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{{Quote|Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an and Late Antiquity: A Shared Heritage (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity) (pp. 107-108). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.|Nothing compels us to view the milieu of the Qur’an as a culturally undeveloped space. Indeed, the cultural and social scenario of the peripheral Hijaz is only being explored by research; yet the literature that we already possess, in particular poetry and heroic prose narratives, justifies an image of a society whose verbal sensibilities and literary formation defy all clichés of an “empty Hijaz.”<sup>10</sup> The extensive corpus of hero stories of the so-called ayyām al-ʿarab,<sup>11</sup> the “battle days of the Arab tribes disparately transmitted prose texts interspersed with poetry that report the tribal confrontations of sixth/seventh centuries, offers—despite the fact that it was written down only in retrospect—an authentic record of autochthonous nomadic culture, and provides convincing explanations of the social and ideological preconditions for the changes that set in with the Qur’anic proclamation.}} | {{Quote|Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an and Late Antiquity: A Shared Heritage (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity) (pp. 107-108). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.|Nothing compels us to view the milieu of the Qur’an as a culturally undeveloped space. Indeed, the cultural and social scenario of the peripheral Hijaz is only being explored by research; yet the literature that we already possess, in particular poetry and heroic prose narratives, justifies an image of a society whose verbal sensibilities and literary formation defy all clichés of an “empty Hijaz.”<sup>10</sup> The extensive corpus of hero stories of the so-called ayyām al-ʿarab,<sup>11</sup> the “battle days of the Arab tribes disparately transmitted prose texts interspersed with poetry that report the tribal confrontations of sixth/seventh centuries, offers—despite the fact that it was written down only in retrospect—an authentic record of autochthonous nomadic culture, and provides convincing explanations of the social and ideological preconditions for the changes that set in with the Qur’anic proclamation.}} | ||
==== Saj' and Soothsayers ==== | ==== Saj' and Soothsayers (kuhhān) ==== | ||
Many academics (and traditional Islamic scholars) have noted the comparison of the style with a pre-Islamic form of what one would consider a type of poetry or "rhymed prose" known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saj%27 Saj'].<ref>Stewart, Devin J. “Sajʿ in the ‘Qurʾān’: Prosody and Structure.” ''Journal of Arabic Literature'', vol. 21, no. 2, 1990, pp. 101–39. ''JSTOR'', <nowiki>http://www.jstor.org/stable/4183221</nowiki>. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.</ref> It was heavily associated with Soothsayers.<ref>''Ibid. pp. 103'' & Stewart, Devin (2006). "Soothsayer" Entry. ''[https://archive.org/details/EncyclopaediaOfTheQuranVol5/page/n81/mode/2up Encyclopedia Of The Quran Vol 5.] Brill. pp. 78–80.'' </ref> Neuwirth (2019) notes, although the Qur’an presents only a polemical stance toward the soothsayers, it nonetheless attests a clearly perceived formal relationship to the mantic forms of discourse of the early Arab seers, who's oracular pronouncements were marked by metrically undefined rhyming prose, which bore similarities to the early Meccan suras—particularly in their use of introductory oath clusters, a structure not found elsewhere.<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an and Late Antiquity: A Shared Heritage (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity) (p. 425). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition. </ref> Hoyland (2001) writes about pre-Islamic Arabia. | Many academics (and traditional Islamic scholars) have noted the comparison of the style with a pre-Islamic form of what one would consider a type of poetry or "rhymed prose" known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saj%27 Saj'].<ref>Stewart, Devin J. “Sajʿ in the ‘Qurʾān’: Prosody and Structure.” ''Journal of Arabic Literature'', vol. 21, no. 2, 1990, pp. 101–39. ''JSTOR'', <nowiki>http://www.jstor.org/stable/4183221</nowiki>. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.</ref> It was heavily associated with Soothsayers (sg. kāhin pl. kuhhān).<ref>''Ibid. pp. 103'' & Stewart, Devin (2006). "Soothsayer" Entry. ''[https://archive.org/details/EncyclopaediaOfTheQuranVol5/page/n81/mode/2up Encyclopedia Of The Quran Vol 5.] Brill. pp. 78–80.'' </ref> Neuwirth (2019) notes, although the Qur’an presents only a polemical stance toward the soothsayers, it nonetheless attests a clearly perceived formal relationship to the mantic forms of discourse of the early Arab seers, who's oracular pronouncements were marked by metrically undefined rhyming prose, which bore similarities to the early Meccan suras—particularly in their use of introductory oath clusters, a structure not found elsewhere.<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an and Late Antiquity: A Shared Heritage (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity) (p. 425). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition. </ref> | ||
