Understanding the Linguistic miracle of the Quran

An "expensive" bridal gift ( Mahr) and Prophet Musa AS

2025-04-09T00:33:00.003+10:00

Many Muslims view the Mahr (the bridal gift) as an unnecessary obstacle for men seeking marriage. Numerous scholars rightly criticize parents who demand exorbitant sums for their daughters' Mahr, placing undue financial strain on prospective grooms.

Allah SWT called the bridal gift Saduqah (صَدُقَة ) which is a bridal gift denoting صِدق - sincere intentions of a man to marry a woman. We always hear from sheikhs that the best mahr is minimal and as little as possible because this is "Sunna", while citing the hadith "the best Mahr is the simplest."

HOWEVER, this was in the context of the Sahabah who knew one another and who had a Prophet SAW who was guided by Allah SWT in their affairs. Therefore it overlooks an important context: the practice of the Sahaba (RA) occurred within a close-knit community where mutual trust and piety prevailed, and where the Prophet (SAW)—guided by divine wisdom—oversaw their affairs. Reducing the Mahr to a symbolic amount without considering the societal and economic realities of today risks distorting its true purpose and value in Islamic marriage.

Yet today, we live in an age of "what you see is not what you get"—where appearances often mask reality, even in marriage. In such times of uncertainty, the best guidance comes from the Qur’an’s timeless example: the marriage of Musa (AS). His story teaches us the true essence of sincerity, simplicity, and divine wisdom in marital bonds.

The Divine Blueprint for Mahr: Lessons from Musa (AS)

Long ago, in the sun-baked valleys of Madyan, a weary traveler—Musa (AS)—paused at a well, where he helped two women water their flock. Their father, a righteous old man, saw in him not just strength, but character. So he made Musa (AS) an offer—one that would redefine the essence of the bridal gift (Mahr) for generations to come:

قَالَ إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُنكِحَكَ إِحْدَى ابْنَتَيَّ هَاتَيْنِ عَلَىٰ أَن تَأْجُرَنِي ثَمَانِيَ حِجَجٍ ۖ فَإِنْ أَتْمَمْتَ عَشْرًا فَمِنْ عِندِكَ ۖ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَشُقَّ عَلَيْكَ ۚ سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

"Indeed, I wish to wed you one of my two daughters, on the condition that you serve me for 8 years; but if you complete 10 years, it will be as a favor from you. And I do not wish to put you in difficulty. You will find me, if Allāh wills, from among the righteous." Surat Al Qasas 28:27

This wasn’t just a transaction; it was a covenant built on wisdom. Let’s break it down:

1. A Mahr of True Value—Not Just a Token

The bridal gift here was eight to ten years of labor—a substantial sum by any measure. Yet it wasn’t arbitrary; it reflected Musa’s (AS) ability to provide while honoring his future wife’s worth.

2. Achievable, Not Oppressive

The father ensured the terms were challenging but fair. Eight years was the minimum; ten was a voluntary act of excellence. This prevented marriage from becoming an impossible burden, unlike today’s inflated dowries that trap couples in debt before they even begin. The father assured Musa (AS) that: " I do not wish to put you in difficulty" which should be attitude of all believing parents who marry their children.

3. A Solution, Not a Stumbling Block

This Mahr solved problems for both sides:

The daughters gained a protector and helper.
Musa (AS) gained a family and stability.
The father secured an honorable man for his lineage.

Applying This Today: A Practical Model

Imagine a modern adaptation:

A groom agrees to pay his wife $5,000 US yearly (adjusted to his income) over 10 years ($50,000 total).

If divorce occurs, the remaining sum is owed—unless she willingly forgives part (or all) of it etc

Why This Works:

✔ Makes marriage accessible—No upfront financial crippling.

✔ Encourages responsibility—Weeds out unserious "boys" from committed men.

✔ Aligns with Quranic wisdom—The groom proves himself as Al-Qawwam (caretaker) through steady effort, not just a one-time payment.

The Bigger Lesson

The Mahr isn’t meant to be a burden or a trivial formality—it’s a sacred promise, a test of a man’s sincerity, and a means of security for the woman. When we reduce it to a symbolic action (or inflate it to a ransom), we lose its divine purpose.

