Why does God swear by His creatures and not by His divine self
((The Apparent Oath Style in the Holy Quran, Its Eloquence and Purposes))
Dr. Sami Atta HassanAl al-Bayt University, Mafraq, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
************************ Types of Apparent Oaths in the Holy Quran The first requirement: - His swearing by His Essence and Attributes. It was mentioned in five places in the Qur’an: - The first place: The Almighty’s saying in the context of speaking about the hypocrites: (But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.) [1] The second place: The Almighty’s saying: (So by your Lord, We will surely question them all about what they used to do.) [2] The third place: The Almighty’s saying: (So by your Lord, We will surely gather them and the devils.) [3] The fourth place: The Almighty’s saying: (So by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it is the truth just as you speak.) [4] The fifth place: The Almighty’s saying: (So I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the Wests that We are certainly able to substitute [for them] one better than them, and We will not be outdone.) [5 ] As for the Almighty’s saying in Surah Yunus: (And they ask you, is it true? Say, “Yes, by my Lord, it is the truth. And you will not cause failure.”) [6] , and His saying in Surah At-Taghabun: (Those who disbelieve claim that they will not be resurrected. Say, “Yes, by my Lord, you will surely be resurrected.”) [7], this is not from the category of the Almighty’s swearing by Himself, but rather it is from the category of His teaching the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, how to answer. So it is ultimately from the Prophet’s swearing by his Lord, in the manner that God guided him to and directed him to. The second requirement: - Which is His swearing by His creations, and it is abundant in the Qur’an. Swearing by creations in the Noble Qur’an: If we examine the oaths in the Qur’an, we find that the Almighty swears by the principles of faith that creation must know. Sometimes He swears that God is One, sometimes He swears by the resurrection, and sometimes He swears by the state of man. He swears that God is One, as in the Almighty’s saying: (And those who stand in rows, And those who drive with a drive, And those who recite the Reminder. Indeed, your God is One) [8] . And that the Qur’an is true, as in the Almighty’s saying: (So I swear by the positions of the stars. And indeed, it is a great oath, if you but knew. Indeed, it is a noble Qur’an) [9] . And that the Messenger is true, as in the Almighty’s saying: - (Ya Sin. By the Wise Qur’an. Indeed, you are one of the messengers) [10] . And on the reward, as in the Almighty’s saying: (And by the Mount. And a Book inscribed. In parchment spread out. And by the frequented House. And by the raised ceiling. And by the filled sea. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will come to pass. There is none to avert it) [11] . And on the state of man, as in the Almighty’s saying: (And by the night when it covers. And by the day when it appears. And by what He created the male and female. Indeed, your efforts are diverse) [12] . In these verses and others, you see the one being sworn by from among the creations of God Almighty. So, by his swearing first, and his swearing by the creations second, he raised the following doubts [13] : -
1- The habit of swearing among us is not recommended in Islamic law. The one who resorts to swearing is accused of being truthful and lacks support for his claim. So why did Allah increase the number of oaths in the Qur’an?
2- The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade swearing by other than Allah [14] . Moreover, swearing by other than Allah requires glorifying Him, and glorification belongs to Allah alone, and avoiding swearing is required in Islamic law. So how can Allah swear by His creations, such as figs and olives?
3- The Qur’anic oath, as we said, is based on very important matters, which are the foundations of faith. So what is meant by it? If the intended meaning is to fulfill what is sworn upon and prove it in the mind of the believer, then the believer is a believer and does not need an oath. If the intended meaning is to fulfill and prove it in the mind of the disbeliever, then the disbeliever does not believe in an oath [15] , and nothing will convince him except clear evidence and conclusive proof. All or some of these doubts come to the minds of many people.
So if someone asks: How does Allah swear by His creations? The answer was: God wanted to honor those creatures, to praise them and elevate their status, and to respond to those who criticized them. This is apparently correct in the Almighty’s saying: (By your life, they are in their intoxication, wandering blindly) [16] . If we say that it is an address from God to His Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, then the Prophet was one of the Arabs, he appeared among them and against them, so he encountered harm and mockery from them, and he encountered stubbornness and insistence, insolence and arrogance from him. So it is reasonable that God would honor him by swearing by his life. As for honoring the galloping horses with an oath, that is far-fetched, and even farther than that he would honor by an oath each of the sun, the moon, and the stars, which had reached the utmost honor among them, to the point that some of them worshipped them, and in honoring them by swearing by them, there is an enticement for them to persist in worshipping them, and He says, glory be to Him, (Do not prostrate to the sun or the moon) [17] .
The basis of these doubts: -
Perhaps what caused these doubts to creep into people's minds is the assumption that the purpose of the oath is to sanctify the object of the oath, or to honor and glorify it. This is aided by the fact that most of what Allah swears by from His creations is honorable in itself, such as the Qur'an, the sun, and the moon. However, the oath in language may also be by something base, to serve a specific purpose. We will see in the following lines that in swearing by creations, there is a type that differs from the sanctifying oath and the honorary oath, and it was brought to serve a great purpose that no other can serve.
Since the Qur'an was revealed in the language of the Arabs, and in their way and style, we had to know the original purpose of the oath according to them, and to clarify its characteristics and objectives, so that these doubts would be dispelled.
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[1] - Surat An-Nisa: Verse / 65.
[2] - Surat Al-Hijr: Verses / 92, 93.
[3] - Surah Maryam: Verse / 68.
[4] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verse / 23.
[5] - Surah Al-Ma’arij: Verses / 40, 41.
[6] - Surah Yunus: Verse / 53.
[7] - Surah At-Taghabun: Verse / 7.
[8] - Surah As-Saffat: Verses / 1, 2, 3, 4.
[9] - - Surah Al-Waqi’ah: Verses / 75, 76, 77.
[10] - Surah Yasin: Verses / 1, 2, 3.
[11] - Surah At-Tur: Verses / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
[12] - Surah At-Layl: Verses / 1, 2, 3, 4. See Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya: Al-Tibyan fi Aqsam Al-Quran, pp. 4-8.
[13] - Abdul Hamid Al-Farahi: A Study of the Sections of the Qur’an, p. 4 (modified).
[14] - Imam Muslim: Sahih Muslim: Book of Oaths, Vol. 11, pp. 104-107.
[15] - See: Al-Zarkashi: Al-Burhan fi Ulum Al-Qur’an, Vol. 3, p. 41.
[16] - Surah Al-Hijr: Verse 72.
[17] - Surah Fussilat: Verse 37.
The purposes and objectives of the Qur’anic oath
Ibn Ya’ish says: “The purpose of the oath is to confirm what is sworn upon, whether in terms of negation or affirmation.”[1]
Ibn al-Qayyim said: “The thing sworn upon is intended to be confirmed and fulfilled.” [2]The
Qur’an was revealed in the Arabic language, and among their customs is the oath when they want to confirm something. We rarely find the oath used in other languages and their literature.[3]
The speaker often needs to confirm a piece of news he is presenting, or to document a promise he makes, especially in important matters such as alliances and treaties. The Arabs had different forms of confirmation, and the oath was the strongest in confirmation and fulfillment, because it indicates certainty of its validity and certainty of its truthfulness. The status of the oath among them reached such a level that they were very cautious about false oaths, and they believed that they were a bad omen for their owner, destroying homes and leaving them desolate, because of the treachery and betrayal in them. For this reason, the oath was decisive in their view in establishing rights.
The original purpose of the oath is to confirm the thing sworn by. As for sanctifying or honoring the thing sworn by, it is not originally intended, even if it comes as a consequence.
Oaths are of types:
1- A type that requires sanctification.
2- A type that honors and glorifies the thing sworn by.
3- A third type is intended by clarification, in which the oath is by evidence, or something similar to it, which is the inferential oath.
The sanctifying oath: - It is a person’s oath by his deity. For Muslims, it is: swearing by God or by one of His attributes, so one of them says: I swear by God, or by His glory, or by His majesty, that I will do such-and-such. It is the strongest type of oath in confirming the thing sworn by, and it is the legal oath, which a person is sinful for breaking after confirming it.
Scholars said: God Almighty swore by the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - in His statement (By your life, indeed, in their intoxication
they are wandering blindly)[4]
people may know his greatness with God Almighty, and his status with Him[5]. This is if God Almighty is the one swearing. As for the servants, if they swear, Islam has forbidden them to swear by anything other than God, or one of His attributes. The Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - heard a man swearing by his father, so he said: (God forbids you from swearing by your fathers, so whoever swears, let him swear by God or remain silent)[6]. The jurists have opinions and statements on this matter, but this is not the place for them.[7]
The honorary section: - A person feels pride and elevation in himself, so this leads him, if he wants to emphasize a statement, to say: By my head, or by my life, or by my life, I will do such-and-such. He may also want to honor and respect the addressee, so he says: By your head, or by your life. All of these sections indicate emphasis, and although they give a sense of glorifying the one being sworn by, they do not reach the level of sanctification.
