Encyclopedia of Linguistic Miracles in the Holy Quran

 

** The linguistic miracle in the Holy Quran **



When the Quran was revealed to the people, it was revealed in the language of the Arabs, so the verses were pronounced in their language "Alif, Lam , Meem", "Kaf, Ha, Ain, Sad" It was known that the Arabs were the most proud and arrogant people in their language, so Allah challenged them to say words like this Quran, so He challenged the Arabs:


"Say: Then bring a Book from Allah that is better guidance than either of them, so I will follow it, if you should be truthful."

(Surat Al-Qasas, 49)



They were unable to do that, so the challenge came in another form.... easier than the first:


"Say: Then bring ten Surahs like it “Fake Scriptures”

(Surat Hud, 13).



When they turned back disappointed, the blatant challenge came, indicating their inability:


“Then bring a surah like it”

(Surat Al-Baqarah, 23) . The Qur’an



proved their complete inability in this.

“Say: If mankind and the jinn gathered to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants.”

(Surat Al-Isra, 88). So


they began to cast doubt on the Qur’an … and said that it was a collection of early stories and myths… So they brought Al-Nadr ibn Al-Harith and made him sit with the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and whenever he wanted to speak - may God bless him and grant him peace - about the Qur’an, So he interrupted him and began to narrate the stories and legends that he encountered in his travels and wanderings.. And indeed, the plan succeeded at first.... And Al-Nadr was very pleased with that and he used to say boastfully:

"In what way is Muhammad better than me?" He tells stories and I tell stories.. "

Then the decisive word of Allah was revealed:

"And they said, "Legends of the ancients which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and evening."

(Surat Al-Furqan, 5)


After a few days, people began to get bored.. and the gathering of Al-Nadr began to decrease one after the other.. and they gathered at the Prophet's to raise the banner of victory for the Qur'an.. The Qur'an is not only stories, but it is a collection of everything..

So what is the solution now??

And what do we say to those whose hearts have been taken away by the Qur'an??

Will they admit that it is from Allah, so their status will be lost and their lie will be revealed!!

No, by Allah; so they spread the rumor that the Prophet takes the Qur'an from a man named ((Al-Rahman)) in Al-Yamamah, and he is a foreign man!! By Allah, it is amazing


"The tongue of the one they refer to is foreign, and this is an Arabic tongue." “Mubeen”

(Surat An-Nahl, 103)



So they turned back, losers.

This is the Arabs’ position on the eloquence of the Qur’an … its clarity, completeness and harmony. They knew that it was from God… and that no one could produce anything like it, but the pride of sin prevented them from believing… So what fate will they have after they knew the truth and deviated from it?

The Arabs even divided their speech into two types: poetry and prose, and each has its own types. So when the Qur’an, the eternal revelation of God, came, scholars were forced to divide speech into three types: poetry, prose, and the Qur’an, because what is correct under poetry and what is correct under prose ...

I will discuss two types of miracles in the linguistic miracle:

- The rhetorical miracle.

- The pictorial miracle.


There are many examples of linguistic miracles in the Qur’an, but due to the lack of time and the ease of understanding these two types for the scholar and the learner..



The Qur’an.. is amazingly composed, extremely eloquent to the point that creation has failed.... It is not composed in the meters of poetry nor in the way of rhyme, its aspects are varied, and its schools are varied, outside the usual system of all that the Arabs knew in ancient and modern times, it has a special style that no one shares with it in all that is in the eloquence of the Arabs in ancient and modern times.. Let us begin with the examples of rhetorical miracle..



- “And whoever is patient and forgives - indeed, that is of the matters [worthy] of determination”

(Surat Ash-Shura, 43)

- “And be patient over what befalls you. Indeed, that is of the matters [worthy] of determination”

(Surat Luqman, 17)


We notice that in the first verse the letter of emphasis was used in

“Of the most important matters.”

As for the second verse, he did not use the letter of emphasis, but said

“Of the most important matters.”


What is the secret behind that?

