seekeroftruth
22-05-2007, 07:22 PM
Concise yet full of Expression
Dr Draz explains this feature of the Qur'anic discourse:
“Put your hand over any page in the Qur’an you choose, and count the number of words you have covered. Then select an equal number of the most expressive words in human speech other than those in the Qur’an and compare the meaning in both cases. Consider then how many words you may delete or replace in this second passage without loss of meaning, and consider if you can doing the same with the Qur’an. The fact is, as stated by Ibn ‘Atiyah, a famous Arab literary critic, that if we were to screen the whole Arabic language in search of a word to replace one word of the Qur’an expressing the meaning equally, let alone more fully, we will find none. It is aptly described by God Himself: 'This is a scripture with verses which have been set out with perfection and then expounded in detail, bestowed on you by Him who is Wise, All-Aware.' Qur'an 11:1.
Let us now examine this verse very carefully. The whole idea we have discussed is combined here in two phrases, each expressed in a single Arabic word in the original text: “set out with perfection”, and “expounded”. This is a most apt description of the Qur’anic style. It is perfected by the One who is ‘Wise’ and who leaves no defect in what He produces. It is also expounded by the same One who is ‘All-Aware’, and who knows every detail of every living thing.”*
* M. Abdullah Draz. The Qur’an: an Eternal Challenge (al-Naba’ al-‘Azim). Leicester: The Islamic Foundation United Kingdom.
Dr Draz explains this feature of the Qur'anic discourse:
“Put your hand over any page in the Qur’an you choose, and count the number of words you have covered. Then select an equal number of the most expressive words in human speech other than those in the Qur’an and compare the meaning in both cases. Consider then how many words you may delete or replace in this second passage without loss of meaning, and consider if you can doing the same with the Qur’an. The fact is, as stated by Ibn ‘Atiyah, a famous Arab literary critic, that if we were to screen the whole Arabic language in search of a word to replace one word of the Qur’an expressing the meaning equally, let alone more fully, we will find none. It is aptly described by God Himself: 'This is a scripture with verses which have been set out with perfection and then expounded in detail, bestowed on you by Him who is Wise, All-Aware.' Qur'an 11:1.
Let us now examine this verse very carefully. The whole idea we have discussed is combined here in two phrases, each expressed in a single Arabic word in the original text: “set out with perfection”, and “expounded”. This is a most apt description of the Qur’anic style. It is perfected by the One who is ‘Wise’ and who leaves no defect in what He produces. It is also expounded by the same One who is ‘All-Aware’, and who knows every detail of every living thing.”*
* M. Abdullah Draz. The Qur’an: an Eternal Challenge (al-Naba’ al-‘Azim). Leicester: The Islamic Foundation United Kingdom.