Sura Like It

Growing up in a Muslim country, one is more likely than not to hear Muslims talk about how miraculous the Qur’an is. Its Arabic language is just “amazing” and “superior” in a way that no human in the past, the present, and the future can write such a text. True Muslims take that to heart. However, when one delves into the concept of the superior language of the Qur’an, one quickly finds out that there are no defining criteria that in fact show the superiority of the Qur’an’s language.

In this article, I will show the reader that even with the absence of standards, one can still create verses that are equal linguistically and morally to the Qur’an. One can also create verses that are superior to the Qur’anic verse.

Now, if you grew up in an Arabic speaking country and went through all schooling years using Arabic as the medium of communication, you probably found out how great and wonderful the Arabic writings of some poets and writers are. I am thinking of people like Al-Mutanabbi, Al-Ma’arri,.etc. Even in the past century we had prolific writers and poets like Ahmad Shawgi, Nizar Qabbani, Taha Hussein, Badir Shakir Al-Sayyab, Jubran Khalil Jubran ( Jubran’s writings in Arabic and in English are just wonderful to read). The list goes on..

To judge the writing of an individual, there are rules that show how good or bad the writing is. There are linguistic rules, topical rules, consistency and logical rules of the flow of thought. Judging the writings of someone to be at a higher level than other mortals’ writings should not be a great mystery. Sure we can differ in saying Almutanabbi’s poetry is at a higher level than that of Qabbani or Shawgi. But most people who know Arabic would judge all of the above people I mentioned to be writers and poets of exceptional quality.

However, when it comes to the Qur’an, there are no standards specified for us so that we can judge the Qur’an’s language, and other people’s writings by. If such standards existed, we wouldn’t be having problems judging the Qur’an’s language. In the absence of standards to compare the Qur’an’s language to, we can’t really say that the Qur’an is miraculous in the sense that its language is just “heavenly”. So, it seems a true Muslim has a dilemma at his hands. He/She is telling us that the language of the Qur’an is Miraculous, but he/she fails to tell us the standards used to say that the Qur’an’s language is indeed “heavenly”. And so, the non-Muslim is not logically obliged at all to accept this claim about the Qur’an’s language.

The Goal

But even with the absence of standards, I will attempt to show the reader that I, Ibn Kammuna, can produce “Quranic Kammuna” verses that are equivalent in linguistic elegance to the Qur’anic verses. I will even go a step further and show the reader that we can also produce “Qur’anic” verses that are far better than what the Qur’an did.

The Quranic Verses Are The Standard

First, we need to establish the standards of measure to be able to compare two different verses. In the absence of standards given to us by the Muslim, what is better than to say that the Qur’anic verses themselves are the standard. Can a true Muslim refuse accepting such a standard? Of course not.If one claims that the Qur’anic language is miraculous, then one is obliged to accept the Qur’anic language as a standard of superiority. After all, the Muslim is telling us that the Qur’an’s language is just “heavenly”.

Argument Procession

Here is how I will proceed in my argument: I will present the reader with the Qur’anic verse as presented by Muhammad. This first verse will be our criterion to compare to. Next, I will present a wording change in the verse. My claim is that this second verse is equal in language and in meaning to the Qur’anic verse. (my claim here is that the first two verses will have logical congruence between them. Language-wise, they’ll be on the same footing. Meaning-wise, they’ll be on the same footing. Ethical-standards-wise, they’ll be on the same footing. They both will be equally good or equally bad and evil). After that, I will present a verse that is much better than the first two verses. I trust that any human being with some intellectual honesty will judge the third verse to be better than the Qur’anic verse

Example 1:

Qur’anic Verse:

YUSUFALI (5:51): O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.

Kammuna Verse:

KAMMUNA (5:51): O ye who believe! take not the Sunnis and the Shi’as for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.

Note that the language of the two verses is very similar. So, from a linguistic point of view, the two verses are at the same linguistic level. But conceptually they differ in meaning. The first verse is telling us not to take Jews and Christians as friends. The second verse is telling us not to take Muslims (be it Sunni or Shi’a) as friends. Also, please note that the two verses are on the same equal footing when it comes to ethical standards. Both verses are equally evil. The hate in the verses is directed to different groups of human beings. The Qur’an directs it against Jews and Christians. The Kammuna verse directs it against the Muslims.

Let us now move to present a third verse that is much better than the two verses mentioned above.

Better Verse:

BETTER (5:51): O ye who believe! take the Jews and the Christians and the Muslims for your friends and protectors: They are all friends and protectors to any human. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.

This third verse keeps wording changes to a minimum. This is intentional. A true Muslim should be able to see how easy it is to write a verse that is at least on an equal footing with the Qur’an when it comes to language, but much superior to the Qur’anic verse from an ethical-standards point of view.

Here is another Example

Example 2:

Quranic Verse

Yusuf Ali (9:5): But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

Kammuna Verse:

KAMMUNA (9:5): But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Muslims wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

The above verse has a one word change compared to the Qur’anic verse. The word “Pagans” in the Qur’an became “Muslims” in the Kammuna verse. Note that the two verses are on equal footing from a wording point of view as well as ethical-standards point of view. Both verses are equally evil.

Now, let us move to a verse that is better than the abovementioned verses.

Better Verse:

BETTER (9:5): But when the forbidden months are past, then make peace with the Pagans wherever ye find them, and encourage them, care for them, and support them; No matter whether they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity or not, and always open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

Conclusion

Even in the absence of standards to judge any written language, including the Qur’an, it is clear that one can easily create verses that are at the same linguistic and ethical levels as the Qur’an. One can also see that it is not a difficult task at all to create verses better than the Qur’an. In the absence of standards to judge the language of the Qur’an, one can use the language of the Qur’an itself as the standard of judgment. Through doing that, it was apparent that any regular John Doe can in fact create verse equal or better than the “heavenly” Qur’an in language and in meaning.