Editing Quran (section)

==== 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>