Table Of ContentThe Qur’an
An Eternal Challenge
al-Naba’ al-Aẓīm
Muhammad Abdullah Draz
Translated and edited by
Adil Salahi
C Cooperative Office for Islamic Propagation in Rabwah , 2019
King Fahd National Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Osoul Global Center
Al Naba Alazim. / Osoul Global Center . - Riyadh , 2019
254 p ; 16 X 23 cm
ISBN: 978-603-8229-74-3
1-Quran - General studies I-Title
229 dc 1439/5741
L.D. no. 1439/5741
ISBN: 978-603-8229-74-3
Table of Contents
Contents Page
Introduction 7
About the Book and Its Author 11
Postscript 17
Preface 21
Introduction 23
The Qur’an Its Definition and How It Differs
27
from Hadith
The Source of The Qur’an 35
The Prophecies of the Qur’an 55
Muhammad’s Teacher 79
A Source Beyond Man’s Worl 95
The Qur’an: A Literary Miracle 107
The Secret of the Qur’anic Miracle 13
Surpassing Excellence in Every Passage 145
Broadest Meaning, Minimum Wording 165
The Unity of Each Surah 179
The Semantic Design of the Longest Surah 203
5
Introduction
The Qur’an was most fascinating to the Arabs when it was
first revealed and recited to them. They were a nation that
took great pride in its natural talent of beautiful expression.
Numerous were their poets, despite the fact that they were
largely unlettered. They rated fine expression as the top talent
anyone could have. Therefore, a poet was given a high status in
his tribe and he returned that favour by continuously singing his
tribe’s praises.
All this changed when the Qur’an was recited to them by Muhammad, the
final messenger God sent to mankind. They recognised its great superiority to
anything they had experienced. They realised that it was totally different from
poetry, but they could not compare it to any style of expression they knew. It
was enough to listen to one passage of the Qur’an for the chief of one of their
largest tribes to comment: ‘This is not the speech of any human being. Had it
been human speech, we would have recognised it’.1
What makes the Qur’an so unique? Over the centuries, countless studies
sought to answer this question. Some scholars came up with perceptive ideas,
and others gave valid theories. Some wrote voluminous works, and others
cited numerous examples to prove their theories. May God reward them all
for their fine efforts.
1- Al-Mafrooq ibn Amr, the chief of the Shayban tribe, listened to the Prophet reciting
verses 151-3 of Surah 6.
7
Introduction
The present work by Muhammad Abdullah Draz is a short one, but it ranks
among the most preceptive studies of the style of the Qur’an. It sheds new
light on its uniqueness and it reflects the depth of insight its author had. The
author takes us into areas that are hardly touched upon by earlier scholars. The
way that he shows the unity of each surah is particularly impressive.
The Osoul Center is proud to present this book to English readers. It hopes
that it will enable them to better understand and appreciate the Qur’an, God’s
last message to all mankind.
Osoul Global Center
8
About the Book
and Its Author
Introduction by Adil Salahi
The word Qur’an in Arabic is a form of the infinitive, which
means ‘to read’. The term is used in this infinitive sense in the
two verses: “It is for Us to gather it and to cause it to be read.
Thus when We recite it, follow you its recitation.” (75: 17-18). The
term has come to acquire a new sense, which denotes the glorious
Book revealed by God. Today, this is the most common usage of
the word. It also occurs in God’s statement: “This Qur’an shows
the way to all that is most upright.” (17: 9.)
Searching for sources for my essay, I went to a bookshop specialising in
Islamic books. Here, I found a booklet on religion by Dr Draz which I included
in my purchase for the day. However, the bookshop assistant recommended
another book with the Arabic title Al-Naba’ Al-Aẓīm as highly readable.
I bought the book and started reading it that day. Interested in both Arabic
literature and the Qur’an, I was hardly able to put the book down. I admired
the author’s style, for it is both fine and powerful. But the way he treated his
subject matter was even more captivating. It was not particularly relevant to my
essay, but it gave me, as every reader soon discovers, penetrating knowledge
into the superior literary excellence of the Qur’an.
