Abd al-Salam Ahmad al-Raghib

Abd al-Salam Ahmad al-Raghib is an author and scholar of Quranic rhetoric and literary criticism, best known for his study Wazifat al-Sura al-Fanniya fi al-Quran (The Function of the Artistic Image in the Quran) Wazifat al-Sura al-Fanniy….

Quranic Rhetoric and Literary Theory

In his critical study of Quranic aesthetics, al-Raghib evaluated Quranic imagery within its broader textual context (siyaq) and compositional framework (nasaq), extending analytical discussions that developed in the decades following Sayyid Qutb’s pioneering work on Quranic artistic portrayal Wazifat al-Sura al-Fanniy…. He argued that the Quranic image does not merely fulfill an aesthetic end for its own sake, but addresses the entirety of human intellect, emotion, and perception to convey religious meaning and establish the inimitability (i‘jaz) of the text Wazifat al-Sura al-Fanniy…+1.

Al-Raghib structured the function of figurative imagery in the Quran into two interrelated categories: proximate functions (al-waza'if al-qariba) and distant functions (al-waza'if al-ba'ida) Wazifat al-Sura al-Fanniy…. Proximate functions encompass the sensory depiction of abstract mental concepts, psychological states, parables, natural phenomena, historical narratives, human behavioral models, and scenes of the Resurrection Wazifat al-Sura al-Fanniy…. Distant functions represent the higher artistic, psychological, rational, and theological dimensions that emerge through these depictions, centered on the foundational concept of divinity (uluhiyya) and the unified worldview of Islam Wazifat al-Sura al-Fanniy…+1. He maintained that religious thought serves as the primary constituent distinguishing the Quran’s imagery from conventional literary forms, aligning its internal harmony with the overarching order of the universe and human life Wazifat al-Sura al-Fanniy…+1.