How Can the Arabic Quran Be a Miracle for a Non-Arab? — Nineteen Aspects of the Answer
The Quranic miracle is not limited to Arabs. The doubt rests on a misunderstanding: the miracle was established by the Arabs’ acknowledged inability to produce its like, and that inability is an argument binding on those below them. Furthermore, the miracle extends beyond eloquence to meanings, to hearing, to knowledge of the unseen, to freedom from contradiction — all of which are accessible to non-Arabs.
The doubt does not deny the miracle of the Quran as a whole but aims to limit it to the Arabs, as if asking: what is the reason for the non-Arab to enter into the discourse of challenge with the Quran, while he lacks the ability to speak Arabic? And how can the miracle of the Prophet of Islam, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, be of the type that only the elite of people know?
If we examine the doubt closely, we find that it imagines a contradiction between the comprehensiveness of the Quran’s message to all worlds and its revelation in clear Arabic.
The Origin of the Doubt — A False Contradiction
The doubt contains within itself the seeds of its own refutation. It acknowledges — by implication — that the Arab is able to comprehend the meaning of the Quran’s miraculous nature. Once that is acknowledged, the question becomes: given that the Arabs acknowledged their inability to produce anything like it, what does that imply for those below them in Arabic eloquence?
General Answer: Four Foundational Points
First — Continuous Transmission Is a Binding Argument for Arabs and Non-Arabs
The Quran and the news of its miracle reached us through mutawatir — continuous transmission. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, not a single verse of poetry or fruit of thought was transmitted from him — until when he reached the age of forty, he came out to his people, among whom were the leaders of eloquence, with speech composed of the same letters as theirs, and he said: This is the speech of God, and I am the Messenger of God. He challenged all of creation to produce a surah like it. When they stopped opposing it, despite the abundance of motives for doing so and the depth of enmity, scholars called that a miraculousness. The foreignness of the tongue does not invalidate a miraculous nature proven by continuous transmission.
Second — The Quran Establishes Proof by Merely Reaching People
Establishing proof for creation is contingent upon merely reaching the news of the revelation of this Book, not upon understanding its miraculous nature in detail. The evidence from the Book is:
“And this Quran has been revealed to me that I may warn you thereby and whomever it reaches.” (Al-An’am: 19)
This Quran is a warning to whoever it reaches from the Arabs and the non-Arabs. And from the Sunnah: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, no Jew or Christian hears of me and then does not believe in me except that he will be among the people of the Fire.” (Muslim: 153). The statement “he does not hear of me” includes everyone who hears of it from the People of the Book, whether Arab or non-Arab.
Third — The Lesson Is in Understanding the Message in General
The Quran is based on monotheism, so whoever understands its truth and adheres to it has entered Islam. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, would command whoever came to him to pledge allegiance to Islam to pronounce the two testimonies of faith, without stipulating understanding the truths of the Quran or comprehending its miraculous nature in detail. When he sent Muadh ibn Jabal to the people of Yemen, he advised him to order them to monotheism and perform the obligatory duties. His letters to the kings of the Persians were based on this generality of calling people to Islam and explaining its principles.
Fourth — A Persian and an Arab? The Wisdom of Arabic Revelation
God the Almighty has informed us that the disbelief of the polytheists in this clear Arabic Quran is disbelief out of stubbornness and obstinacy:
“And if We had made it a foreign Quran, they would have said, ‘Why are its verses not explained in detail?’” (Fussilat: 44)
Three reasons make the Arabic choice wise rather than arbitrary. First: translation makes up for those who need it, as nations continue to translate the knowledge of the prophets and wise men. Second: languages differ in eloquence and their ability to carry meanings, and fair-minded scholars of language have agreed on the superiority of Arabic. Third: God’s wisdom required that the miracle of every prophet be of the same type as his people — the eloquent Arabs challenged the Quran, and where is the like of their eloquence among other nations? If the Book had been revealed as a challenge in all languages, most nations would have been challenged with something they did not master, and this contradicts wisdom.
