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Qur'an: Difference between revisions
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→Saj' and Soothsayers (kuhhān): Added a section on Saj's wider link with poetry and Arabia from MVP's blog - will continue with a section on Pre-Islamic Poetry and the Quran.
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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.) |
(→Saj' and Soothsayers (kuhhān): Added a section on Saj's wider link with poetry and Arabia from MVP's blog - will continue with a section on Pre-Islamic Poetry and the Quran.) |
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=== Poetry and prose === | === Poetry and prose === | ||
The Qur'an contains both poetry and prose, as did some other Arabic literature at the time, such as the Ayyām al-ʿarab.<ref>Toral-Niehoff, Isabel. “Talking about Arab Origins: The Transmission of the Ayyām al-ʿarab in al-Kūfa, al-Baṣra and Baghdād.” In ''The Place to Go: Contexts of Learning in Baghdad, 750-1000 C.E.'', edited by Jens Scheiner and Damien Janos, 47–76. Gerlach Press, 2021. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1b9f5pp.8</nowiki>.</ref> | The Qur'an contains both poetry and prose, as did some other Arabic literature at the time, such as the Ayyām al-ʿarab.<ref>Toral-Niehoff, Isabel. “Talking about Arab Origins: The Transmission of the Ayyām al-ʿarab in al-Kūfa, al-Baṣra and Baghdād.” In ''The Place to Go: Contexts of Learning in Baghdad, 750-1000 C.E.'', edited by Jens Scheiner and Damien Janos, 47–76. Gerlach Press, 2021. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1b9f5pp.8</nowiki>.</ref> | ||
{{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. <i>The Qur'an and Late Antiquity: A Shared Heritage (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity) (pp. 107-108).</i> 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' | ==== Saj' (Rhymed prose) ==== | ||
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> | 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> | ||
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This may be compared with the words of Hadrami ibn ‘Amir, orator of the tribe of Asad, who represented them to the Prophet (Ibn al-Athir, Usd 2.29): <i>We have come to you (innâ ataynâka) journeying through a black night (nataḍarra’ al-layla al-bahîma) in a sterile white year (fi sanatin shahbâ’) of our own accord (wa-lam tursil ilaynâ) We are of your ilk (wa-naḥnu minka) united by [our common ancestor] Khuzayma (tajma’unâ Khuzayma) Our sacred territories are well protected (ḥimânâ manî’) our women are virtuous (wa-nisâ’unâ mawâjid) our sons brave and noble (wa-abnâ’unâ anjâd amjâd)</i> | This may be compared with the words of Hadrami ibn ‘Amir, orator of the tribe of Asad, who represented them to the Prophet (Ibn al-Athir, Usd 2.29): <i>We have come to you (innâ ataynâka) journeying through a black night (nataḍarra’ al-layla al-bahîma) in a sterile white year (fi sanatin shahbâ’) of our own accord (wa-lam tursil ilaynâ) We are of your ilk (wa-naḥnu minka) united by [our common ancestor] Khuzayma (tajma’unâ Khuzayma) Our sacred territories are well protected (ḥimânâ manî’) our women are virtuous (wa-nisâ’unâ mawâjid) our sons brave and noble (wa-abnâ’unâ anjâd amjâd)</i> | ||
Similar also are the sermons of the famed bishop of Najran, Quss ibn Sa’ida, of whom Muhammad is said to have memorised the following excerpt (Isfahani 14.40): <i>Oh people, assemble (ayyuhâ n-nâsu jtami’û) listen and pay heed (wa-sma’û wa-’û) All who live die (man ‘âsha mât) and all who die are lost (wa-man mâta fât) and everything that is coming will come (wa-kulla mâ huwa âtin ât)</i>}}Stewart (2006) has classified five main types of Saj' patterns found in the Qur'an.<ref>Stewart, Devin (2006). "Rhymed Prose". [https://archive.org/details/EncyclopaediaOfTheQuranVol4/page/n483/mode/2up Encyclopedia Of The Quran Vol 4.] Brill. pp. 476–484. ''pp. 479-181.'' | Similar also are the sermons of the famed bishop of Najran, Quss ibn Sa’ida, of whom Muhammad is said to have memorised the following excerpt (Isfahani 14.40): <i>Oh people, assemble (ayyuhâ n-nâsu jtami’û) listen and pay heed (wa-sma’û wa-’û) All who live die (man ‘âsha mât) and all who die are lost (wa-man mâta fât) and everything that is coming will come (wa-kulla mâ huwa âtin ât)</i>}}Stewart (2006) has classified five main types of Saj' patterns found in the Qur'an.<ref>Stewart, Devin (2006). "Rhymed Prose". [https://archive.org/details/EncyclopaediaOfTheQuranVol4/page/n483/mode/2up Encyclopedia Of The Quran Vol 4.] Brill. pp. 476–484. ''pp. 479-181.'' | ||
Read for free on internet archive: https://archive.org/details/EncyclopaediaOfTheQuranVol4/page/n483/mode/2up</ref> | Read for free on internet archive: https://archive.org/details/EncyclopaediaOfTheQuranVol4/page/n483/mode/2up</ref> | ||
==== Saj' and pre-Islamic poetry ==== | |||
Van Putten (2016) notes that while there are differences in style in the Qur'an from typical formal pre-Islamic Classical Arabic poetry as recorded in Islamic tradition (which we often can't be certain if it actually pre-Islamic or even in a dialect similar to that of the Quran), which adheres strictly to a quantitative meter, confirmed pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions such as the En Avdat text and the Safaito-Hismaic Baal Cycle poem, show strong structural and stylistic similarities to Quranic Saj'.<ref name=":1">[https://phoenixblog.typepad.com/blog/2016/07/the-quran-in-relation-to-pre-islamic-poetry.html ''The Quran in relation to Pre-Islamic poetry.''] PhDniX's blog. Marijn van Putten. 07/23/2016</ref> Such as the Baal Cycle poem which features a 4-4-4 stress pattern and a triadic rhyme closely resembling Quranic Saj', and the En Avdat inscription which is harder to classify but still shows comparable features, with a 3-3-3 stress pattern and a looser triadic rhyme, which also preserves older case vowels, revealing a dialect distinct from Safaitic.<ref name=":1" /> He notes that these findings suggest that the Quran’s poetic style did not emerge in isolation, but rather continued an existing Pre-Islamic Arabic poetic tradition, reflected across different dialects.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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*[http://quranx.com/ Quranx.com] - easily navigable translations and etymological background for each verse in the Quran | *[http://quranx.com/ Quranx.com] - easily navigable translations and etymological background for each verse in the Quran | ||
*[ | *[https://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/page.php?type=mainintro&book=q&id=2 Skeptic's Annotated Quran] | ||
*[http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/denis_giron/multiple.html Qur'an: A Work of Multiple Hands?] ''- Denis Giron'' | *[http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/denis_giron/multiple.html Qur'an: A Work of Multiple Hands?] ''- Denis Giron'' | ||