Editing Quran (section)

=== Literary style ===
{{Main|Quranic counter-discourse|Self-referential discourse of the Quran|Punishment narratives in the Quran}}
[[File:Touba3.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Boys studying the Quran in [[Touba]], [[Senegal]]]]
The Quran's message is conveyed with various literary structures and devices. In the original Arabic, the suras and verses employ [[phonetics|phonetic]] and [[theme (literature)|thematic]] structures that assist the audience's efforts to recall the message of the text. Muslims{{Who|date=February 2010}} assert (according to the Quran itself) that the Quranic content and style is inimitable.<ref name="Issa">{{Citation |author-link=Issa Boullata |last=Boullata |first=Issa J |editor-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |editor-last=McAuliffe |editor-first=Jane Dammen |chapter=Literary Structure of Quran |title=Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān |date=2002 |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |isbn=90-04-12354-7 |volume=3 |pages=192, 204}}</ref>

The language of the Quran has been described as "rhymed prose" as it partakes of both poetry and prose; however, this description runs the risk of failing to convey the rhythmic quality of Quranic language, which is more poetic in some parts and more prose-like in others. Rhyme, while found throughout the Quran, is conspicuous in many of the earlier Meccan suras, in which relatively short verses throw the rhyming words into prominence. The effectiveness of such a form is evident for instance in [[Sura 81]], and there can be no doubt that these passages impressed the conscience of the hearers. Frequently a change of rhyme from one set of verses to another signals a change in the subject of discussion. Later sections also preserve this form but the style is more expository.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Mir |first=Mustansir |date=2006 |title=Language |encyclopedia=The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an |url=https://archive.org/details/blackwellcompani00ripp_0 |edition=2a reimpr. |veditors=Rippin A, etal |editor-link1=Andrew Rippin |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-1752-4 |page=93}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first1=Herman |last1=Rosenthal |first2=A. S. |last2=Waldstein |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=369&letter=K&search=Quran |access-date=15 August 2022 |website=Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Körner, Moses B. Eliezer}}</ref>

The Quranic text seems to have no beginning, middle, or end, its nonlinear structure being akin to a web or net.<ref name="Britannica" /> The textual arrangement is sometimes considered to exhibit lack of continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order and repetitiousness.{{Efn|"The final process of collection and codification of the Quran text was guided by one {{sic|?|hide=y|over-|arching}} principle: God's words must not in any way be distorted or sullied by human intervention. For this reason, no serious attempt, apparently, was made to edit the numerous revelations, organize them into thematic units, or present them in chronological order... This has given rise in the past to a great deal of criticism by European and American scholars of Islam, who find the Quran disorganized, repetitive and very difficult to read."<ref name=blomm>''Approaches to the Asian Classics'', Irene Blomm, William Theodore De Bary, Columbia University Press, 1990, p. 65</ref>}}{{Efn|Samuel Pepys: "One feels it difficult to see how any mortal ever could consider this Quran as a Book written in Heaven, too good for the Earth; as a well-written book, or indeed as a book at all; and not a bewildered rhapsody; written, so far as writing goes, as badly as almost any book ever was!"<ref name=pepys>{{cite web |url=http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=21 |last=Peterson |first=Daniel C. |title=Editor's Introduction: By What Measure Shall We Mete? |date=1990 |work=FARMS Review of Books |volume=2 |issue=1 |publisher=The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU |access-date=30 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304110915/http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=21 |archive-date=4 March 2008}}</ref>}} [[Michael Sells]], citing the work of the critic [[Norman O. Brown]], acknowledges Brown's observation that the seeming disorganization of Quranic literary expression—its scattered or fragmented mode of composition in Sells's phrase—is in fact a literary device capable of delivering profound effects as if the intensity of the prophetic message were shattering the vehicle of human language in which it was being communicated.<ref name="ApproachQuran">{{Citation |last=Sells |first=Michael |date=1999 |title=Approaching the Qur'ān |publisher=White Cloud Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author-link=Norman O. Brown |last=Brown |first=Norman O |date=Winter 1983–1984 |title=The Apocalypse of Islam |journal=Social Text |publisher=Duke University Press |doi=10.2307/466329 |volume=3 |issue=8 |pages=155–71|jstor=466329 }}</ref> Sells also addresses the much-discussed repetitiveness of the Quran, seeing this, too, as a literary device.

