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It’s been taken for granted by both academics and Muslim scholars that Classical Arabic was the language of the Quran and Arabs before Islam and during the first three centuries of Islam. This is reflected in the way Muslims recite the Quran and Hadith today. It’s even reflected in all Arabic historical movies and TV works depicting the early centuries of Islam such as the “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDVe6EZ4-Xo Al-Risālah]” | {{#seo: | ||
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It’s been taken for granted by both academics and Muslim scholars that Classical Arabic was the language of the Quran and Arabs before Islam and during the first three centuries of Islam. This is reflected in the way Muslims recite the Quran and Hadith today. It’s even reflected in all Arabic historical movies and TV works depicting the early centuries of Islam such as the movie “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDVe6EZ4-Xo Al-Risālah]” about the life of Muhammad where all the actors are shown speaking in Classical Arabic with its two main hallmarks: full case inflection (final short vowels and nunation or Tanwīn) and full use of the Hamzah (glottal stop). This belief is reinforced by the popular claim by Muslim scholars that the readings tradition of the Quran, which the Quran is recited based on, were transmitted to us verbatim from the mouth of Muhammad. And all of these readings employ a full case system and heavily use the Hamzah. But recent academic research pioneered by Ahmad Al-Jallad of Ohio University and Marijn Van Putten of the University of Leiden, shows that the Quran 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. | |||
Old Hijazi differs markedly in pronunciation and grammar from the later classical Arabic that is imposed upon the Quran. This imposition led to the mismatch between the pronunciation and the text, which means the Quran was originally written phonetically in Old Hijazi. Old Hijazi sounds like modern Arabic vernacular as modern Arabic dialects are completely devoid of the case system and devoid of the Hamzah to varying degrees. | Old Hijazi differs markedly in pronunciation and grammar from the later classical Arabic that is imposed upon the Quran. This was due to the formally Hijazi text being analyzed and read in a Southern Mesopotamian environment with different norms influencing its reading. This imposition led to the mismatch between the pronunciation and the text, which means the Quran was originally written phonetically in Old Hijazi. Old Hijazi sounds more like most modern Arabic vernacular as most modern Arabic dialects are completely devoid of the case system and devoid of the Hamzah to varying degrees. | ||
The characteristics of Old Hijazi | The characteristics of Old Hijazi have been revealed by (1) early Arabic texts written in Greek and Hebrew letters which showed what the early defective Arabic script couldn’t, (2) the investigation into the Quranic Consonantal Text (QCT) which is the underlying consonantal skeleton (in Arabic, rasm رسم) of the Qur'an that originally lacked dots and other signs. | ||
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== Main characteristics of Old Hijazi == | == Main characteristics of Old Hijazi == | ||
The first five characteristics are proven by (a) the early Arabic scripts written in Greek and Hebrew letters, (b) the linguistic analysis of the Quranic consonantal text (QCT) which is the original text of the Quran that’s devoid of dots and signs that were added later. | The first five characteristics are proven by (a) the early Arabic scripts written in Greek and Hebrew letters, (b) the linguistic analysis of the Quranic consonantal text (QCT) which is the original text of the Quran that’s devoid of dots and signs that were added later. | ||
'''1- Lack of nunation and final short vowels except in construct.''' | '''1- Lack of nunation and final short vowels except in construct'''<ref>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], p.282</ref>'''.''' | ||
E.g. | E.g. | ||
| Line 33: | Line 43: | ||
