لطفا منتظر باشید ...
Islam, the Qur'an and the Arabic Literature.
Elsayed M.H Omran
Since the advent of Islam and the revelation of the Qur'an in the early years
of the seventh century AD, the Muslim Holy Book has been the subject of many
extensive analytical studies. The focus of the great majority of these studies
has been the theological and legislative aspects of the Holy Book, for the
Qur'an provides Muslims with detailed guidance on their everyday problems.
Together with the sayings, actions, and recommendations of Muhammad, the Qur'an
has been the ultimate source of legal authority for Muslims over the past
fourteen centuries. Muslim scholars have painstakingly examined, analyzed and
interpreted the various verses of the Holy Book, detailing the requirements the
Qur'an imposes on Muslims in order for them to achieve spiritual purity. Thus,
in addition to its legislative and theological value, the Qur'an has also served
as a source of spiritual guidance for the followers of Islam.
There is, however, another aspect of the Qur'an which has received far less
attention than its theological and legislative guidance, namely its linguistic
significance, for the Qur'an was undoubtedly the first book to be composed in
Arabic. The advent of Islam and the revelation of the Qur'an have had
far-reaching effects on the status, the content, and the structure of the Arabic
language. [1]
This paper will examine the linguistic influence of the Qur'an and the impact of
its revelation on Arabic. It will be argued that, while the Arabic language was
extremely effective as the medium for the revelation of the Holy Qur'an and the
dissemination of the new faith, the language benefited enormously from the new
role it acquired with the advent of Islam.
Islam and
Arabic: a unique relationship.
The
Qur'an: Muhammad's strongest argument.
The role
played by language in pre-Islamic Arabia.
The role
of the poet in pre-Islamic Arabia.
The
inimitability of the Qur'an.
The impact
of the Qur'an of the Arabic language.
Islam, the
Qur'an, and the internationalization of the
Arabic language
Conclusion
Islam and Arabic: a unique relationship
The revelation of the Qur'an in Arabic set the scene for a unique and lasting
relationship between the language and Islam. On the one hand, Arabic provided a
very effective medium for communicating the message of the religion. On the
other hand, Islam helped Arabic to acquire the universal status which it has
continued to enjoy since the Middle Ages, emerging as one of the principal world
languages. It has been argued that Arabic has not simply remained 'ancilliary to
Islam' [2]
but
that it has also been significant as a means of 'cultural and national revival
in the Arabic-speaking countries.' [3]
Arabic is a
rich and expressive language and has played an important role in the cultural
preservation of the Arabic-speaking people. However, without the bond it has had
with Islam, Arabic would probably not have undergone the internal revolution it
did, nor expanded beyond the borders of the Arabian Peninsula with such speed
and magnitude.
The relationship of Islam and the Qur'an to Arabic involves more than just
the use of a language to communicate a divine message. There are a number of
factors which set this relationship apart from that which exists between other
holy books and the languages in which they appeared, for Arabic has come to be
closely associated with Islam, and in this way has acquired a semi-official
status. It is implicit that anyone professing Islam cannot ignore the role
Arabic plays in his faith. Embracing Islam, therefore, entails exposure to, and
familiarity with, the Arabic language. Such familiarity is necessitated by the
fact that memorization and recitation of Qur'anic verses in their original
language is necessary for the performance of the daily rituals. Other holy books
may have had an impact on the languages in which they originally appeared, but
the impact that Islam and the Qur'an have had on Arabic appears to be unique in
its extent and durability. It has often been the case that a holy book appears
in a given language and is then translated into other languages, in which it
continues to be read and recited during the performance of rituals, but, in the
case of the Qur'an, although it has been translated into many languages, these
translations cannot replace the original language as a language of worship,
which continues to be Arabic for all Muslims, native speakers and others.
Other holy books also came to be associated with specific languages, such as
the Torah with Hebrew, and, perhaps less intimately, the New Testament with
Greek and Latin. However, the nature of the relationship between the Qur'an and
Arabic is still unique for reasons to be given below.
The Qur'an: Muhammad's strongest argument:
It has often been argued that the Qur'an is not only the first book, and the
highest linguistic achievement, of the Arabic language, but that it is also
Muhammad's strongest argument against those who doubted his Message. The
question that needs to be addressed here concerns the reason why a holy book, a
composition of language, should be hailed as Islam's (and Muhammad's) strongest
argument. [4]
The point has sometimes been made that other prophets had more tangible
miracles. In the case of Muhammad, however, the miracle was not comparable to
Moses' staff or Christ's healing powers, but was simply the expression in
language of the Qur'an.