“A Book whose verses are explained in detail — a Quran in Arabic for a people who know.” (Fussilat: 3)
There is also no objection to the occurrence of loanwords in the Quran. Al-Suyuti mentioned in al-Itqan that most of the imams denied that, while others acknowledged a few such words of the type that languages agree on. Al-Suyuti quoted: “It is an indication of the wisdom of the occurrence of these words in the Quran that it contains the knowledge of the first and the last and the news of everything, so it is necessary that there be an indication in it of the type of languages and tongues.” According to both opinions, there is no contradiction between the occurrence of loanwords and the Quran’s being in the Arabic language.
The Nineteen Detailed Aspects
Aspect One — The Miracle Is Realized by the Elite in Detail and by Others in General
People differ in their realization of the miracle of the Quran according to their minds — among them are the dull and the intelligent. This difference exists among Arabs too, not only between Arabs and non-Arabs. The way for someone whose faculties fall short of drawing from the source of this book is to refer to the specialists, for their consensus is an argument against others. They realize the miracle through taste and practice; the common people realize it by following them, as is the case with all specialized knowledge.
Aspect Two — The Arabs Were Chosen to Carry the Message
Since the Quran was the last of the revealed books, and the Arabs were the last of the nations to receive prophethood, the book was revealed in their language so that the proof would be established against them first, and so that they would convey it to the nations that came after them. There is no alternative for anyone who wants to understand the details of the revelation without an intermediary, except to learn Arabic.
Aspect Three — The Arabs’ Admission of Inability Is Binding on Others
The objector implicitly acknowledges that the Arab can comprehend the miraculous nature of the Quran. Now that it is established that the Arabs — the masters of the Arabic language — refrained from opposing the Quran despite their ability, the non-Arab’s position is even clearer. The Arabs’ admission of their inability to produce something like this Quran is a more appropriate indication of the incapacity of those below them.
Aspect Four — The Eloquent Arabs Abandoned Opposition While Their Ability Remained
The Quran challenges the Arabs to produce speech like it, and this challenge was repeated until it reached its limit:
“And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our servant, then produce a surah the like thereof.” (Al-Baqarah: 23)
None of their eloquent speakers challenged it while they still had the ability. Al-Walid ibn al-Mughira said when asked about the Quran: “By God, the one who says does not resemble anything of this. By God, the words he says have sweetness, and they have freshness, and they are fruitful at the top and abundant at the bottom, and they rise and what is raised, and they crush what is beneath them.” (Narrated by al-Hakim on the authority of Ikrimah on the authority of Ibn Abbas). This is the testimony of the pioneer of a people who hung pearls of poems on the Kaaba — and nothing silenced them in the arena of eloquence except the words of the Lord of the Kaaba.
Abu al-Ala al-Ma’arri — one of the most eloquent men of letters, himself a man whose faith was in question — testified:
This is consensus testimony from an opponent — the highest possible standard of evidence for a claim.
Aspect Five — The Absence of Transmitted Opposition Proves the Miracle
If someone had opposed the Quran with something similar, it would have been transmitted because of the enormous motives for doing so. If it had been transmitted, it would have reached us. Since nothing of that has reached us, the original principle remains: the miraculous nature is established. Nothing transmitted from ancient or modern opponents comes close to human eloquence, let alone Quranic eloquence.
Aspect Six — Non-Arab Attempts to Oppose the Quran Prove Its Miracle
Some non-Arabs in our time have attempted to oppose the Quran. These people combined their inadequacy in Arabic with their non-Arabic language and pen. Their failure thus establishes the argument against them from two directions simultaneously: inability to oppose in general terms, and inability to oppose in detail.
Aspect Seven — The Gender Difference in Understanding the Miracle Exists Among Arabs Too
Not all Arabs at the time of the mission were on an equal level in rhetorical ability. Al-Baqillani classified people into three types: a foreigner, an Arab like a foreigner, and an Arab proficient in eloquence and rhetoric. The difference between Arab and non-Arab in comprehending the miracle is a difference of degree, not an absolute categorical distinction.
Aspect Eight — Non-Arabs Differ in Their Proficiency in Arabic
Not every non-Arab is equally ignorant of Arabic. There may be among them those more eloquent and expressive than the average Arab, and yet unable to keep up with the eloquence of the Quran. The inability of these proves the inability of those below them.
