Internal Rhymes as Evidence for Old Hijazi: Difference between revisions

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It has traditionally been taken for granted that the Qur'an was composed in Classical Arabic. But recent research, pioneered by Ahmad Al-Jallad of Ohio University and Marijn Van Putten of the University of Leiden, has shown that the Qur'an was actually composed in a different language, which they call Old Hijazi, the ancient vernacular dialect of the Hijaz region which includes Makkah and Medina.<ref>{{cite book | author = Marijn van Putten | date = 2022 | title = Quranic Arabic: From Its Hijazi Origins to Its Classical Reading Traditions | publisher = Brill | pages = 216 | isbn = 978-90-04-50624-4 | oclc = 1280309082 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HDG5zgEACAAJ}}</ref><ref>Ahmad Al-Jallad. The Damascus Psalm Fragment. p59</ref>
It has traditionally been taken for granted that the Qur'an was composed in Classical Arabic. But recent research, pioneered by Ahmad Al-Jallad of Ohio University and Marijn Van Putten of the University of Leiden, has shown that the Qur'an was actually composed in a different language, which they call Old Hijazi, the ancient vernacular dialect of the Hijaz region which includes Makkah and Medina.<ref>{{cite book | author = Marijn van Putten | date = 2022 | title = Quranic Arabic: From Its Hijazi Origins to Its Classical Reading Traditions | publisher = Brill | pages = 216 | isbn = 978-90-04-50624-4 | oclc = 1280309082 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HDG5zgEACAAJ}}</ref><ref>Ahmad Al-Jallad. [https://www.academia.edu/43189829/Al_Jallad_2020_The_Damascus_Psalm_Fragment_Middle_Arabic_and_the_Legacy_of_Old_Ḥigāzī_w_a_contribution_by_R_Vollandt The Damascus Psalm Fragment] . 2020. p59</ref>


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:
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Historical linguist Marijn Van Putten says:
Historical linguist Marijn Van Putten says:


{{Quote|Marijn Van Putten, Case in the Quranic Consonantal Text, p7,14|While such a ‘pausal’ spelling convention is, of course, not impossible, such a spelling convention is – to our knowledge – unique among the languages of the world. Despite this, very few scholars have attempted to explain the origins of themechanics of Arabic pausal spelling and rather just cite it as a given fact. The few authors that comment on it (e.g. Rabin 1951: 26; Blau 1977: 12) often explain the pausal spelling as the result of authors writing very slowly, while sounding out each word individually.)) ((The idea is that, as words were sounded out one-by-one in isolation before being committed to writing, they would take on their pausal form and be pelled as such, which eventually became conventionalised into the pausal spelling (Nöldeke et al. 2013: 408; Blau 1977:12).18 This of course presupposes that the language of the Qurˀān did have full case inflection and would only lose nunation and its case vowels in pause}}
{{Quote|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. p7,14|While such a ‘pausal’ spelling convention is, of course, not impossible, such a spelling convention is – to our knowledge – unique among the languages of the world. Despite this, very few scholars have attempted to explain the origins of themechanics of Arabic pausal spelling and rather just cite it as a given fact. The few authors that comment on it (e.g. Rabin 1951: 26; Blau 1977: 12) often explain the pausal spelling as the result of authors writing very slowly, while sounding out each word individually.)) ((The idea is that, as words were sounded out one-by-one in isolation before being committed to writing, they would take on their pausal form and be pelled as such, which eventually became conventionalised into the pausal spelling (Nöldeke et al. 2013: 408; Blau 1977:12).18 This of course presupposes that the language of the Qurˀān did have full case inflection and would only lose nunation and its case vowels in pause}}




Van Putten challenges the pausal convention by two arguments:
Van Putten challenges the pausal convention by two arguments:


A- The treatment of the final ī in the Quran is usually lost in pause, yet it’s kept in context. This means that the spelling of the Quran isn’t based on the pausal rule. Otherwise, the treatment of the final ī wouldn’t have changed between pausal and non-pausal positions<ref>Previous source, p.14</ref>.
A- The treatment of the final ī in the Quran is usually lost in pause, yet it’s kept in context. This means that the spelling of the Quran isn’t based on the pausal rule. Otherwise, the treatment of the final ī wouldn’t have changed between pausal and non-pausal positions<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.14</ref>.