Musa’s (AS) Quranic narrative is no doubt a guide to the believing communities around the world for all times and places.

Reading Arabic fluently without harakat (Vowel marks)

2015-07-29T11:17:00.029+10:00

بسم الله الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Asalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

A common question I get asked by students is "How can I read and understand Arabic fluently without the harakat (Vowel marks)?". It will probably come as a little surprise to most students that this process will take years and years of dedicated study. Yes, those 'Learn Arabic in 40 Days' programs are very limited and don't deliver what they promise.

I have included advice for students who want to achieve this goal biithnillah ( with the permission of Allah).

Intention and aim

We all need to ask Allah to help us in any task we undertake. There is nothing difficult if Allah makes it easy for one. One of the ways he makes something easy is to create a desire for it. The majority of people learning Arabic today are Muslims who want to understand the Quran. Students with lofty aims and aspiration reach their desired goal more than often. I remember once hearing a university professor speaking about how to learn a language in a short space of time and one of the key ingredients he mentioned was to make the language relevant to oneself. If wanting to know what the Creator of the Universe is telling us is not enough of a motivation, then I don’t know what is!

"Ya Allah, Make us of those who learn the Quran and teach it to others for your sake, Ameen!"

Increase you vocabulary

Like with any language, increasing ones vocabulary is essential in order to understand what one reads. If you read a text and come across a word or two that you don’t understand then make it a habit to check the meaning of the word(s) in a dictionary. If the word is derived from a triliteral root then memorize this 3 letter root and the meaning that it holds. Use the newly acquired word in a sentence and write it down for future reference.

Arabic Grammar and Morphology

Understanding meaning of words and phrases alone is insufficient and one needs to have a firm grasp of Arabic grammar and Morphology. I will illustrate this point with a few examples:

There are words which change meanings with a change of a vowel mark . An example of this is the active and passive participle of a number of verb forms e.g. مُفْعِل and مُفْعَل (The former is used for one performing the act of أفْعَلَ and the later is the the recipient of this action.

We also can look at certain aspects of words like definiteness and indefiniteness. If we have two consecutive nouns which match in definiteness, number and gender then chances are we are dealing with a صفة / موصوف ( described and describing) relationship. If you have an indefinite noun followed by a definite noun then chances are there is an إضافة ( possessive case) relationship and so on....

In Arabic we have a triliteral base system for the overwhelming majority of words. An important skill that will come with time is identifying base letters and extraneous letters ( ا,ء, ن, م, و, ي, ت etc.).

Don’t jump in the deep end immediately

A common mistake made by students is to believe they should be able to read Arabic texts without harakat after completing a 6 or 12 month course of Arabic grammar and Morphology. Knowing grammar and morphological rules can only take you so far. I had a student ask me once that if he learns more advanced grammar and balagha texts, whether this would make him more proficient in reading. I explained to him that this is not the case, because reading is a completely different skill than learning grammatical rules, especially if these rules are only used in grammatical breakdowns and the Quran.

What is crucial is understanding what one reads. If you are not understanding Arabic texts with harakat then here are few steps you need to take before stepping up to read without harakat.

When you initially start reading texts with no vowels then it can be quite difficult at first. The most important aspect to reading anything is understanding what one reads. Start off with simple children books that have harakat on them and that are translated into English or a language you are proficient with:

As an exercise go through the Arabic and try to understand what is being said. Check how your understanding compares to the translation. Identify any weakness you might have, whether its limited vocabulary, inability to identify the main parts of the sentence, problems with weak letters etc.

After a while, try this again with more advanced books such as الرحيق المختوم (Al raheeq Al makhtoom) a book of Seerah of the Prophet ( peace be upon him) or any other translated book. There are many translations out there so you have a wide range to choose from.

NOTE: reading without harakat is a process that will occur gradually and will not come overnight.

I have provided a sample section of a children's story book entitled: طالوت و جالوت

Try translating the text yourself and compare it with the translation I have provided ( in some cases a word for word translation was not possible) .