Aspect Nine — The Type of Eloquence Is Shared Among Nations
The genre of eloquence is known to Arabs and non-Arabs. If non-Arabs know in general that the Quran challenged the eloquent Arabs and outdid them, and the news of that was transmitted repeatedly, this is sufficient for the occurrence of the miracle. Literary oppositions are a known genre, and the eloquent have competed in this arena until today — yet not a single literary work is known that is immune to opposition, criticism, and correction. The Quran alone has stood without credible opposition for fourteen centuries.
Ibn al-Muqaffa said: “Eloquence is that when an ignorant person hears it, he thinks that he can do the same.” This is about human eloquence. If the masters of rhetoric submitted to the eloquence of the Quran, it is because they discovered in its miraculous nature what was hidden from those below them. Sheikh Daraz summarized: “Moderation in expression with fulfilling the right of meaning — without stinginess or extravagance — are two ends that the ambitions of the eloquent fall short of, and whoever seeks to combine them is like someone seeking justice between two rivals without inclining towards one of them. Whoever wants to see the two ends combined, let him read the Quran.” (Al-Naba’ al-Azeem)
Aspect Ten — The Prophet’s Own Speech, Despite Its Majesty, Is Not a Miracle
The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was the most eloquent of the Arabs by the testimony of their eloquent people, but his speech is not a miracle — it may be confused with others. If a verse from the Quran were placed in the midst of the speech of some eloquent person, it would speak for itself, and its light would indicate its source. A non-Arab who understands that the speech of the Prophet is never confused with the Quran has understood another dimension of the Quranic miracle.
Aspect Eleven — The Quranic Miracle Is Not Limited to Eloquence
Scholars have mentioned aspects of the miracle of the Quran including its unique style, its beautiful organization, its dazzling eloquence, its knowledge of the unseen, its inclusion of various sciences, profound wisdom, and conclusive arguments, and its freedom from contradiction. Everyone who said the miracle lies in eloquence meant that it is the aspect that encompasses the entire Quran — the other aspects are found in some verses. A non-Arab who cannot access the verbal eloquence can still access the other aspects of the miracle.
Aspect Twelve — A Non-Arab Can Realize the Miracle of Meanings
Eloquence includes both words and meanings. Al-Jurjani said: “I wonder, were words anything other than for the sake of meanings? Are they anything other than their servants?” (Dala’il al-I’jaz). Al-Walid ibn al-Mughira described the Quran as sweet, smooth, fruitful, and abundant — descriptions that include words and meanings simultaneously. If a non-Arab fails to comprehend the eloquence of words, he can still comprehend some of the miraculous nature of its meanings by asking scholars and reading translations.
Aspect Thirteen — Being Affected by Hearing the Quran Is Shared Between Arabs and Non-Arabs
The first thing that strikes the ear is the vocal composition of the Quran. Even if one hears nothing but the harmony of movements and pauses, the long vowels and ghunnahs, the pauses and silences, one hears a unique and wondrous ring that catches the ear and does not bore. The ear will not reject it and taste will never tire of it. Ja’far ibn Abi Talib recited Surah Maryam before the Negus, and the Negus wept, and the bishops wept until their beards were wet. It is unlikely that all the bishops understood Arabic — some of them may have been moved by hearing the Quran itself, or by its translation, or by both. This is confirmed by what follows.
Aspect Fourteen — Many Muslims Today Are Non-Arabs
Millions of Turks and Indonesians compete in learning the Quran, reciting it, and hearing it, and most of them do not master Arabic. Some of them weep and are humbled by hearing the Quran or by its flowing on their tongue. One of them was asked about the secret of his weeping while he did not understand what he was reading, and he replied: “My mind may not understand, but my heart understands.” Many non-Arab unbelievers also acknowledge the power of the Quran’s recitation over souls.
Aspect Fifteen — Looking into the Characteristics of the Arabic Language
One of the ways to understand the miraculous nature of the Quran is to study the characteristics of the Arabic language through comparative linguistics. The orientalist Ernest Renan testified:
The German writer Goethe wrote: “There may be no language other than Arabic, with this authentic harmony between the spirit, the word, and the script, as if it were one body.”
Arabic is the language of Ishmael, peace be upon him, who learned it from Jurhum (Bukhari: 3365), and it is authentically reported that he was the first to speak clear Arabic when he was fourteen years old (Sahih al-Jami’: 2581). Here is Arabic, after the passage of centuries, it has not lost any of its youth and freshness. Where are its counterparts from the time of revelation? They have disappeared, but it has remained — because it was coupled with the Quran, and God promised to preserve His Book.
