Asalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah (peace) On Monday 27 June 2005 17:13, Julie Devall wrote: > I think that it has been a big problem, but I'm too young to know the > history of the thing. I think that it is very similar to Arabic, in that > vowels are underneath the characters, pausal forms, and sukoon - sheva to > encode. There are also markers that occur with the vowels to denote length > (if you should require specifics, I will wholeheartedly defer to Mr. Milo).
Yes, the Hebrew language is very similar to Arabic. The similarity, however, diverges between the divine sources. The Hebrew holy texts are scriptures, the Quran is not a scripture (although some people mistakenly call it a "scripture"). The Quran is a quran (a recital) it is not a kutban (writal or scripture). This is evident from the very first aya (verse) revealed in the Quran which is: "Read!" It was revealed to the Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) who did not know how to interpret written word symbols (letters) into something understandable. Moreover, the location of the revelation of this aaya was in a cave. In addition to the cave being dark, the time was at night. The effect of the above has highly effected the Arabic language in general. The modern systemization of the Arabic language is totally different what used to be the case say in the 1600s. The language gives its users numerous flexibility that need to be respected. As we can see even in the Quran, some words are written with different spellings. The idea is to offload any clarifications that might confuse the non-Arab (who knows the language or parts of it) to another system. As a result, when the new flocks of Muslims from Persia were introduced to the Quran, those marks we see today were made for them in order to read properly. The way the Quran was written by the SaHaaba (the companions of the Prophet) is certainly unreadable to the non-Arab (An Arab in Islam is not someone who belongs to certain lineage or lived for a couple of time with the Arabs in their lands, but it is anyone who can speak the tongue of the Quran and is able to teach it -- as Shaikh Muhammad Al-Ghazali of Alzhar (That's not Abu Hamid Alghazali) explained in his book Dhalaal min al-gharb) Another form if the flexibility in the Arabic language is the enormous derivatives that can be formed from a 2-3 letter root. The way some people tend to symbolize the Quran is, in humble opinion, highly misleading. A visual representation of the Quran does not have to match the 'Uthmani drawings of the MaSaHif, unless the case is to produce a 'soft' MuS-Haf. An example of that is the numerous calligraphic art work done by Muslim. Nobody can argue that what is made is a Quran. It is not a MuS-Haf, though. A transliteration of the Quran is a quran that doesn't look like a MuS-Haf. The Quran CDs and audio files we download are also a Quran. Any medium that helps the subject reproduce the exact words revealed by Allah should be considered a Quran. The way how the word is written is a matter of semantics that is left to how Muslims are capable to making the Quran easy for the reader: [Quran 54:17] And We have indeed made the Qur'ân easy to understand and remember, then is there any that will remember (or receive admonition)? Moreover, the original transmission mediums of the Quran are the believers' hearts and the tongues (oral transmission). [Quran 44:192-195] And truly, this (the Qur'ân) is a revelation from the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists), Which the trustworthy Rûh [Jibrael (Gabriel)] has brought down; Upon your heart (O Muhammad SAW) that you may be (one) of the warners, In the plain Arabic language (tongue). [Quran 19:97] So We have made this (the Qur'ân) easy in your own tongue (O Muhammad SAW), only that you may give glad tidings to the Muttaqûn (pious and righteous persons), and warn with it the Ludda (most quarrelsome) people. In fact, one of the miraculous traits of the Quran is that it is not limited to a physical format. One of the results of this trait makes the Quran absolutely unperishable because it does not depend on manuscripts and written sources. People need to remember the words, not the words and how they are pronounced properly, not the diacritical marks and the locations of the tajweed marks (although this is indeed helpful and required for additional clarity.) Wishing you and your family peace and good health. Salam, Abdalla Alothman _______________________________________________ General mailing list [email protected] http://lists.arabeyes.org/mailman/listinfo/general