'''2- The feminine ending is always “ah” and it only turns to “at” in construct or when a pronoun gets attached to it.''' E.g. : | '''2- The feminine ending is always “ah” and it only turns to “at” in construct or when a pronoun gets attached to it'''<ref>Marijn Van Putten & Phillip Stokes, [https://www.academia.edu/37481811/Case_in_the_Qur%CB%80%C4%81nic_Consonantal_Text_Wiener_Zeitschrift_f%C3%BCr_die_Kunde_des_Morgenlandes_108_2018_pp_143_179 Case in the Quranic Consonantal Text], p165</ref>'''.''' E.g. : | ||
المدرسة جديدة (the school is new) | المدرسة جديدة (the school is new) | ||
| Line 50: | Line 60: | ||
'''3- The indefinite accusative marker is always an ‘ā’ long vowel.''' E.g. : | '''3- The indefinite accusative marker is always an ‘ā’ long vowel'''<ref>Marijn Van Putten & Phillip Stokes, [https://www.academia.edu/37481811/Case_in_the_Qur%CB%80%C4%81nic_Consonantal_Text_Wiener_Zeitschrift_f%C3%BCr_die_Kunde_des_Morgenlandes_108_2018_pp_143_179 Case in the Quranic Consonantal Text], p158</ref>'''.''' E.g. : | ||
اشتريت كتابا جديدا (I bought a new a book). | اشتريت كتابا جديدا (I bought a new a book). | ||
| Line 59: | Line 69: | ||
'''4- The third person masculine singular pronoun is always a mere ‘-h’ with no vowel attached to it.''' E.g. | '''4- The third person masculine singular pronoun is always a mere ‘-h’ with no vowel attached to it'''<ref>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], p.275</ref>'''.''' E.g. | ||
كتابه جديد (His book is new). | كتابه جديد (His book is new). | ||
| Line 80: | Line 90: | ||
'''5- The Alef Maqsūrah ى is pronounced as ē.''' E.g. : | '''5- The Alef Maqsūrah ى is pronounced as ē'''<ref>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], p.24</ref>'''.''' E.g. : | ||
هدى | هدى | ||
| Line 89: | Line 99: | ||
'''6- Lack of Hamzah (glottal stop).''' | '''6- Lack of Hamzah (glottal stop)'''<ref>Van Putten, [https://www.academia.edu/35556452/Hamzah_in_the_Quranic_Consonantal_Text_Orientalia_87_1_2018_pp_93_120 Hamzah in the Quranic Consonantal Text], p.97</ref>'''.''' | ||
This characteristic is proven by (a) and (b) mentioned earlier. It’s also proven by early Arab grammarians’ description of the dialect of Quraysh which Muhammad belonged to. | This characteristic is proven by (a) and (b) mentioned earlier. It’s also proven by early Arab grammarians’ description of the dialect of Quraysh which Muhammad belonged to. | ||
| Line 107: | Line 117: | ||
'''7- The ض letter (ḍ) sounds very similar to the sound of ظ (ḍh) as apposed to the modern pronunciation fo ض as ḍ (emphatic d).''' | '''7- The ض letter (ḍ) sounds very similar to the sound of ظ (ḍh) as apposed to the modern pronunciation fo ض as ḍ (emphatic d)'''<ref>Van Putten, [https://www.academia.edu/39727853/Inferring_the_Phonetics_of_Quranic_Arabic_from_the_Quranic_Consonantal_Text Inferring the Phonetics of Quranic Arabic from the Quranic Consonantal Text], p.4-5</ref>'''.''' | ||
This characteristic is proven by QCT analysis (specifically, evidence based on rhyme) and early Arab grammarians’ description of the sounds of the Arabic letters. | This characteristic is proven by QCT analysis (specifically, evidence based on rhyme) and early Arab grammarians’ description of the sounds of the Arabic letters. | ||
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<BR> | <BR> | ||
The careful and dispassionate study of Arabia’s ancient epigraphy reveals a picture quite dissimilar from that presented in Muslim historical sources. The Arabic of the grammarians is not met with; instead, the peninsula displays a dazzling degree of linguistic diversity. The Old Arabic dialects differ in ways not recorded by the grammarians, while features that figure prominently in the grammatical manuals are nowhere to be found. Consider nunation (tanwīn)—this is a standard feature of Classical Arabic, but in the consonantal South Semitic writing systems, Greek transcriptions, and the Graeco-Arabic inscription A1, the feature is completely absent. While the absence of nunation in Arabic orthography is usually written off as a convention, there is no reason to assume such conventions when Arabic is written in other scripts, much less before the development of the Arabic script itself. These attestations can mean only one thing: nunation had disappeared in most forms of Old Arabic.