[Usmani's Theory of Inimitability of the Quran]

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Usmani's theory of inimitability of the Quran

Chapter I

Introduction

In the 1890s Richard Moulton, author of The Literary Study of the Bible, was able to justify the need for his work by pointing out that "Literature," as opposed to "literatures" - Greek, Hebrew, and Ger- man- "is a separate entity" which, with its "foundation forms. . . such as Epic, Lyric, Dramatic," deserves to be studied in its own right, and that such a study would break new ground (iv-v). And in 1987 Robert Alter and Frank Kermode, editors of The Literary Guide to the Bible, spoke with satisfaction of the proven effectiveness of the literary approach to the Bible , adding that there is "a need, felt by clerical and secular students alike, to achieve a new accommodation with the Bible as it is, which is to say, as literature of high importance and power" . The Qur'an, like the Bible, is an acknowledged literary masterpiece. But, unfortunately, it has not yet received the kind of attention Moulton speaks of with reference to the Bible. And it will probably not be in the near future that one will be able to speak, as Alter and Kermode have in regard to the Bible, about significant gains on the literary front regarding the Qur'an. But, one might ask, does there not exist, at least in Arabic, a large number of works dealing with the literary qualities of the Qur'an? Such works certainly exist. But most of them are, in respect of their orientation, premises, and structure, works of theology rather than of literary criticism, a typical example being The Inimitability of the Qur'an by the medieval scholar Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (950-1013). This being the case, studying the Qur'an as literature - and purely as literature - is not unlike setting foot on new territory.

What is this imposing excellence, this dazzling superiority and wondrous construction that occurred for the first time in the Qur'an, such that it rendered all creatures, without exception, powerless, overcoming the powers and capabilities of the eloquent and articulate ones and binding notion and thought until the orators like braying he-camels went silent and the utterance of the speakers ceased to be, and until no tongue stirred and no clear speech manifested itself, and no power helped and no flint yielded a spark for any of them and the point of no sword penetrated, and until it made the valley overflow upon them with inability and seized from them the outlets of speech ...