al-Nukat fi Ijaz al-Quran
- Author died
- 384 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Ma'arif bi-Misr
al-Nukat fi Ijaz al-Quran (Subtleties in the Inimitability of the Quran) is a theological and rhetorical treatise on the miraculous nature of the Quran by the Baghdad-based Mutazilite scholar and grammarian Abu al-Hasan al-Rummani (296–384 AH / 908–994 CE; another report gives his death in 386 AH) . It is considered one of the earliest extant specialized treatises on the topic of iʿjāz al-Qurʾān by a theological scholar .
Background and Composition
The work is a concise epistle (risāla) written as a direct response to an inquirer who requested a summary of the fine points (nukat) regarding the Quran's inimitability without lengthy dialectical disputes (ḥijāj) . In opening the text, al-Rummani outlines seven distinct aspects through which the Quran's miraculous inimitability is demonstrated:
- The failure of opponents to produce a rival text despite the presence of strong motives and pressing need .
- The universal challenge issued to all people .
- Divine deterrence (al-ṣarfa), a rational aspect influenced by Ibrahim al-Nazzam .
- Rhetoric and eloquence (al-balāgha) .
- Truthful foretelling of future events .
- The disruption of customary patterns (naqḍ al-ʿāda) .
- Analogy with all other miracles .
Structure and Rhetorical Method
Although al-Rummani lists seven aspects, he devotes the bulk of the treatise to rhetoric (al-balāgha) due to its central standing in his view, deferring the other six aspects to brief treatments at the conclusion of the text .
Al-Rummani defines eloquence not merely as conveying meaning or matching phrasing to an idea, but as "conveying the meaning to the heart in the finest verbal form" . He divides rhetoric into three tiers: highest, lowest, and intermediate, asserting that the highest tier is inherently miraculous and exclusive to the Quran, whereas the lower tiers fall within human capability .
He divides rhetoric into ten distinct branches, dedicating a specific chapter to each :
- Conciseness (al-ījāz): Defined as reducing words without impairing the intended meaning, which he subdivides into ellipsis (ījāz ḥadhf) and brevity (ījāz qiṣar) .
- Simile (al-tashbīh): Classified into sensory (ḥissī) and rational (ʿaqlī) similes .
- Metaphor (al-istiʿāra): Described as more expressive and psychologically impactful than literal phrasing .
- Harmony of phrasing (al-talāʾum) .
- Verse-end cadences (al-fawāṣil): Which he distinguishes from rhymed prose (sajʿ), praising Quranic cadences for being subordinate to meanings rather than dictating them .
- Paronomasia (al-tajānus) .
- Morphological variation (al-taṣrīf) .
- Implication (al-taḍmīn) .
- Hyperbole (al-mubālagha): Divided into three distinct modes .
- Excellence of exposition (ḥusn al-bayān) .
In each chapter, al-Rummani provides concise definitions followed by Quranic verses to substantiate and illustrate the rhetorical figures, keeping the focus entirely on Quranic evidence rather than poetry .
Influence and Publication
The work played a pioneering role in the codification of Arabic rhetoric and the formulation of iʿjāz theory . His contemporary Abu Bakr al-Baqillani quoted and evaluated al-Rummani's chapter on the ten rhetorical categories in his own work Ijaz al-Quran . Later rhetoricians, particularly Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani in Asrar al-Balagha (The Secrets of Eloquence), drew upon al-Rummani's detailed classifications of metaphor and rational simile .
The treatise spans approximately 37 pages and was edited by Muhammad Khalaf Allah and Muhammad Zaghlul Sallam, published within the collection Thalath Rasa'il fi Ijaz al-Quran (Three Treatises on the Inimitability of the Quran) by Dar al-Ma'arif in Egypt .
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