(by Hamza Tzortzis)
http://www.hamzatzortzis.com/?page_id=170I have summarised this because it is so long and rambling. I have also tried to make it flow a bit better as an argument, but it's still pretty hopeless. It is certainly no miracle.
The quran is an entirely new literary form.
the Quran [and qurqan] is impossible to imitate
Arabic literary formsArabic is always either prose and poetry. Some people say that the quran is neither, and has a unique literary form.
Arabic poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning.
The Qur’an cannot be simply described as poetry because the totality of each surah does not conform to any of the al-bihar and in many places does not exhibit the same regular rythmic patterns of the al-bihar
Arabic proseProse is the ordinary form of written language and every-day speech.
The Qur’an cannot be simply described as prose ( saj’) for three reasons:
1. Unique fusion of metrical and non-metrical speech
2. The Qur’an transcends saj’
a. Greater tendency to mono-rhyme
b. Does not conform to a particular style
c. Greater range of saj’ phrases
d. Higher frequency of rhetorical features
[Even though neither I, nor anybody else, has ever counted the frequency of rhetorical devices in anything other than the quran, I can say with certainty that] The Qur’an employs a wider range and frequency of rhetorical features than any other rhymed prose; past or present.
Pointless Examples in the quran of the following literary devices: Alliteration, Analogy, Antiphrasis, Antithesis. Asyndeton, Assonance Cadence Chiasmus Epizeuxis Equivoque. Homonymy, Hyperbole, Isocolon, Metaphor Metonymy Palindrome Parenthesis, Polyptoton, Rhetorical questions Synecdoche
3. Qur’an bound stylistic variations
Stylistic variation is the use of different features of language in a myriad of ways. the Qur’an uses literary and linguistic devices in such a way that has not been used before with unparalleled communicative effect.
The use of stylistic variation or stylistic differences, includes, but is not limited to:
1. Semantically driven assonance and rhyme
2. Grammatical shifts (iltifaat, in Arabic)
3. Interrelation between sound, structure and meaning
4. Choice of words
5. Unique linguistic genre
6. Word order
What is a miracle? A miracle is commonly defined as a violation of natural law.
There are two problems with this deifition.
1. Describing Laws of nature rely on induction
2. the capacity of nature can be refedined
and so I am stealing WLC’s definition of miracle: “events which lie outside the productive capacity of nature” [even though this solves neither of the problems].
Why is the Qur’an a Miracle?The quran lies outside the productive capacity of the nature of the Arabic language because it is neither prose nor poetry and has not been matched. According to me, every combination of Arabic words and letters have been used to try and imitate the quran. According to me, they all fail, therefore the quran is a miracle.
The challenge in the Qur’anAccording to Qur’anic commentators such as Ibn Kathir, Suyuti and Ibn Abbas, these verses issue a challenge to produce a chapter that imitates the unique literary form of the Qur’an.[12]
they cannot:
1. Replicate the Qur’an’s literary form
2. Match the unique linguistic nature of the Qur’an
3. Select and arrange words like that of the Qur’an
4. Select and arrange similar grammatical particles
5. Match the Qur’an’s superior eloquence and sound
6. Equal the frequency of rhetorical devices
7. Match the level of content and informativeness
8. Equal the Qur’an’s conciseness and flexibility
The Qur’an is impossible to match linguistically
[apart from the development of every single literary form, in any language, that have ever been produced] a human author is only able to produce the known literary forms.
examples of the quran's inimitability.1: Word order, sound and meaning
The quran orders words in a way that is better than some other ways I can think of
2: Grammatical Shift (iltifaat)
the extensive use of grammatical shifts.
e.g change from the first person plural ‘We’ to the second person ‘…your Lord’.
3 Qur’anic precision
Normally, the word al-Ghafoor always precedes ar-Raheem. But one time it’s the other way around, and this fits nicely with something or other.
4: Maintenance of rhythm
The quran arranges words so as to have a rythym
5: Singular and plural words
[Apart from all the people who are completely unastounded by the quran] The Qur’an never ceases to astound those who study it.
whenever Allah uses the word sama’ (listen) in the Qur’an it is usually in its singular rather than the plural form. This is because allah knows that we will all individually interpret the quran our own way.
6: Qur’anic imagery and word choice
The quran uses words that are more powerful than other alternative words.
7: Surah al-Kawthar
This short surah has the following features:
i. Emphasis and choice of pronoun
ii. Word choice
iii. Word arrangement
iv. Multiple meaning
Just by briefly looking at Surah al-Kawthar’s first line it can been seen that the words, word order and pronoun have been carefully selected to enhance the meaning. Any attempt to change the words or word order will truly cease to sound like the Qur’an, and the powerful meaning would be lost.
The quran also has some science.
Quran kicks ass
Topic: The Qur’an’s Challenge: A Literary & Linguistic Miracle (Summarised)