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Internal Rhymes as Evidence for Old Hijazi: Difference between revisions
Internal Rhymes as Evidence for Old Hijazi (view source)
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Old Hijazi has two hallmarks that distinguishes it from classical Arabic and the Quranic reading traditions: | Old Hijazi has two hallmarks that distinguishes it from classical Arabic and the Quranic reading traditions: | ||
The loss of Hamzah (glottal stop) (in Arabic ء) and the loss of nunation (the addition of an "N" sound) and final short vowels except in the genetive (possession-showing) noun construct form. In classical Arabic, final short vowels and nunation are only lost when the word is in a pausal position, i.e., when the word is at the end of utterance. This would mean that unlike classical Arabic, the original language of the Quran entirely lacked noun-final nunation and final short vowels except in the genetive construct form. This means that the last word in a sentence always lacks nunation and a final short vowel while all the words before it don’t lack them. A careful examination of the Quran reveals that if all words were treated in the same way as the words in pausal positions are treated, this would lead to the appearance of hundreds of hitherto unknown internal rhymes. | The loss of Hamzah (glottal stop) (in Arabic ء) and the loss of nunation (the addition of an "N" sound) and final short vowels except in the genetive (possession-showing) noun construct form. In classical Arabic, final short vowels and nunation are only lost when the word is in a pausal position, i.e., when the word is at the end of utterance. This would mean that unlike classical Arabic, the original language of the Quran entirely lacked noun-final nunation and final short vowels except in the genetive construct form. This means that the last word in a sentence always lacks nunation and a final short vowel while all the words before it don’t lack them. A careful examination of the Quran reveals that if all words were treated in the same way as the words in pausal positions are treated, this would lead to the appearance of hundreds of hitherto unknown internal rhymes. | ||
<center><youtube> | <center><youtube>nuNguQzcqUg</youtube></center> | ||
==The Grammar of Pausal positions== | ==The Grammar of Pausal positions== | ||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
(This is a new book) | (This is a new book) | ||
In this example, the final short vowel ‘u’ and nunation 'n' are added to the word kitāb (book) making it “kitābun” (spelled in Arabic as kitāb since that nunation is not usually written). The endings are part of the i'rab إعراب, the Arabic system of noun cases markings. There are three possible cases, the nominative, genetive, and accusative. These cases indicate how the noun is used the sentence, either as a subject, an object of a preposition, or an object of a verb. These case endings are written in certain texts such as the Qur'an but are not necessary for understanding the sentence and as such in spoken forms of Modern Standard Arabic are usually omitted. They consist, mostly, of unwritten short vowels and thus are also not usually written except in certain texts such as the Qur'an. Grammatically, the word “jadīd” (new) should also receive the same “un” as it is in the nominative case, but since that the word “jadīd” is at the end of the sentence, “un” is not added (though the rules of | In this example, the final short vowel ‘u’ and nunation 'n' are added to the word kitāb (book) making it “kitābun” (spelled in Arabic as kitāb since that nunation is not usually written). The endings are part of the i'rab إعراب, the Arabic system of noun cases markings. There are three possible cases, the nominative, genetive, and accusative. These cases indicate how the noun is used the sentence, either as a subject, an object of a preposition, or an object of a verb. These case endings are written in certain texts such as the Qur'an but are not necessary for understanding the sentence and as such in spoken forms of Modern Standard Arabic are usually omitted. They consist, mostly, of unwritten short vowels and thus are also not usually written except in certain texts such as the Qur'an. Grammatically, the word “jadīd” (new) should also receive the same “un” as it is in the nominative case, but since that the word “jadīd” is at the end of the sentence, “un” is not added (though the rules of grammar call for it, and it is written but not pronounced), which leaves the word in its original form: jadīd. | ||