There are two types of patience: patience in which you have no opponent - such as illness, for example - and this is something tangible. And patience in which you have an opponent - such as someone wronging you - and this is something tangible. So the tangible thing that you do not see but feel requires patience, and this is

"of the firm resolve"

, but the tangible thing requires strong, intense patience, so this is

"of the firm resolve"

=====



"And if a blast of punishment touches them"

(Surat Al-Anbiya, 46)



Allah shows us human weakness in the face of Allah's punishment. So He chose the word "touched them" which is the least degree of affliction, and He chose "a blast" to indicate its weakness, and He mentioned "of" which indicates partiality, and He said "your Lord" is the Most Merciful, O Muhammad. All of this indicates the least degree of punishment. So if they cannot be patient in the face of this degree of punishment, then how about the punishment that Allah has promised the disbelievers?

=====

“O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allah you adhere heavily?”

(Surat At-Tawbah, 38)


Aversion indicates something that requires speed....and the opposite of this was that some people were reluctant to avert themselves, so the Qur’an came with its beautiful style to show us the intensity of the heaviness and attraction to the earth by saying... “You adhere heavily”...which indicates the love of leaning on the earth.

=====



“Grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes”

(Surat Al-Furqan, 74)

- “The wife of Al-Aziz sought to seduce her young man”

(Surat Yusuf, 30)

“And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves”

(Surat Ar-Rum, 21)

- “The wife of Noah and the wife of Lot”

(Surat At-Tahrim, 10).


When is the word woman used ? And when is the word wife used ?

From our understanding of the verses... the word wife is used when the relationship is built on love and mercy on one hand and procreation on the other hand.

However, if the relationship is severed, as happened with the wife of Aziz due to betrayal of honor, and the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot due to betrayal of faith, she is called a woman.

This matter is made clear in the story of Zachariah, where God Almighty says with His tongue:

“And my wife was barren”

(Surat Maryam, 5).

He said, “My wife” and described her as barren and unable to bear children. God Almighty responded by saying:

“So We responded to him and granted him John and made his wife good for him”

(Surat Al-Anbiya, 90).


He called her a wife because the relationship was achieved through procreation.

Glory be to Allah, the All-Wise, the All-Knowing

=====


“And it is He who feeds me and gives me drink, And when I am ill, it is He who cures me, And He who causes me to die and then brings me to life.”

(Surat Ash-Shu’ara, 79, 80, 81)


Allah’s words on the tongue of Abraham... When he spoke about food and drink, he said “He,” and when he spoke about healing from illness, he said “He,”

but when he spoke about death and life, he did not say “He,”

so what is the secret?

In the context of food and drink, it may come to mind that the one who fed you and gave you drink was so-and-so when he brought you a little food, and likewise when you go to the doctor, you may think that he is the one who healed you. So it was necessary to confirm that food, drink, and healing are from Allah with the word “He.”

But when he spoke about the issue of death and life, no one doubts that they are from Allah.

=====


"By Allah, you will not cease to remember Joseph until you become a patient death"

(Surat Yusuf, 85) The sons of Jacob said this to their father when he was not satisfied with ten sons but his heart was attached to Joseph - peace be upon him - so he kept crying until his eyes turned white from sadness, so they criticize him for this statement and say: By Allah, you will continue to remember Joseph until you perish.. But there is a big difference between what we say from human speech and what the Quran mentions, as describing this strange situation requires a strange description and choosing strange words so that the strangeness of the situation is achieved.... And he used "By Allah" for swearing and it is the least used and strangest of the words, and he used "Tafta'a" and did not choose from the sisters of "Kan" other than it because it is the least used and strangest of them, and he used "Hattaa tukun Haradh" meaning you perish , so he chose the least used and strangest words of destruction.. So the verse came to clarify the strange situation: "By Allah" the strange "Tafta'a" the strange "Tukun Haradh" Who lives in Jacob, peace be upon him. ===== “The command of Allah has come, so do not hasten it.” (Surat An-Nahl, 1) The Quran used the verb… to indicate a time other than its own, so “came” is a past tense verb, and the word “hasten it” indicates the future. So what is the secret behind that? The answer… is that time governs us, but it does not govern Allah.























