Isharat al-I'jaz | Verses 17-20 | 123
(122-126)

Consider this: the Qur'an's miraculousness is founded on the eloquence of its word-order (nazm), and the eloquence of its word-order is of two sorts: the first is like decoration and the second like a garment.

The First Sort resembles strung pearls, finely worked decoration, and embroidery studded with gems. It is derived from following the grammatical and verbal meanings of a speech, like molten gold running among lumps of silver. The exposition of the subtle points that are the fruits of this sort of eloquence has been undertaken by farm ['ilm] al-ma'âni.

The Second Sort is like a costly gown or robe of honour, cut out according to the stature of the meanings, sewn from different pieces with regular stitches, and clothed altogether On the meaning, or the story, or the aim. This sort's craftsman and master is farm ['ilm] al-bayân.

One of the most important questions of this [latter] sort is that of allegorical comparisons (tamthîl). The Qur'an contains as many as a thousand, for allegorical comparisons contain a subtle mystery and are elevated wisdom. Yes, through them delusion is overcome by reason, imagination is compelled to submit to thought, the hidden is made present, the abstract made tangible, and the meaning made palpable, the disparate are brought together, the various are blended, the diverse united, the sundered connected, and the defenceless armed. If you want to hear a detailed discussion, then listen along with me to what the author of Dalâ'il al-1'jâz chants in Asrâr al-Balâgha,1 when he says:

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1.'Abd al-Qâhir al-Jurjânî (d. 471/1078). He was a luminary in the fields of language and rhetoric. For this passage, see, Ahmad Mustafâ al-Marâghî (ed.), (Cairo: Matba' al-Istiqama, 1948), 128.

No Voice

Isharat al-I'jaz