If the sentence was just “This is a book”, then the final “un” will not be added to the word kitāb (book) because the word here is at a pausal position (the end of the sentence): | If the sentence was just “This is a book”, then the final “un” will not be added to the word kitāb (book) because the word here is at a pausal position (the end of the sentence): | ||
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For example, the following verse has four mid-verse pausal signs. You can notice that the pausal positions fit the meaning and context: | For example, the following verse has four mid-verse pausal signs. You can notice that the pausal positions fit the meaning and context: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|3|20}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|3|20}}|فَإِنْ حَآجُّوكَ فَقُلْ أَسْلَمْتُ وَجْهِىَ لِلَّهِ وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَنِ ۗ وَقُل لِّلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَٱلْأُمِّيِّۦنَ ءَأَسْلَمْتُمْ ۚ فَإِنْ أَسْلَمُوا۟ فَقَدِ ٱهْتَدَوا۟ ۖ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ ٱلْبَلَٰغُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرٌۢ بِٱلْعِبَادِ | ||
<br></br>So if they argue with you, say, "I have submitted myself to Allah [in Islam], and [so have] those who follow me." (Pausal position) And say to those who were given the Scripture and [to] the unlearned, "Have you submitted yourselves?" (Pausal position) And if they submit [in Islam], they are rightly guided;(Pausal position) but if they turn away - then upon you is only the [duty of] notification. (Pausal position) And Allah is Seeing of [His] servants.}} | |||
So if they argue with you, say, "I have submitted myself to Allah [in Islam], and [so have] those who follow me." (Pausal position) And say to those who were given the Scripture and [to] the unlearned, "Have you submitted yourselves?" (Pausal position) And if they submit [in Islam], they are rightly guided;(Pausal position) but if they turn away - then upon you is only the [duty of] notification. (Pausal position) And Allah is Seeing of [His] servants.}} | |||
==The pausal form as a spelling rule== | ==The pausal form as a spelling rule== | ||
| Line 140: | Line 138: | ||
In the Quran, the last word of nearly every verse rhymes with the last words of the surrounding verses. Sometimes within the same verse, words in pausal positions rhyme with each other. But there are many cases where a word that’s in context (i.e., not in a pausal position) does rhyme with another word that’s either in a pausal position or in context. This type of rhyming was never noted by Muslim scholars despite the presence of obvious examples such as: | In the Quran, the last word of nearly every verse rhymes with the last words of the surrounding verses. Sometimes within the same verse, words in pausal positions rhyme with each other. But there are many cases where a word that’s in context (i.e., not in a pausal position) does rhyme with another word that’s either in a pausal position or in context. This type of rhyming was never noted by Muslim scholars despite the presence of obvious examples such as: | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ <u>أَغْنَى وَأَقْنَى</u>﴾</span> {{Quran|53|48|}} | ||
ʾaghnā wa ʾaqnā. | Classical Arabic: ʾaghnā wa ʾaqnā. | ||
Old Hijazi: aghnē wa aqnē (the difference in pronunciation of the final letter here reflects a difference between Classical Arabic and Old Hijazi as reconstructed by van Putten)<ref>{{Cite web| title = Dissimilation of ē to ā in the Qurʾānic Consonantal Text| author = Marijn van Putten | work = academia.edu| date = | access-date = 1 March2023|url=https://www.academia.edu/90427143/Dissimilation_of_%C4%93_to_%C4%81_in_the_Qur%CA%BE%C4%81nic_Consonantal_Text| quote = Dissimilation of ē to ā in the Qurʾānic Consonantal Text | Old Hijazi: aghnē wa aqnē (the difference in pronunciation of the final letter in each word here reflects a difference between Classical Arabic and Old Hijazi as reconstructed by van Putten)<ref>{{Cite web| title = Dissimilation of ē to ā in the Qurʾānic Consonantal Text| author = Marijn van Putten | work = academia.edu| date = | access-date = 1 March2023|url=https://www.academia.edu/90427143/Dissimilation_of_%C4%93_to_%C4%81_in_the_Qur%CA%BE%C4%81nic_Consonantal_Text| quote = Dissimilation of ē to ā in the Qurʾānic Consonantal Text | ||
}} </ref> | }} </ref> | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿لَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَرَأَيْتَهُ <u>خَاشِعًا مُتَصَدِّعًا</u> مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ﴾</span> {{Quran|59|21|}} | ||