B- Internal rhymes in the Quran that only show up if every word was pronounced in the pausal form. Which means that what was thought to be a special treatment for the pronunciation of pausal words was actually the norm for almost all words in the original language of the Quran. The mismatch between the Quranic spelling and the Classical Arabic pronunciation is the result of imposing classical Arabic on a text that wasn’t written in Classical Arabic. The Quran was written in a language that Van Putten and Ahmad Al-Jallad call “Old Hijazi”.
B- Internal rhymes in the Quran that only show up if every word was pronounced in the pausal form. Which means that what was thought to be a special treatment for the pronunciation of pausal words was actually the norm for almost all words in the original language of the Quran. The mismatch between the Quranic spelling and the Classical Arabic pronunciation is the result of imposing classical Arabic on a text that wasn’t written in Classical Arabic. The Quran was written in a language that Van Putten and Ahmad Al-Jallad call “Old Hijazi”.
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==Old Hijazi internal rhymes==
==Old Hijazi internal rhymes==
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>Previous source, 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 dir="rtl" lang="en">﴿‌نَاصِيَةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ ۝﴾</span>  
<span dir="rtl" lang="en">﴿‌نَاصِيَةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ ۝﴾</span>  
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Marijn Van Putten discovered a few more internal rhymes, including this general rhyming scheme:  
Marijn Van Putten discovered a few more internal rhymes, including this general rhyming scheme:  


{{Quote|Marijn Van Putten, Case in the Quranic Consonantal, p.13|the epithets of Allah which generally form verse-final internal rhymes in the shape CaC(ī/ū)C in pairs of two, e.g. Q2:173, 182, 192 ġafūrun raḥīm /ġafūr raḥīm/ ‘forgiving, merciful’ Q4:26; Q8:71; Q9:15 ˁalīmun ḥakīm /ˁalīm ḥakīm/ ‘knowing, wise’ Q64:18 al-ˁazīzu l-ḥakīm /al-ˁazīz al-ḥakīm/ ‘the powerful, the wise’ Q35:30, 34; 42:23 ġafūrun šakūr /ġafūr šakūr/ ‘forgiving, appreciative}}
{{Quote|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.13|the epithets of Allah which generally form verse-final internal rhymes in the shape CaC(ī/ū)C in pairs of two, e.g. Q2:173, 182, 192 ġafūrun raḥīm /ġafūr raḥīm/ ‘forgiving, merciful’ Q4:26; Q8:71; Q9:15 ˁalīmun ḥakīm /ˁalīm ḥakīm/ ‘knowing, wise’ Q64:18 al-ˁazīzu l-ḥakīm /al-ˁazīz al-ḥakīm/ ‘the powerful, the wise’ Q35:30, 34; 42:23 ġafūrun šakūr /ġafūr šakūr/ ‘forgiving, appreciative}}


Based on the evidence of internal rhymes in the Quran, Van Putten concludes that the original language of the Quran had the following features that sets it apart from classical Arabic<ref>Previous source, p.13</ref>:
Based on the evidence of internal rhymes in the Quran, Van Putten concludes that the original language of the Quran had the following features that sets it apart from classical Arabic<ref>Marijn Van Putten. [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]. p.13</ref>:


1- Lack of nunation.
1- Lack of nunation.
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The word “sharar” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran.  
The word “sharar” wasn’t used anywhere else in the Quran.  
Note: In the canonical readings, the final word is read “qaṣr”. But a number of non-canonical readings read it as “qaṣar”<ref>Abdul Latif Al-Khatib, Muʕjam al-qirāʾāt, dar sad al-din, vol.10 p.248, 251,  معجم القراءات لعبد اللطيف الخطيب، دار سعد الدين </ref> which makes it rhyme perfectly with the preceding word “sharar”. The final word of the next verse "ṣufr" is non-canonically read as ṣufur.<ref>Previous source, p.251</ref>
Note: In the canonical readings, the final word is read “qaṣr”. But a number of non-canonical readings read it as “qaṣar”<ref>Abdul Latif Al-Khatib. Muʕjam al-qirāʾāt. dar sad al-din. vol.10 p.248, 251,  معجم القراءات لعبد اللطيف الخطيب، دار سعد الدين </ref> which makes it rhyme perfectly with the preceding word “sharar”. The final word of the next verse "ṣufr" is non-canonically read as ṣufur.<ref>Abdul Latif Al-Khatib. Muʕjam al-qirāʾāt. dar sad al-din. p.251</ref>




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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. Which 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. Which 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, Quranic Arabic, p.18|(what) the Arabic the 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 />
{{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 the 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==
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