The deductive section:
1- It was narrated that when (Hajras) intended to kill his uncle (Jassas), the killer of his father, he said: - (And my horse and its ears, and my spear and its blade, and my sword and its two picks, a man does not leave the killer of his father while he is looking at him)[8], then he stabbed him and killed him. (Hajras) did not want to sanctify his horse, his ears, and his spear, and his blade and his sword, and his two picks, nor to honor them, even though they were great and dear to him, but he wanted to say:
I have no excuse for leaving my father’s killer alive while I look at him, and I am fully prepared, able to strike, stab and take revenge, or he wanted to say: I am fully prepared, able to take revenge, and whoever is like that, it is not permissible for him to leave his father’s killer alive while he looks at him, so it is not permissible for me to leave my father’s killer alive while I look at him, so he put the evidence in the form of an oath that confirms what is sworn upon, and draws the listener’s attention to it, without giving the opponent the opportunity to deny or flee.
2 - Urwah bin Murrah Al-Hudhali said: -
Abu Umamah said, O Bakr, so I said, and Markha is a big claim.
The poet mocks Abu Umamah for calling on the tribe of Bakr for help, saying: This is a great claim, meaning: How small is he who calls them to support him, so he swears by a small tree that does not shelter those who seek refuge in it, and he gave it as an example for the weakest of things for refuge, but he said: (big) in mockery, as he means: So I said and Markha is a small claim, similar to what you say to a black man: O white, and to a coward: O lion. And like the saying of God Almighty: (Taste, for you are the mighty, the generous) [9] meaning: the humiliated and mean.
This meaning is clear from what Abu Jundub al-Hudhali said:
And when a neighbor called for his guest, I would roll up my sleeves until my belt reached halfway up his shin.
So do not think that my neighbor is in the shade of Markha
, and do not think that it is a hollow valley with a gurgling sound. Markha is a tree with a small shade that does not protect those who seek shade under it from the heat of the sun, and for this reason the Arabs say to someone who seeks refuge with a weak person who does not protect him: He has sought shade under Markha. [10]
Sanctification and honor do not necessarily accompany the thing sworn by, but it may be insignificant, or hateful and heavy. The oath may be to remind of the thing sworn by and to draw attention to it, or to use the thing sworn by as evidence for the thing sworn by, or to liken the thing sworn to the thing sworn by.
Al-Fakhr al-Razi referred to this when interpreting the words of God Almighty: (And the scatterers scatter. And those carrying heavy loads. And those running smoothly. And those swearing a matter. Indeed, what you are promised is true. And indeed, the Recompense is coming to pass.) [11] that the oaths that occur in the Qur’an, even if they appear in the form of an oath, the purpose of them is to use the thing sworn by as evidence for the thing sworn by, which here is the truth of the promise, resurrection, and recompense, as if it were said: He who is able to do these wondrous things sworn by is able to restore the One who created it first . [12]
Most of the sections of the Qur’an are deductive, and there is much evidence for that, including:
1- That carrying them on deductive reasoning is befitting the majesty of Allah and the majesty of His Book, because it is neither appropriate nor correct to understand any of Allah’s sections as sanctifying the one sworn by, because this sanctification is permissible for humans, but is not valid with the Creator, except in one case, which is: swearing by Allah, for it is sanctification.
2- The Qur’an varies in its styles, sometimes mentioning matters that indicate the existence of Allah, His Oneness and His power, in the style of swearing by them, and sometimes presenting them as a sermon and guidance, and in both cases they are clear evidence of what they were presented for, for whoever ponders them and contemplates their aims. Allah the Almighty said: - (And in yourselves, will you not see?) [13], and in other verses there is evidence of the earth, the sky, the mountains, the seas, and others, in the way of swearing by them, and there is no doubt that directing the oath by them as deductive reasoning for argument and evidence is similar to mentioning them for sermon, guidance and consideration.
3- It is not reasonable for a believer to imagine that God the Creator sanctifies His creatures by which He has sworn, and which, as the Holy Qur’an has repeatedly mentioned, are subservient and obedient to God, and do not possess for themselves or for others, benefit or harm.
4- However, the Holy Qur’an may mention the indicative verses, then swear by God Almighty, as if it has paved the way by mentioning them, to clarify the intended meaning of using them as evidence. God Almighty said: (And on the earth are signs for those of certainty. And in yourselves - then will you not see? And in the heaven is your provision and that which you are promised. So by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it is the truth, just as you speak.) [14] .
The meaning of this is: that the verses scattered on the earth and what is on it, and in the souls and their conditions and secrets, and in the sky and its stars and clouds, are all evidence of the existence of God and His power, and evidence of the truth of prophethood and resurrection, and the Qur’an. For this reason, it was followed by an oath by His Most High Essence. This oath by the Most High Essence is intended to sanctify, because God is truly worshipped, and because it includes evidence from what the sky and the earth indicate of evidence of the existence of God Almighty, and of the truth of Muhammad - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him.
5- Then if we return to the Qur’anic oaths and their answers, we find a connection between them, and we realize that the connection is strong between the oath and the one sworn by, and this strengthens that they are evidence-based oaths, such as
the statement of God Almighty: (By the forenoon. And by the night when it is still. Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor does He detest you.) [15] .
He - the Almighty - swore by two of His great verses, which are: the forenoon and the night when it is still. Al-Suyuti says, explaining the harmony between this oath and its answer: - (And consider the correspondence of this oath, which is the light of revelation that came to him after it was withheld from him, until his enemies said: Muhammad has bid farewell to his Lord, so he swore by the light of the day after the darkness of the night, by the light of the revelation and its light, after the darkness of its withholding and concealment) [16].
We can summarize the purposes of the oath in the Holy Qur’an as follows:
1- Confirming and confirming the news, and that was the custom of the Arabs who would end their speech with an oath, because (the purpose of the oath is to confirm and confirm the news) [17] . This purpose becomes clear to us if we know that what is sworn upon is often hidden and absent matters, so an oath is sworn upon to prove it, such as the Almighty’s saying: “I swear by the Day of Resurrection. Nor do I swear by the self-reproaching soul. Does man think that We will not assemble his bones? Yes, We are able to put together in perfect order the tips of his fingers.” [18] So the oath in the words of God “removes doubts, frustrates suspicions, establishes the argument, confirms the news, and establishes the judgment in the most perfect form . ” [19]
2- Drawing attention to the universe and the wondrous secrets it contains, and the wonderful and perfect system it contains [20] , as everything runs to a specified term, and everything floats in an orbit, so the oath came in the Holy Qur’an on these matters for that reason.
3- Proving the truthfulness of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - as the Arabs believed that false oaths leave homes desolate, and that they harm their owner. The Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) frequently swore by the command of God Almighty, such as His Almighty saying: “And they ask you, is it true? Say, ‘Yes, by my Lord, it is the truth.’ And you will not escape.” [21] And His Almighty saying: “And those who disbelieve say, ‘The Hour will not come to us.’ Say, ‘Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you .’” [22] Despite his oath (peace and blessings of God be upon him), he was not afflicted with any harm, rather his status was elevated and his mention (peace and blessings of God be upon him) was exalted, which was evidence of his truthfulness. [23 ]
4- Representing the rational in the form of the sensible, because if the rational matter is depicted in something sensible, the mind will comprehend it, more than if it were devoid of the senses. An example of this is the comparison of revelation to the forenoon in the middle of the day, and the comparison of falsehood to the night, and the victory of truth to the day, indicating that the dark night must be followed by a bright and joyful morning that dispels its darkness and gloom, and likewise the darkness of polytheism and ignorance must be followed by the light of truth and certainty.
5- Correcting false beliefs, such as swearing by the star when it falls, and by the planets, and by the sun, and the moon, in it is a response to those who believe that they are gods, and that they have control over the underworld.
6- Drawing attention to prominent events that had the greatest impact on human history, and this purpose appears in swearing by places such as (Al-Tur), as swearing by it refers to the signs that appeared to Moses - peace be upon him - at that mountain
, and swearing by the safe land (and this safe land) refers to the incident of the emergence of the Muhammadan light from this safe land, that light that dispelled the darkness of ignorance and misguidance, then shone in the horizons of the world and filled its sides, and so on of other goals and purposes. [24]
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[1] - Ibn Ya'ish: Muwaffaq al-Din Ya'ish bin Ali: Sharh al-Mufassal, vol. 9/ p. 90.
[2] - Ibn al-Qayyim: al-Tibyan fi Aqsam al-Quran, (previous reference), p. 2.
[3] - See: Dr. Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim: The Language of the Noble Qur’an, p. 265.
[4] - Surah al-Hijr: verse / 72.
[5] - al-Suyuti: al-Itiqat, vol. 2/ p. 170.
[6] - Imam Muslim: Sahih Muslim with Al-Nawawi’s commentary, Book of Faith, Vol. 2, p. 20.
[7] - Abu Al-Yaqzan Atiyah Al-Jubouri: The Oath and its Consequences. Pp. 52-55.