khāshiʕan mutaṣaddiʕan. (The two words are in context) | Classical Arabic: khāshiʕan mutaṣaddiʕan. (The two words are in context) | ||
Old Hijazi: khāshiʕā mutaṣaddiʕā. | Old Hijazi: khāshiʕā mutaṣaddiʕā. | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي <u>الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ</u> وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ﴾</span> | ||
Classical Arabic: al-baʾsāʾi wal-ḍarrāʾi | |||
Old Hijazi: al-baʾsāʾ wal-ḍarrāʾ | |||
This example occurs three times: {{Quran|2|177|}},{{Quran|6|42|}}, {{Quran|7|94|}}. It also occurs once in the nominative {{Quran|2|214|}} “al-baʾsāʾu wal-ḍarrāʾu”. In all these 4 occurrences, the two words were in context, not in pausal form. In Old Hijazi, the two words in the four instances are pronounced as: al-baʾsāʾ wal-ḍarrāʾ. Note that although Old Hijazi had lost the use of Hamzah/glottal stop, the Hamzah is still retained in a word-final position that is preceded by a long 'a' vowel. | |||
The previous examples were internal rhymes that appear both in a classical Arabic pronunciation and in an Old Hijazi pronunciation. But when the Quran is read in Old Hijazi, hundreds of internal rhymes appear, which means that imposing classical Arabic on the Quran has led to the loss of hundreds of internal rhymes. | The previous examples were internal rhymes that appear both in a classical Arabic pronunciation and in an Old Hijazi pronunciation. But when the Quran is read in Old Hijazi, hundreds of internal rhymes appear, which means that imposing classical Arabic on the Quran has led to the loss of hundreds of internal rhymes. | ||
| Line 162: | Line 164: | ||
In 2014, Pierre Larcher was the first to note this sort of internal rhymes in the Quran. He provided two examples. One of them is verse {{Quran|96|16|}} <ref>Marijn Van Putten & Phillip Stokes. [https://www.academia.edu/37481811/Case_in_the_Qurˀānic_Consonantal_Text_Wiener_Zeitschrift_für_die_Kunde_des_Morgenlandes_108_2018_pp_143_179 Case in the Quranic Consonantal Text]. 2018. p.12. </ref> | In 2014, Pierre Larcher was the first to note this sort of internal rhymes in the Quran. He provided two examples. One of them is verse {{Quran|96|16|}} <ref>Marijn Van Putten & Phillip Stokes. [https://www.academia.edu/37481811/Case_in_the_Qurˀānic_Consonantal_Text_Wiener_Zeitschrift_für_die_Kunde_des_Morgenlandes_108_2018_pp_143_179 Case in the Quranic Consonantal Text]. 2018. p.12. </ref> | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿نَاصِيَةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ ﴾</span> | ||
)(A lying, sinning forelock.) | )(A lying, sinning forelock.) | ||
| Line 212: | Line 214: | ||
Among the internal rhymes in the Quran, there are cases that show an unusual word choice by the Quran which clearly shows that these unusual words were chosen so that they form an internal rhyme. | Among the internal rhymes in the Quran, there are cases that show an unusual word choice by the Quran which clearly shows that these unusual words were chosen so that they form an internal rhyme. | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ <u>الْكَفَرَةُ الْفَجَرَةُ</u>﴾ {{Quran|80|42|}}</span> | ||
“Those are the disbelievers, the wicked ones” | “Those are the disbelievers, the wicked ones” | ||
Old Hijazi pronunciation: | Old Hijazi pronunciation: humu l-kafarah al-fajarah | ||
Classical Arabic pronunciation: humu l-kafaratu l- | Classical Arabic pronunciation: humu l-kafaratu l-fajarah | ||
The Quran uses two words for “disbelievers”: kāfirūn/kāfirīn (used 126 times) and kuffār (used 19 times). This verse is the only time the Quran uses the word “kafarah” for “disbelievers”. The reason for this is for the word to internally rhyme with the next word: | The Quran uses two words for “disbelievers”: kāfirūn/kāfirīn (used 126 times) and kuffār (used 19 times). This verse is the only time the Quran uses the word “kafarah” for “disbelievers”. The reason for this is for the word to internally rhyme with the next word: al-fajarah (the wicked ones). Reading the verse in Classical Arabic ruins the rhyme between the two words and thus makes this unique choice for the word pointless: | ||
humu l-kafaratu l- | humu l-kafaratu l-fajarah. | ||
The last word cannot be pronounced “l- | The last word cannot be pronounced “l-fajaratu” because it’s at the end of the verse and hence the ‘u’ marker for the nominative isn’t added. And since that nothing was added, the final feminine ‘h’ remains and doesn’t turn into a ‘t’. | ||
