al-Ijaz al-Lughawi fi al-Quran al-Karim - Jamiat al-Madina
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- Jāmiʻat al-Madīnah al-ʻĀlamīyah
al-I‘jāz al-Lughawī fī al-Qur’ān al-Karīm (Linguistic Inimitability in the Noble Quran) is an academic textbook prepared and published by Al-Madinah International University (MEDIU) as part of its undergraduate curriculum in Quranic sciences and Islamic studies (course code IUQR3213) . The single-volume work explores the linguistic and rhetorical perfection of the Quran, demonstrating why Arabic eloquence forms the core basis of the Quranic challenge to humanity .
Purpose and Scope
The textbook is structured as a series of instructional lessons designed for undergraduate university students . Its pedagogical objective is to ground students in the theological and literary dimensions of Quranic inimitability (i‘jāz), with a targeted focus on its linguistic facet . The text establishes that while prophets of earlier traditions were granted tangible, sensory miracles suited to their respective eras—which were witnessed only by contemporaries—the Quran constitutes a perpetual, rational miracle whose challenge remains binding across time .
Structure and Core Topics
The curriculum is organized into modular lessons addressing foundational concepts, classical debates, and applied textual analysis:
- Foundational Concepts and Facets of Inimitability: The early lessons define i‘jāz, outline the stages of the Quranic challenge to the Arabs, and survey various dimensions of miraculousness, including legislative preservation, artistic imagery, and numerical and scientific aspects . The text also clarifies the boundary between scientific inimitability (al-i‘jāz al-‘ilmī) and scientific tafsir (al-tafsīr al-‘ilmī) .
- Classical Doctrinal Perspectives: The book surveys historical approaches to i‘jāz, evaluating the Mu‘tazilite doctrine of al-sarfah (divine prevention of humanity from mounting a challenge), the Ash‘ari emphasis on prophecies of the unseen (al-ikhbār ‘an al-ghuyūb), and theories focusing on composition and meaning .
- Rhetorical and Stylistic Analysis: The work engages with classical treatises on rhetoric and i‘jāz, drawing upon works such as I‘jāz al-Qur’ān by al-Baqillani, Dalā’il al-I‘jāz by Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani, and Ibn Abi al-Isba‘’s Taḥrīr al-Taḥbīr . It highlights how Quranic composition (al-naẓm) transcends standard Arabic prose, rhymed prose (saj‘), and poetry .
- Particles and Syntactic Nuance: Later sections investigate specific linguistic phenomena, such as grammatical particles of meaning (ḥurūf al-ma‘ānī), prepositions, and conjunctions (e.g., wāw, fā’, thumma, lā) . Referencing Ibn al-Athir’s al-Mathal al-Sā’ir, the book illustrates how subtle variations in particle selection preserve structural harmony and acoustic elegance (al-tansīq al-ṣawtī) .
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