Symposium 40
Words on Fluency and Eloquence
of the Noble Quran
Anwar:Now that we enjoyed drinking the Iraqi tea, may I ask a question?
Hasan:Yes, go ahead.
Anwar:You mentioned ‘eloquence, fluency and poetic composition’. What does these terms mean?
Hasan:All right. I will give a definition for each of them.
Eloquence:the beauty of expression and the elegance of appearance.
Fluency:the beauty of presentation and the eminence
of meaning.
Poetic composition:comprehensive style and unified composition.
In other words, eloquence is a well-expressed speech that is effective in persuading people. Fluency is a correct enunciation in a sense that there would be no ambiguity in a speech. Poetic composition refers to setting words together in a way that sound harmonious.
Anwar:Did mankind actually fail to come up with something similar to the Noble Quran?
Hasan:Yes, they did fail and they still fail to compose something similar to it or something that can dispute it, not to mention that the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) challenged all the disbelievers as well as the people of the Book in this regard. We need to remember that eloquence and fluency were of huge significance at that point in time and that the message of the Prophet (PBUH) refuted their superstitions and distortions of religions.
Anwar:I read that there were a lot of eloquent poets and speakers at the time when the Prophet Mohammad
(PBUH) was sent, and that majority of them were known for their fanatic views and haughtiness.
Hasan:Very true.
Anwar:Could any of those who opposed his claim like Mosailama the liar and others come up with anything similar to the Noble Quran?
Hasan:My dear Brother, you are going to laugh at their nonsense and ridiculousness if you know what they invented.
Anwar:No harm in hearing some of it.
Hasan:Historically, Mosailama claimed sharing the prophethood with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and he began talking rhymed nonsense: “Allah blessed the pregnant with a walking human, stuffed in within the cavity” or “by the elephant, you be aware of the elephant; he has a harmful tail and a long trunk”.
There is another person called Tolaiha Bin Khowailid Al-Asadi who claimed the same as he invented these words: “By the pigeon and the dove. By the shrike and fasting, may our reign reach Iraq and Shaam”.
Two more people named Sojah Bint Al-Harith and Al-Aswad Al-‘Insi said even more ridiculous things that the two previous liars. The shallowness in meaning and the literary weakness is so obvious that you cannot possibly miss their false claims.
Anwar:You are absolutely right.
Hasan:Great! What else do you want to know?
Anwar:I would like you to give us, first, some Quranic examples on the eloquence, fluency and the poetic composition, and second, some evidence to the inability of even the most eloquent to challenge the Noble Quran.
Hasan:All right. Please, pay attention, my dear Brother. The Lord says:
(And of His portents are the ships, like banners on the sea)42;32.
This is an eloquent and obvious Surah recognized by all eloquent Arabs.
(Lo! We have given thee Abundance۞So pray unto thy Lord, and sacrifice۞Lo! It is thy insulter who is without posterity)108;1-3.
This Surah shows the wonderful fluency of the Noble Quran.
(The Beneficent۞Hath made known the Quran۞He hath created man۞He hath taught him utterance۞The sun and the moon are made punctual)55;1-5.
What a great poetic composition. The most eloquent and fluent of Arabs agrees on this.
Anwar:This is obviously beautiful although I am not an expert. Let’s move to the second issue.
Hasan:All right. Even the most eloquent people admitted that the Noble Quran is of a miraculous nature. It is said in the Prophetic history that Al-Walid Bin Al-Maghirah, one of the great eloquent Arabs, heard these following Holy Verses from the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH):
(Ha. Mim۞The revelation of the Scripture is from Allah, the Mighty, the Knower۞The Forgiver of the sin, the Accepter of the repentance, the Stern in punishment, the Bountiful. There is no God save Him. Unto him is the journeying۞None argue concerning
the revelations of Allah save those who disbelieve, so let not their turn of fortune in the land deceive thee۞The folk of Noah and the factions after them denied their messengers before these, and every nation purposed to seize their messenger and argued falsely, thinking thereby to refute the Truth. Then I seized them, and how awful was My punishment۞Thus was the word of thy Lord concerning those who disbelieve fulfilled: that they are owners of the Fire)40;1-6.
When he heard this, he went to his people, the tribe of Bani Makhzum, and said: “By the Lord, I have just heard Mohammad uttering words which neither man nor Jinn can produce. It has such a charm and beauty; it is graceful and fruitful. It rises above all and nothing can rise above it”. Then, he left home.
Moreover, it is said in that ‘Otbeh Bin Rabi’a heard this Holy Verse:
(And they say: Our hearts are protected from that unto which thou callest us, and in our ears there is a deafness, and between us and thee there is a veil. Act, then. Lo! We also shall be acting)41;5.
Then, he said: “I heard something I swear I haven’t ever heard anything like it. By God, it was neither poetry nor magic. O people of Qoraish, listen to me and trust me with this. Stay close to this man and from what he is doing. Stay in touch with him. By the Lord, what I heard from him will have an awful tiding. If the Arabs do the right thing, they will be content with him away from others. If he comes out to the Arabs, his supremacy will be theirs and his glory will be yours. You will be the happiest with him”.
After all this, would possibly be any doubts in the miraculous nature of the Noble Quran concerning eloquence and fluency?
Anwar:This is crystal clear!
Hasan:After all this, we need to take a break, Anwar.
Anwar:Thanks a lot.
Symposium 41
Words on the Noble Quran
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:‘Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:Is there anymore you want to say on the miraculous nature of the Noble Quran?
Hasan:No, but I need to mention some evidence to the fact that it is a celestial book.
Anwar:Wonderful, and I desperately need to hear that.
Hasan:I will try to make it short. What do you think?
Anwar:Nothing to say but all thanks to you, Allah