Re: Discussion about "My Ordeal with the Qur'an"
Reply #984 - June 24, 2010, 07:53 PM
Chapter 4 - The Miraculous Nature of the Qurʾān (cont...)
Part 5 - Disorder in the Distribution of Topics
This feature of glaring fragmentation in the Qur'an resulted in considerable anarchy in the distribution of verses and inability to pursue and explore topics properly. The Qur'an is not an academic book divided into chapters that deal with a specific issue in each one. Just as the names of the Suras do not signify anything important. The chapter of the Cow (Al-Baqara) for example does not talk about cows. It was only named thus because it contains a short story about it and it could have been named any other name. Likewise the chapter of the Bee (Al-Nahl) and the Ant (Al-Naml) etc...
Since the Qur'an is not divided into topics or sections or chapters, you will find one topic sprinkled over multiple suras and a variety of verses, inserted here and there. I don't know the reason for that other than this must be amongst the requirements of eloquence and miraculousness. Who knows, maybe behind this bizarre design is a mighty wisdom that minds cannot comprehend.
1. Here's the chapter of Women (Sura al-Nisa') for example. Chapter number 4 with 176 verses. It only deals with the subject of women in 32 verses. What remains of the Sura is a fragmented varied assortment that meanders around individual religious issues, such as prayer, zakat, kindess to parents, family ties, inheritence, forgiveness, accepting the decree of God, Jews, Christians, worshipping Jesus as God, rejection of Polytheism. Plus long narratives about fighting and jihad and making migration in the way of God, which in my view should be attached to Sura Al-Tawba or Sura al-Ahzab, since there is no place for it in this Sura, in fact it is totally out of place in it.
It's odd that after talking about women in the first twenty five verses, the Qur'an then jumps suddenly to talking about repentance and family ties from verse 26 to 33, then it returns to speaking about women from verse 34 to 35.
Then it talks about a variety of other topics which are not connected to each other by any single theme, then it stops at verse 126 to resume talking about women, and that is from verse 127 until 130.
Then it moves on to other topics and matters until the penultimate verse of the sura, i.e. until verse 175. Then it remembers that in the bow is one last arrow so saves it to talk about another subject that has nothing to do with women, but is shared between women and men and that is inheritance which it didn't complete in the previous verses and I'm referring to Al-Kalala (someone with no heirs), which it left off talking about, until the very last verse of the sura who's number is 176.
Topic: Discussion about "My Ordeal with the Qur'an"