}} | The careful and dispassionate study of Arabia’s ancient epigraphy reveals a picture quite dissimilar from that presented in Muslim historical sources. The Arabic of the grammarians is not met with; instead, the peninsula displays a dazzling degree of linguistic diversity. The Old Arabic dialects differ in ways not recorded by the grammarians, while features that figure prominently in the grammatical manuals are nowhere to be found. Consider nunation (tanwīn)—this is a standard feature of Classical Arabic, but in the consonantal South Semitic writing systems, Greek transcriptions, and the Graeco-Arabic inscription A1, the feature is completely absent. While the absence of nunation in Arabic orthography is usually written off as a convention, there is no reason to assume such conventions when Arabic is written in other scripts, much less before the development of the Arabic script itself. These attestations can mean only one thing: nunation had disappeared in most forms of Old Arabic.}} | ||
=== Why the imposition occurred === | |||
The Hijazi Arabic text of the Qur'an was analyzed and read well outside of the Hijaz after Muhammad and his companions died, particularly in areas covered by modern-day Iraq (where most early Islamic texts (including Quranic exegesis, historical chronicles, genealogical works, and legal texts) emerge from between 750-1000 BCE)<ref>Miller, Nathaniel A. (2024). ''The Emergence of Arabic Poetry: From Regional Identities to Islamic Canonization. pp. 7.'' Kinde Edition. United States: University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated.</ref>, where Nadji linguistic influence reshaped these traditions, transforming a Hijazi text into what became known as “Classical Arabic,” based on grammatical norms developed in Southern Mesopotamia rather than its original environment. | |||
{{Quote|Miller, Nathaniel. (2024). <i>The Emergence of Arabic Poetry: From Regional Identities to Islamic Canonization (pp. 35-36).</i> Kindle Edition. United States: University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated.|The Quran likely formed the first object of study in the early conquest garrison towns. The establishment of a definitive text initially preoccupied Muslims, rather than interpretation per se. <sup>103</sup> According to tradition, the third caliph ʿUthmān had established the consonantal skeleton of the Quranic text and distributed copies to the garrison towns. <sup>104</sup> | |||
This did not settle disagreements, since alternative readings remained in circulation, like those of the blind Quran specialist Ibn Masʿūd (d. ca. 653), who settled in Kufa in 642 and spent most of the rest of his life there. <sup>105</sup> | |||
More crucially, since any given set of consonants in Arabic can be vocalized in multiple forms, disagreement arose over the correct one (most of these, it should be noted, will appear very minor to non-specialists). | |||
<i>Reading systems proliferated but were pared down in time to seven canonical systems (al-qirāʾāt). The latest founder of such a system was al-Kisāʾī of Kufa (d. 804). <sup>106</sup> Of the seven systems, three were Kufan and one was Basran. Not only did the Basran and Kufan systems draw more extensively on Najdi dialects in reading the Quran, but the Hijazi and Syrian systems (one each from Mecca, Medina, and Damascus) were eventually heavily influenced by Iraqi/ Najdi reading traditions in the late 700s. <sup>107</sup> The result was synthetic and remained polyphonous, but in essence a Hijazi text was recast as “classical Arabic,” conforming to grammatical norms drawn up in a southern Mesopotamian milieu. <sup>108</sup></i> | |||
By the second half of the eighth century, there were clearly independent (but also interlinked) disciplines of tafsīr (exegesis), grammar (naḥw), and philology/ lexicography. The case that the early interest in grammar developed from the qurrāʾ (Quran reciting specialists) is the clearest, <sup>109</sup> but the earliest exegetes (mufassirūn) and philologists also emerged from the same milieu. Exactly how is unclear. The first extant written lexicon (al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad’s [d. Basra 791] Kitāb al-ʿAyn), the first grammatical text (Sībawayhi’s [d. Basra, 793] Kitāb), and the first extant tafsīr (that of Muqātil ibn Sulaymān [d. Basra, 767]) all demonstrate such methodological and terminological sophistication that a major embryonic period must be posited. The geographical nexus of Basra in particular was critical for interrelated developments, but there was, nevertheless, also independent development elsewhere.}} | |||