A text is [[Self-reference|self-referential]] when it speaks about itself and makes reference to itself. According to Stefan Wild, the Quran demonstrates this [[metatextuality]] by explaining, classifying, interpreting and justifying the words to be transmitted. Self-referentiality is evident in those passages where the Quran refers to itself as revelation ({{Transliteration|ar|tanzil}}), remembrance (''[[dhikr]]''), news ({{Transliteration|ar|naba'}}), criterion ({{Transliteration|ar|furqan}}) in a self-designating manner (explicitly asserting its Divinity, "And this is a blessed Remembrance that We have sent down; so are you now denying it?"),<ref>{{qref|21|50|b=y}}</ref> or in the frequent appearance of the "Say" tags, when Muhammad is commanded to speak (e.g., "Say: 'God's guidance is the true guidance'", "Say: 'Would you then dispute with us concerning God?'"). According to Wild the Quran is highly self-referential. The feature is more evident in early Meccan suras.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Wild|editor-first=Stefan|title=Self-referentiality in the Qur'an|year=2006|publisher=Harrassowitz|location=Wiesbaden|isbn=978-3-447-05383-9}}</ref>

==== Inimitability ====
{{Main|I'jaz|Quran imitations|Islamic view of miracles}}
In [[Islam]], {{Transliteration|ar|’i‘jāz}} ({{langx|ar|اَلْإِعْجَازُ}}), "inimitability challenge" of the Quran in sense of feṣāḥa and [[rhetoric|belagha]] (both eloquence and rhetoric) is the doctrine which holds that the Quran has a miraculous quality, both in content and in form, that no human speech can match.<ref>Leaman, Oliver, ed. (2006). The Qur'an: an encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 9780415326391</ref> According to this, the Quran is a [[miracle]] and its inimitability is the proof granted to [[Muhammad]] in authentication of his prophetic status.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peters |first=F.E. |url=https://archive.org/details/monotheistsjewsc01pete |title=The Words and Will of God |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-691-11461-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/monotheistsjewsc01pete/page/12 12–13]}}</ref> The literary quality of the Quran has been praised by Muslim scholars and by many non-Muslim scholars.<ref name=comments>For example see comments by [[Arthur John Arberry]]: "to produce something which might be accepted as echoing however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Koran, I have been at pains to study the intricate and richly varied rhythms which constitute the Koran's undeniable claim to rank amongst the greatest literary masterpieces of mankind'' Arberry, A.J (1955). The Koran: Interpreted. New York: Macmillan. pp. x'';  [[Karen Armstrong]] : "It is as though Muhammad had created an entirely new literary form that some people were not ready for but which thrilled others. Without this experience of the Koran, it is extremely unlikely that Islam would have taken root." ''Armstrong, K (1994). A History of God.p.78''; [[Oliver Leaman]]: "the verses of the Qur'an represent its uniqueness and beauty not to mention its novelty and originality. That is why it has succeeded in convincing so many people of its truth. it imitates nothing and no one nor can it be imitated. Its style does not pall even after long periods of study and the text does not lose its freshness over time" ''Leaman, Oliver (2006). The Qur'an: an Encyclopedia.p.404'' and similar views by [[Joseph Schacht]] (1974) ''The legacy of Islam'', [[Henry Stubbe]] ''An account of the Rise and Progress of Mohammadanism (1911)'', Martin Zammit ''A Comparative Lexical Study of Qur'anic Arabic (2002)'', and [[Alfred Guillaume]] ''Islam (1990)''</ref> The doctrine of the miraculousness of the Quran is further emphasized by Muhammad's illiteracy since the unlettered prophet could not have been suspected of composing the Quran.<ref name=sophia>{{cite journal|last=Vasalou|first=Sophia|title=The Miraculous Eloquence of the Qur'an: General Trajectories and Individual Approaches|journal=Journal of Qur'anic Studies|year=2002|volume=4|issue=2|pages=23–53|doi=10.3366/jqs.2002.4.2.23}}</ref>

