The Qur’anic Style and Its Relationship with al-NaẓmA Study in the Classical Tradition of Qur’anic Iʿjāz

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This study aims to examine the concept of style in the classical writings on Qur’anic inimitability (iʿjāz) up to the end of the sixth century AH. It does so through an analytical study of the conceptions presented by a number of scholars, beginning with Abū ʿUbayda in Majāz al-Qurʾān and ending with Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī in Nihāyat al-Ījāz fī Dirāyat al-Iʿjāz, in order to uncover how the concept of style was employed in interpreting Qur’anic (iʿjāz).

The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach to trace the development of the concept of style in these works and to clarify its relationship with the notions of al-naẓm (composition/order), faṣāḥa (eloquence), and balāgha (rhetoric), as well as the interpretive and critical trends associated with them.

The findings show that Qur’anic style constitutes a central axis in the construction of the theory of iʿjāz, and that it is based on the interaction of al-naẓm, balāgha, and faṣāḥa, resulting in an integrated production of rhetorical and semantic effect. The study also rejects the theory of al-ṣarfah, as it is incompatible with the nature of the Qur’anic challenge.

Furthermore, the research reveals variation in scholars’ approaches to the concept of iʿjāz; however, most of them agree on the centrality of style in its interpretation, despite differences in terminology and theoretical frameworks.