Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Fwd: The unique inimitability of the Arabic Koran

(The following sections demonstrate the inimitability of the Arabic Quran.Because this reference is presented for the English seeker, it follows that the Quranic texts have been rendered into English. It is important that one should be aware that he/she cannot even begin to savor the real taste of the compelling beauty of the Arabic Quran with all its facets, let alone its fineries because the English quotations merely endeavor to present an understanding of its meaning because even the most eloquent composition of the English language is not rich enough to do justice to the Words of Allah.)

The Arabic Quran has numerous facets which are impossible to imitate. To illustrate the inimitability of these aspects they have placed in four categories. The first aspect illustrates the excellence of the composition of the Quran, thejoining together of the structure of its words and the purity of its Arabic because its eloquence is far beyond the reach and capability of even the most adept tongue of any Arab.

Allah blessed the Arab nation with a natural gift of language. At the time the Holy Quran was revealed, the Arabs had mastered its linguistic expressions. Its eloquence and exact meaning surpassed that of any nation and had at that time reached its pinnacle of excellence. The language had the capability of touching the very depths of one's heart. To the Arab it was a natural phenomena and part of their character. They wrote poetry that was powerful and arousing, sometimes it was used to praise, at others defame. Such poetry was used to present requests and their like, or to elevate or degrade a matter.Their mastery had reached such a high level that even the intelligent could be deceived, they also used it as a tool to heal longstanding tribal feuds, incite the coward to acts of bravery, persuade the miser to be generous, make the imperfect perfect and debase society's elite so that they became of little standing.

The Arabic language was most rich in expression among the Bedouin who used it in not only in a decisive, rational way but with a superb usage of clarity,and powerful manner. The town-dweller was also skilful in its eloquence, and able to express himself splendidly with just a few words. Both walks of life were capable of expressing matters in an effective and convincing manner that gave them the sharper edge and opened the way. Eloquence was the tool of their leadership, they were capable of speaking on both significant and insignificant subjects, they were indeed masters of expression and exercised words of rare usages. As for their prose and poetry there were many festivals to which people from distant areas would travel to contend or simply listen and enjoy. None but a Messenger from Allah could have caused their wonderment at the Quran's eloquent, truthful, purposeful composition.

Allah says, "Falsehood does not come to it from before it or from behind it. It is a sending down from the One, the Wise, the Praised." 41:42.

Both its verses and words are exact,distinguished and eloquent. The purity of the Arabic Quran surpasses every other form of Arabic with its conquering conciseness and inimitability. In it one discovers the articulation of both unvarnished and metaphorical verses, all of which vie with one another in beauty. One also finds in its succinctness new expressions that outperform others in their clarity. The excellence of its composition is balanced by its succinctness, and its expressions convey numerous meanings.Of the stubborn unbelievers who refused to acknowledge the Quran was and still is far superior and surpasses the composition of all the greatest Arab orators,

Allah says and challenges, "Do they say, 'He has forged it?' Say, 'Compose one chapter like it, and call upon whom you will, other than Allah (to help you), if what you say is true!'" 10:38. And, "If you are in doubt of what We have sent down to Our worshiper (Prophet Muhammad), produce a chapter comparable to it. Call upon your helpers, other than Allah, to assist you, if you are true. But if you fail, as you are sure to fail then guard yourselves against the Fire whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the unbelievers." 2:24-25.

Also, "Say, 'If mankind and jinn combined together to produce the like of this Quran, they would never be able to produce one like it, not even if they were to help one another.'" 17:88. And, "Then produce ten forged chapters like it." 11.13

It is easy to take the words or ideas of another and present them as one's own rather than to originate. Writing something that is false or fabricated is much simpler, whereas when one strives to compose something that has a sound meaning it is difficult, hence the phrase, "So-and-so writes as he is told, but soand so writes as he wants". Between the first and the second there is a huge gulf, and the first is better than the second.Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, always held the wellbeing of his nation at heart, and for their own good he never gave up in his rebuke of those who refused to believe. He would rebuke and warn them in the harshest, most compelling manner. He referred to their dreams as being foolish and did not honor their chieftains. The structure of their society became shattered by his teachings, both the unbelievers and their false deities were censured, and their homes and property were later on confiscated. But still in support of their stance, they shied away from taking the challenge to produce even one single verse to rival the Koran, they simply deceived themselves through the rejection of the Words of Allah.

