Faruqi and Taha Jabir Alalwani are of the view that any reawakening of the Muslim civilization must start with the Quran; however, the biggest obstacle on this route is the "centuries old heritage of tafseer (exegesis) and other classical disciplines" which inhibit a "universal, epidemiological and systematic conception" of the Quran's message. [115] :117–8 The philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, considered the Quran's methodology and epistemology to be empirical and rational. [115] :58–9 In other verses, the word refers to 'an individual passage recited [by Muhammad]'. Its liturgical context is seen in a number of passages, for example: "So when al-qur'ān is recited, listen to it and keep silent." [34] The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel. [35]

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It has also been an assumption of Orientalists, often within a general attitude towards the Qur’an as derivative, and perhaps even as mysterious to its Arab reciters. However, accepting that Quranic Arabic words have their roots in far-flung dialects and languages does not depend upon such negative assumptions. While everything in the Qur’an is indeed Arabic, and was so at the time of revelation, everything has to come from somewhere. Indeed, this may be a necessary component of interpretation, and further research could reveal how purposeful this Quranic feature is. [xxiv] While the Qur'an is recited aloud, Muslims should behave with reverence and refrain from speaking, eating or drinking, or making distracting noise. Sunnah and Hadith

Printed copies of the Quran during this period met with strong opposition from Muslim legal scholars: printing anything in Arabic was prohibited in the Ottoman empire between 1483 and 1726—initially, even on penalty of death. [178] [169] [179] The Ottoman ban on printing in Arabic script was lifted in 1726 for non-religious texts only upon the request of Ibrahim Muteferrika, who printed his first book in 1729. Except for books in Hebrew and European languages, which were unrestricted, very few books, and no religious texts, were printed in the Ottoman Empire for another century. [xvii] The climax of history, when the present world comes to an end, is referred to in various ways. It is 'the Day of Judgment,' 'the Last Day,' 'the Day of Resurrection,' or simply 'the Hour.' Less frequently it is 'the Day of Distinction' (when the good are separated from the evil), 'the Day of the Gathering' (of men to the presence of God) or 'the Day of the Meeting' (of men with God). The Hour comes suddenly. It is heralded by a shout, by a thunderclap, or by the blast of a trumpet. A cosmic upheaval then takes place. The mountains dissolve into dust, the seas boil up, the sun is darkened, the stars fall and the sky is rolled up. God appears as Judge, but his presence is hinted at rather than described.… The central interest, of course, is in the gathering of all mankind before the Judge. Human beings of all ages, restored to life, join the throng. To the scoffing objection of the unbelievers that former generations had been dead a long time and were now dust and mouldering bones, the reply is that God is nevertheless able to restore them to life. The proper recitation of the Quran is the subject of a separate discipline named tajwid which determines in detail how the Quran should be recited, how each individual syllable is to be pronounced, the need to pay attention to the places where there should be a pause, to elisions, where the pronunciation should be long or short, where letters should be sounded together and where they should be kept separate, etc. It may be said that this discipline studies the laws and methods of the proper recitation of the Quran and covers three main areas: the proper pronunciation of consonants and vowels (the articulation of the Quranic phonemes), the rules of pause in recitation and of resumption of recitation, and the musical and melodious features of recitation. [152]The oldest Gurmukhi translation of the Quran Sharif has been found in village Lande of Moga district of Punjab which was printed in 1911. [150] Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final prophet, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel [15] [16] incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on Laylat Al Qadr, [17] when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death at age 61–62. [11] [18] [19] Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle, a proof of his prophethood; [20] and as the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to Adam, including the Tawrat, the Zabur ( Psalms) and the Injil (Gospel). The word Quran occurs some 70 times in the text itself, and other names and words are also said to refer to the Quran. [21] While details of al-Suyūṭī’s biography and bibliography can be found elsewhere, [i] of particular significance to note here are his contributions to the study of the Qur’an. In addition to his works on Arabic grammar, he is the author of several extant works on Quranic exegesis. The most famous of these is Tafsīr al-Jalālayn (‘Commentary of the Two Jalāls’), [ii] of which he wrote the commentary from al-Baqara to al-Isrā’ (Q. 2–17), completing the work of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī (d. 864/1459). Another major exegetical work is al-Durr al-Manthūr fī l-Tafsīr bi-l-Ma’thūr (‘Scattered Pearls of Exegesis by Narration’). [iii] Like his smaller compilation on revelatory contexts, [iv] the Durr is best understood as a thematic collection which aids the mufassir (exegete), rather than a full commitment to the narration-based approach. [v]

The Quran does not demand blind belief, but instead it invites all human beings to study, reflect and follow the evidence. These are some of the broad aspects which lead Muslims to be convinced of the truth and accuracy of the Quran as the revealed Word of God: i] See for example his autobiography al-Taḥadduth bi-Ni‘mat Allāh, with E.M. Sartain’s introductory volume.According to the Quran, God communicated with man and made his will known through signs and revelations. Prophets, or 'Messengers of God', received revelations and delivered them to humanity. The message has been identical and for all humankind. "Nothing is said to you that was not said to the messengers before you, that your lord has at his Command forgiveness as well as a most Grievous Penalty." [111] The revelation does not come directly from God to the prophets. Angels acting as God's messengers deliver the divine revelation to them. This comes out in Quran 42:51, in which it is stated: "It is not for any mortal that God should speak to them, except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal by his permission whatsoever He will." [55] [110] Ethico-religious concepts Verse about the month of Ramadan (second sura, verse 185) from a Quran manuscript dated to 1510 vi] Al-Suyūṭī mentions this in the introduction (see the MMF edition of al-Itqān, p. 15), then again towards the end of the work (p. 2346). To demonstrate Al-Durr’s utility as a thematic resource: al-Shawkānī (d. 1250/1834) praises it in the introduction to his own exegesis, stating that he intends to build on it and combine “ riwāya and dirāya” ( Fatḥ al-Qadīr, 1/71). The Quran presents itself with a number of names and descriptions which are worth reflecting on. Here are just a few: is reviewed between 08.30 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. We're experiencing a high volume of enquiries so it may take us