We have a past, present and future..... As for God, He is the One who created time and space, and He is not governed by time or space. The past, present and future are equally revealed to Him. When He speaks about our future, it is as if it were the past for Him, because He knows it best.

=====

“And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you.”

(Surat Al-An’am, 151)

- “And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you.”

(Surat Al-Isra, 31)


Both verses forbid killing a child for poverty, and both indicate that the provision of parents and children comes from God, but there is a difference in the ending of the two verses. The first is “We provide for you and for them,” so He mentioned the parents before the children. As for the second, “We provide for them and you,” He mentioned the children before the fathers.

So what is the secret of the difference?

Let us remove any thinking that leads us to the conclusion that this is a synonym… because the first verse addresses the poor and forbids them from killing the child due to poverty, so because he is poor, it is necessary to say “We provide for you,” O poor fathers, “and them,” while

the second verse addresses the rich and forbids them from cutting off offspring for fear that the children will fall into poverty, so since the talk is about children
who may suffer from poverty, it is necessary to say
“We provide for them and you.”

=====

"And there is life for you in retaliation, O people of understanding, that you may become righteous."

(Surat Al-Baqarah, 179)

Some writers have deviated from the truth when they compared it to the Arabs' saying.... "Killing is more effective in preventing killing."... They said that it is more eloquent than the saying of Allah Almighty. Many scholars have explained that the saying of Allah Almighty is more eloquent and wiser, and they have found more than 24 wisdoms in it. We will mention two of them quickly.

- Allah did not say "And there is life for you in killing."... Because retaliation does not necessarily have to be killing.... Rather, the Shari'ah has given the decision to the guardian of the murdered person. If he wants to kill, he may forgive or take blood money. Thus, retaliation includes several options, and it is not necessarily killing.

- The verse clearly states the goal, which is "life," but the wisdom does not state the real goal, which is life, but rather negates killing.

=====

"And when Allah said, "O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as two deities besides Allah?' He said, 'Glory be to You! It is not for me to say that which I have no right to. If I had said it, You knew it. You know what is within my soul, and I do not know what is within Your soul. Indeed, it is You who is the Knower of the unseen. * I said to them nothing except what You commanded me: 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.'" And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them. But when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are Witness over all things. If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; and if You forgive them - indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

(Surat Al-Ma'idah, 116, 117, 118)


Power and wisdom in a verse that talks about forgiveness?? What is the miracle of that??

Jesus, peace be upon him, says to God Almighty: If you punish them, they are Your servants and the matter is up to You, and if You forgive them, no one will ask You, O Lord, why did You forgive, for You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise.It is as if he is saying, “Forgive, O Lord, and no one will ask you why you have forgiven, for you are wise in your decision, mighty and without going back.

Glory be to you, O God, and praise be to you.



<<To be continued>>



**The rhetorical miracle in the Quran**




The secret of the letter “lam” entering the answer to the conditional “law”


Allah Almighty said : (

Have you seen what you till? Is it you who cause it to grow, or are We the grower? If We willed, We could make it debris, and you would continue to be in amazement.)
[Al-Waqi’ah: 63-65]


And He said:

(Have you seen the water which you drink? Is it you who send it down from the clouds, or are We the sender? If We willed, We could make it bitter. So why are you not grateful?)

[Al-Waqi’ah: 68-70]


These noble verses include great gratitude from God Almighty to His servants for the crops they cultivate and the water they drink.

They are evidence of God Almighty’s greatness, the perfection of His power, His absolute will, and the great need of creation for Him, glory be to Him. And

the Almighty’s saying:

{Have you seen what you till? - Have you seen the water that you drink?}


is a question that is intended to confirm and rebuke, indicated by the presence of the letter fa’ following the hamza... and its meaning is: Tell me about what you till from your land, and put the seeds in it:

{Is it you who sow it, or are We the sower?}

and about the water that you drink:

{Is it you who send it down from the clouds, or are We the senders?}


and the answer that they do not possess other than it in both places is their saying: You - our Lord - are the one who causes the crops to grow from the grain, and sends down the water from the clouds, and we have no power over that...

so it is said to them: If you knew That, and you have acknowledged it, so how can you disbelieve in Allah, the Most High, the Almighty, while you eat His sustenance, drink His water, and then worship other than Him? And why do you not oblige yourselves to acknowledge His Oneness, glory be to Him, and to obey Him, and to believe in the Resurrection, in gratitude to Him, the Most High, for His blessings upon you, which are countless and innumerable?


