Page 33 - Ulum Al Quran An Introduction To The Sciences Of The Quran

of knowing the language, as in the translations the meanings of the Qur'an have been rendered into their mother tongues
so that they may familiarise themselves with the message from Allah.

This message can be understood by all human beings who are willing to listen, for the Qur'an is not difficult but easy:

'We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to remember: but is there any that remembers it?'
(Al-Qur'an 54: 17).

Non-Arabic Words in the Qur'an

There is some difference of opinion among scholars whether the language of the Qur'an includes expressions which are
not Arabic. Some (among them Tabari and Baqillani) hold that all in the Qur'an is Arabic and that words of non-Arabic
origin found in the Qur'an were nevertheless part of Arabic speech. Although these words were of non-Arab origin the
Arabs used and observed them and they became genuinely integrated in the Arabic language.

However, it is conceded that there are non-Arabic proper names in the Qur'an, such as Isra'il, Imran, Nuh., etc.

Others have said that the Qur'an does contain words not used in the Arabic language, such as e.g.:
 al-Qistas (17:35), derived from the Greek language.

 al-Sijjil (15: 74), derived from the Persian language.
 al-Ghassaq (78: 25), derived from the Turkish language.

 al-Tur (2:63), derived from the Syriac language.
 al-Kifl (57: 28), derived from the Abyssinian language.

Some scholars have written books on the topic of 'foreign vocabulary in the Qur'an', e.g. Suyuti, who compiled a small
book with a list of 118 expressions in different languages. [The Mutawakkili of Al-Suyuti7, trans. by William Y. Bell, Yale
University Dissertations, 1924; see also Itqan.]

LITERARY FORMS AND STYLE

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.
The Qur'an is not Poetry

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