LITERARY STRUCTURES OF RELIGIOUS MEANING IN THE QUR'AN ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN THE QUR'AN Editor: Andrew Rippin, University of Calgary In its examination of critical issues in the scholarly study of the Qur'an and its commentaries, this series targets the disciplines of archaeology, history, textual history, anthropology, theology and literary criticism. The contemporary relevance of the Qur'an in the Muslim world, its role in politics and in legal debates are also dealt with, as are debates surrounding Qur'anic studies in the Muslim world. LITERARY STRUCTURES OF RELIGIOUS MEANING IN THE QUR'AN Edited by Issa J Boullata THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXEGESIS IN EARLY ISLAM The Authenticity of Muslim Literature from the Formative Period Herbert Berg LITERARY STRUCTURES OF RELIGIOUS MEANING IN THE QUR'AN Edited by J Issa Boullata ;~ ~~~!~;n~~;up LONDON AND NEW YORK First Published in 2000 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park,Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN 270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016 Transferred to Digital Printing 2007 http://www.routledge.com Editorial Matter © 2000 Issa J. Boullata Typeset in Baskerville by LaserScript Ltd, Mitcham, Surrey All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-7007-1256-9 Publisher's Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original may be apparent Contents Acknowledgements vii List of Contributors viii Introduction IX Issa J Boullata PART I FORM, MEANING, AND TEXTUAL STRUCTURE IN THE QUR'AN 1 A Literary Approach to the Hymnic Siiras of the Qur'an: Spirit, Gender, and Aural Intertextuality 3 Michael Sells 2 Major Transitions and Thematic Borders in Two Long Sfiras: al-Baqara and al-Nisii' 26 A.H. Mathias Zahniser 3 Text and Textuality: Q. 3:7 as a Point of Intersection 56 Jane Dammen McAuliffe 4 Formulaic Features of the Punishment-Stories 77 Alford T. Welch 5 "Desiring the Face of God": The Qur'anic Symbolism of Personal Responsibility 117 Andrew Rippin 6 FawiitilJ, al-Suwar. The Mysterious Letters of the Qur'an 125 Irfan Shahfd v Literary Structures of Religious Meaning in the Qp,r'iin PART II LITERARY APPROACHES TO SELECTED sfJRAs OF THE QUR'AN 7 Referentiality and Textuality in Surat al-l!ijr. Some Observations on the Qur'iinic "Canonical Process" and the Emergence of a Community 143 Angelika Neuwirth 8 Irony in the Qur'an: A Study of the Story of Joseph 173 Mustansir Mir 9 Reflections on the Dynamics and Spirituality of Surat al-Furqiin 188 Anthony H. Johns 10 The Enchantment of Reading: Sound, Meaning, and Expression in Surat al-'Adiyiit 228 Soraya M. Hajjaji-jarrah PART III LITERARY APPRECIATION OF THE QUR'AN: PAST AND PRESENT 11 The Aesthetic Reception of the Qur'an as Reflected in Early Muslim History 255 Navid Kermani 12 Ellipsis in the Qur'an: A Study of Ibn Qutayba's Ta'wil Mushkil al-Qy,r'iin 277 Yusuf Rahman 13 Literary Exegesis of the Qur'an: The Case of al-Sharif al-Ra41 292 Mahmoud M. Ayoub 14 Studies in the Majiiz and Metaphorical Language of the Qur'an: Abu 'Ubayda and al-Sharif al-Rac;li 310 Kamal Abu-Deeb 15 Sayyid Qutb's Literary Appreciation of the Qur'an 354 Issa J Boullata Bibliography 372 Index 389 vi Acknowledgements I should like to take this opportunity publicly to thank all the contributors to this volume as I thanked them earlier in private communication. This volume would not have materialized if they had not accepted my invitation to write on the literary structures of religious meaning in the Qur'an, a topic they daringly endorsed when it was only a compelling idea in my mind. Specialists in Qur'anic studies and literary criticism, they honoured me by their contributions and were very helpful in making my editing responsibilities agreeable and accepting my imposition of consistency on their individual contributions to preserve uniformity in the volume as a whole. A special note of appreciation is due to Professor A. Oner Turgay, Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University, who encouraged me to proceed with the project of this book by granting me some financial support to supplement my spare means to hire assistance. I am also grateful to Siti Fathimah for making her computer expertise available to me and for assisting me in preparing the essays for publication by putting the edited texts of the contributors' variant diskettes on a single wordprocessing system to facilitate the work of the publisher and the typesetter. Her help is also gratefully acknowledged in the preparation of a collective bibliography for the volume. vii List of Contributors Kamal Abu-Deeb, School of Oriental and Mrican Studies, University of London,London Mahmoud M. Ayoub, Department of Religion, Temple University, Philadelphia IssaJ. Boullata, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal Soraya M. Hajjaji:Jarrah, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal Anthony H. Johns, Department of Pacific and Asian History, Australian National University, Canberra Navid Kermani, Orientalisches Seminar, Bonn University, Bonn Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Department of the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, Toronto Mustansir Mir, Department of Religious Studies, Youngstown University, Youngstown Angelika Neuwirth, Director, Orient-Institut der Deutschen MorgenHin dischen Gesellschaft, Beirut Yusuf Rahman, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal Andrew Rippin, Department of Religious Studies, University of Calgary, Calgary Michael Sells, Department of Religion, Haverford College, Haverford Irfan Shahid, Department of Arabic Language, Literature, and Linguistics, Georgetown University, Washington Alford T. Welch, Department of Religious Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing A.H. Mathias Zahniser, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore viii Introduction J Issa Boullata I n the course of a public lecture delivered in 1930 on classical Arabic prose, the influential Egyptian litterateur Taha l:Iusayn (1889-1973) said, in his characteristic and articulate style: 'But you know that the Qur'an is not prose and that it is not verse either. It is rather Qur'an, and it cannot be called by any other name but this. It is not verse, and that is clear; for it does not bind itself by the bonds of verse. And it is not prose, for it is bound by bonds peculiar to itself, not found elsewhere; some of those bonds are related to the endings of its verses and some to that musical sound which is all its own. It is therefore neither verse nor prose, but it is "a Book whose verses have been perfected then expounded, from One Who is Wise, All-Aware." We cannot therefore say it is prose, and its text itself says it is not verse. It has been one of a kind, and nothing like it has ever preceded or followed it.l Coming from a prominent literary historian and critic deeply conversant with Arabic prose and verse, this quote - for all it is worth - highlights the unique character of the Qur'an, which is neither verse nor prose in Taha l:Iusayn's opinion; furthermore, as he says expressing the belief of all Muslims, "nothing like it has ever preceded or followed it." However, it should be noted that the uniqueness which is ascribed to the Qur'an here is based on two things: first, its literary structures; and second, its provenance. With regard to the former, two of the structural elements that Taha l:Iusayn calls "bonds" (quyud, singular qayd) by which the Qur'an binds itself are referred to, namely, (1) the rhyming and assonant ends of its verses, and (2) the peculiar musical sound of its wording. With regard to its provenance, the Qur'an is said to be a Book "from One Who is Wise, All-Aware," a Book ''whose verses have been perfected then expounded" as ix