ذهب بنو إسرائيل لنبيهم يوما.. سألوه: ألسنا مظلومين
قال: بلى
قالوا: ألسنا مشردين
قال: بلى
قالوا: ابعث لنا ملكا يجمعنا تحت رايته كي نقاتل في سبيل الله ونستعيد أرضنا ومجدنا

قال نبيهم وكان أعلم بهم: هل أنتم واثقون من القتال لو كتب عليكم القتال
قالوا: ولماذا لا نقاتل في سبيل الله، وقد طردنا من ديارنا، وتشرد أبناؤنا، وساء حالنا
قال نبيهم: إن الله اختار لكم طالوت ملكا عليكم

Translation:

Banu Israeel went to their Prophet one day and asked him: "Are we not oppressed?"

He answered " Most certainly you are"

They said "Are we not Musharadeen (those who have fled out of fear)?"

He answered " Most certainly you are"

They said "Assign for us a king who will unite us under his flag so that we can fight in the path of Allah and reclaim our land and honor:

Their Prophet said, and he was more aware regarding them " Are you capable of (i.e. do you know what you are getting yourself into) fighting if fighting is prescribed upon you?"

They said "And why should we not fight in the path of Allah when we have certainly been removed from out of our homes, and our sons have fled for their lives, and our state is calamitous"

Their Prophet said " Certainly, Allah has chosen for you Taloot as a king (to rule) over you"

Practice Often

Like with all things, practice makes perfect! You can't expect to read well if you don’t do it often. Try different types of texts from a wide variety of topics and authors.

A teacher

Having a teacher to guide you along is important and in many cases can save you plenty of time. The Sibaway Institute aims to provide students with all the prerequisites so that they are able to read and understand Arabic texts proficiently.

والحمد لله رب العالمين

Article written by Nabeel Alkhalidy

The original word

2014-11-20T11:06:00.073+11:00

The word masdar (مَصْدَر) linguistically means means "source" and from the perspective of Arabic linguistics it denotes the word which all other derived verbs and nouns originally came from. There has been a debate by Arabic linguists as whether this original word was in fact the verbal noun or the verb

The verbal noun is a noun that denotes an action devoid of a time frame For example: eating, sleeping, reading, writing are all considered verbal nouns.

If we say " Eating adequate fruit and vegetables is essential for preventing a wide variety of health conditions". The word Eating denotes the act of eating without a specific time frame linked to it.

In Surat Al Naba, Allah (Most High) says:

وَجَعَلْنَا نَوْمَكُمْ سُبَاتًا

And made your sleep [a means for] rest

Once again sleep denotes the act of sleeping without an associated time frame.

A verb on the other hand denotes an action with a time frame.

such as in the sentence

نَامَتْ فَاطِمَةُ في منى

Fatimah slept in Mina ( when she performed Hajj)

Here a past tense verb is used to indicate that her sleep took place in the past and the act has been complete.

Which word is the source?

The strongest opinion which most scholars hold today is that the original word is the verbal noun. One of the proofs for this is that Adam (peace be upon him) was taught the process of naming things as mentioned in Surat Al Baqarah ayah 31.

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا

And He taught Adam the names, all of them ( instinctively)

The ability to name everything which humans come across in order to understand and develop is needed to fulfil his role as the vicegerent ( Khalifah) of Allah (Most high) on earth. This is the ability that Angels do not possess.

How to find the masdar of a word?

In the Hans Wehr dictionary the verbal noun can be easily found by looking at a verb entry.

As shown above the word in brackets (green) is the Masdar

More than One Verbal Noun

It is also important to note that a 3 letter root can have more than one Masdar. The following video breifly explains why more than one masdar exists, with emphasis on Quran usage. The video is from a course I teach online : Linguistics and Quranic insights: The Verbal Noun

Nabeel Alkhalidy

Learn Quranic Arabic

The linguistic excellence of Ayat Al Kursi Part 4

2011-01-22T11:00:00.000+11:00

لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ

Neither drowsiness overtaken Him nor sleep

The complete negation of drowsiness and sleep reflect the perfection of his attributes: الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ the ever-living, and the sustainer of the universe

Sleep is a form of death and if it exists then it would be a deficiency for Allah (swt) with regards to his attribute of the ever-living.