[8] - Abdul Hamid Al-Farahi: A Study of the Sections of the Qur’an (previous reference), p. 35. See the full story in Al-Aghani: by Abu Al-Faraj Al-Isfahani, Vol. 5, p. 61. And Muhammad Ahmad Jad Al-Mawla: The Days of the Arabs in the Pre-Islamic Era, and his colleagues, pp. 142-168.
[9] - Surat Ad-Dukhan: Verse / 49.
[10] - Abdul Hamid Al-Farahi: A Study of the Sections of the Qur’an (previous reference), p. 35. (Modified). Al-Qaa’: The flat part of the ground. Al-Qarqar: The smooth part that has no stones in it. See: Al-Razi: Mukhtar Al-Sihah, p. 556. And Ibn Manzur: Lisan Al-Arab, Vol. 11, p. 128.
[11] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verses 1-6.
[12] - Al-Fakhr Al-Razi: The Great Commentary (previous reference), 3rd ed., Interpretation of Surah Adh-Dhariyat, pp. 193-196.
[13] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verse 21.
[14] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verses 20, 21, 22, 23.
[15] - Surah Adh-Dhuha: Verses 1, 2, 3.
[16] - Al-Suyuti: Al-Itqan fi Ulum Al-Quran, Vol. 4, p. 51.
[17] - Al-Suyuti: Al-Itqan fi Ulum Al-Quran, (previous reference), Vol. 2, 132.
[18] - Surah Al-Qiyamah: Verses 1, 2, 3, 4.
[19] - Mana’ Al-Qattan: Discussions in Ulum Al-Quran, p. 291.
[20] - See: Dr. Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim: The Language of the Holy Qur’an, p. 267.
[21] - Surah Yunus: Verse 53.
[22] - Surah Saba: Verse 3.
[23] - See: Dr. Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim: The Language of the Holy Qur’an, p. 267.
[24] - Dr. Samir Abdel Aziz: Al-Kashf and Al-Bayan in the Sciences of the Qur’an, pp. 285-287. Paraphrased and abbreviated. See also: Dr. Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim: The Language of the Holy Qur’an, p. 268. And Ahmad Ahmad Badawi: From the Eloquence of the Qur’an, pp. 170-173.
Ibn Ya’ish says: “The purpose of the oath is to confirm what is sworn upon, whether in terms of negation or affirmation.”[1]
Ibn al-Qayyim said: “The thing sworn upon is intended to be confirmed and fulfilled.” [2]The
Qur’an was revealed in the Arabic language, and among their customs is the oath when they want to confirm something. We rarely find the oath used in other languages and their literature.[3]
The speaker often needs to confirm a piece of news he is presenting, or to document a promise he makes, especially in important matters such as alliances and treaties. The Arabs had different forms of confirmation, and the oath was the strongest in confirmation and fulfillment, because it indicates certainty of its validity and certainty of its truthfulness. The status of the oath among them reached such a level that they were very cautious about false oaths, and they believed that they were a bad omen for their owner, destroying homes and leaving them desolate, because of the treachery and betrayal in them. For this reason, the oath was decisive in their view in establishing rights.
The original purpose of the oath is to confirm the thing sworn by. As for sanctifying or honoring the thing sworn by, it is not originally intended, even if it comes as a consequence.
Oaths are of types:
1- A type that requires sanctification.
2- A type that honors and glorifies the thing sworn by.
3- A third type is intended by clarification, in which the oath is by evidence, or something similar to it, which is the inferential oath.
The sanctifying oath: - It is a person’s oath by his deity. For Muslims, it is: swearing by God or by one of His attributes, so one of them says: I swear by God, or by His glory, or by His majesty, that I will do such-and-such. It is the strongest type of oath in confirming the thing sworn by, and it is the legal oath, which a person is sinful for breaking after confirming it.
Scholars said: God Almighty swore by the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - in His statement (By your life, indeed, in their intoxication
they are wandering blindly)[4]
people may know his greatness with God Almighty, and his status with Him[5]. This is if God Almighty is the one swearing. As for the servants, if they swear, Islam has forbidden them to swear by anything other than God, or one of His attributes. The Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - heard a man swearing by his father, so he said: (God forbids you from swearing by your fathers, so whoever swears, let him swear by God or remain silent)[6]. The jurists have opinions and statements on this matter, but this is not the place for them.[7]
The honorary section: - A person feels pride and elevation in himself, so this leads him, if he wants to emphasize a statement, to say: By my head, or by my life, or by my life, I will do such-and-such. He may also want to honor and respect the addressee, so he says: By your head, or by your life. All of these sections indicate emphasis, and although they give a sense of glorifying the one being sworn by, they do not reach the level of sanctification.
The deductive section:
1- It was narrated that when (Hajras) intended to kill his uncle (Jassas), the killer of his father, he said: - (And my horse and its ears, and my spear and its blade, and my sword and its two picks, a man does not leave the killer of his father while he is looking at him)[8], then he stabbed him and killed him. (Hajras) did not want to sanctify his horse, his ears, and his spear, and his blade and his sword, and his two picks, nor to honor them, even though they were great and dear to him, but he wanted to say:
I have no excuse for leaving my father’s killer alive while I look at him, and I am fully prepared, able to strike, stab and take revenge, or he wanted to say: I am fully prepared, able to take revenge, and whoever is like that, it is not permissible for him to leave his father’s killer alive while he looks at him, so it is not permissible for me to leave my father’s killer alive while I look at him, so he put the evidence in the form of an oath that confirms what is sworn upon, and draws the listener’s attention to it, without giving the opponent the opportunity to deny or flee.
2 - Urwah bin Murrah Al-Hudhali said: -
Abu Umamah said, O Bakr, so I said, and Markha is a big claim.
The poet mocks Abu Umamah for calling on the tribe of Bakr for help, saying: This is a great claim, meaning: How small is he who calls them to support him, so he swears by a small tree that does not shelter those who seek refuge in it, and he gave it as an example for the weakest of things for refuge, but he said: (big) in mockery, as he means: So I said and Markha is a small claim, similar to what you say to a black man: O white, and to a coward: O lion. And like the saying of God Almighty: (Taste, for you are the mighty, the generous) [9] meaning: the humiliated and mean.
This meaning is clear from what Abu Jundub al-Hudhali said:
And when a neighbor called for his guest, I would roll up my sleeves until my belt reached halfway up his shin.
So do not think that my neighbor is in the shade of Markha
, and do not think that it is a hollow valley with a gurgling sound. Markha is a tree with a small shade that does not protect those who seek shade under it from the heat of the sun, and for this reason the Arabs say to someone who seeks refuge with a weak person who does not protect him: He has sought shade under Markha. [10]
Sanctification and honor do not necessarily accompany the thing sworn by, but it may be insignificant, or hateful and heavy. The oath may be to remind of the thing sworn by and to draw attention to it, or to use the thing sworn by as evidence for the thing sworn by, or to liken the thing sworn to the thing sworn by.
Al-Fakhr al-Razi referred to this when interpreting the words of God Almighty: (And the scatterers scatter. And those carrying heavy loads. And those running smoothly. And those swearing a matter. Indeed, what you are promised is true. And indeed, the Recompense is coming to pass.) [11] that the oaths that occur in the Qur’an, even if they appear in the form of an oath, the purpose of them is to use the thing sworn by as evidence for the thing sworn by, which here is the truth of the promise, resurrection, and recompense, as if it were said: He who is able to do these wondrous things sworn by is able to restore the One who created it first . [12]
Most of the sections of the Qur’an are deductive, and there is much evidence for that, including:
1- That carrying them on deductive reasoning is befitting the majesty of Allah and the majesty of His Book, because it is neither appropriate nor correct to understand any of Allah’s sections as sanctifying the one sworn by, because this sanctification is permissible for humans, but is not valid with the Creator, except in one case, which is: swearing by Allah, for it is sanctification.
2- The Qur’an varies in its styles, sometimes mentioning matters that indicate the existence of Allah, His Oneness and His power, in the style of swearing by them, and sometimes presenting them as a sermon and guidance, and in both cases they are clear evidence of what they were presented for, for whoever ponders them and contemplates their aims. Allah the Almighty said: - (And in yourselves, will you not see?) [13], and in other verses there is evidence of the earth, the sky, the mountains, the seas, and others, in the way of swearing by them, and there is no doubt that directing the oath by them as deductive reasoning for argument and evidence is similar to mentioning them for sermon, guidance and consideration.
3- It is not reasonable for a believer to imagine that God the Creator sanctifies His creatures by which He has sworn, and which, as the Holy Qur’an has repeatedly mentioned, are subservient and obedient to God, and do not possess for themselves or for others, benefit or harm.
4- However, the Holy Qur’an may mention the indicative verses, then swear by God Almighty, as if it has paved the way by mentioning them, to clarify the intended meaning of using them as evidence. God Almighty said: (And on the earth are signs for those of certainty. And in yourselves - then will you not see? And in the heaven is your provision and that which you are promised. So by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it is the truth, just as you speak.) [14] .