And we read the words of Allah, the Most High:

(Have you seen what you plow? Is it you who sow it, or are We the sower?)


and we find in it a glimpse of the glimpses of rhetorical miracle; where it would have appeared that it should have been said:

Are you who plow it, or are We the sower? Or it should have been said: Have you seen what you sow? instead of: Have you seen what you plow? The two statements would be identical... but both statements distort the meaning of the words, and their organization... and the explanation of that is that there is a difference between plowing and sowing; Plowing is the beginnings of planting and its preliminaries, from tilling the land and sowing the seeds in it, and this may be followed by watering it and tending it...

As for planting, it is what results from plowing, from the emergence of the plant, its growth, its maturity, its straightening on its stalk, and the formation of the grain in its ear. So the Almighty’s saying:


{Have you seen that which you till?}


means: that what you begin with of actions, are you delivering the intended goal, or is it Allah the Almighty?

And no one doubts that creating the grain in the ear is not the action of people; rather, it is the action of Allah the Most High, the Almighty... And in that is an indication from Him, glory be to Him, to the resurrection and the revival!


And in His saying,

{If We willed, We could have made it debris}

{If We willed, We could have made it bitter}


Another glimpse of the rhetorical miracle; where it was apparent that it should have been said: if we wished, instead of: if we wished; because (law) does not enter - according to grammarians and commentators - except with a past tense verb; if it enters with a future tense verb, it must be interpreted as past... That is why they interpreted (law nasha) in these two verses, and others, to mean: if we wished... According to them, the verb (nasha) is future in wording, past in meaning.


Perhaps the correct thing to say in this regard

is that (law) is one of the conditional tools that connects two sentences; such that it creates a connection between their contents that was not understood before it entered... This is what is expressed by the conditional suspension; and it is of two types: declarative and promise.


As for the declarative


, it is that which is included as an answer to a questioner’s question: Did such and such happen? Or it is a response to someone’s statement: Such and such happened. This requires the past tense in wording and meaning, and the future tense is not valid in it at all. The first is the Almighty’s saying:

{Then can you avail us against the punishment of Allah at all? They will say: “If Allah had guided us, We would have guided you.”}

[Ibrahim: 11].

The second is the Almighty’s saying:

{And if We had willed, We could have given every soul its guidance.}

[Sajdah: 13] .

This is a suspension with (law) in its past tense, because it is a declarative.


As for the promise


, its purpose is pure suspension devoid of any other meaning. This requires the future tense, and the past tense is not valid in it at all, as in the Almighty’s saying: {If We willed} in the two previous verses.

In the Almighty’s saying about the crops:

{We made it debris}

, then in His saying about the water:

{We made it brackish}

, there is another miracle of the miracles of the Qur’an; which is the insertion of the lam in the first, and its removal from it in the second ; so its insertion in the first indicates the delay of the occurrence of the punishment - which is making the crops debris - for a punishment more severe than it; as in the Almighty’s saying:


{Until, when the earth has taken on its adornment and is beautified and its people think that they have power over it, Our command comes to it by night or by day, and We make it as harvested crops as if it had not flourished yesterday}

[Yunus: 24].


This lam is often inserted in the answer to (law), and it indicates procrastination in making it happen; As indicated by the Almighty’s saying in describing the disbelievers:


{And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, “We have heard. If we willed, we could say the like of this. This is not but legends of the ancients.”}

[Al-Anfal: 31].


Al-Zarkashi calls this lam:

(preceded).

It should be called:

(the lam of procrastination)


because it indicates what both (seen and sawfa) indicate, indicating procrastination at times, and delay at other times in performing the action.

