Chapter 4 - The Miraculous Nature of the Qurʾān (cont...)
Part 7 - Obscurities of the Qurʾān.*
In (the Science of) the Miraculousness of the Qur'an, the branch (known as) "Obscurities" has contributed a great deal to the ambiguity of the Qur'an. It is more a source of incapacitation (تعجيز) than it is a source of miraculousness (إعجاز). This branch (of science of the Qur'an) is called "The Obscurities of the Qur'an."
The term "Obscurities of the Qur'an" refers to words, phrases and constructions in the Qur'an that are obscure and appear in a manner that was not used in the Arabic language before. They are (words) that are not used in the regular meaning that the original forms of the word convey. As Al-Rafi' says they are: "Perplexing to interpret because they are not understood in the same way by those who use them as well as the majority of people. Altogether their number in the Qur'an amounts to 700 words or slightly more." (50) Just as al-Suyuti says when emphasising the obscureness of these words, that the Arabs who "Were the masters of pure language, (both) those who were present at the revelation of the Qur'an or who it reached, were at a loss with the words they didn't know the meaning of." (51)
The obscurities in the Qur'an usually occur as strange words. Some of these words are not from the language of the Quraysh, and some are not even from the language of the Arabs at all. They also occur in other things which al-Suyuti mentions, though it's not the place to cover them here. They appear in the way pronouns, declensions, correlations, and constructions are used in a manner unheard of in the speech of the Arabs.
Though the obscure words in the Qur'an number into the hundreds, I will suffice here with mentioning only a few examples.
Abu 'Ubayda related from Ibrahim al-Taymi that Abu Bakr al-Siddique was asked about (the meaning of) His saying - Exalted is He:
(80:31) وَفَاكِهَةً وَأَبًّا
"And fruits and fodder/straw/grasses/weeds/herbage"
He replied: "Which sky will shield me and which ground will bear me, if I was to say something about the book of God of which I know not?" (52)
Al-Gharyabi related from Ibn Abbas who said: "I understand the whole of the Qur'an except four (things/words):
(69:36) غِسْلِينٍ
"washing of wounds/filth/refuse"
(19:13) وَحَنَانًا
"And piety/compassion/tenderness"
(9:114) لَأَوَّاهٌ
"Tender/Soft-hearted/Pious/Given to prayer"
(18:9) وَالرَّقِيمِ
"Valley called Raqeem/Tablet/Letter/Inscription."
Amongst the other obscure words also are:
"قلوبنا غُلف"
"ما ننسخ"
"مثابة"
"جِنَفًا"
"بهتانًا"
"غير متجانفٍ"
"مدرارًا"
"يضاهئون"
"صنوان"
"جُذاذًا"
"كَطيِّ السجلِّ"
"ثاني عِطْفه"
"هيهات هيهات"
"الأجداث"
"زخرفًا
"برزخ"
"رواكد"
"يوبقهن"
"ذي المعارج"
"سبلًا"
"جَدُّ ربنا"
"فلا يخاف بخْسًا"
"ولا رهقًا"
"كثيبًا مهيلًا"
"وبيلًا"
"شواظ"
"يطمثهن"
"نضّاختان"
"رفرفٍ خضر"
"مترفين"
"فَرَوْح ورَيحان"
"نبرأها"
"لا تجعلنا فتنة للذين كفروا"
"انفقوا"
"ومن يتّق الله يجعل له مخرجًا"
"عتت"
"فسحقًا"
"لو تُدهن فيدهنون"
"زنيم"
"يوم يُكشف عن ساق"
"مكظوم"
"مذموم"
"ليزلقونك"
"طغى الماء"
"يوم عسير"
"أمشاج"
"مستطيرًا"
"قَمْطريرًا"
"رواسي"
"ألفافًا"
"جزاء وفاقًا"
"فُراتًا"
"المعصرات"
"كواعب"
"الرادفة"
"سَفَرة"
"قَضْبًا"
"عسعس"
"عِلِّيِّين"
"ضريع"
"حسير"
"يتمطّى"
"أترابًا"
"مرساها"
"ممنون"
"أرائك"
"معاذيره"
(54)
All of these are Arabic words that appear in the Qur'an, the dialect of the Quraysh mixed with the dialects of other Arab tribes, but there are also foreign non-Arabic words that exceed in number 100 that appear in the Qur'an, for example:
"سندس"
"إستبرق"
"أباريق"
"أبْ"
"الأرائك"
"الأسباط"
"أكواب"
"الأوّاه"
"ربّانيّون"
"الرَّقيم"
"زنجبيل"
"سجِّيل"
"سرادق"
"غسَّاق"
"القسطاس"
"مشكاة"
"صراط"
***
*I have translated "Gharib al-Qur'an" as "Obscurities of the Qur'an. However it could also be translated as: "Strange", "Rare", "Foreign" etc... "Gharib al-Qur'an" is an established branch of Qur'anic Sciences ("Uloom al-Qur'an") and about which much was written by the classical Islamic scholars. It came about due to the number of odd - and often - incomprehensible words that Muslims found themselves faced with when reading the Qur'an. These words were not part of ordinary Arabic language. Some were rare or unusual Arabic words or spellings. Some were from closely linked languages like Hebrew and some from more distant foreign languages.
_____________________________
(50) Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafi'i, "The Miraculousness of the Qur'an", p 34.
(51) Jalal al-Din Al-Suyuti "Perfection in the Sciences of the Qur'an", 1/119
(52) The previous reference 1/119
(53) The previous reference 1/119
(54) The previous reference 1/119-142
Topic: Foreign words in Islam