Deutsch|Franais|Espaol|

About Us|Contact Us

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Ramadan 6, 1436

Welcome to IslamFatwaArticlesFiqhBoys & GirlsE-BooksWomen

Multimedia

Quran RecitationsLecturesAthanDuaaIslamic SongsMovies

Services

Fiqh of InheritancePrayer TimesWeather ForecastCalendar Converter

Special Folders

PalestineRamadan OasisHajj & UmrahXmas & New Year'sSacred MonthsValentine's Day

Vote
Are you prepared for Ramadan?
Yes!

Not yet!

VoteResults

SEARCH FATAWA
Fatwa Of The Week
View By Subject
Selected Fatwa
Enter Question
Fatwa Center
Fatwa
Detail

Root > The Noble Quran > Miraculous Nature of the Qur'an > Rhetorical inimitability of the
Qur'an

Fatwa No : 81188
Grammatical errors in Quran
Fatwa Date : Jumaadaa Al-Oula 4, 1420 / 16-8-1999

Question
I have come across a website which says that there are grammatical errors in
Quran. I would highly appreciate it if you can give the answer to this
allegation.
Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of
worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad

is His slave and Messenger.

May Allaah reward you for your deep concern for the Quran and Islam and enable you to help
Islam and Muslims through your efforts. The Quran is in the pure Arabic language, nobody could
challenge the Quran in the period of Prophet
when they were well-known for their literary
prowess and were peerless orators. How could people imagine now, after centuries, that they
have suddenly discovered grammatical errors in Quran? Such an attack is a futile attempt by its
very nature, to any person with a minimal knowledge of the Arabic language and its history.
If a person writes an article claiming that a concrete beam has been designed incorrectly, we
expect him to be qualified in the field he is discussing, and that he passes its most basic tests.
However, if we find in his article obvious and repeated errors in simple mathematical operations
like addition and multiplication, we conclude that he does not have the minimal qualifications to
discuss the subject. We are not claiming expertise in the Arabic language, nor are we requiring it
for unrelated subjects, such as history or mathematics. We believe that a critic in any subject
must pass its preliminary tests, otherwise his discussions would not deserve any consideration.
Our point is this: while reading through sources that attack Islam on this issue, we were surprised
to find elementary errors in the Arabic language that prove beyond the least doubt, that the
person writing them would not pass elementary grade. To mention just one "eliminating" factor:
the recurring interchange of the Arabic letters "Zaay" and "Thaal" in the very pages where the
grammar of the Quran is criticized. Enemies of Islam who are well versed in the Arabic language
have usually avoided the topic of the Arabic language, as they know better. The attacks that
occurred are proven to originate from people not even qualified to discuss it (as mentioned
above, and as will be shown below). Yet we have decided to discuss the issue anyway, for the
benefit of the curious reader.
From a historical perspective, due to the singular feature of "Juthoor" (deriving words from root
meanings) and "Tasreef" (morphology) of the Arabic language, the early Arabs used to derive the
words and compose sentences according to rules that they knew first-hand. They would judge a
person's literary abilities by his dexterity with the language and how well he used its features to
construct words and sentences. The people known to be the most proficient in Arabic were the
Arab Bedouins. The Prophet
was raised away from the city in the Baadiyah (the dwelling
place of the desert Arabs), as was the norm then, specifically to acquire the superior rules of the
language.
The oratorical style of the Prophet
was testified by his contemporaries and by later analysts
to be the most eloquent among Arabs, yet it was still "human". However, when the Quran was
revealed, its literary style was recognized by many to be beyond the powers of man. Several
Arabs and especially "Bedouins" accepted Islam only upon hearing the Quran. This is history,
annotated and related with an authenticity far superior to the Bible and the New Testament (and
we challenge comparison on any level, provided it is rational).

Chapter Al-Kawthar was written on a wall (the smallest Chapter of the Quran). Upon reading it,
a man wrote next to it: Maa haatha bi-qawlil bashar (this is not human speech). This is a
qualified testimony, not that of a person who cannot even differentiate
between "Za'y" and "Tha". Another instance is that of a desert Arab who accepted Islam upon
hearing the verse (which means): {"Then declare what you are commanded and turn away from
the polytheists."}[Quran, 15:94]. He was asked for the reason and he answered that there was no
word in the whole Arabic language stronger to use in that specific instance than "fasda`" (the
literal meaning of "fasda`" is "crack down", which implies total submission far beyond normal
obedience).
The enemies of Prophet Muhammad
attempted to seize any opportunity to attack this claim
of credibility this is a well known fact in history. If they had spotted the least flaw in any
grammatical construct of the Quran, they would have jumped at the opportunity and the
Companions
would themselves have deserted Islam in masses, as the Arabic language and
poetry were the foremost and dearest facets of their culture. Whether pondering alone, happy or
sad, rejoicing or complaining, remembering a loved one, proposing for marriage, addressing a
group of people, praising somebody, addressing an opposing army before battle, criticizing an
enemy, undergoing mortal torture, moaning at their death beds, the Arabs' favored mode of
expression was through poetry (unlike any other culture).
Thus, any text purporting to be revealed from Allaah The Almighty needed to pass their
uncompromising scrutiny. The opposite was the case as witnessed by history, as even those who
refused to accept Islam, implicitly accepted the supernatural literary nature of the Quran and
confirmed that it was beyond the powers of man to produce it. How then, did they explain it to
themselves and maintain their rejection? Simply by saying that it was witchcraft and that they
were bewitched by it (thus implicitly accepting its unparalleled superiority). Although this
approach is invalid and reprehensible in itself, this is by far a more sophisticated attempt at
discrediting the Quran than citing imaginary mistakes, grammar and literature.
Allaah Knows best.
PrintSend this fatwa to friend

Related Fatwas
Challenge to produce the like of the Quran was directed at the Arabs
The claim that Allaah prevented Arabs from imitating the Quran by intervention
Linguistic miracle of the Quran
Rhetorical inimitability of the heavenly Books other than Quran
More

New
Popular
Guest Book
Articles
Fatwa
Multimedia
Subject

Published on

1 The House During Ramadan

2015/06/23

2 The Significance of Fasting

2015/06/21

3 South African Muslims launch

2015/06/21

Ramadan charity drive

Occasions

The Key to the Gate Called Rayyaan II

The Key to the Gate Called Rayyaan - I

Make this your best Ramadan

http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php
?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=81188
All rights reserved to IslamWeb. 2015