About 15 years later, I picked up another copy in London during a visit to
a small Islamic bookshop. I read it again, and discovered that I learnt even
more than during my first read of it. Dr Draz’s scholarly treatment of his
subject matter is such that the higher a reader’s standard of education, the
more he or she is able to benefit by it.
11
About the Book and Its Author
A few years ago, I attended a small study circle of one of my teachers, and
he was reading a section of this book. The discussion that followed refreshed
my mind of the priceless information it contains. That same evening I
decided that the book should be made available in English. Soon afterwards,
I started splitting the book into short articles which were published in my
column, ‘Islam in Perspective’, in the Saudi paper, Arab News. Much of the
book was published in this way. Now it has been completed, by God’s grace,
and it is my pride and pleasure to present it to English readers, providing as
it does a rare insight into the Qur’an.
The author has one theme in mind throughout the book, which is to use
the Qur’an itself to testify to its author, God Almighty. To this end, he uses
the information provided in the Qur’an, which could not have been available
to anyone but God, and he uses its style and method of expression. His
analysis of the latter is masterly, showing a rare understanding of the text
combined with a profound literary talent. Indeed, his own style combines
power with simplicity. This makes the book a masterpiece with few peers in
Qur’anic literary studies.
As I was finalising this work, I was so pleased to see a copy of Draz’s
other work, Introduction to the Qur’an. I have also learnt with great pleasure
that efforts are underway to translate his work on Ethics and Morality in
the Qur’an. This the author wrote in French as a thesis submitted to the
Sorbonne for which he was awarded the degree of Ph.D. This translation
will rely on the French original, as the author did not translate it himself.
Muhammad Abdullah Draz was born in 1894 in Mahallat Diyai, a village
of Kafr al-Shaykh County in northern Egypt. His father was an Islamic
scholar educated in Al-Azhar, the oldest university in the world. The father
wanted his son to follow religious education, so he sent him to the religious
institute of Alexandria, affiliated to Al-Azhar. He followed this religious
line of education throughout his schooling, until he received his degree.
He then decided to learn French, as he considered such knowledge of vital
importance in serving the cause of Egyptian independence. During the
12
The Qur’an An Eternal Challenge
popular uprising of 1919, he joined a number of young Egyptians visiting
foreign embassies to explain the uprising and to seek help in persuading
Great Britain, the colonial power, to accede to the demands of Egyptian
people for independence. He also wrote in French defending Islam against
its detractors.
In 1928, he was appointed to the teaching staff of the Department of
Higher Education in Al-Azhar. He was then transferred, the following year,
to the Department of Specialisation at the same university, and in 1930, he
moved to the Faculty of Uṣūl al-Dīn, which specialises in the basic sources
of Islamic knowledge.
In 1936, he was sent on a mission to France, where he stayed for 12 years.
It was during this period that he was admitted to Sorbonne University and
awarded his Ph.D.
On his return to Egypt, he taught the History of Religion at the University
of Cairo, Qur’anic Commentary in Dar al-ᶜUlūm, a teachers’ college which
was, at the time, affiliated to Al-Azhar. He also taught Arabic and Moral
Philosophy at Al-Azhar University. Furthermore, he was elected to the
membership of Senior Islamic Scholars, i.e. Jamāᶜat Kibār al-ᶜUlamā’ in
1949. He continued in these positions until his death in January 1958, when
he was attending a conference in the city of Lahore, Pakistan.
In translating this work, I have tried to be faithful to the text. However, on
a small number of occasions I have ventured to expand a little where I felt
this to be necessary to make the point under discussion easier to understand.
Where the author explains a point in a footnote, I have incorporated the
footnote into the text, to ensure continuity and an easier grasp of the idea
under discussion. However, where a footnote refers to something that is not
immediately relevant to the text, I have left that as it is. On the other hand,
I have omitted footnotes that are of a purely linguistic nature, because they
would be very difficult for a non-Arabic speaking reader to follow.
13