To understand why Muhammad's strongest argument or miracle was a book, the
Holy Qur'an, it is necessary to understand the role language and linguistic
composition played in the lives of the pre-Islamic Arabs. It is also important
to understand the nature of the Arabic language itself during the pre-Islamic
period. This understanding will help to show why the revelation of the Qur'an
through Muhammad found attentive ears among his contemporaries, who not only
were articulate users of the language but held those skilled in the arts of
linguistic composition in high esteem. [5]
The role played by language in pre-Islamic Arabia:
Before the rise of Islam, Arabic was mainly a spoken language with an oral
literature of elaborate poetry and, to a lesser extent, prose. [6]
Writing had
not yet fully developed and memorization was the most common means of preserving
the literature. [7]
Both poetry
and prose in the pre-Islamic era dealt with a rather limited range of topics
which included in the case of poetry praise, eulogy (panegyric), defamation, and
love, and in the case of prose superstition, legends, parables, and wisdom
tales. [8]
Pre-Islamic Arabs took great pride in their language and in articulate and
accurate speech, the latter being one of the main requisites for social
prominence. On this particular point, Professor Hitti writes:No people in the
world manifest such enthusiastic admiration for literary expression and are
moved by the word, spoken or written, as the Arabs. Hardly any language seems
capable of exercising over the minds of its users such an irresistible influence
as Arabic. [9]
What made this phenomenon even more remarkable is the near absence of other
forms of artistic expression such as music, painting, and drama. The sole
elaborate form of artistic expression available to the pre-Islamic Arabs was the
art of the spoken word. [10]
Eloquence
and the ability to compose articulate prose or poetry were foremost among the
traits of a worthy bedouin. [11]
Other such traits included horsemanship, courage, and hospitality.With its
very nature and structure, its abundance of imagery, vocabulary, and figures of
speech, the Arabic language lent itself to elaborate poetic composition and
sonorous prose. The tremendous quantity of poetry that we have inherited attests
to the significant role language played in pre-Islamic Arabia. In fact, the role
language and poetry played was so important that other fields of study which
developed during the first centuries of the Islamic era were greatly influenced
by the then established study of poetic literature. [12]
The importance of poetry for that era is clearly manifest in the writings of
scholars from subsequent centuries. Al-Jahiz (d. 869), for instance, quotes
poetic works in his famous al-Bayan wa l-Tabyin. [13]
The
grammarian al-Asma'i (d. c. 830) used the term fasih (articulate) in reference
to the poets whom he quotes. The following quotation from Ibn Rashiq further
illustrates the importance attached to linguistic skills in pre-Islamic Arabia.
He writes:
Whenever a poet emerged in an Arab tribe, other tribes would come
to congratulate, feasts would be prepared, the women would join together on
lutes as they do at weddings, and old and young men would all rejoice at the
good news. The Arabs used to congratulate each other only on the birth of a
child and when a poet rose among them. [14]
In his 'Uyun al-Akhbar, Ibn Qutayba defined poetry as follows:
Poetry is the mine of knowledge of the Arabs and the book of their
wisdom, the archive of their history and the reservoir of their epic days, the
wall that defends their exploits, the impassable trench that preserves their
glories, the impartial witness for the day of judgement. [15]
Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), a notable scholar of the fourteenth century, remarked
on the importance of poetry in Arab life:
It should be known that Arabs thought highly of poetry as a form
of speech. Therefore, they made it the archives of their history, the evidence
for what they considered right and wrong, and the principal basis of reference
for most of their sciences and wisdom. [16]
Almost four centuries earlier, Ibn Faris (d. 1005) elaborated on the same
theme, but went further to comment on the quality of the poetry that was
composed during the pre-Islamic era:
Poetry is the archive of the Arabs; in it their genealogies have
been preserved; it sheds light on the darkest and strangest things found in
the Book of God and in the tradition of God's apostle and that of his
companions. Perhaps a poem may be luckier than another, and one poem sweeter
and more elegant than another, but none of the ancient poems lacks its degree
of excellence. [17]
Such was the role that the spoken word played in the life of pre-Islamic
Arabs. With the emphasis placed on eloquent and articulate speech, the prominent
position occupied by those who had the talent for linguistic composition, and
the pride the early Arabs took in their language, it is little wonder that the
Qur'an was revealed in the most eloquent, articulate, and elaborate style the
Arabic language has known. The Qur'an has without doubt provided a level of
linguistic excellence unparalleled in the history of the Arabic language.
Theologians explain this phenomenon as God's wisdom in addressing the articulate
Arabs through the medium in which they were most adept and with which they felt
most comfortable. The effectiveness of the Qur'an was thus ensured by the fact
that it represented a level of eloquence unattainable even by their most
eloquent speakers. The Qur'an remains a book of inimitable quality, not only
from a linguistic, but also from and intellectual, point of view. When Muhammad
was challenged by his fellow countrymen to present a miracle, in keeping with
the tradition of other prophets, he presented the Qur'an to them. The
inimitability of the Qur'an is repeatedly emphasized in the Holy Book itself.
Thus the Qur'an challenges the disbelievers:
"And if you are in doubt as to what we have revealed, then produce
a sura like unto it." (2: 23) [18]
A yet stronger challenge occurs in another chapter:
"Or do they say: 'He forged it'? Say: 'Bring then a sura like unto
it and call [to your aid]
anyone you can.'" (10:38)
The role of the poet in pre-Islamic Arabia:
Except for a few proverbs, legends, and some magical and medicinal formulee,
the bulk of the literary heritage from the pre-Islamic era was in the form of
poetry. [19]
Prose, which lacks the elaborate rhythm and formal structure of poetry, did not
lend itself easily to memorization. Furthermore, in the absence of a developed
system of writing, prose was much less easily preserved. Prose works from the
pre-Islamic period were mainly genealogies (ansab) and legends dealing
with inter-tribal wars (ayyam al-'arab). [20]
Poetry
therefore represents the main form of artistic expression during the pre-Islamic
era.
The significance of poetry in pre-Islamic Arabia was underscored by the
annual fairs, the most famous of which was the Suq Ukaz, in which poets competed
for fame and recognition through recitations of poetry. The recitations
constituted the main form of entertainment at the fairs. which were cultural as
well as trading events.
The pre-Islamic poet, enjoying his enviable talent for composing poetry,
played multiple roles. He was an artist, an entertainer, a journalist, and the
spokesman for his tribe. Furthermore, he was the historian who kept alive the
history and past glories of his tribe. His poetry provided a very effective
means of propaganda and public relations. He was readily capable of influencing
public opinion, and his poetry was sought by kings and tribal chiefs who
generously rewarded him. In short, the poet enjoyed a very prominent status in
pre-Islamic Arabia. [21]