As for removing it from the second, it indicates hastening the occurrence of the punishment immediately - which is making the water brackish - i.e. making it that way at the time without delay.

Both actions are connected to the will of God Almighty. This is indicated by the fact that His Almighty saying:

{If We willed, We could have made it bitter}

was said in the manner of informing; because making the water that is drunk and sent down from the clouds bitter at the time - meaning: very salty, bitter, and hot - has not been seen in reality; because it did not happen,

unlike making the crops broken - meaning: dry and broken - because it often happened that they were broken, after they were green and ripe.

This is what God Almighty expressed in His saying:

{Have you not seen that God sends down water from the sky and causes it to flow as springs in the earth? Then He produces thereby crops of varying colors. Then they wither and you see them turn yellow. Then He makes them debris. Indeed in that is a reminder for those of understanding.}

[Az-Zumar: 21]


So if it were said: We made it debris, as it was said: We made it bitter, it would be thought to be a statement.

What also indicates this is that the addition of the letter “lam” to the answer to “law” only occurs in verbs whose occurrence cannot be imagined. That is why making the water sent down from the clouds bitter at the time, before it reaches the earth and settles in its depths, is more indicative of the power of God Almighty than making the crops debris, even though all are equal before the power of God...

That is why the Almighty commented on the first by saying:

{So you remained in jest}

and commented on the second by saying:

{Then why do you not give thanks?}


So contemplate these wonderful secrets, which you will not find except in the highest statement!!


<<Continued>>[

Image Miracles


"Image is the preferred tool in the style of the Qur'an, as it expresses the tangible, imagined image of the mental meaning, and images of the psychological state, the tangible incident, and the visible scene, and of the human model and human nature, then it elevates the image it draws and gives it life and renewed movement, so the mental meaning becomes a form, and the psychological state becomes a painting, and the human model becomes prominent, and nature becomes embodied, and the incidents, scenes, stories, and scenes return them to us and make them prominent and alive, so if you add dialogue to this scene and this image, it is as if you imagine a scene from a play or a movie being shown before you.."


(Sayyid Qutb - Artistic Imagery in the Qur'an)

Sayyid Qutb - may God have mercy on him - divides imagery into two parts..



1- Mental meanings


It brings things and situations to us in a lively, tangible image.. Here are some examples..


God wants to show us that those who disbelieve have no hope in Paradise, and that their acceptance in Paradise is impossible.. These words are expressed by the Qur'an with eloquent miracle in an artistic image Wonderful in the Almighty’s saying



: {Indeed, those who deny Our verses and are arrogant toward them - the gates of heaven will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until a camel passes through the eye of a needle. And thus do We recompense the criminals.}

(Surat Al-A’raf, 40). The Quran


depicts for us the image of a man holding a heavy load ( “the camel”) and trying to put it through the eye of a needle ( “the eye of a needle”) . Is that possible?

Impossible..! Imagine that to express the impossibility of the infidels entering Paradise

===== The Qur’an

depicts for us an artistic image of the deeds of those who disbelieved.. and that they are nothing no matter how many their deeds are.. because they are devoid of faith, so they have no value.. and they cannot collect them because God has scattered them


{The parable of those who disbelieve in their Lord is that their deeds are like ashes, which the wind blows violently on a stormy day. They shall not be able to do anything of what they have earned. That is what is the farthest error.}

(Surat Ibrahim, 18)

On the Day of Resurrection, these infidels will try to collect their deeds as someone tries to collect the ashes that fly in the wind on a stormy day.

=====


And He depicted for us the image of the polytheist who tries to collect money, supporters and positions, as Allah the Almighty says:

{And whoever associates others with Allah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky and been snatched by birds or the wind had blown him to a remote place.}

(Surat Al-Hajj, 31)


He is like someone who fell from the sky and a fast bird came and snatched him suddenly. No one knows where he went. Or like someone who fell from the sky and a wind came and dropped him to a very distant place with no end. This person has no beginning “he fell from the sky” and no end “in a remote place.”

