He claims that the Qur'aan is lacking in eloquence and contains grammatical
errors
Question:
In Soorat al-Baqarah it says (interpretation of themeaning):
"And indeed, We gave Moosa (Moses) the Book and followed him up with a
succession of Messengers. And We gave `Eesa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary),
clear signs and supported him with Rooh-ul-Qudus [Jibreel (Gabriel)]. Is it
that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired
not, you grew arrogant? Some you disbelieved and some you killed" [al-Baqarah
2:87]
My Christian colleague says, look at the way the word taqtuloon (translated as
"you killed" _ appears in present tense form) follows the word kadhdhabtum
("you disbelieved" _ past tense). He says that the wording should be [Allaah
forbid that we should alter His Holy Book] fa fareeqan kadhdhabtum wa fareeqan
qataltum (Some you disbelieved and some you killed) [i.e., both verbs appearing
in past tense form], because the Prophets have ceased and Muhammad was the Seal
of the Prophets. It should be noted that he does not believe that the Prophet
Muhammad was a Prophet, rather he believes that Prophet `Eesa (Jesus) was the
last of the Messengers.
In Soorat Aal `Imraan it says (interpretation of the meaning):
"When He has decreed something, He says to it only: `Be!'__and it is [kun fa
yakoon]" [Aal `Imraan 3:47]
My Christian colleague also thinks that this is ineloquent and he says that it
would be more correct [Allaah forbid that we should alter His Holy Book] to say
Kun fa kaana (Be and it was).
Please explain so that I can refute his comments. "So ask the people of the
Reminder if you do not know" [al-Anbiya 21:7 _ interpretation of the meaning].
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The one who is not able to engage in debate with others should fear Allaah and
not get involved in debates and arguments with others; rather he should try to
protect his religious commitment by refraining from arguing with the ignorant
or those who promote specious arguments.
Secondly:
With regard to the specious arguments mentioned _ which are more flimsy than a
spider's web _ these may be answered in two ways.
The first way is in general terms, which is to say that the Qur'aan is the Book
of Allaah which was revealed to the pure Arabs, who were the most advanced
nation in the field of eloquence; they paid a great deal of attention to that
and had reached a high level of eloquent self-expression. They had established
festivals of poetry and speech-giving, they hung their mu'allaqaat poems on the
Ka'bah as a sign of the high esteem in which they held eloquence and
literature; they competed in poetry and beautiful speech. Poetry flowed through
their veins and they recited poems on all occasions, for joy and sorrow, birth
and death, happiness and misery, victory and defeat. This was something that
was unknown in any other nation.
Hence by His wisdom Allaah revealed to them this Qur'aan in this language of
which they were so proud and because of which they thought themselves superior
to other nations. The Qur'aan dazzled them with its beautiful words and
meanings, its great purpose and structure. So they submitted to it out of
respect for its language and dare not speak any word of criticism against its
wording, grammar or expression.
Allaah challenged them in His Book to produce anything like the Qur'aan, but
they could not match it, let alone find fault with its grammar. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Say: `If the mankind and the jinn were together to produce the like of this
Qur'aan, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one
another'"
[al-Isra' 17:88]
Then Allaah challenged them to produced ten soorahs like it, as He said
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Or they say, `He (Prophet Muhammad) forged it (the Qur'aan).' Say: `Bring you
then ten forged Soorah (chapters) like unto it, and call whomsoever you can,
other than Allaah (to your help), if you speak the truth!'"
[Hood 11:13]
When they were unable to do that, then Allaah challenged them to produce just
one soorah like it. Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):
"And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that
which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'aan) to Our slave (Muhammad), then
produce a Soorah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses
(supporters and helpers) besides Allaah, if you are truthful" [al-Baqarah 2:23]
No one who comes afterwards, when the language has become corrupted and mixed
with foreign languages, has any right to support such nonsensical ideas that do
no more than point to the depth of his ignorance and the shallowness of his
thinking, and his lack of knowledge of the Arabic language. As it was said,
"How often do you see someone criticizing something that is sound, and his
problem is that he cannot understand it properly."
The second way is in specific, detailed terms, discussing the aspects of
eloquence in the words that he criticized. This is as follows:
With regard to the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):
"Some you disbelieved and some you killed (fa fareeqan kadhdhabtum wa fareeqan
taqtuloon)"
[al-Baqarah 2:87]
The scholar al-Taahir ibn `Ashoor said in his commentary (al-Tahreer
wa'l-Tanweer, 1/598):
The word taqtuloon (translated as "you killed") appears in the present tense
form to emphasize more vividly the terrible action that they did, namely
killing the Prophets. This is like the verse in which Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And it is Allaah Who sends [arsala _ part tense form] the winds, so that they
raise up [fa tutheeru _ present tense form] the clouds, and We drive them to a
dead land, and revive therewith the earth after its death"
[Faatir 35:9]
Moreover, the form taqtuloon fits with the rhyme of the soorah and makes it
more vivid; this provides eloquence of meaning and beauty of form. End of
quote.
Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymeen quoted in his Tasfeer (1/283) from some of the scholars
another reason for using the present tense form taqtuloon, which is to provide
a sense of continuity, i.e., the Jews kept on killing the Prophets, even the
last of them, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They killed
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with the poison that
they gave him at Khaybar, and he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
continued to suffer the effects of that until, in his final illness, he said,
"I still feel pain from the food I ate at Khaybar. This is the time when it has
cut off my aorta."
Abu Dawood; also narrated by al-Bukhaari in a mu'allaq report. Al-Albaani said
in Saheeh Abi Dawood (3784), it is hasan saheeh.
With regard to the verse in which Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"When He has decreed something, He says to it only: `Be!' __and it is [kun fa
yakoon]"
[Aal `Imraan 3:47]
This is more indicative of the ignorance of this objector, because this verse
is speaking of when Allaah wills to create something in the future, not in the
past; this is to be understood from the use of the word idha (meaning when,
if), which refers to something in the future. Hence the verb yaqool (says)
appears in the present tense, to indicate that it is referring to something in
the future, and it is followed by the verb yakoon (it is), also in the present
tense, which also refers to something in the future.
And Allaah knows best.
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Chapter_1.htm#_RWTOC-3.txt
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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