The verse is spelled in the Qur'an as: | The verse is spelled in the Qur'an as: humu l-kafarah al-fajararh. The classical Arabic pronunciation turns the feminine ending of the word “al-kafarah” into a ‘t’. So the word should be spelled with a ‘t’ الكفرت if it were spelled as it is pronounced. Yet the word in the Quran isn’t spelled with a ‘t’ in accordance with the claimed pausal spelling rule (and all other feminine nouns with this ending are likewise not spelled this way) which justifies the mismatch between the spelling of the Quran and the Classical Arabic pronunciation. Note how if the verse is read the same way it’s spelled then the two words rhyme with each other. This observation applies on all Old Hijazi internal rhymes except the ones where the classical Arabic pronunciation only adds final short vowels on words that don’t end with the feminine ‘ah’. In this special case there’s no mismatch between the classical Arabic pronunciation and the spelling as short vowels cannot be spelled in Arabic. An example of this is: | ||
العليم الحكيم | العليم الحكيم | ||
al-ʕalīm | al-ʕalīm al-ḥakīm (Old Hijazi) | ||
al-ʕalīmu l-ḥakīm (Classical Arabic) | al-ʕalīmu l-ḥakīm (Classical Arabic) | ||
| Line 237: | Line 239: | ||
{{Quran|21|90|}} | {{Quran|21|90|}} | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا <u>رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا</u> ۖ وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ﴾</span> | ||
Old Hijazi: raghabā wa rahabā | Old Hijazi: raghabā wa rahabā | ||
| Line 244: | Line 246: | ||
The word “raghab” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | The word “raghab” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | ||
The two words are spelled in the Quran as: raghabā wa rahabā. The classical Arabic nunation of the word “raghab” isn’t written "raghaban رغبن" in accordance with the claimed pausal spelling rule. Note how if the two words are read the same way they are spelled then they rhyme with each other. | The two words are spelled in the Quran as: raghabā wa rahabā. The classical Arabic nunation of the word “raghab” isn’t written "raghaban رغبن" in accordance with the claimed pausal spelling rule. Note how if the two words are read the same way they are spelled then they rhyme with each other. | ||
{{Quran|56|37|}}<span | {{Quran|56|37|}}<span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿عُرُبًا أَتْرَابًا﴾</span> | ||
OH: ʕurubā atrābā | OH: ʕurubā atrābā | ||
| Line 252: | Line 254: | ||
CA: ʕuruban ʾatrābā | CA: ʕuruban ʾatrābā | ||
The word “ʕurub” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | The word “ʕurub” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | ||
{{Quran|71|27|}} | {{Quran|71|27|}} | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿وَلَا يَلِدُوا إِلَّا <u>فَاجِرًا كَفَّارًا</u> ﴾</span> | ||
OH: fājirā kaffārā | OH: fājirā kaffārā | ||
| Line 261: | Line 263: | ||
CA: fājiran kaffārā | CA: fājiran kaffārā | ||
The word “fājir” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | The word “fājir” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | ||
{{Quran|77|32|}} | {{Quran|77|32|}} | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿إِنَّهَا تَرْمِي بِ<u>شَرَرٍ كَالْقَصْرِ</u>﴾</span> | ||
OH: bisharar kal-qaṣar | OH: bisharar kal-qaṣar | ||
| Line 275: | Line 277: | ||
{{Quran|104|1|}} | {{Quran|104|1|}} | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ <u>هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ</u> ﴾</span> | ||
OH: humazah lumazah | OH: humazah lumazah | ||
| Line 281: | Line 283: | ||
CA: humazatin lumazah | CA: humazatin lumazah | ||
The word “humazah” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | The word “humazah” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | ||
<span | <span lang="en" dir="rtl">﴿مِنْ شَرِّ <u>الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ</u>﴾{{Quran|114|4|}}</span> | ||
OH: min sharri l-waswās | OH: min sharri l-waswās al-khannās | ||
CA: min sharri l-waswāsi l-khannās | CA: min sharri l-waswāsi l-khannās | ||
| Line 291: | Line 293: | ||
The word “waswās” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | The word “waswās” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran. | ||
== | ==Classes of Old Hijazi internal rhymes== | ||
'''1- Individual instances.''' This includes 78 unique examples (96 with repetition) where the rhyming words share identical final consonants. As for examples where the rhyming words don't share identical final consonants, they were so many that only the strongest 17 unique instances were counted, however there are many more than this. | |||
