Review of Michel Cuypers The Composition of the Qur’an (original) (raw)
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The Composition of the Qur’an: Rhetorical Analysis
Composition-of-the-Qur-an.pdf, 2011
By Michel Cuypers Translation by Jerry Ryan Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Even though this book deals with literary traits of the Qur’an that are still not generally recognized, it does not pretend to off er some sort of secret code or esoteric deciphering technique to the public – something that appeals to certain people nowadays. More simply, it tries to systematically describe a certain number of literary procedures which assure the coherence of a Book that seems incoherent to many. In other words, our book will explain the diff erent rhetorical principles that enter into play in the composition of the Qur’anic text. It will be a ‘treatise of Qur’anic rhetoric’ but diff erent from treatises of rhetoric handed down by Arab (as well as by Western) literary traditions.
Examining Semitic Rhetoric: A Qur'anic Sciences Perspective
Jurnal Ushuluddin, 2020
Abstract: In his study of the structure of the al-Qur’an text, Michel Cuypers uses Semitic Rhetoric to analyze the structure of the Biblical text. Despite having received positive responses from Gabriel Said Reynolds and others, Cuypers’ method was criticized by Nicolai Sinai for ignoring rhyme in the Qur’an and overdoing in maintaining the existence of the ring structure in the Qur’an. This article will describe the characteristics of this method and the effect it produces, seen from the ʻulȗm al-Qur’ân approach using descriptive-analytic and comparative research methods. This study found subjectivity and inconsistencies in the distribution of texts and in determining the structure of their composition, such as in the study of Surah al-Qâri’ah by Cuypers, and the neglect of the history of asbâb al-nuzȗl and the Prophet’s hadith. However, the application of this method can lead to a new interpretation of the Qur’an, namely by using the information in the Qur’an itself, indicators of wording around it (siyâq), and verse correlation (munâsabât). On the other hand, this method supports the authenticity and coherence of the Qur’anic text, which has become a debate among the Orientalists. Keywords: Semitic Rhetoric; Michel Cuypers; Qur’anic structure Dalam kajiannya terhadap struktur teks al-Qur’an, Michel Cuypers menggunakan Semitic Rhetoric untuk menganalisa struktur teks Bibel. Walau telah mendapat respon positif dari Gabriel Said Reynolds dan sarjana lainnya, metode Cuypers dikritisi oleh Nicolai Sinai karena mengabaikan sajak dalam al-Qur’an dan terlalu berlebihan dalam mempertahankan adanya struktur cincin dalam al-Qur’an. Bagaimanakah sebenarnya metode analisa struktur teks ini dilihat dari ilmu-ilmu al-Qur’an (‘ulȗm al-Qur’ân). Artikel ini akan memaparkan karakteristik metode tersebut dan pengaruh yang dihasilkannya dilihat dari pendekatan ‘ulȗm al-Qur’ân dengan menggunakan metode penelitian deskriptif-analitik dan komparatif. Peneliti menemukan adanya subjektivitas dan inkonsistensi dalam pembagian teks dan penentuan struktur susunannya, seperti pada kajian surah al-Qâri‘ah yang dilakukan Cuypers,serta adanya pengabaian riwayat asbâb al-nuzȗl dan hadis Nabi. Namun, penerapan metode ini dapat menimbulkan interpretasi baru al-Qur’an yang memiliki keistimewaan dari berbagai sisi, seperti pemanfaatan keterangan dalam al-Qur’an sendiri (tafsîr alQur’ân bi al-Qur’ân), indikator susunan kata di sekelilingnya (siyâq), dan korelasi ayat (munâsabât). Di samping itu, metode ini mendukung autentisitas al-Qur’an dan koherensinya yang selama ini menjadi perdebatan di kalangan Orientalis. Kata Kunci: Semitic Rhetoric, Michel Cuypers, Struktur Teks al-Qur'an
Self-referentiality in the Qur’anic Text: “Binarity” as a Rhetorical Tool (full text)
Al-Bayan: Journal of Qur’an and Hadith Studies, 2014
Self-referential discourse, i.e. the discourse of the Qurʾān about itself, is omnipresent in the Qur’anic text. Interestingly, it uses several strategies of argumentation and several rhetorical tools in order to persuade the listener or the reader to adhere to a specific understanding of what the Qurʾān is: an understanding leading to faith. Based on an extensive study of the self-referential discourse in the Qurʾān, this paper focuses on the importance of one of the rhetorical tools: “binarity.” This notion goes beyond the simple notion of “pairs” and is characterized by a clear-cut opposition ongoing in the whole text between elements of all kinds of domains and mainly in relation to biblical material. Contrary to what it may seem at first glance, “binarity” in the Qurʾān is far from being related to a dualist religious system. On the contrary, a close analysis shows that the use of “binarity” in the text emphasizes the exceptional character of the Qurʾān in relation to its divine origin. The function of “binarity” appears in all its rhetorical strength in the impression conveyed upon the listener or reader. Following the path of the works of contemporary scholars who used literary, structural, and argumentative analysis, this paper also aims at convincing the reader of the fruitfulness of rhetorical studies of the Qurʾān.
Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 2020
NTNU-NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY This article's main focus is the theories of language and rhetoric that the famous exegete and jurist Muḥ ammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) employed to define the Qur'an's overarching meaning and composition. He identified the Qur'an generically and semantically with both the Biblical scriptures, as prophecy, and with Arabic rhetoric (balāgha and khat ̣āba). At the same time, he claimed that the Qur'an supersedes them all in terms of how its forms convey God's intended meaning, producing its clarity of distinctions, persuasive demonstration, and innovative composition. I will develop two arguments. Firstly, that if we follow al-Ṭabarī's cue and compare Arabic, Biblical, and Qur'anic concepts of language and prophecy, commonalities emerge between the three scriptures' rhetorical concepts. Secondly, that al-Ṭabarī's language and rhetoric-based concept of prophecy offers a new theoretical perspective on the Qur'an's composition. The argument is related to the Hebrew Bible's, the New Testament's, and the Qur'an's paradigmatic covenantal relationship with the divine, which includes language and rhetoric. In al-Ṭabarī's view, it is the terms of covenant that define both the Qur'an's overarching meaning and the forms conveying this meaning, and which surpass both the Biblical scriptures and Arabic rhetoric. I contend that al-Ṭabarī's analysis offers new insights into Qur'anic language and composition, and the ways in which it differs from both the Biblical scriptures and Arabic rhetoric. The article consists of four parts. Part 1 surveys recent research into theories of language and rhetoric in the Qur'an, as a necessary background to al-Ṭabarī. The survey will also show the relevance of Greek paradigms for the Qur'an. Developing the outcomes of this survey, Part 2 describes theories of language and rhetoric in Plato, Aristotle, the Biblical scriptures, and the Qur'an, and models the relationship between
Semitic Rhetoric as a Key to the Question of Na †m of the Qur'anic Text
Journal of Qur‘anic Studies, 2010
Abstract: This Michel Cuypers’ 2010 paper about Quran’s « Semitic rhetoric” demonstrates how such a text structural analytical tool may help to read the Quran. The Quran discourse uses a language similar to that of the ancient Arabic poetry with the rules of a “Semitic rhetoric”. This gives to the Quran its “inimitable” form. Rhetoric means the rules which were used to organize a discourse (first oral in the case of Quran) in order that those listening to it be helped to understand the discourse’s message and to memorize its content. See for instance the importance to give to the structural “central verses”. These rules, at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, were known from poetry (see Quran sura 21,5) or from divination (see Quran sura 52,29). Later these rhetoric rules have been forgotten, making difficult today to enter in a deep reading of the Quran. Since the years 1980 scholar works started to recover their reality. The merit of the present paper is to explain these ancient rhetoric rules, and to sow for some of the Quran sura, how a rhetoric structural analysis helps to understand the Quran text. In this paper, the reader is invited to look at interesting views, for instance: -(page 21) The significance of the message to be found in the structural “central” verses in each Quran sura (the word “central” appears 29 times in this paper), verses which are “meant to explain the others [verses in the sura] and not the other way around”. -(page 6) “abrogation” as it appears in sura 2:106 does not means that later parts in Quran are modifying Quran older parts (page 21), but that the Prophet Muhammad received authority for deleting or modifying Jews or Christian sacred texts, “reorienting it according to a typically Quranic theological perspective” (page 19-20). -(page 18) thank to structural analysis, it can be excluded that the central passage in Sura 12 is not a later editorial addition.