Sleep makes one heedless and unaware of what goes around them. If Allah (swt) slept, A’uthubillah, then who would be there to take care of all the affairs of the universe. There is verse in the bible which states

But then the Lord awoke from his sleep;he was like a warrior in a drunken rage [Psalms 78:65, The Bible]

For Christians this becomes even more problematic because they say the God died for 3 days!

Allah (swt) is far far dissociated from such attributes which the People of former Scriptures have invented against him.

لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ

To him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth

The word مَا ( translated as whatever ) in this verse is a relative pronoun [1] which can be used for both masculine or feminine, whether they are singular, dual or plural. مَا is used to refer to unintelligent beings ( animals, inanimate objects) or the attributes of the intelligent ( humans, Jinns, Angels) . [2]

مَن is also a relative pronoun and is used to refer to intelligent beings only. So the reason why مَا was used instead of مَن was to include everything and everyone.

In a normal Arabic sentence structure one would place the Mubtada (subject) before the Khabar (predicate). So in a normal structure of nominal sentence one would say:

مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ لَّهُ

By placing the Khabar ( Jaarun wa majroor) in the beginning, this gives the meaning of exclusivity or constriction which implies it is only Allah (swt) to whom all things belong.

لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ

To him ALONE belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth

There is nothing in existence that doesn’t belong to Allah (swt) who has no co-sharers.

Being a caretaker of something doesn’t imply that it belongs to one or that one has authority over it. So not only is Allah (swt) the caretaker of everything, but everything he takes care of in the most complete manner, belongs to him and him alone. So this ayah negates any associates.

I guess one can now start to appreciate the language of the Ayah and why it is considered the greatest Ayah of the Quran. It deals with absolute oneness and greatness of Allah (swt) and expresses it in the most accurate and emphatic manner possible.

[1] مَا can have other meanings and usages. In the verse it is known as Ma Al mowsula

[2] مَا used for attributes of intelligent beings is not discussed in introductory Arabic courses. If one is unfamiliar with this usage here is an example in the Quran in Surat Al Shams verses 5-7

وَالسَّمَاءِ وَمَا بَنَاهَا

وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا طَحَاهَا

وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا

And the heaven and Him Who made it, And the earth and Him Who extended it,

And the soul and Him Who made it perfect

The linguistic excellence of Ayat Al Kursi Part 3

2011-01-18T23:43:00.003+11:00

لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ

Neither drowsiness overtaken Him nor sleep

Both of the states of سِنَةٌ drowsiness and نَوْمٌ sleep are negated. The negation is made with the repetition of لاَ. It was possible to say it without the second لاَ i.e.

لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَ نَوْمٌ

so why was لاَ repeated.

Let us take an example to illustrate the point further. If one was to say using one لاَ :

مُحَمَّدٌ لاَ يَدْرُسُ الاقتصاد و الكيمياء

Muhammad doesn’t study economics or chemistry

The meaning of this statement is that Muhammad doesn’t study economics or chemistry together. So the negation is for both of them being studied together only. However it is possible that he is studying one of these subjects alone and if so the statement above would still hold true. If Muhammad was infact not studying either one then one would add a second لاَ

مُحَمَّدٌ لاَ يَدْرُسُ الاقتصاد و لاَ الكيمياء

So this would negate Muhammad studying economics or chemistry together or either subject being studied on its own. This is a more complete negation.

Similarly , the word choice in Ayat Al Kursi is very precise and denotes both or either of the states of drowsiness and sleep being negated for Allah (swt).

So If it was written with only one لاَ i.e.

لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَ نَوْمٌ

Then this would imply the possibility that Allah (swt) sleeps without becoming drowsy or that he gets drowsy without going to sleep. A’uthubillah!

So the words of the Qur’an have been worded perfectly as not to leave room for those critics who want to find fault with it.

Let us now look at an example in the Quran of لاَ being used only once

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لاَ تَخُونُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ

O you who believe! be not unfaithful to Allah and the Messenger . . .

The question is now asked: Why was there only the first لاَ unlike the verse in ayat Al kursi?

RasulAllah (saw) is the ambassador and spokesperson for Allah (swt). He does not speak from his own desire but everything he commands is in fact the command of Allah (swt). So by omitting the لاَ after the Messenger, it implies that being unfaithful to the Messenger is in fact being unfaithful to Allah (swt) and vice versa. In other words there is no distinction whether one betrays the Messenger or Allah (swt). By adding the second لاَ this connection between Allah (swt) and RasulAllah would not be implied. SubhanAllah!