''' | |||
'''2- Verse-final attributes of Allah.''' The majority of internal rhymes in the Quran fall under this type. Of this type, there are 7 (50 with repetition) examples where the rhyming words share identical final consonants. As for examples where the rhyming words don't share identical final consonants, there are 25 unique ones, 234 counting repeated occurrences. | |||
'''2- Verse-final attributes of Allah.''' The majority of internal rhymes in the Quran fall under this type. Of this type, there are | |||
==Verse-final attributes of Allah== | ==Verse-final attributes of Allah== | ||
| Line 349: | Line 328: | ||
ghafūr raḥīm غفور رحيم “Forgiving, Merciful” (49 attestations, such as {{Quran|2|173|}},{{Quran|2|182|}}) | ghafūr raḥīm غفور رحيم “Forgiving, Merciful” (49 attestations, such as {{Quran|2|173|}},{{Quran|2|182|}}) | ||
Note that in the rhyming of verse-final words (external rhymes), the Quran usually alternates between ūn and īn, which means that in the language of the Quran, ū rhymes with ī. Thus it’s natural to see internal rhymes such as | |||
غفور رحيم ghafūr raḥīm. | |||
| Line 356: | Line 338: | ||
Hadith was written down in the second and third Islamic centuries, the same period that Arab grammarians wrote their first works. In their works there’s no mention of any variety of Arabic that lacks nunation and final short vowels. Yet the Hadith tradition has many internal rhymes that only appear if nunation and final short vowels were dropped. This leads to the same conclusion that Van Putten reaches based on the study of pre-Islamic Arabic varieties and the early Arabic texts written in scripts other than Arabic. He says: | Hadith was written down in the second and third Islamic centuries, the same period that Arab grammarians wrote their first works. In their works there’s no mention of any variety of Arabic that lacks nunation and final short vowels. Yet the Hadith tradition has many internal rhymes that only appear if nunation and final short vowels were dropped. This leads to the same conclusion that Van Putten reaches based on the study of pre-Islamic Arabic varieties and the early Arabic texts written in scripts other than Arabic. He says: | ||
{{Quote|Marijn Van Putten. [https://www.academia.edu/71626921/Quranic_Arabic_From_its_Hijazi_Origins_to_its_Classical_Reading_Traditions_Studies_in_Semitic_Languages_and_Linguistics_106_ Quranic Arabic]. 2022. p.18|(what) the Arabic | {{Quote|Marijn Van Putten. [https://www.academia.edu/71626921/Quranic_Arabic_From_its_Hijazi_Origins_to_its_Classical_Reading_Traditions_Studies_in_Semitic_Languages_and_Linguistics_106_ Quranic Arabic]. 2022. p.18|(what) the Arabic grammarians saw fit to comment upon is a highly selective subset of forms of Arabic that were around. Exclusively taking that which the grammarians saw fit to comment upon as “Arabic”, ignores a vast amount of linguistic variation that existed in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period.}}<br /> | ||
==Examples of Old Hijazi internal rhymes in Hadith== | ==Examples of Old Hijazi internal rhymes in Hadith== | ||
The first example is from the seven aḥruf Hadith listed in a huge number of Hadith sources. The two rhyming words in this Hadith always come at a possible pausal position and sometimes at the end of the Hadith, such as: | The first example is from the seven aḥruf Hadith listed in a huge number of Hadith sources. The two rhyming words in this Hadith always come at a possible pausal position and sometimes at the end of the Hadith, such as: | ||
Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah. Dar Al-Taj. vol.6 p.137 | |||
نَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ عَلَى سَبْعَةِ أَحْرُفٍ كُلٌّ <u>شَافٍ كَافٍ</u> | |||
Old Hijazi: shāf kāf | |||
Classical Arabic: shāfin kāf, or shāfin kāfī | |||
Sahih Muslim. Matbaʿat Isa Al-Babi. vol.1 p.412 | |||
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ <u>الْمَأْثَمِ وَ الْمَغْرَمِ</u>. | |||
Old Hijazi: al-mātham wal-maghram | |||
Classical Arabic: al-maʾthami wal-maghram | |||
Classical Arabic: al-maʾthami wal-maghram | |||
Sunan Ibn Majah. Dar Al-Risalah Al-ʿilmiyyah. vol.5 p.17 | |||
اللَّهمَّ إنِّي أسألُكَ مِنَ الخيرِ كلِّهِ <u>عاجلِهِ وآجلِهِ </u>، ما عَلِمْتُ منهُ وما لم أعلَمْ ، وأعوذُ بِكَ منَ الشَّرِّ كلِّهِ <u>عاجلِهِ وآجلِهِ </u>، ما عَلِمْتُ منهُ وما لم أعلَمْ | |||
Old Hijazi: ʕājilih wa ājilih | |||
Classical Arabic: ʕājilihī wa ʾājilih | |||