The meaning of this is: that the verses scattered on the earth and what is on it, and in the souls and their conditions and secrets, and in the sky and its stars and clouds, are all evidence of the existence of God and His power, and evidence of the truth of prophethood and resurrection, and the Qur’an. For this reason, it was followed by an oath by His Most High Essence. This oath by the Most High Essence is intended to sanctify, because God is truly worshipped, and because it includes evidence from what the sky and the earth indicate of evidence of the existence of God Almighty, and of the truth of Muhammad - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him.
5- Then if we return to the Qur’anic oaths and their answers, we find a connection between them, and we realize that the connection is strong between the oath and the one sworn by, and this strengthens that they are evidence-based oaths, such as
the statement of God Almighty: (By the forenoon. And by the night when it is still. Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor does He detest you.) [15] .
He - the Almighty - swore by two of His great verses, which are: the forenoon and the night when it is still. Al-Suyuti says, explaining the harmony between this oath and its answer: - (And consider the correspondence of this oath, which is the light of revelation that came to him after it was withheld from him, until his enemies said: Muhammad has bid farewell to his Lord, so he swore by the light of the day after the darkness of the night, by the light of the revelation and its light, after the darkness of its withholding and concealment) [16].
We can summarize the purposes of the oath in the Holy Qur’an as follows:
1- Confirming and confirming the news, and that was the custom of the Arabs who would end their speech with an oath, because (the purpose of the oath is to confirm and confirm the news) [17] . This purpose becomes clear to us if we know that what is sworn upon is often hidden and absent matters, so an oath is sworn upon to prove it, such as the Almighty’s saying: “I swear by the Day of Resurrection. Nor do I swear by the self-reproaching soul. Does man think that We will not assemble his bones? Yes, We are able to put together in perfect order the tips of his fingers.” [18] So the oath in the words of God “removes doubts, frustrates suspicions, establishes the argument, confirms the news, and establishes the judgment in the most perfect form . ” [19]
2- Drawing attention to the universe and the wondrous secrets it contains, and the wonderful and perfect system it contains [20] , as everything runs to a specified term, and everything floats in an orbit, so the oath came in the Holy Qur’an on these matters for that reason.
3- Proving the truthfulness of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - as the Arabs believed that false oaths leave homes desolate, and that they harm their owner. The Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) frequently swore by the command of God Almighty, such as His Almighty saying: “And they ask you, is it true? Say, ‘Yes, by my Lord, it is the truth.’ And you will not escape.” [21] And His Almighty saying: “And those who disbelieve say, ‘The Hour will not come to us.’ Say, ‘Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you .’” [22] Despite his oath (peace and blessings of God be upon him), he was not afflicted with any harm, rather his status was elevated and his mention (peace and blessings of God be upon him) was exalted, which was evidence of his truthfulness. [23 ]
4- Representing the rational in the form of the sensible, because if the rational matter is depicted in something sensible, the mind will comprehend it, more than if it were devoid of the senses. An example of this is the comparison of revelation to the forenoon in the middle of the day, and the comparison of falsehood to the night, and the victory of truth to the day, indicating that the dark night must be followed by a bright and joyful morning that dispels its darkness and gloom, and likewise the darkness of polytheism and ignorance must be followed by the light of truth and certainty.
5- Correcting false beliefs, such as swearing by the star when it falls, and by the planets, and by the sun, and the moon, in it is a response to those who believe that they are gods, and that they have control over the underworld.
6- Drawing attention to prominent events that had the greatest impact on human history, and this purpose appears in swearing by places such as (Al-Tur), as swearing by it refers to the signs that appeared to Moses - peace be upon him - at that mountain
, and swearing by the safe land (and this safe land) refers to the incident of the emergence of the Muhammadan light from this safe land, that light that dispelled the darkness of ignorance and misguidance, then shone in the horizons of the world and filled its sides, and so on of other goals and purposes. [24]
****************************
[1] - Ibn Ya'ish: Muwaffaq al-Din Ya'ish bin Ali: Sharh al-Mufassal, vol. 9/ p. 90.
[2] - Ibn al-Qayyim: al-Tibyan fi Aqsam al-Quran, (previous reference), p. 2.
[3] - See: Dr. Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim: The Language of the Noble Qur’an, p. 265.
[4] - Surah al-Hijr: verse / 72.
[5] - al-Suyuti: al-Itiqat, vol. 2/ p. 170.
[6] - Imam Muslim: Sahih Muslim with Al-Nawawi’s commentary, Book of Faith, Vol. 2, p. 20.
[7] - Abu Al-Yaqzan Atiyah Al-Jubouri: The Oath and its Consequences. Pp. 52-55.
[8] - Abdul Hamid Al-Farahi: A Study of the Sections of the Qur’an (previous reference), p. 35. See the full story in Al-Aghani: by Abu Al-Faraj Al-Isfahani, Vol. 5, p. 61. And Muhammad Ahmad Jad Al-Mawla: The Days of the Arabs in the Pre-Islamic Era, and his colleagues, pp. 142-168.
[9] - Surat Ad-Dukhan: Verse / 49.
[10] - Abdul Hamid Al-Farahi: A Study of the Sections of the Qur’an (previous reference), p. 35. (Modified). Al-Qaa’: The flat part of the ground. Al-Qarqar: The smooth part that has no stones in it. See: Al-Razi: Mukhtar Al-Sihah, p. 556. And Ibn Manzur: Lisan Al-Arab, Vol. 11, p. 128.
[11] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verses 1-6.
[12] - Al-Fakhr Al-Razi: The Great Commentary (previous reference), 3rd ed., Interpretation of Surah Adh-Dhariyat, pp. 193-196.
[13] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verse 21.
[14] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verses 20, 21, 22, 23.
[15] - Surah Adh-Dhuha: Verses 1, 2, 3.
[16] - Al-Suyuti: Al-Itqan fi Ulum Al-Quran, Vol. 4, p. 51.
[17] - Al-Suyuti: Al-Itqan fi Ulum Al-Quran, (previous reference), Vol. 2, 132.
[18] - Surah Al-Qiyamah: Verses 1, 2, 3, 4.
[19] - Mana’ Al-Qattan: Discussions in Ulum Al-Quran, p. 291.
[20] - See: Dr. Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim: The Language of the Holy Qur’an, p. 267.
[21] - Surah Yunus: Verse 53.
[22] - Surah Saba: Verse 3.
[23] - See: Dr. Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim: The Language of the Holy Qur’an, p. 267.
[24] - Dr. Samir Abdel Aziz: Al-Kashf and Al-Bayan in the Sciences of the Qur’an, pp. 285-287. Paraphrased and abbreviated. See also: Dr. Abdul Jalil Abdul Rahim: The Language of the Holy Qur’an, p. 268. And Ahmad Ahmad Badawi: From the Eloquence of the Qur’an, pp. 170-173.
The matters sworn upon in the Holy Quran The matters sworn upon in the Holy Quran can be summarized in four principles, which are the foundations of faith, and they are: First: - Establishing the foundation of monotheism. Second: - Establishing the matter of prophethood, and praising the truth of the wise book. Third: - Establishing the afterlife, and what is connected to it of accountability, reward or punishment. Fourth: - Clarifying the important aspects of man’s conditions and actions in this life. As for the first principle, which is establishing the foundation of monotheism, this principle includes the words of God Almighty: - (And those who stand in rows, And those who drive with a warning, And those who recite the message. Indeed, your God is One.)[1].Sheikh Taha Al-Rawi said: “God swears by the souls of the invaders who fight in the way of truth, united with each other like a solid structure. By this unity and solidarity, they deter the wrongdoers and guide them to the path of righteousness. He swears that there is no true god except one God who has no partner. So it is an oath by those united on the basis of the establishment of monotheism. It indicates that just as strength and success are the offspring of unity, so too the oneness of the Creator and the absence of a partner is the reason for the creation of this universe and the perfection of its system. If there were other gods with God, each god would take what he created and some of them would rise above others, and thus the system of the universe would be disturbed and its features would be obliterated.[2]Most commentators agree that what is meant by “those who rank up”, “those who repel”, and “those who follow” is a group of angels described with these attributes. This is the most apparent and most likely, as it is supported by the verses of the Qur’an. The angels are described as being in rowsinthe words of God Almighty:[3]in the same surah. They are also described in this way in what Muslim narrated in his Sahih on the authority of Hudhayfah, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “We have been given preference over the people in three things. Our rows have been made like the rows of the angels…”[4], and because this statement is the one transmitted from a group of the Companions and Followers.[5] The meaning is: And the right of the angels who rank themselves in a row to worship and obey God Almighty, and who forbid others from committing sins, or who forbid the clouds to the directions that God has charged them to push them to, and who recite the verses of God revealed to His prophets, drawing closer to Him, and obeying Him.. Your Lord, O people, is One, with no partner in His essence, nor in His attributes, nor in His actions, nor in His creation..And what came in the second principle: which is the confirmation of the matter of prophethood, and the praise of the truth of the wise book:the Almighty’s saying: - (Ya Sin. By the Wise Qur’an. Indeed, you are one of the messengers)[6].