{{Quote|Hoyland, Robert G.. Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam (Peoples of the Ancient World) (pp. 220-223). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.| | |||
Gelder (2012) discussed early examples in his paper "''Examples of Early Rhymed Prose (Sajʿ)"'', noting that in pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, as well as mantic utterances of soothsayers and diviners, it was used for special occasions and genres: pithy sayings, maxims, proverbs, speeches of heightened emotion or for solemn occasions.<ref name=":0">Gelder, Geert Jan van. "Examples of Early Rhymed Prose (Sajʿ)". ''Classical Arabic Literature: A Library of Arabic Literature Anthology'', New York, USA: New York University Press, 2012, pp. 110-113. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814745113.003.0040</nowiki></ref> An example provided is from the mother of the pre-Islamic poet-brigand Taʾabbaṭa Sharrā, lamenting her son: ''wā-bnāh wa-bna l-layl * laysa bi-zummayl * sharūbun lil-qayl * raqūdun bil-layl * wa-wādin dhī hawl * ʾajazta bil-layl * taḍribu bidh-dhayl * bi-rajlin ka-th-thawl O son, son of the night * he is no coward taking flight * who drinks at noon bright * or sleeps at night * many a wadi full of fright * you crossed at night * shaking your coat’s hem * with men like bees in a swarm.''<ref name=":0" /> | |||
Hoyland (2001) writes about pre-Islamic Arabia. | |||
{{Quote|Hoyland, Robert G.. Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam (Peoples of the Ancient World) (pp. 220-223). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.|When, after communion with the spirits, diviners gave their response to those who had sought them out, they did so in a highly stylised language, in rhymed prose of lofty style and cryptic diction. This distinctive style of divinatory speech was evidently employed to highlight the supernatural origin of the message, for the diviners were but the mouthpiece of a spirit. Often they would begin with a string of oaths, issued fast and hard like a drum roll, which formed the prelude to their verdict. It was a common practice to test prospective diviners by challenging them to identify a concealed object. Here is the reply of Salma al-’Udhri to such a challenge by two members of the tribe of Khuza’a, who are considering employing him to adjudicate in a contest of honour between them about who has the better horse (Ibn Habib, Mun. 110): <i>I swear by the light and the moon (ahlifu bin-nûri wa-l-qamri) by the lightning flash and by fate (was-sana wad-dahri) by the winds and the cleaving (war-riyâhi wa-l-fatri) You have hidden for me a vulture’s corpse (la-qad khaba’tum lî juththata nasri) in a bundle of hair (fi ‘ikmin min sha’ri) in the possession of the youth from the Banu Nasr (ma’a l-fatâ min banî Nasri)</i> | |||
Having passed this test, the diviners would then proceed to give their answer to the question set before them. Here, for example, is the reply of a diviner of ‘Usfan to two members of the tribe of Quraysh, who had asked which of them was the more noble (Ibn Habib, Mun. 108): <i>I swear by dust-coloured gazelles (halaftu bi-azbin ‘ufri) in mirage-glinting deserts (bi-lamma‘ati qafri) roaming among thorn-trees and lote-trees (yarudna bayna silmin wa-sidri) The highest degree of glory and honour (inna sana’ al-majdi thumma l-fakhri) is ever to be found in ‘A’idh (la-fî ‘A’idh ilâ âkhiri d-dahri) </i> | Having passed this test, the diviners would then proceed to give their answer to the question set before them. Here, for example, is the reply of a diviner of ‘Usfan to two members of the tribe of Quraysh, who had asked which of them was the more noble (Ibn Habib, Mun. 108): <i>I swear by dust-coloured gazelles (halaftu bi-azbin ‘ufri) in mirage-glinting deserts (bi-lamma‘ati qafri) roaming among thorn-trees and lote-trees (yarudna bayna silmin wa-sidri) The highest degree of glory and honour (inna sana’ al-majdi thumma l-fakhri) is ever to be found in ‘A’idh (la-fî ‘A’idh ilâ âkhiri d-dahri) </i> | ||