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→‎Orality: Have added a section on the formulaic language of the Qur'an, citing Andrew Bannister as a source an provided examples from his 2014 book, and Nicolai Sinai's summary and approval.
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(→‎Orality: Have added a section on the formulaic language of the Qur'an, citing Andrew Bannister as a source an provided examples from his 2014 book, and Nicolai Sinai's summary and approval.)
 
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• <i>“Agonistically toned”</i>: Oral cultures generally throw down dares, puzzles, and provocations for its listeners to keep them engaged. “Proverbs and riddles are not used simply to store knowledge but to engage others in verbal and intellectual combat: utterance of one proverb or riddle challenges hearers to top it with a more apposite or a contradictory one.” On a similar note excessively violent material with gory detail, as well as rich declarations of praise, are common. The audience is not only to be interested; they must react. We have seen already the ‘challenge verse’ of Yūnus 10:38. More examples would include the very colorful explanations of Paradise and frightening imagery of damnation.}}
• <i>“Agonistically toned”</i>: Oral cultures generally throw down dares, puzzles, and provocations for its listeners to keep them engaged. “Proverbs and riddles are not used simply to store knowledge but to engage others in verbal and intellectual combat: utterance of one proverb or riddle challenges hearers to top it with a more apposite or a contradictory one.” On a similar note excessively violent material with gory detail, as well as rich declarations of praise, are common. The audience is not only to be interested; they must react. We have seen already the ‘challenge verse’ of Yūnus 10:38. More examples would include the very colorful explanations of Paradise and frightening imagery of damnation.}}
=== Formulaic Language ===
Bannister (2014) notes that the Qur'an contains lots of [https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199772810/obo-9780199772810-0212.xml Formulaic Language],<ref>Bannister (Andrew G.), ''An Oral-Formulaic Study of the Qur’an'', Plymouth, Lexington Books, 2014, 332 p. <nowiki>ISBN 978-0-7391-8357-1</nowiki></ref> summarised by professor Nicolai Sinai (2017).{{Quote|Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (pp. 33-34). Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition. |2=A third general feature of the Qur’an that is fittingly highlighted at this juncture is its strongly formulaic nature.<sup>26</sup> The theological predications just mentioned provide some of the best examples of this phenomenon. Thus, the clausula ‘God has power over everything’ (inna llāha alā kulli shayin qadīr) occurs no less than eight times across the entire Qur’an, and there are a further four occurrences of the structurally analogous phrase ‘God is knowledgeable of everything’ (inna llāha bi-kulli shayin alīm).
As a computer-based study by Andrew Bannister has shown, if one defines a formula as a sequence of three ‘bases’ (= words stripped of any desinential vowels, suffixed pronouns, and proclitic particles including the definite article) that recurs five times or more in the Qur’an, then the entire text will turn out to have a formulaic density of 21.86 per cent. That is to say, almost 22 per cent of the Qur’an’s words belong to three-word phrases that are repeated with identical inflection five times or more within the corpus.<sup>27</sup> If one were to require merely a recurrence of the same word or even root, the text’s formulaic density would be still higher.<sup>28</sup> Unsurprisingly, the fact that the Qur’an contains a very significant number of identical or near-identical phrases and even verses was already noted by medieval Muslim scholars, who speak of verses that are ‘similar to one another’.<sup>29</sup>}}Bannister (2014) provides 30 examples of formulaic systems of closely related formulaic phrases made up of root sequences (usually the same word), but with flexibility and variety allowing high adaptability to different qur’anic contexts.<ref>Bannister, Andrew G.. ''An Oral-Formulaic Study of the Qur'an (p. 278 - 307).'' Lexington Books. Kindle Edition.</ref> The roots the words contain are shown in the tables are for key nouns, adjectives and verbs that make up the main components of the sentences. While the others are simply grammatical particles, prepositions and/or conjunctions; such as 'bi'; usually meaning 'by/with/in',<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/02_b/000_b.html bi (ب) Lanes Lexicon] Quranic Research: [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_0141.pdf Book 1 p. 141], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_0142.pdf p.142], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_0143.pdf p.143], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_0144.pdf p.144]</ref> 'fa' (and so/therefore),<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/20_f/000_f.html fa (ف) Quranic Research] Lane's Lexicon: Book 1, [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2321.pdf p.2321], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2322.pdf p.2322], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2323.pdf p.2323]</ref> 