Modern approaches to the study of i'jaz al-Qur'an.

Abstract

The theme of i jaz, the inimitability of the Qur'an, is one of the important dogmas in Islam. Many books have been written concerning this issue from the second/eight century to modern times. Traditional authors concede that the i jaz of the Qur'an is its rhetorical excellence (balaghah), because it it this aspect that presents and explains the nazm (composition) of the Qur'an, and hence, its tahaddi/ (challenge). In modern times, i jaz remains a major issue for Muslim authors. But unlike their predecessors, modern authors do not emphasize solely the theme of balaghah. Instead, they consider the unique style of the Qur'an as only complementary to more important aspects of the Holy Book, which are its contents and message in general. This study is concerned principally with an examination in detail of the modern approaches to the issue of i jaz partly by comparison with classical writings on this subject and partly by elucidation of new ideas. It finds that some of the modern views of the i jaz are only a continuation of traditional ones, though some of them use new terms, and some authors give more arguments for their theories. It also finds that some modern approaches have an important relation to the way one interprets the Qur'an, such as, for example, are observable in views of Sayyid Qutb and Bint al-Shati'. Critical study of the works of these authors indicates that the modern view, to some extent, had tended to shift the study of the Qur'an from a verse-to-verse method in traditional discussion of i jaz to different methods, including among them a tendency towards a holistic approach.