God Almighty swears by the wise Qur’an, which is miraculous in its composition, wonderful in its meanings, perfect in its legislation and rulings, and which has reached the highest levels of eloquence, that Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - is a messenger from among the messengers, and the emphasis of the oath is due to the intensity of their denial of his message. It is well known that the Qur’an is one of the miracles of our Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and he challenged the Arabs to produce a hadith like it, or ten fabricated surahs like it, or a surah like it, but they could not. So God’s oath by the Qur’an on the authenticity of the message is an oath by the miracle that supports that message and the evidence that proves it, as if he said: You are one of the messengers, as evidenced by the wise Qur’an. So he presented the evidence in the form of an oath, because the speaker - as al-Fakhr al-Razi said - (If he begins to swear at the beginning of his speech, the listener knows that he wants to speak with great words, so he listens to him) [7] completely, and accepts hearing him with all his attention. Then in swearing by the miracle there is a reminder of it, and a rebuke to the stubborn one for ignoring it. There is no better evidence of this interpretation than that God - may He be glorified - has accustomed us in His Noble Book to the arrangement of verses and proofs, which He presents as evidence for the principles of faith. Sometimes He mentions them as a sign and a lesson, and sometimes He mentions them as if they were news. From the news, and sometimes he mentions it in the style of an oath.
And from it is the saying of the Almighty: - (And the heaven of its layers. Indeed, you are in a different statement.) [8] As we find in it the compatibility of the answer to the oath (Indeed, you are in a different statement) with this description with which the heaven (of its layers) was described , so the layers are the paths, and since this description indicates branching and difference..
the answer came [ (Indeed, you are in a different statement) their saying about the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - a magician, a poet, and a madman, and in the Qur’an, poetry and magic, and legends of the ancients, and from Al-Dahhak: The saying of the infidels: is not equal, rather it is contradictory and different] [9]
and Al-Baydawi said: (Perhaps the point [10] in this section is to liken their sayings in their differences and contradiction of their purposes,
to the paths of the heavens in their distance and the difference of their goals) [11] .
And from this also is the saying of the Most High: (And the star when it goes down. Your companion has neither strayed nor has he erred. Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed. He was taught by one mighty in strength.) [ 12]
The commentators said: By the star he meant the type of stars, or he meant the Pleiades, as is well-known among the Arabs. And the star went down: set or rose. It is said: it went down (with a fat-ha on the ha’) if it fell and set, and it went down (with a damma on the ha’) if it ascended. And he did not go astray: meaning he did not deviate from the straight path, and he did not go astray: meaning he did not believe falsely, and falsehood: the opposite of guidance, which is ignorance with a corrupt belief [13] .
Allah, the Almighty, swore by the star from which light emanates, and by which guidance is provided in the darkness of land and sea, that Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, was following the path of right guidance and righteousness. He denied what the Quraysh attributed to him of misguidance in abandoning what their fathers and their imams of disbelief were upon, and that what he brought of the Book was not from him, but rather it was a divine revelation. The Arabs used to give examples of the guidance of the star and being guided by it, and among what is attributed to them in this is their saying: So-and-so is more guided than the star, and they say: So-and-so does not go astray until the star goes astray. The Qur’an itself referred to this when it said:(And by the star they are guided) [14] .
The connection between the thing sworn by and the thing sworn upon is clear and obvious. The thing sworn by is the star that does not lose its way, and by which travelers are guided. The thing sworn upon is that Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, is on the path of guidance, and that what he brought is nothing but a revelation that he received from the world of the unseen and the seen.
He said: Your companion has not gone astray, and did not say: Muhammad has not gone astray, to emphasize the establishment of the proof against them because they were his companions for forty years before the mission, and they are the most knowledgeable of creation about him, his condition, his words, and his actions, and that during that long period they saw nothing from him except truthfulness, trustworthiness, sound mind, and sound speech. So their saying after his mission
, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he was a magician or a madman is a type of their clear lie and their absolute ignorance. [15]
And what came in the third principle:
in proving the afterlife, and what is connected to it of reckoning, reward or punishment, the Almighty said: - (And the winds that scatter. And those that carry a heavy load. And those that run smoothly. And those that divide a matter. Indeed, what you are promised is true. And indeed, the Recompense is coming to pass.) [16]
God - may He be glorified - swore by four things that what He promised of resurrection and the matter of the Hour is true, and that the Recompense, which is the recompense, of reward or punishment, will inevitably come to pass. So it is an oath on resurrection and on recompense.
Al-Fakhr al-Razi said: “The four things that God swore by here could be different things, or they could be a matter that has four considerations. The first is that the scatterers are the winds, the carriers are the clouds, the running ships are the ships, and the dividers are the angels who divide provisions. The second, which is closer, is that these are four attributes of the winds. The scatterers are the winds that create the clouds, the carriers are the winds that carry the clouds, which are water vapor.
The running ships are the winds that run with the clouds after carrying them. The dividers are the winds that distribute the rain to the regions…” [17] . Based on this, the “fa” is to clarify the order of these attributes in existence, as the scatterers stir up the vapor, so clouds form, and the winds carry them, distributing them to the regions.
What is sworn upon is the fulfillment of the promise of resurrection and revival, and the occurrence of the reckoning, reward or punishment. The connection between the thing sworn by and the thing sworn upon is clear. He who is able to compose clouds from vapor particles by means of the dispersing winds, and then return them to their original state, is able to restore man and compose his scattered parts.
He swore here by the winds and clouds for resurrection and recompense, and mentioned them in Surat Ar-Rum as a sign and a lesson. God Almighty said: “It is God who sends the winds, and they stir up a cloud, then spreads it in the sky as He wills, and makes it into fragments, and you see the rain emerge from within it. Then when He causes it to fall upon whomever He wills of His servants, at once they rejoice, although before it descended upon them they were in despair. So look at the traces of God’s mercy, how He revives the earth after its death. Indeed, He is the Giver of Life to the dead, and He is over all things competent.” [ 18]
So He who is able to send the winds, stir up the clouds, and revive the earth after its death, is able to revive the dead . [19]
Among what came in the fourth principle, which is the explanation of the states and various actions of man,
is God Almighty’s saying:(By the fig and the olive and Mount Sinai and this secure city. Indeed, We created man in the best of stature. Then We returned him to the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. For them will be a reward uninterrupted.) [20] The
oath in this surah consists of three matters:
A: - Evidence of the divine power over resurrection and recompense,
which is the Almighty’s saying: (Indeed, We created man in the best of stature). B: - A severe, stern threat, which is the Almighty’s saying: (Then We returned him to the lowest of the low) . The lowest of the low is the Fire, according to the correct view, or it is the prison, the place of the wicked, just as ‘Illiyyin is the place of the righteous. And We returned him: its meaning is We will return him, so the past tense was used in place of the present and future, indicating that the return to the lowest of the low will inevitably happen, and likening the future, the occurrence of which is certain, to the past that has already happened. C: - A good promise, which is the Almighty’s saying: (Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. For them will be a reward uninterrupted.) [21] meaning: cut off. The oath in this surah is more focused on the last two matters, that is, on the promise and the threat. The commentators said [22] : - He meant by the fig and the olive: the place where its trees are abundant, by way of metaphor, he used the state, which is the fig and the olive, and he meant the place, which is the Holy Land, in which Jesus - peace be upon him - appeared. They said: This meaning is what is consistent with Mount Sinai, and with the safe country, and the expression of the state for the place is common in Arabic speech, God Almighty said: (And as for those whose faces will be white, they will be in the mercy of God, they will abide therein) [23] , that is: in His Paradise in which mercy resides. Thus, God has sworn to create man, punish him, and reward him by three places, which are the manifestations of His prophets and messengers, the owners of the great and well-known laws. He swore by the land of Jerusalem, the manifestation of His Messenger, His Word, and His Spirit - Jesus, son of Mary - and in it the Gospel was revealed to him. Then He swore by the mountain on which God spoke to Moses, and called to him from the right side of the mountain from the blessed spot from the tree in it, “Go to Pharaoh, for he has transgressed.” Then He swore by the secure land, the manifestation of the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, so he progressed from the fig and the olive to Mount Sinai, to the secure land of God, and concluded with the homeland of the final message, the most honorable of messages. [24] He swore by these three places, which are the place of revelation and the message, that what he will encounter of reward or punishment is only the result of his faith, or his disbelief and transgression, after He sent messengers as bearers of good tidings and warners. As if He, the Almighty, is saying: (Behold, I have sent to you the messengers, so they have illuminated for you the way, and distinguished for you the right path from the wrong. If you disobey, then for you will be the lowest of the low, but if you obey, then for you will be a reward uninterrupted) [25]. We can say: God Almighty swore by the sun, the moon, the stars, the night, the day, the sea, the time, the clouds, the soul, the angels, and other creatures, and all of them are signs indicating His power, His oneness, and His perfection, and He mentioned them in different places in His book without the style of an oath. *************************** [1] - Surat Al-Saffat: verses 1, 2, 3, 4.[2] - Taha Al-Rawi: Islamic Studies (previous reference), p. 13.[3] - Surat Al-Saffat: verses 165, 166.