We will continue with Ayat Al kursi in my next post after taking a slight detour to explain the negation in this section.

By Nabeel Alkhalidy

The linguistic excellence of Ayat Al Kursi Part 2

2011-01-17T18:29:00.004+11:00

Let us begin the Analysis:

اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ

Allah – There is no deity except him

The verse starts off by with the oneness of Allah and the negation of any partners. This is the most fundamental belief of Islamic Monotheism.

What follows are two predicates [1] for Allah (swt):

(1) الْحَيُّ – The Ever-Living

If one were to use this attributes for someone other than Allah (swt), we would say for example الرَجُل حيٌّ The man is living. In this case the predicate حيٌّ is indefinite.

All the names of Allah begin with الْ with the meaning of “ The one known possessing the attribute in the most complete and perfect way..”. So الْحَيُّ is the one known who embodies the attribute of living in the most complete and perfect manner. Allah (swt) doesn’t die nor has he been in a state on non existence. We on the other hand can die and have come into existence from nothing and in fact we are not even in control of our own life which for some can be cut short unexpectedly.

(2) الْقَيُّومُ – The sustainer of [all] existence

This attribute comes from the verb قَامَ meaning to undertake, carryout and execute. The one who performs this act and embodies it is called قَاءِمٌ i.e the caretaker. Now قَيُّوم on the other hand is on a pattern of a noun called sigha mubalagha [2] or in English we call it an exaggerated form or hyperbole. Using this form changes the meaning to mean the caretaker who takes care of every matter to the highest degree possible. So الْقَيُّوم is the one known who is the sustainer of all existence.

(To be continued)

[1] They can also both considered adjectives

[2] sigha mubalagha have a number of different forms . قَيُّوم is on the pattern of فَيعُول and is originally قَيوُومٌ but due morphological reasons it changes to قَيُّوم

The linguistic excellence of Ayat Al Kursi

2011-01-15T12:50:00.006+11:00

The linguistic excellence of Ayat Al Kursi by Nabeel Al Khalidy

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said speaking about this verse:

Everything has its pinnacle and the pinnacle of the Quran is Surah al-Baqarah. In it there is an ayah which is the greatest in the Qur'an: Ayat al-Kursi
[at-Tirmidhi]

In this series of articles I plan on sharing with you the linguistic subtleties of this verse which many readers might not be familiar with. I will get into some discussion of Arabic grammar so it is hoped that one understands the basics. If not then I invite you to the following Channel which offers a complete Arabic curriculum.

Introduction:

The verse started off by with the oneness of Allah and the negation of any associates. This is the most fundamental belief of a Muslim.

اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ

Allah – There is no deity except him

Notice that The way this is ordered is different to the shahadah (The testification of faith ) which one utters when one enters the fold of Islam.

أشْهَدُ أنْ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ اللّهُ

I testify that “ There is no deity except Allah”

The way it is worded in Ayat Al Kursi has Lafthul Jalalah ( اللّهُ ) as the subject ( mubtada) of a nominal sentence ( jumla ismiya). One will notice that every sentence that follows this verse can serve as a predicate ( khabar) because they each have a pronoun that refers back to اللّهُ . I have highlighted each predicate with a different color.

In other words one could break down the verse as follows.

الله لا تأخذه سنة ولا نوم، الله له ما في السموات وما في الأرض، الله من ذا الذي يشفع عنده إلا بإذنه، الله يعلم مابين أيديهم وما خلفهم، الله لا يحيطون بعلمه إلا بما شاء، الله وسع كرسيّه السموات والأرض، الله لا يؤده حفظهما وهو العلي العظيم.

I have highlighted the pronoun that refers back to mubtada in each of the sentences [1]. The pronoun in يعلم is هو and hidden (mustatir) and is understood from the verb.