=====

And He depicted for us images of the categories of those who give charity. He described the hypocrite, saying:


{O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with reminders of them.} And the harm is like that of one who spends his wealth [only] to be seen by people and does not believe in Allah and the Last Day. His example is like that of a smooth rock upon which is dust, then a downpour strikes it and leaves it bare. They are not able to do anything of what they have earned. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.

(Surat Al-Baqarah, 264)


[color=sky blue]The hypocrite[/color] ... is like a dry rock "a smooth rock" upon which is a thin layer of dust, so people imagine that it is fertile land suitable for agriculture.. But when it is hit by a downpour, the rock is exposed and it appears to people that it is not good land..

And He describes to us the image of the sincere charitable person by saying..


{And the parable of those who spend their wealth seeking the pleasure of Allah and the strengthening of their souls is that of a garden on a height which is struck by heavy rain, so it produces its fruit double; but if heavy rain does not strike it, then a drizzle. And Allah is Seeing of what you do.}

(Surat Al-Baqarah, 265)


And the sincere charity giver is like a garden that grows on a high hill, all of it covered with dirt from beginning to end (“a height”). If it is struck by heavy rain (“a drizzle”), it produces double its fruit. Even if the rain is light (“a drizzle”), it will produce fruit. And there is no difference in the sight of Allah between a lot and a little if the intention is good

. =====




2- Psychological meanings


depict to us the inner feelings of the soul.. and what goes on in people’s minds in some situations.. We will mention some of them..


Allah reveals to us the state of the one for whom Allah has prepared knowledge, but he abandoned it and fled from it and became preoccupied with the world and its pleasures. Allah the Almighty says, describing him in a wonderful way

{And recite to them the news of the one to whom We gave Our signs, but he slipped out of them. So Satan pursued him, and he was among the deviators. * And if We willed, We could have raised him thereby, but he clung to the earth and followed his desire. So his example is like that of the dog: if you attack him, he pants or whimpers.} {You leave him panting. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought.}

(Surat Al-A’raf, 175, 176)


This is the state of the one who abandons knowledge and panting after the world.

=====

And Allah gives us the example of the believer in whose heart faith is not established. He is shaken in his faith and desirous of the world.


{And of the people is he who worships Allah on the verge, if good befalls him he is satisfied therewith, but if a trial befalls him he turns back on his face. He has lost this world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.}


Allah describes him as being on the edge of the abyss, so when he is tested for the first time he falls into it.. So he has no profit in this world or the Hereafter

=====

And it represents to us the Day of Resurrection.. That terrifying day and what will happen on it of resurrection and gathering of people..

{Their eyes will be humbled, they will emerge from the graves as if they were locusts scattered.}

(Surat Al-Qamar, 9)


One of the most amazing sights that indicate abundance is the sight of locusts spreading out and crowding together. On the Day of Resurrection, people will be like locusts spreading across the earth.

Just

as the Day of Resurrection was described to us by Allah, the Almighty, in His words:

{Indeed, these love the immediate [life] and leave behind them a heavy Day.}


(Surat Al-Insan, 27)


How amazing is this description!! Who can weigh a day?? He weighs it from His creation.. and shows us His severity on souls..


=====

One of the most amazing things in the Quran is the style of telling scenes .. When our master Joseph, peace be upon him, put the king’s cup in the belongings of his brother “Bin Yamin” and took it under the pretext of theft.. and they tried to get it back but did not succeed.. then they gathered and reminded each other of the promise they had made to their father to protect their brother, so their eldest said


{Go back to your father and say, “O our father, indeed your son has stolen. And we did not testify except to what we knew, and we were not guardians of the unseen. * And ask the town where we were and the caravan in which we came, and indeed, we are truthful.} * He said, "Rather, your own selves have enticed you to do something. So patience is most fitting. Perhaps Allah will bring them all to me. Indeed, it is He who is the Knowing, the Wise."

(Surat Yusuf, 81, 82, 83)


So after mentioning what happened to them in Egypt, he moved directly to the reaction of Jacob, peace be upon him. He did not need to mention that they returned and met their father, so he felt the loss of his son, so he asked them about him, and they said that he had stolen... until the end of the events.