[4] - Imam Muslim: Sahih Muslim, Book of Mosques, Vol. 2, p. 63. [5] - See Al-Alusi: Ruh Al-Ma’ani, Vol. 23/ p. 64. And Dr. Muhammad Al-Sayyid Al-Tantawi: Al-Tafsir Al-Wasit, Vol. 22/ p. 82. [6] - Surah Yasin: Verses 1, 2, 3. [7] - Al-Fakhr Al-Razi: Al-Tafsir Al-Kabir (previous reference), Interpretation of Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Vol. 27/ p. 194. [8] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verses 7, 8. [9] - Al-Zamakhshari: Al-Kashshaf (previous reference), Vol. 4/ p. 14. [10] - He wants to explain the relevance of what is sworn by here, which is His statement: “And the heaven…” the verse, to what is sworn upon, which is His statement: “Indeed…” the verse. See: Hashiyat al-Shihab: Vol. 8, p. 95. [11] - Tafsir al-Baydawi (Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta’wil): In the margin of Hashiyat al-Shihab, Vol. 8, p. 95. [12] - Surah al-Najm: Verses 1-5. [13] - Hashiyat al-Shihab (The Care of the Judge and the Sufficiency of the Radi): In the margin of it is Tafsir al-Baydawi (previous reference), Vol. 8, p. 109. [14] - Surah al-Nahl: Verse 16. [15] - See: al-Shihab al-Khafaji: Hashiyat al-Shihab (previous reference): Vol. 8, p. 109-110 and Sulayman ibn ‘Umar, known as al-Jamal: al-Futuhat al-Ilahiyyah bi-Tawdih Tafsir al-Jalalayn li-Daqa’iq al-Khafiyyah: Vol. 4, p. 222-223. [16] - Surah al-Dhariyat: Verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. [17] - Al-Fakhr Al-Razi: The Great Interpretation (previous reference) Vol. 27/ p. 195. [18] - Surah Al-Rum, verses 48, 49, 50. [19] - See: Sulayman bin Omar: The Divine Conquests, Vol. 4/ p. 201. [20] - Surah At-Tin: verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. [21] - Surah At-Tin: verse 6. [22] - See: Al-Alusi (previous reference): Ruh Al-Ma’ani, Vol. 30/ pp. 221-223. And Ismail bin Katheer: Interpretation of the Great Qur’an, Vol. 4/ p. 526. [23] - Surah Al-Imran: verse 107. [24] - See: Dr. Fadhel Al-Samarra’i: The Qur’anic Expression, pp. 299-309. [25] - Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya: Al-Tabyan fi Aqsam al-Qur’an, (previous reference), pp. 43-54.
The eloquence of the Qur’anic oath
After this brevity, it is appropriate for us to get to know the aspects of eloquence in the style of the oath, to complete the view and complete the idea.
1- The style of the oath is distinguished by its brevity, and for this reason it attacks the listener, and takes over his feelings, and perhaps the Arabs used it a lot, and were fascinated by it for its brevity, and they are more inclined to brevity in their poetry and prose, and from here proverbs became popular among them and became widespread, and wisdom and signatures became widespread after the pre-Islamic era, and they competed to renew them and preserve them.
2- The oath is a type of performative style, and the opponent has no choice but to acknowledge it, and he has no reason to deny it. If he wants to deny, his denial should be directed at the answer to the oath, not the oath itself, because the answer is a report [1] and not a performative [2] .
The Holy Qur’an may combine an oath and a description, such as the oath by the Glorious Qur’an and the Promised Day, and the ranks in rows, in this and similar ones there is an oath and a description of the one sworn by, so that the evidence is greater in the soul and more effective.
3- The answer to the oath in the Qur’an, which is what is sworn by, may be omitted, so that after the oath it moves to another statement, but it is linked to the omitted answer. The secret behind this is that it blocks the path of escape for the one being addressed who is denying, so that he does not move from the oath, which is a statement, to the answer, which is a report, so that he does not go along with the one who denies in the answer, then the oath is like an introduction and a warning, so it attracts the hearing of the one being addressed, so he strains his ears to hear what comes after the oath, and then he hears what supports the intended evidence from the oath itself, like the Almighty’s saying: (Sad. By the Qur’an full of Reminder. Rather, those who disbelieve are in arrogance and dissension) [3] , so He swore by one of the letters of the alphabet that make up the Qur’an, by way of challenge and warning of the miracle, and followed it with an oath by the Qur’an, and the answer was omitted because the challenge indicates it, as if He said: By the Qur’an full of Reminder, it is miraculous speech, but the disbelievers were arrogant and did not submit to it, so they opposed the Messenger and denied him.
Or as if he said: I swear by the Qur’an of great honor, that you are truthful in what you convey from your Lord, but the disbelievers were arrogant and did not submit to the truth, and insisted on stubbornness. Or I swear by the Qur’an that the matter is not as these disbelievers claim, but they are in arrogance, opposition, and enmity towards Muhammad.
4- One of the advantages of the oath is that it facilitates the combination of several pieces of evidence in one sentence, or in successive sentences, as in the Surahs: At-Tin, Al-Balad, At-Tur, Ash-Shams, Al-Layl, and Al-Fajr, with brevity. If the evidence were detailed and the speech expanded upon, the speech would lose its magnificence and impact.
5- The deductive oath involves the listener in deducing the evidence, and reduces his stubbornness and contention, so he feels that he has learned and contemplated, and for this reason all the performative styles are more attractive than the informative styles. This is why the clever and eloquent person diversifies his styles, and alternates between the construction and the news, to activate the addressee, and involve him in understanding, research, and deduction, until he imagines that he is the one who was guided to the truth himself.
6- One of the types of eloquence of the oath is that it is an introduction to document the truth before mentioning the claim, because it knocks on the ears of the addressee, so he listens and anticipates what comes after it, then the claim comes and it is easy to lead him to it, but if he is surprised by the claim that he denies, he turns away from it and flees from it. How different is your saying: (You are not, by the grace of your Lord, a madman. I swear by the pen and what they write), and the Almighty’s saying: (Nun. By the pen and what they write, you are not, by the grace of your Lord, a madman) [4].
So glory be to He who denied the accusation from His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - before narrating it.
Conclusion:
1- The Holy Quran swore in accordance with the Arabs’ custom of confirming news, so that it would settle in the soul and shake what contradicts it. If the oath sometimes does not succeed in making the addressee believe, it often weakens the opposing idea in the soul, leads to doubt about it, and prompts a person to think seriously and strongly about what the oath was intended for [5] .
2- God swore by all His creatures, those He sees and those witnessed, those we see and those we do not see. On His existence, His oneness, His power, the occurrence of the resurrection, and the truthfulness of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and to alert us to the magnificence in them, which prompts us to think about their Creator.
3- The oath by God Almighty is intended for sanctification, because He is the Creator who deserves sanctification and worship. Other than that, sanctification and honor are not necessary for the oath, even if the one sworn by is great in itself, and great in the sight of its Creator.
4 - Formulating the evidence in the form of an oath, which confirms what is being sworn upon, alerts the listener to it, and prepares him for what it establishes in the mind.
5 - The Qur’an may use the style of swearing without what is being sworn upon, as is the case in Arabic custom, such as the Almighty’s saying: (Get out of it, disgraced and expelled. Whoever follows you among them, I will surely fill Hell with you all) [6] , and such as the Almighty’s saying: (Allah has decreed, “I and My messengers will surely prevail” [7] .
6 - By examining the clear verses of Allah, I found that the oath mentioned in them is often with the letter “and,” and that it is only from Allah Almighty in most cases, so Allah the Almighty swears by whatever He wills upon whatever He wills.
7 - In presenting the evidence in the form of an oath, there is brevity in clarification, or clarification in brevity [8] .
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[1] - The news: is that which is likely to be true or false in itself, i.e., for the news itself. This naturally excludes what is definitely true, and what is definitely false. See: Fadl Hassan Abbas: Rhetoric, its Arts and Branches, the chapter on news, p. 99 and after.
[2] - Composition: that which does not bear truth or falsehood. It is of two types: imperative and non-imperative. See: Fadl Hassan Abbas: Rhetoric, its Arts and Branches, (previous reference), the chapter on composition, p. 147 and after.
[3] - Surah Sad: verses 1, 2.
[4] - Surah Al-Qalam: verses 1, 2.
[5] - See: Ahmad Ahmad Badawi: From the Rhetoric of the Qur’an, p. 170.
[6] - Surah Al-A’raf: verse 18.
[7] - Surah Al-Mujadalah, verse 21.
[8] - See the lecture of Professor Omar Abu Al-Nasr at the Dar Al-Ulum Club - Cairo University, on (July 5, 1943 AD). It was published in Dar Al-Ulum Magazine in Egypt in September of the same year. (Paraphrased and abridged).