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its guardian.” (Al-Hijr: 9)
Al-Zamakhshari stated: “It is not fitting that the best book should be sent down to the best Messenger in a language of lesser merit.” (A Message on the Miracle of Surah al-Kawthar).
Aspect Sixteen — Interpretive Translation
The Quran was revealed to the Arabs in their language so that the proof would be established against them and so that they could convey it to those who came after them. Sheikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah said: “Likewise, Muhammad was sent to his people and to others, but he was sent in the language of his people to explain to them, then the explanation was made to others by means of explaining to them, either in their language and tongue or by translating for them.” (The Correct Answer)
The American professor Jeffrey Lang converted to Islam after reading the translation of the meanings of the Quran and wrote:
The German poet Goethe and the Russian poet Pushkin — both of whom read translations, not the Arabic original — were profoundly affected by the Quran. Al-Shatibi said: “Translating the Quran in view of its original meanings is possible, and from his perspective, interpreting it is correct.” (Al-Muwafaqat).
No one can deny the impact of translation in the spread of Islam throughout the world. Some of the effects of the miracle remain in the translations of the meanings of the Quran, for eloquence is not limited to verbal aspects but extends to meanings and rhetoric. The reader of a translation sees the unique harmony between its parts, feels the strength of its argument, and gets a taste of its style. The comparison between the translation of the Quran and the translations of human speech reveals the difference between the speech of humans and the speech of the Creator of humans.
Aspect Seventeen — The Basis of the Effect of Translation on Quranic Eloquence
Al-Jahiz believed that the miracle is in the meanings, as for the words, they are the vehicle, and the truth is that the miracle is in both words and meanings. Al-Tawhidi reported that Abu Sulayman said: “Eloquence is truth in the meanings, with the agreement of names, verbs, and letters, and hitting the language and seeking ease and similarity, by rejecting coercion and freeing arbitrariness.” The interpreter and translator explain the meanings of the book — which are all truth — each according to his language, so the reader of the interpretation or translation obtains a taste of the truth of this noble book.
Aspect Eighteen — The Quran Contains the Correct Methods of Proof and Argument
“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best.” (An-Nahl: 125)
Wisdom, good instruction, and good argument are among the principles of calling to Islam. The Quran diversifies its proofs so that they are rhetorical at times and argumentative at others. (Sheikh al-Islam: Al-Nubuwwat). This authentic Quranic approach is something that a non-Arab can understand by reading translations of the meanings of the book.
Aspect Nineteen — Learning Arabic
If all of this does not satisfy the seeker and he would like to return to the spring and drink purely, the cure is to learn the clear Arabic language in which the Quran was revealed, in order to obtain knowledge of its miracle through taste and practice, as the eloquent Arabs obtained. This is not a unique demand — everyone who wants to attain knowledge that cannot be obtained except through a certain language finds it in learning that language.
References:
- The Holy Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah
- Sheikh Abdullah Daraz: The Great News — New Views on the Quran (Al-Naba’ al-Azeem)
- Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: Prophecies (Al-Nubuwwat)
- Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: The Response to the Logicians
- Abu al-Ala al-Ma’arri: The Epistle of Forgiveness
- Dr. Ramadan Abdul Tawab: Linguistic Evolution — Its Manifestations, Causes and Laws
- Judge Abu Bakr al-Baqillani: The Miracle of the Quran
- Abdul Qaher al-Jurjani: Evidences of the Miracle (Dala’il al-I’jaz)
- Najib Abdullah al-Rifai: The Wonders of Reading the Quran to Europeans and Americans
- Al-Zamakhshari: A Message on the Miracle of Surah al-Kawthar
- Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi: Al-Muwafaqat in the Principles of Jurisprudence
- Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi: Al-Muqabasat
- Christoph Luxenberg: A Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Quran
- Ernest Renan: General History and Comparative System of Semitic Languages (1881)
- Jeffrey Lang: Struggling to Surrender: Some Impressions of an American Convert to Islam
- Wolfgang Goethe: Letter to Heinrich Schlosser (1815)
How can the Arabic Qur’an be a miracle for a non-Arab? Video