[[File:Mohammed Splits the Moon.jpg|thumb|right|[[Splitting of the Moon]], Muhammad with hidden face. 16th-century {{transliteration|ar|[[falnama]]}}. A possible [[idiom]], {{qref|54|1–2|c=y}} also mentioned in [[Imru' al-Qais]] poems,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/sources/bbqais | title=Well, Did Muhammad Not Copy Some Verses of the Qur'an from Imru'l Qais? }}</ref> was understood as the physical disintegration and supported by [[hadith]]s<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sunnah.com/search?q=moon+split|title=Search Results - Search Results - moon split (page 1) - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)|website=sunnah.com}}</ref> despite the Quran itself denies<ref name="EoI-Muhammad">Wensinck, A.J. "Muʿd̲j̲iza". ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]''. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C. E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007.</ref><ref name="EoQ">Denis Gril, ''Miracles'', [[Encyclopedia of the Qur'an]], Brill, 2007.</ref> [[Islamic view of miracles|miracles, in the traditional sense]].{{refn|group=note|Mehmet Özdemir (prof.dr.) regarding [[sirah]] draws attention to the almost non-existent number of [[miracles]] (''dalāʾil al-nubuwwa'') in the first records and the hundreds of additions made in later periods.<ref>Özdemir, Mehmet, (2007). Siyer Yazıcılığı Üzerine, Milel ve Nihal, 4 (3), 129-162</ref>}}]]

The Quran is widely regarded as the finest work in [[Arabic literature]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Arberry |first=Arthur |title=The Koran Interpreted |year=1956 |isbn=0-684-82507-4 |location=London |page=191 |quote=It may be affirmed that within the literature of the Arabs, wide and fecund as it is both in poetry and in elevated prose, there is nothing to compare with it.}}{{clarify|reason=ISBNs didn't come into being until 1967 so a 1956 book cannot have an ISBN; there is a 1996 edition published in New York with this ISBN; same work?|date=November 2023}}</ref><ref name="Alpha"/><ref name="Esposito"/> The emergence of the Quran was an oral and aural [[poetic]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Chronology of the Qur'an According to Theodor Nöldeke and Sir William Muir (Analysis of the History of the Qur'an and Life of Mahomet) |url=https://bircu-journal.com/index.php/birci/article/download/5578/pdf |date=2024-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830224026/https://bircu-journal.com/index.php/birci/article/download/5578/pdf |archive-date=30 August 2024 |url-status=live |last1=Syukron |first1=Ahmad |last2=Khairiyah |first2=Nikmatul |access-date=21 February 2024 }}</ref> experience; the aesthetic experience of reciting and hearing the Quran is often regarded as one of the main reasons behind conversion to Islam in the early days.<ref name="pure.ed.ac.uk">{{Cite journal | author=Siddiqui, M | year=2020 | title=Poetry, prophecy and the angelic voice: Reflections on the Divine Word | journal=Prophetic Witness and the Reimagining of the World: Poetry, Theology and Philosophy in Dialogue | volume=5 | pages=61–74 | doi=10.4324/9780367344092-6 | url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/75126557/Siddiqui2018PoetryProphecyAndTheAngelicVoice.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221094007/https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/75126557/Siddiqui2018PoetryProphecyAndTheAngelicVoice.pdf | archive-date=2024-02-21}}</ref> [[Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry]] was an element of challenge, propaganda and warfare,<ref>{{cite web |title=WAR AND PEACE IN PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIC POETRY |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/51535/1/Humanitas2A7.pdf |date=2024-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830223120/https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/51535/1/Humanitas2A7.pdf |archive-date=30 August 2024 |url-status=live |last1=FARRUGIA |first1=MARISA |access-date=21 February 2024 }}</ref> and those who incapacitated their opponents from doing the same in feṣāḥa and [[rhetoric|Belagha]] socially honored, as could be seen on [[Mu'allaqat]] poets. The etymology of the word "[[poet|shā'ir]]; (poet)" connotes the meaning of a man of inspirational knowledge, of unseen powers. `To the early Arabs poetry was ṣihr ḥalāl and the poet was a genius who had supernatural communications with the [[jinn]] or [[Ghost|spirits]], the muses who inspired him.’<ref name="pure.ed.ac.uk"/> Although pre-Islamic Arabs gave poets status associated with suprahuman beings, soothsayers and prophecies were seen as persons of lower status. Contrary to later [[hurufism|hurufic]] and recent [[Islamic attitudes towards science|scientific prophecy claims]], traditional [[miracle]] statements about the Quran hadn't focused on [[prophecies]], with a few exceptions like the Byzantine victory over the Persians<ref>{{cite web |title=THE QURANIC PROPHECY OF THE DEFEAT AND VICTORY OF THE BYZANTINES |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/341691 |date=2024-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221094005/https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/341691 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |url-status=live |last1=EL-AWAISI |first1=Khalid |publisher=Mardin Artuklu University |access-date=21 February 2024 }}</ref> in wars that [[Roman–Persian Wars|continued for hundreds of years]] with mutual victories and defeats.

