خلاصة:
For Muslims, the Qur’an is the
unchallengeable word of God. Its inimitability,
eloquence, outstanding use of the Arabic language, and
scientific accuracies has been the subject of many
discussions among Muslims and non-Muslim scholars
alike. And given the issue of alteration in other divine
scriptures, the discussion of tahrif (alteration) has also
been examined. Has the Qur’an been changed like
other divine books? Moreover, how is God a preserver
over the Qur’an? As God challenges human beings to
bring forth a text that resembles the Qur’an, is this due
to its magnificent nature, or that humans are incapable
due to God’s divine intervention at every endeavour?
This paper explores the practical measures taken to
ensure the Qur’an’s survival as an unadulterated text,
exploring the following areas to display these strategic
stylistic methods, namely 1. The odd placement of
controversial verses, and 2. The omission of names of
contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad. Part two of
this paper will explore the Qur’an’s easy and accurate
memorization, omission of details, and scientific
ambiguity.
ملخص الجهاز:
"There is another interesting discussion with regards to the inimitability of the Qur’an and that is whether the concept of I’jaz, (the idea that humans are incapable of imitating the Qur’an), means that human beings are incapable of bringing forth a piece of literature that resembles the Qur’an due to its magnificent nature, or whether humans are capable of such a feat, but have just been rendered incapable due to God’s divine intervention at every attempt.
It is a verse of sectarian significance, and it is not far-fetched to suggest that it may have been removed due to sectarian interest if it were obvious that the verse was speaking about the day of Ghadir and the appointment of Ali. Had the context of the verse been a little more conspicuous, many may have more easily noticed its significance with relation to the leadership of ‘Ali. To support the idea that the placement of the verse was strategic, Allamah Tabatabai in Tafsir al-Mizan notes a hadith that has been narrated in al-Durru ’l-manthūr.
If it were clear that the verse were speaking of only these five individuals, and was placed somewhere else in the Qur’an, it may have been less obscure and more likely to have been removed by those with other vested political interests against the family of the Prophet.
The point here is that perhaps it was strategic to omit the names to begin with; knowing that this was a politically sensitive issue and that people were not going to be inclined to follow it, he removed their reason to alter the Qur’an, and in effect, the omission of their names was actually a strategy in the long-term preservation of the Qur’an."