So each sentence serves as information about Allah (swt). We will start the detailed analysis of the verse in my next post Insh'Allah

[1] In a Nominal sentence (jumla ismiya) if the predicate (khabar) is also a sentence then there needs to be a pronoun in it that refers back to the subject ( mubtada). An example of this is in the sentence

ُمُحَمَّدٌ ُمُحَمَّدٌ أبُوهُ كَرِيمٌ is the subject, so what is the news (khabar) about Muhammad? it is أبُوهُ كَرِيمٌ " His father is generous" which is a jumla. The pronoun that refers back to the subject is the word "his" which is the translation of the pronoun هُ in أبُوهُ

The richness of the Arabic Language ( Sentence structures)

2010-01-03T13:38:00.025+11:00

Dr Fadl Samarai a famous Arabic Grammarian in the Arab world compared the Arabic language to a highly sophisticated, state of the art computer alongside the English language (or any other language) which he compared to an obsolete and outdated computer. This might sound a bit biased considering he is an Arab, a Muslim and a famous Arabic Grammarian on Arab TV, however he has very good reason to make this comparison once we examine the Arabic language in a bit more detail.

Before we can understand this comparison we need to understand the difference between a declining language like Arabic and a non-declining language like the English language.

Let's take the following 3 simple sentences in both Arabic and English:

1. Khalid came

جَاءَ خَالِدٌ

2. I saw Khalid

رَأَيْتُ خَالِداً

3. I went with khalid

ذَهَبْتُ مَعَ خَالِدٍ

In all 3 sentences Khalid is written the same way in English regardless of what role it plays in the sentence.

On the other hand you will notice the name Khalid in Arabic (خَالِد) changes depending on its role in the sentence (Khalid(un), Khalid(an) and Khalid(in) respectively). In the first sentence he is the doer, the second he is the object and the third he followed by the word مَعَ (with). Most nouns and verbs in Arabic decline depending on their role in the sentence.

Declension, as Dr Fadl explains gives the Arabic language an added dimension of being able to communicate what one wants to say in the most precise way possible that English and other non declining languages are not able to do.

Comparison of one simple sentence

Let us take a simple sentence in English and translate it to Arabic

Muhammad gave Khalid a book

أَعْطَى مُحَمَّدٌ خَالِداً كِتَاباً

In English we are limited to the proper sentence structure which needs to be adhered to. If we were to rearrange the same words of the sentence in random order as follows:

gave a Muhammad Khalid book

It would make absolutely no sense. Also if we wanted to say the same sentence in another way we would need to bring in a new word or change a word with one of its synonyms.

On the other hand!

In Arabic we can use the same words (with same function in the sentence) and rearrange them in 10 different ways:

أَعْطَى مُحَمَّدٌ خَالِداًً كِتَاباً

مُحَمَّدٌ أَعْطَى خَالِداً كِتَاباً

كِتَاباً أَعْطَى مُحَمَّدٌ خَالِداً

كِتَاباًً خَالِداً أَعْطَى مُحَمَّدٌ

كِتَاباً خَالِداً مُحَمَّدٌ أَعْطَى

أَعْطَى خَالِداًً كِتَاباً مُحَمَّدٌ

أَعْطَى خَالِداً مُحَمَّدٌ كِتَاباً

أَعْطَى كِتَاباً مُحَمَّدٌ خَالِداًً

أَعْطَى كِتَاباًً خَالِداًً مُحَمَّدٌ

In all 10 sentences the same words are used with each word having the same function in the sentence. Each of the 10 sentences can be translated back into English as "Muhammad gave Khalid a book"

Now the question will arise what is the point. Would this not make the other 9 forms redundant since they all have the same meaning. Actually they all have the same general meaning with a subtle difference in each based on the positioning of the words.

Let's take some examples:

أَعْطَى مُحَمَّدٌ خَالِداً كِتَاباًً

One did not know anything of the event (i.e. Muhammad giving Khalid a book) prior to hearing it. In other words, this is completely new information for the person hearing it.

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مُحَمَّدٌ أَعْطَى خَالِداً كِتَاباً

One is aware that Khalid received a book but is unaware of the person who gave it to him. So one would ask "Who gave Khalid the book?" and this would be the response.

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كِتَاباً أَعْطَى مُحَمَّدٌ خَالِداً

One is aware that Khalid received something from Muhammad but is unaware of what he gave. So one would ask "What did Muhammad give Khalid?" and this would be the response.