The first works about the {{Transliteration|ar|’i‘jāz}} of the Quran began to appear in the 9th century in the [[Mu'tazila]] circles, which emphasized only its literary aspect, and were adopted by other religious groups.<ref>Vgl. Martin 533</ref> According to grammarian [[Abū al-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibn ‘lsā al-Rummānī|Al-Rummani]] the [[eloquence]] contained in the Quran consisted of [[Simile|tashbīh]], [[metaphor|istiʿāra]], [[paronomasia|taǧānus]], [[hyperbole|mubālaġa]], concision, clarity of speech (bayān), and [[euphony|talāʾum]]. He also added other features developed by himself; the free variation of themes (taṣrīf al-maʿānī), the implication content (taḍmīn) of the expressions and the rhyming closures (fawāṣil).<ref>Vgl. Neuwirth 177 und Grotzfeld 65.</ref> The most famous works on the doctrine of inimitability are two medieval books by the grammarian [[Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani|Al Jurjani]] (d. 1078 CE), ''Dala’il al-i'jaz'' ('the Arguments of Inimitability') and ''Asraral-balagha'' ('the Secrets of Eloquence').<ref name=larkin>{{cite journal|last=Larkin|first=Margaret|title=The Inimitability of the Qur'an: Two Perspectives|journal=Religion & Literature|year=1988|volume=20|issue=1|pages=31–47}}</ref> Al Jurjani believed that Quran's eloquence must be a certain special quality in the manner of its stylistic arrangement and composition or a certain special way of joining words.<ref name=sophia/> [[Angelika Neuwirth]] lists the factors that led to the emergence of the doctrine of {{Transliteration|ar|’i‘jāz}}: The necessity of explaining some challenging verses in the Quran;<ref>{{qref|17|88|b=y}}</ref> In the context of the emergence of the theory of "proofs of prophecy" ([[Miracles of Muhammad|dâ'il an-nubuwwa]]) in [[Kalam|Islamic theology]], proving that the Quran is a work worthy of the emphasized superior place of Muhammad in the history of the prophets, thus gaining polemical superiority over Jews and Christians; Preservation of Arab national pride in the face of confrontation with the Iranian [[Shu'ubiyya]] movement, etc.<ref>Vgl. Neuwirth 172-175.</ref> Orientalist scholars [[Theodor Nöldeke]], [[Friedrich Schwally]] and [[John Wansbrough]], pointing out linguistic defects, held similar opinions on the Quranic text as careless and imperfect.<ref name=lm>{{cite book|editor-last=Leaman|editor-first=Oliver|title=The Qur'an: an encyclopedia|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780415326391|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/quranencyclopedi2006unse}}</ref>