Allah quotes the rebuke of the unbelievers, "Are we to follow a mortal who is one of us? Then indeed, we would surely be in error and insane." 54:24. And "This is but a falsehood he has forged – another nation has helped him.' 25:4. Or, "He has written tales of the ancients." 25:5. They lied and satisfied themselves in their self-deceit. Allah describes the unbelievers with their saying "Our hearts are covered." 2:88.

And, "Our hearts are veiled from that to which you call us, and in our ears there is heaviness, and between us and you is a veil." 41:5. And He refers to the contempt of the unbelievers who said, "Do not listen to this KQuran, and talk idly about it so that you might be overcome." 41:26.

The arrogant audacity of the unbelievers is recorded in the Quran when they claimed, "If we wished, we could speak its like." 8:31. Allah informs them "you are sure to fail." 2:24. All contenders were rendered completely powerless, none were able to fulfill their presumptuous claim.During the life of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, there was a man called Musaylima, who laid claim to the prophethood.

He attempted to compose verses to rival the Quran but his errors were obvious and thereby his status exposed, and Allah rendered his "fine" words to naught. Had it been otherwise people might not well have realized that the Quran is far above the eloquence of their own expression of pure Arabic.Commenting upon the superlative eloquence of the verse in Arabic that reads,"Allah orders justice, and good deeds." 16:90,

Walid, Mughira's son said, "I swear by Allah it has both sweetness and grace. The least of it is abundant and the highest of it is fruitful, no human being could have said this." The eloquence of the verse "Proclaim then what you are commanded" 15:94 penetrated the heart of a certain Bedouin whereupon he fell down prostrate and said, "I prostrated on account of its superlative Arabic." Upon another occasion another Bedouin heard the verse "When they despaired of him, they went in private to confer together" 12:80, and said "I bear witness that no human is capable of these words!"

One day, as the Caliph Omar, Khattab's son slept in the Mosque he was awakened by a person standing by his head bearing witness to the Oneness of Allah. Omar asked him who he was, whereupon the man told him that he was a Byzantine general conversant with Arabic and several other languages. He told him that he had heard a Muslim who had been taken captive reciting the Koran whereupon he reflected upon its words and realized it contained the same message that Allah had sent down about this world and the Hereafter to Prophet Jesus, Mary's son.

The Words that touched him were "Those who obey Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah, and have awe of Him shall be the winners." 24:52.

A serving girl was heard speaking eloquently, whereupon Al-Asmay said, "What has made you so eloquent?" But the girl replied, "Is what I said considered eloquent after the Words of Allah, "We revealed this to Moses' mother, 'Suckle him, but when you fear for him cast him into the water. Neither fear, nor sorrow because We shall restore him to you and make him among the Messengers.'" 28:7.

This verse contains two commands, two prohibitions, and two pieces of good news coupled to together. Also the planning of Allah is made evident in this verse as the casting of Moses into the water turns to be the cause of his safety rather than its opposite.This inimitability of the Arabic Quran is unique and incomparable. This is because firstly, it is a well established fact that it was revealed to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and that it is he who delivered it. Secondly, with it the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, challenged the Arabs and they were rendered incapable of responding to the challenge.

We have drawn your attention to many aspects, volumes could be written portraying just a fraction of its benefits, each phrase contains many degrees of meaning, and an overflow of knowledge. Even lengthy narrations about previous generations and nations merge into one another, they are a sign for one to reflect upon the cohesion of its words, its presentation and how its various facets are put in balance, such as one finds in the story of Prophet Joseph. Many of these stories occur in different chapters of the Koran, yet the phrasing varies so much that story takes on a totally new light, which is part of its beauty. One is never averse to its constant repetition, nor yet disdainful to their hearing over and over again.





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Mujhe jannat say zyada masjid mein bethna acha lagta hai 

kyun ke jannat mein mera nafs khush hoga, 

jab ke masjid mein mera rabb khush hoga

.    Jab tum namaz na padho to matt socho ke waqt nahi mila, Balke ye socho ke tumse kaunsi galti hui ke, ALLAH ne tum ko apne saamne khada karna pasand nahi kiya.............

.    Har koi chahta hai k mujhey KAMIYABI mil jaye, lekin jab masjid sey din main 5 dafa awaz ati hai "HAYYA ALAL FALAH",, "Aao Kamiyabi ki Taraf".... to us taraf janey ki hum zehmat nahi kertey... afsos k jis cheez ko wo sari zindagi har jagah talash kar k bhi hasil nahi ker saka, wo to khud usey apney paas bula rahi hai ....... 

Zuni Ayesha


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