God Almighty swears by the wise Qur’an, which is miraculous in its composition, wonderful in its meanings, perfect in its legislation and rulings, and which has reached the highest levels of eloquence, that Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - is a messenger from among the messengers, and the emphasis of the oath is due to the intensity of their denial of his message. It is well known that the Qur’an is one of the miracles of our Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and he challenged the Arabs to produce a hadith like it, or ten fabricated surahs like it, or a surah like it, but they could not. So God’s oath by the Qur’an on the authenticity of the message is an oath by the miracle that supports that message and the evidence that proves it, as if he said: You are one of the messengers, as evidenced by the wise Qur’an. So he presented the evidence in the form of an oath, because the speaker - as al-Fakhr al-Razi said - (If he begins to swear at the beginning of his speech, the listener knows that he wants to speak with great words, so he listens to him) [7] completely, and accepts hearing him with all his attention. Then in swearing by the miracle there is a reminder of it, and a rebuke to the stubborn one for ignoring it. There is no better evidence of this interpretation than that God - may He be glorified - has accustomed us in His Noble Book to the arrangement of verses and proofs, which He presents as evidence for the principles of faith. Sometimes He mentions them as a sign and a lesson, and sometimes He mentions them as if they were news. From the news, and sometimes he mentions it in the style of an oath.
And from it is the saying of the Almighty: - (And the heaven of its layers. Indeed, you are in a different statement.) [8] As we find in it the compatibility of the answer to the oath (Indeed, you are in a different statement) with this description with which the heaven (of its layers) was described , so the layers are the paths, and since this description indicates branching and difference..
the answer came [ (Indeed, you are in a different statement) their saying about the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - a magician, a poet, and a madman, and in the Qur’an, poetry and magic, and legends of the ancients, and from Al-Dahhak: The saying of the infidels: is not equal, rather it is contradictory and different] [9]
and Al-Baydawi said: (Perhaps the point [10] in this section is to liken their sayings in their differences and contradiction of their purposes,
to the paths of the heavens in their distance and the difference of their goals) [11] .
And from this also is the saying of the Most High: (And the star when it goes down. Your companion has neither strayed nor has he erred. Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed. He was taught by one mighty in strength.) [ 12]
The commentators said: By the star he meant the type of stars, or he meant the Pleiades, as is well-known among the Arabs. And the star went down: set or rose. It is said: it went down (with a fat-ha on the ha’) if it fell and set, and it went down (with a damma on the ha’) if it ascended. And he did not go astray: meaning he did not deviate from the straight path, and he did not go astray: meaning he did not believe falsely, and falsehood: the opposite of guidance, which is ignorance with a corrupt belief [13] .
Allah, the Almighty, swore by the star from which light emanates, and by which guidance is provided in the darkness of land and sea, that Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, was following the path of right guidance and righteousness. He denied what the Quraysh attributed to him of misguidance in abandoning what their fathers and their imams of disbelief were upon, and that what he brought of the Book was not from him, but rather it was a divine revelation. The Arabs used to give examples of the guidance of the star and being guided by it, and among what is attributed to them in this is their saying: So-and-so is more guided than the star, and they say: So-and-so does not go astray until the star goes astray. The Qur’an itself referred to this when it said:(And by the star they are guided) [14] .
The connection between the thing sworn by and the thing sworn upon is clear and obvious. The thing sworn by is the star that does not lose its way, and by which travelers are guided. The thing sworn upon is that Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, is on the path of guidance, and that what he brought is nothing but a revelation that he received from the world of the unseen and the seen.
He said: Your companion has not gone astray, and did not say: Muhammad has not gone astray, to emphasize the establishment of the proof against them because they were his companions for forty years before the mission, and they are the most knowledgeable of creation about him, his condition, his words, and his actions, and that during that long period they saw nothing from him except truthfulness, trustworthiness, sound mind, and sound speech. So their saying after his mission
, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he was a magician or a madman is a type of their clear lie and their absolute ignorance. [15]
And what came in the third principle:
in proving the afterlife, and what is connected to it of reckoning, reward or punishment, the Almighty said: - (And the winds that scatter. And those that carry a heavy load. And those that run smoothly. And those that divide a matter. Indeed, what you are promised is true. And indeed, the Recompense is coming to pass.) [16]
God - may He be glorified - swore by four things that what He promised of resurrection and the matter of the Hour is true, and that the Recompense, which is the recompense, of reward or punishment, will inevitably come to pass. So it is an oath on resurrection and on recompense.
Al-Fakhr al-Razi said: “The four things that God swore by here could be different things, or they could be a matter that has four considerations. The first is that the scatterers are the winds, the carriers are the clouds, the running ships are the ships, and the dividers are the angels who divide provisions. The second, which is closer, is that these are four attributes of the winds. The scatterers are the winds that create the clouds, the carriers are the winds that carry the clouds, which are water vapor.
The running ships are the winds that run with the clouds after carrying them. The dividers are the winds that distribute the rain to the regions…” [17] . Based on this, the “fa” is to clarify the order of these attributes in existence, as the scatterers stir up the vapor, so clouds form, and the winds carry them, distributing them to the regions.
What is sworn upon is the fulfillment of the promise of resurrection and revival, and the occurrence of the reckoning, reward or punishment. The connection between the thing sworn by and the thing sworn upon is clear. He who is able to compose clouds from vapor particles by means of the dispersing winds, and then return them to their original state, is able to restore man and compose his scattered parts.
He swore here by the winds and clouds for resurrection and recompense, and mentioned them in Surat Ar-Rum as a sign and a lesson. God Almighty said: “It is God who sends the winds, and they stir up a cloud, then spreads it in the sky as He wills, and makes it into fragments, and you see the rain emerge from within it. Then when He causes it to fall upon whomever He wills of His servants, at once they rejoice, although before it descended upon them they were in despair. So look at the traces of God’s mercy, how He revives the earth after its death. Indeed, He is the Giver of Life to the dead, and He is over all things competent.” [ 18]
So He who is able to send the winds, stir up the clouds, and revive the earth after its death, is able to revive the dead . [19]
Among what came in the fourth principle, which is the explanation of the states and various actions of man,
is God Almighty’s saying:(By the fig and the olive and Mount Sinai and this secure city. Indeed, We created man in the best of stature. Then We returned him to the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. For them will be a reward uninterrupted.) [20] The
oath in this surah consists of three matters:
A: - Evidence of the divine power over resurrection and recompense,
which is the Almighty’s saying: (Indeed, We created man in the best of stature). B: - A severe, stern threat, which is the Almighty’s saying: (Then We returned him to the lowest of the low) . The lowest of the low is the Fire, according to the correct view, or it is the prison, the place of the wicked, just as ‘Illiyyin is the place of the righteous. And We returned him: its meaning is We will return him, so the past tense was used in place of the present and future, indicating that the return to the lowest of the low will inevitably happen, and likening the future, the occurrence of which is certain, to the past that has already happened. C: - A good promise, which is the Almighty’s saying: (Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. For them will be a reward uninterrupted.) [21] meaning: cut off. The oath in this surah is more focused on the last two matters, that is, on the promise and the threat. The commentators said [22] : - He meant by the fig and the olive: the place where its trees are abundant, by way of metaphor, he used the state, which is the fig and the olive, and he meant the place, which is the Holy Land, in which Jesus - peace be upon him - appeared. They said: This meaning is what is consistent with Mount Sinai, and with the safe country, and the expression of the state for the place is common in Arabic speech, God Almighty said: (And as for those whose faces will be white, they will be in the mercy of God, they will abide therein) [23] , that is: in His Paradise in which mercy resides. Thus, God has sworn to create man, punish him, and reward him by three places, which are the manifestations of His prophets and messengers, the owners of the great and well-known laws. He swore by the land of Jerusalem, the manifestation of His Messenger, His Word, and His Spirit - Jesus, son of Mary - and in it the Gospel was revealed to him. Then He swore by the mountain on which God spoke to Moses, and called to him from the right side of the mountain from the blessed spot from the tree in it, “Go to Pharaoh, for he has transgressed.” Then He swore by the secure land, the manifestation of the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, so he progressed from the fig and the olive to Mount Sinai, to the secure land of God, and concluded with the homeland of the final message, the most honorable of messages. [24] He swore by these three places, which are the place of revelation and the message, that what he will encounter of reward or punishment is only the result of his faith, or his disbelief and transgression, after He sent messengers as bearers of good tidings and warners. As if He, the Almighty, is saying: (Behold, I have sent to you the messengers, so they have illuminated for you the way, and distinguished for you the right path from the wrong. If you disobey, then for you will be the lowest of the low, but if you obey, then for you will be a reward uninterrupted) [25]. We can say: God Almighty swore by the sun, the moon, the stars, the night, the day, the sea, the time, the clouds, the soul, the angels, and other creatures, and all of them are signs indicating His power, His oneness, and His perfection, and He mentioned them in different places in His book without the style of an oath. *************************** [1] - Surat Al-Saffat: verses 1, 2, 3, 4.[2] - Taha Al-Rawi: Islamic Studies (previous reference), p. 13.[3] - Surat Al-Saffat: verses 165, 166.