'la' (no/negation),<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/23_l/000_l.html la (لا) Quranic Research] Lane's Lexicon Book 1, [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2641.pdf p.2641], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_3006.pdf p.3006], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_3007.pdf p.3007]</ref> 'wa' (and),<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/27_w/000_w.html wa (و) Quranic Research] Lane's Lexicon  [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2913.pdf p.2913], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_3048.pdf p.3048]</ref> 'al/l' (the/of (the/definite particle)),<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/01_A/115_Al.html al/l (ال) Quranic Research] Lane's Lexicon Book 1 [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_0074.pdf p.74], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_0075.pdf p.75]</ref> 'huwa' (he / it for a grammatically masculine object),<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/26_h/159_hwe.html huwa (هو) Quranic Research] Lane's Lexicon [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_3046.pdf p.3046]</ref> 'min' (from/of)<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/24_m/173_mn.html min (من) Quranic Research] Lane's Lexicon [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_3024.pdf p.3024]</ref>, 'fi' (in)<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/20_f/230_fe.html fi (في) Quranic Research] Lane's Lexicon [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2466.pdf p.2466], [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2467.pdf p.2467]</ref> etc.
This first example illustrates the flexibility of the typical system; it can be seen at work in the following Qur'an verse:<ref>Ibid. pp. 277-278</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|
|
|
|(
|zyn +
|kwkb
|
|-
|zyn +
|smw +
|dnw +
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|(
|ṣbḥ +
|ḥfẓ
|
|}
* 'innā <u>zayyannā l-samā'a l-dunyā bi-zīnatin l-kawākibi</u> (Q. 37: 6)
* wa-<u>zayyannā l-samā'a l-dunyā bi-maṣābīḥa wa-ḥifẓan</u> (Q. 41: 12)
* wa-la-qad <u>zayyannā l-samā'a l-dunyā bi-maṣābīḥa</u> (Q. 67: 5)
A second example of the flexibility inherent in the Qur’an’s formulaic diction can be seen in the system shown in the table below.<ref>Ibid. pp. 278</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|'yy
|)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|skhr
|)
| +
|lyl +
|nhr +
|shms +
|qmr
|-
|khiq
|)
|
|
|
|
|
|}
This system generates formulas at the start of several qur’anic verses:
* wa-min 'āyātihi l-laylu wa-l-<u>nahāru wa-l-shamsu wa-l-qamaru</u> (Q. 41: 37).
* wa-<u>sakhkhara</u> la-kumu l-<u>layla wa-l-nahāra wa-l-shamsa wa-l-qamara</u> (Q. 16: 12; cf. 14: 33).
* wa-huwa lladhī <u>khalaqa</u> <u>l-layla wa-l-nahāra wa-l-shamsa wa-l-qamara</u> (Q. 21: 33; cf. 7: 54).
Another example in the system shown in the table below can be seen in at least eight qur’anic verses; three examples are listed below that:<ref>Ibid. pp. 279-280</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
|
|
|
|
|(
|khrj
|)
|
|
|
|(
|kll +
|shy'
|
|-
|nzl +
|smw +
|myw
| +
|(
|brk
|)
| +
|nbt
| +
|(
|jnn +
|ḥbb +
|ḥṣb
|-
|
|
|
|
|(
|khlṭ
|)
|
|
|
|(
|'rḍ
|
|
|}
* wa-huwa lladhī <u>'anzala</u> min-al-<u>samā'i mā'-an</u> fa-<u>'akhrajnā</u> bi-hi <u>nabāta kulli shay'in</u> (Q. 6: 99)
* <u>nazzalnā</u> min <u>samā' mā' mubārak 'anbatnā</u> hi <u>jannāt ḥabb ḥaṣīd</u> (Q. 50: 9)
* ka-<u>mā'in 'anzalnā</u>-hu min-a l-<u>samā'i</u> fa-<u>khtalaṭa</u> bi-hi <u>nabātu l-' arḍi</u> (Q. 10: 24)
The system shown in the table below generates formulas in approximately twelve qur’anic verses; five examples are shown below to give a flavor of the kind of formulas seen.<ref>Ibid. pp. 281-282</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|bshr
|)
|
|
|
|
|(
|dkhl
|
|)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|dkhl
|)
| +
|'mn +
|'ml +
|ṣlḥ +
|(
|hdy +
|rbb +
|)
|jnn +
|jry +
|tḥt +
|nhr
|(+n'm)
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|(
|...
|
|)
|
|
|
|
|
|}
* wa-<u>bashshiri</u> lladhīna <u>'āmanū</u> wa-‘<u>amilū</u> l-<u>ṣāliḥāti</u> 'anna la-hum <u>jannātin</u> <u>tajrī</u> min <u>taḥtihā</u> l-<u>'anhāru</u>. (Q. 2: 25)
* wa-lladhīna <u>'āmanū</u> wa-‘<u>amilū</u> l-<u>ṣāliḥāti</u> sa-<u>nudkhiluhum</u> <u>jannātin</u> <u>tajrī</u> min <u>taḥtihā</u> l-'<u>anhāru</u>. (Q. 4: 57, 122)
* 'inna lladhīna <u>'āmanū</u> wa-<u>‘amilū</u> l-<u>ṣāliḥāti</u> yahdīhim <u>rabbuhum</u> bi-' <u>īmānihim</u> <u>tajrī</u> min <u>taḥtihimu</u> l-'<u>anhāru</u> fī <u>jannāti</u> l-<u>na‘īmi</u>. (Q. 10: 9)
* wa-'<u>udkhila</u> lladhīna <u>'āmanū</u> wa-<u>‘amilū</u> l-<u>ṣāliḥāti</u> <u>jannātin</u> <u>tajrī</u> min <u>taḥtihā</u> l-'<u>anhāru</u>. (Q. 14: 23)
* 'inna llāha <u>yudkhilu</u> lladhīna '<u>āmanū</u> wa-<u>‘amilū</u> l-<u>ṣāliḥāti</u> <u>jannātin</u> <u>tajrī</u> min <u>taḥtihā</u> l-'<u>anhāru</u>. (Q. 22: 14)
Some of the smaller components of this system can also be found in large numbers in the Qur’an; so, for example the root sequence jnn + jry + tḥt + nhr (‘ Gardens beneath which rivers flow’) itself occurs 37 times in the Qur’an while 'mn + ‘ml + ṣlḥ (‘ believe and work righteousness’) occurs some 70 times.<ref>Ibid. pp. 282</ref>


=== Poetry and prose ===
=== Poetry and prose ===
CPO675
795

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