== Early transcriptions of Arabic in Greek and Hebrew scripts == | == Early transcriptions of Arabic in Greek and Hebrew scripts == | ||
| Line 383: | Line 403: | ||
E.g. | E.g. | ||
أعطى aʕṭā | |||
Αγτα | |||
أتى atē | |||
Ατε | Ατε | ||
'''4- The “L” of the definite article doesn’t assimilate to the following coronal consonant'''<ref>Ibid, p.49</ref>. | '''4- The “L” of the definite article doesn’t assimilate to the following coronal consonant'''<ref>Ibid, p.49</ref>. | ||
E.g.<ref>Ibid, p.80</ref> | E.g.<ref>Ibid, p.80</ref> | ||
| Line 408: | Line 429: | ||
ʕabdərahṃān | ʕabdərahṃān | ||
'''5- The pronominal suffix of the 3<sup>rd</sup> person masculine plural takes only the “hum” form. While classical Arabic has both “hum” and “him”.''' | '''5- The pronominal suffix of the 3<sup>rd</sup> person masculine plural takes only the “hum” form. While classical Arabic has both “hum” and “him”.''' | ||
| Line 418: | Line 440: | ||
βη αυθάνϳὑμ | βη αυθάνϳὑμ | ||
'''6- The indefinite accusative is marked with ā instead of classical Arabic “an”.''' | '''6- The indefinite accusative is marked with ā instead of classical Arabic “an”.''' | ||
| Line 430: | Line 453: | ||
χαϳμετ σεϳλουμ [ḫaymet seylūm] خيمة سيلوم <ref>Ibid, p.91</ref> | χαϳμετ σεϳλουμ [ḫaymet seylūm] خيمة سيلوم <ref>Ibid, p.91</ref> | ||
'''8- ā is realized as [ē] unless there is an inhibiting factor, that is, an emphatic or a labial'''<ref>Ibid, p.51</ref>'''.''' | |||
E.g. | |||
فسالت | |||
φασέλετ | |||
fa-sēlet<ref>Ibid, p.79</ref> | |||
| Line 720: | Line 746: | ||
=== Evidence Against the Pausal Spelling Rule === | === Evidence Against the Pausal Spelling Rule === | ||
Historical linguists Van Putten and Phillip Stokes note that such a spelling convention is unique among the languages of the world<ref>Marijn Van Putten & Phillip Stokes, Case in the Quranic Consonantal Text, | Historical linguists Van Putten and Phillip Stokes note that such a spelling convention is unique among the languages of the world<ref>Marijn Van Putten & Phillip Stokes, [https://www.academia.edu/37481811/Case_in_the_Qur%CB%80%C4%81nic_Consonantal_Text_Wiener_Zeitschrift_f%C3%BCr_die_Kunde_des_Morgenlandes_108_2018_pp_143_179 Case in the Quranic Consonantal Text], p149</ref> . They also challenge the pausal spelling convention by the following arguments based on the linguistic analysis of QCT: | ||
==== 1- Internal Rhymes. ==== | ==== 1- Internal Rhymes. ==== | ||
| Line 790: | Line 816: | ||
Ghanim Qadduuri, Rasm Al-Mishaf, p357</ref> | Ghanim Qadduuri, Rasm Al-Mishaf, p357</ref> | ||
Khalaf’s statement agrees with what early grammarians report. Mukhtār Al-Ghawth says in his book "The dialect of Quraish": “Since that the Hamzah is hard to pronounce, some early Arabic dialects leaned towards dropping the hamzah. This was most notable in the dialect of Quraish as all early sources agree that this dialect lacked the hamzah.” | Khalaf’s statement agrees with what early grammarians report. Mukhtār Al-Ghawth says in his book "The dialect of Quraish": “Since that the Hamzah is hard to pronounce, some early Arabic dialects leaned towards dropping the hamzah. This was most notable in the dialect of Quraish as all early sources agree that this dialect lacked the hamzah.” <ref>[https://waqfeya.net/book.php?bid=1006 لغة قريش]، مختار الغوث، ص39</ref> | ||
The enforcement of Hamzah on the Quran is apparent in the instances of pseudo-correct application of the Hamzah. Van Putten lists 12 examples<ref>Marijn Van Putten, Quranic Arabic, p.158-167</ref> of such cases, such as the word kās كاس (cup) which is read as kaʾs in all canonical readings. | The enforcement of Hamzah on the Quran is apparent in the instances of pseudo-correct application of the Hamzah. Van Putten lists 12 examples<ref>Marijn Van Putten, Quranic Arabic, p.158-167</ref> of such cases, such as the word kās كاس (cup) which is read as kaʾs in all canonical readings. | ||