[4] - Imam Muslim: Sahih Muslim, Book of Mosques, Vol. 2, p. 63. [5] - See Al-Alusi: Ruh Al-Ma’ani, Vol. 23/ p. 64. And Dr. Muhammad Al-Sayyid Al-Tantawi: Al-Tafsir Al-Wasit, Vol. 22/ p. 82. [6] - Surah Yasin: Verses 1, 2, 3. [7] - Al-Fakhr Al-Razi: Al-Tafsir Al-Kabir (previous reference), Interpretation of Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Vol. 27/ p. 194. [8] - Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verses 7, 8. [9] - Al-Zamakhshari: Al-Kashshaf (previous reference), Vol. 4/ p. 14. [10] - He wants to explain the relevance of what is sworn by here, which is His statement: “And the heaven…” the verse, to what is sworn upon, which is His statement: “Indeed…” the verse. See: Hashiyat al-Shihab: Vol. 8, p. 95. [11] - Tafsir al-Baydawi (Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta’wil): In the margin of Hashiyat al-Shihab, Vol. 8, p. 95. [12] - Surah al-Najm: Verses 1-5. [13] - Hashiyat al-Shihab (The Care of the Judge and the Sufficiency of the Radi): In the margin of it is Tafsir al-Baydawi (previous reference), Vol. 8, p. 109. [14] - Surah al-Nahl: Verse 16. [15] - See: al-Shihab al-Khafaji: Hashiyat al-Shihab (previous reference): Vol. 8, p. 109-110 and Sulayman ibn ‘Umar, known as al-Jamal: al-Futuhat al-Ilahiyyah bi-Tawdih Tafsir al-Jalalayn li-Daqa’iq al-Khafiyyah: Vol. 4, p. 222-223. [16] - Surah al-Dhariyat: Verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. [17] - Al-Fakhr Al-Razi: The Great Interpretation (previous reference) Vol. 27/ p. 195. [18] - Surah Al-Rum, verses 48, 49, 50. [19] - See: Sulayman bin Omar: The Divine Conquests, Vol. 4/ p. 201. [20] - Surah At-Tin: verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. [21] - Surah At-Tin: verse 6. [22] - See: Al-Alusi (previous reference): Ruh Al-Ma’ani, Vol. 30/ pp. 221-223. And Ismail bin Katheer: Interpretation of the Great Qur’an, Vol. 4/ p. 526. [23] - Surah Al-Imran: verse 107. [24] - See: Dr. Fadhel Al-Samarra’i: The Qur’anic Expression, pp. 299-309. [25] - Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya: Al-Tabyan fi Aqsam al-Qur’an, (previous reference), pp. 43-54.
The eloquence of the Qur’anic oath
After this brevity, it is appropriate for us to get to know the aspects of eloquence in the style of the oath, to complete the view and complete the idea.
1- The style of the oath is distinguished by its brevity, and for this reason it attacks the listener, and takes over his feelings, and perhaps the Arabs used it a lot, and were fascinated by it for its brevity, and they are more inclined to brevity in their poetry and prose, and from here proverbs became popular among them and became widespread, and wisdom and signatures became widespread after the pre-Islamic era, and they competed to renew them and preserve them.
2- The oath is a type of performative style, and the opponent has no choice but to acknowledge it, and he has no reason to deny it. If he wants to deny, his denial should be directed at the answer to the oath, not the oath itself, because the answer is a report [1] and not a performative [2] .
The Holy Qur’an may combine an oath and a description, such as the oath by the Glorious Qur’an and the Promised Day, and the ranks in rows, in this and similar ones there is an oath and a description of the one sworn by, so that the evidence is greater in the soul and more effective.
3- The answer to the oath in the Qur’an, which is what is sworn by, may be omitted, so that after the oath it moves to another statement, but it is linked to the omitted answer. The secret behind this is that it blocks the path of escape for the one being addressed who is denying, so that he does not move from the oath, which is a statement, to the answer, which is a report, so that he does not go along with the one who denies in the answer, then the oath is like an introduction and a warning, so it attracts the hearing of the one being addressed, so he strains his ears to hear what comes after the oath, and then he hears what supports the intended evidence from the oath itself, like the Almighty’s saying: (Sad. By the Qur’an full of Reminder. Rather, those who disbelieve are in arrogance and dissension) [3] , so He swore by one of the letters of the alphabet that make up the Qur’an, by way of challenge and warning of the miracle, and followed it with an oath by the Qur’an, and the answer was omitted because the challenge indicates it, as if He said: By the Qur’an full of Reminder, it is miraculous speech, but the disbelievers were arrogant and did not submit to it, so they opposed the Messenger and denied him.
Or as if he said: I swear by the Qur’an of great honor, that you are truthful in what you convey from your Lord, but the disbelievers were arrogant and did not submit to the truth, and insisted on stubbornness. Or I swear by the Qur’an that the matter is not as these disbelievers claim, but they are in arrogance, opposition, and enmity towards Muhammad.
4- One of the advantages of the oath is that it facilitates the combination of several pieces of evidence in one sentence, or in successive sentences, as in the Surahs: At-Tin, Al-Balad, At-Tur, Ash-Shams, Al-Layl, and Al-Fajr, with brevity. If the evidence were detailed and the speech expanded upon, the speech would lose its magnificence and impact.
5- The deductive oath involves the listener in deducing the evidence, and reduces his stubbornness and contention, so he feels that he has learned and contemplated, and for this reason all the performative styles are more attractive than the informative styles. This is why the clever and eloquent person diversifies his styles, and alternates between the construction and the news, to activate the addressee, and involve him in understanding, research, and deduction, until he imagines that he is the one who was guided to the truth himself.
6- One of the types of eloquence of the oath is that it is an introduction to document the truth before mentioning the claim, because it knocks on the ears of the addressee, so he listens and anticipates what comes after it, then the claim comes and it is easy to lead him to it, but if he is surprised by the claim that he denies, he turns away from it and flees from it. How different is your saying: (You are not, by the grace of your Lord, a madman. I swear by the pen and what they write), and the Almighty’s saying: (Nun. By the pen and what they write, you are not, by the grace of your Lord, a madman) [4].
So glory be to He who denied the accusation from His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - before narrating it.
Conclusion:
1- The Holy Quran swore in accordance with the Arabs’ custom of confirming news, so that it would settle in the soul and shake what contradicts it. If the oath sometimes does not succeed in making the addressee believe, it often weakens the opposing idea in the soul, leads to doubt about it, and prompts a person to think seriously and strongly about what the oath was intended for [5] .
2- God swore by all His creatures, those He sees and those witnessed, those we see and those we do not see. On His existence, His oneness, His power, the occurrence of the resurrection, and the truthfulness of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and to alert us to the magnificence in them, which prompts us to think about their Creator.
3- The oath by God Almighty is intended for sanctification, because He is the Creator who deserves sanctification and worship. Other than that, sanctification and honor are not necessary for the oath, even if the one sworn by is great in itself, and great in the sight of its Creator.
4 - Formulating the evidence in the form of an oath, which confirms what is being sworn upon, alerts the listener to it, and prepares him for what it establishes in the mind.
5 - The Qur’an may use the style of swearing without what is being sworn upon, as is the case in Arabic custom, such as the Almighty’s saying: (Get out of it, disgraced and expelled. Whoever follows you among them, I will surely fill Hell with you all) [6] , and such as the Almighty’s saying: (Allah has decreed, “I and My messengers will surely prevail” [7] .
6 - By examining the clear verses of Allah, I found that the oath mentioned in them is often with the letter “and,” and that it is only from Allah Almighty in most cases, so Allah the Almighty swears by whatever He wills upon whatever He wills.
7 - In presenting the evidence in the form of an oath, there is brevity in clarification, or clarification in brevity [8] .
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[1] - The news: is that which is likely to be true or false in itself, i.e., for the news itself. This naturally excludes what is definitely true, and what is definitely false. See: Fadl Hassan Abbas: Rhetoric, its Arts and Branches, the chapter on news, p. 99 and after.
[2] - Composition: that which does not bear truth or falsehood. It is of two types: imperative and non-imperative. See: Fadl Hassan Abbas: Rhetoric, its Arts and Branches, (previous reference), the chapter on composition, p. 147 and after.
[3] - Surah Sad: verses 1, 2.
[4] - Surah Al-Qalam: verses 1, 2.
[5] - See: Ahmad Ahmad Badawi: From the Rhetoric of the Qur’an, p. 170.
[6] - Surah Al-A’raf: verse 18.
[7] - Surah Al-Mujadalah, verse 21.
[8] - See the lecture of Professor Omar Abu Al-Nasr at the Dar Al-Ulum Club - Cairo University, on (July 5, 1943 AD). It was published in Dar Al-Ulum Magazine in Egypt in September of the same year. (Paraphrased and abridged).
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