Author: Mufti Noor Mohammad Mohibi
The Qur’an: A Miracle Beyond Time- A Study of Its Miraculous Nature (Part 12)
An Example of the Rhetorical Superiority of the Holy Quran over the Most Eloquent Sayings of Human
Undoubtedly, the Holy Quran is at the peak of eloquence; it is a speech that addresses the mind and heart at the same time and, while being brief, contains profound meanings. Throughout history, eloquent Arabs, wise and poets, have bowed down to this divine speech. One of the shining examples of this rhetorical miracle is the brief and rich-contented blessed verse: “وَلَكُمۡ فِي ٱلقِصَاصِ حَيَوٰةٞ” Translation: “And there is life for you in retaliation.” [Al-Baqarah: 179].
This holy verse, in a few words, has expressed a moral, legal and social message with an amazing structure.
Among the Arabs of the pre-Islamic period, there was a famous sentence that was impressive with its eloquence:«القتلُ أنفى للقتل» Translation: “Murder is a greater deterrent than murder”; but with the revelation of this holy verse, it became clear that the Holy Quran has surpassed any human speech in eloquence, meaning, and fluency of language.
In this section, we will compare these two sentences and explain the various aspects of the superiority of the verse of the Holy Quran.
The superiority of the verse of the Holy Quran over the sentence «القتلُ أنفى للقتل» In this verse, the Holy Quran is superior to the speech of the pre-Islamic period in many ways. A summary of these aspects can be categorized as follows:
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Shortness of speech
The verse of the Holy Quran has only ten letters (excluding the nunnation), while the sentence re-Islamic period in Arabic contains fourteen letters. This Shortness not only did not limit the meaning of the speech, but also made it more meaningful and eloquent.
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comprehensiveness and application
The verse of the Holy Quran indicates a general rule: in every “retaliation, life is hidden”; but the sentence «القتل أنفى للقتل» is not applicable; because every killing does not lead to a deterrence from killing. On the contrary, unjust killing may cause sedition and increase killing.
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The nunnation of the word «حَياةٌ»
The nunnation in the word «حَياةٌ» has a great meaning; it either indicates a specific type of life (life with security and law), or it is used as an expression of respect, which shows the honor and dignity of life.
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Beautiful contrast (Tabaq)
In this verse of the Holy Quran, the rhetorical device of “Tabaq” is used; “al-Qisas” is placed opposite “al-Hayat”. Qisas means taking life, and life takes on its meaning in contrast to it. This contrast has made the meaning more prominent.
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Clarification of the main purpose
In the verse of the Holy Quran, “life” is explicitly mentioned, which is the ultimate goal of carrying out retribution; but in the human sentence, only “negation of killing” is mentioned, which itself needs interpretation to make it clear that the purpose is to preserve life.
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Surprising interpretation
The verse of the Holy Quran is surprising in terms of interpretation; because it has proven something to the contrary; life in retribution! And such expressions are among the wonders of the language of the Quran, just as the container (retribution) can preserve the contained (life), this verse of the Holy Quran shows that retribution is the preserver of social life.
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Avoiding boring repetition
In the Arabic sentence, the repetition of the word “killing”, even in a short phrase, has created a burden, while the verse of the Holy Quran has avoided such repetition with its shortness and variety of structure.
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Fluency and rhythm of speech
In the verse of the Holy Quran, the words are so artistically arranged that they flow smoothly on the tongue, there is no heavy sequence of movements or the intersection of discordant letters, combinations such as «القصاص حياة» have a soft sound and a natural rhythm that human speech lacks.
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Semantic independence
The verse of the Holy Quran alone has a complete meaning and does not need additional explanation or conditions; but the Arabic sentence requires a context for the meaning to be understood correctly.
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Generality in the sentence
In the verse of the Holy Quran, the word “al-Qisas” is used with the genitive letter L, which indicates its inclusiveness and comprehensiveness. Retribution is not limited to murder; it also includes injury, beating and other forms, while the Arabic sentence only indicates a specific type of murder.
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Avoiding ambiguous structures
In the Holy verse, the word “to do” is not used, which can sometimes imply that there is a benefit in abandoning that action. Such ambiguities are not seen in the Quran at all.
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Interpretation through affirmation, not negation
Instead of negation (such as: abandon murder), the Holy verse focuses on affirming life; a life supported by law and justice. This positive and constructive approach is one of the fundamental principles of Quranic discourse.
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Lack of illusion of contradiction
A human sentence may create the illusion that “killing” causes its own negation, which is impossible from a rational point of view; but the Holy Quranic verse is free from this fallacy and presents a clear and rational message.[1]
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Advancing for express limitation (Hasr)
The advancing of the preposition phrase «لَكُم»at the beginning indicates limitation and emphasis; that is: your life is for you if retribution is carried out.
Shortcomings of the sentence «القتل أنفى للقتل» Such sentences, which were a source of pride in the era of ignorance and claimed to be equivalent to the verses of the Quran, have many shortcomings compared to the verses of the Quran, some of which we will mention below:
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Syntactic and rhetorical errors
The word «أنفى»is the superlative form of «نَفْي» meaning to distance. This word does not have a clear semantic meaning in the combination «أنفى للقتل» and its superlative combination is also ambiguous from a syntactic point of view.
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Lack of shortness
Despite being short, this sentence lacks the depth and elegance of Quranic shortness. The word «القتل» is repeated at the beginning and end, limiting the meaning.
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Lack of semantic depth
The repetition of the word «قتل» at the beginning and end of the sentence makes it rhetorically heavy and dull and does not present a clear image.
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Ambiguity in structure
The combination «القتل أنفى للقتل» is ambiguous and lacks the necessary semantic and verbal coherence.
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Weakness in impact
The human sentence lacks any emotional charge or judgmental dimension, it is simply a cold and logical piece of news, without soul or wisdom.
In short, it can be said that the noble verse “وَلَكُمۡ فِي ٱلقِصَاصِ حَيَوٰةٞ” Translation: “And there is life for you in retaliation.” [Al-Baqarah: 179] is a masterpiece of eloquence, meaning, and wisdom. In contrast to a sentence that was at the peak of the eloquence of the pre-Islamic Arabs, this verse, with its amazing shortness, thoughtful structure, and comprehensive content, proves that the word of Allah Almighty not only transcends the words of man; but also contains such wisdom and guidance that it calms hearts and guides societies towards justice.
Continues…
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References:
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A compendium of Tafsir al-Alousi Ruh al-Ma’ani, al-Elamiya 1/448.