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كِتَاباً خَالِداً ً أَعْطَى مُحَمَّدٌ

One is aware that Muahmmad gave something to someone but is unaware of what was given and to whom it was given to. So one would ask "What did Muhammad give and to whom it he give it to?" and this would be the response.

And so on…….

This is one example of how English seems quite powerless when compared with the Arabic language.

The Miracle of the Qur'an

Dr Fadl has written many books on the linguistic miracle of the Qur'an and I will try to share some of what he says. Much of his work is taken from Islamic scholars and grammarians of the past although he has added a substantial amount of his own insights.

One aspect of the miraculous nature of the Qur'anic language lies in the precision of its words. As Imam al-Suyuti said in al-Itqan fi Uloom al-Qur'an,

"It is possible to convey a single meaning with a variety of words, some more expressive than others. Likewise for the two parts – subject and predicate – of a sentence; each may be expressed in the most eloquent manner when taken alongside the other. Therefore, it is necessary [in good composition] to consider the overall meaning of a sentence, then to consider every single word that may be used to convey that meaning, and then to use the most appropriate, expressive and eloquent of those words. This is impossible for man to do consistently, or even most of the time, but it is well within the Knowledge of Allah [whose knowledge is boundless], and thus the Qur'an was considered the best and most eloquent of all speech…"

I have completed a course on this aspect of Rhetoric related to sentence structures and the associated meanings associated with changing word positions. The course information is found HERE

The linguistic Miracle of the Qur'an

2009-12-14T20:31:00.000+11:00

As Salaam Alaykum.

Bismillah Irahman Irahim.

Although Much could be written on this topic, however I think the following story will suffice. I have extracted it from a book called, " Muhammad (Sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) The Prophet Of Revolution" by Ml Wahiduddin Khan, Who himself has taken the story from Sheikh Tantawis commentary on the Quran. Jawahir fi Al-tafsir Al- Quran Al-Karim.

Sheikh Tantawi (ra) writes " On 13 June 1932, I met an Egyptian writer, Kamil Gilani, who told me an amazing story. One day he was with an American orientalist by the name of Finkle, with whom he enjoyed a deep intellectual relationship."Tell me, are you still among those who consider the Quran a miracle? whispered Finkle in Gilani's ear, adding a laugh to indicate his ridicule of such belief.

He thought that Muslims could only hold this belief in blind faith. It could not be based on any sound objective reasoning. Thinking that his blow had really gone home, Finkle was visibly pleased with himself. Seeing his attitude, Gilani too started laughing. " Before issuing any pronouncement on the the style of the Quran," he said, "we should first have a look and see if we can produce anything comparable to the Quran or not."

Gilani then invited Finkle to join him in putting a Quranic idea into Arabic words. The idea he chose was:' Hell is extremely vast' , Finkle agreed, and both men sat down with pen and paper. Between them, they produced about twenty Arabic sentences. " "Hell is extremely vast," " Hell is vaster than you can imagine,"

"Mans's intelligence cannot fathom the vastness of Hell," and many examples of this nature, were some of the sentences they produced. They tried until they could think of no other sentences to express this idea. Gilani looked at Finkle triumphantly. " Now that we have done our best, we shall be able to see how the Quran stands above all work of men." he said " What, has the quran expressed this idea more eloquently.?" Finkle enquired. " We are like little children compared to the Quran," Gilani told him. Amazed, Finkle asked what was in the Quran.

Gilani recited this verse from Surah Qaf:

يَوْمَ نَقُولُ لِجَهَنَّمَ هَلِ امْتَلَأْتِ وَتَقُولُ هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ

" On the Day when we Will ask Hell: " Are you full? " And Hell will answer Are there any more? " (50:30)

Finkle was startled on hearing this verse. Amazed at the supreme eloquence of the Quran, he openly admitted defeat." you were right, quite right," he said, " I unreservedly concede defeat." " for you to acknowledge the truth," Gilani replied, " is nothing strange, for you are a man of letters, well aware of the importance of style in language." This particular orientalist was fluent in English, German, Hebrew and Arabic, and had spent all his life studying the literature of these languages..

(Sheikh al Tantawi (ra) Al Jawahir fi tafseer Al Quran Al Kareem, Vol. 23pp.11-12.)