The Qur’ān: Poetic Sweetness in Prose
The Holy Qur’ān is a unique discourse that, while written in a prose form, possesses a sweetness and elegance reminiscent of poetry. Human aesthetic taste naturally gravitates toward the rhythm and musicality found in poetry—qualities usually absent in plain prose. The secret of this quality in the Qur’ān lies in the arrangement of its words, which create a balanced auditory rhythm that provides extraordinary delight to the listener.
Poetic Meters and Rhymes: Styles Across Languages
✔ Nature of Poetic Meters: In Arabic, Persian, and Urdu poetry, the principles of poetic pleasure revolve around meters and rhymes. Arabic poetry has established specific rules for meter and rhyme, while in Persian poetry these rules have broadened slightly.
✔ Ancient Hindi Poetry: It focused on the number of letters rather than rhythmic meters.
✔ English Poetry: It does not strictly adhere to meters and rhymes; instead, it often creates melody through variations in pronunciation.
✔ Village Music: Rural communities generate distinctive melodies and rhythms in their music without following any formal rules, which adds vibrancy to their gatherings.
The Qur’ān: Free from Poetic Restrictions Yet Unique
Despite not adhering to the poetic rules of any language, the Qur’ān’s rhythm and impact are such that people of every language and region experience a profound sweetness and depth when they hear it.
Difference Between Poetry and Prose: The Response of the Arab Disbelievers
Although the disbelieving Arabs understood the Qur’ān’s prose nature, they still found such sweetness in it that they labeled it as “poetry.”
✔ Poetic Sweetness Without Poetic Rules: The miraculous nature of the Qur’ān is that it brings an exceptional aesthetic sweetness and impact without being bound to poetic meters and rhymes.
The Sonic Aesthetics of the Qur’ān: Jacques Gilbert’s Experience
Dr. Maḥmūd Aḥmad Ghāzī, in his book “Maḥāḍirāt Qur’ānī”, recounts the unique experience of French musician Jacques Gilbert that showcases the sonic impact of the Qur’ān:
✔ Background of the Event: In 1957-58, Jacques Gilbert, a renowned French musician, attended a gathering hosted by an Arab ambassador, where he heard the recitation of the Qur’ān for the first time.
✔ Impact of the Qur’ān: Gilbert felt that this “music” surpassed anything the world of music had ever created, declaring that music had not yet reached such heights. When he was told that this was not music but the recitation of the Qur’ān, he was astonished.
✔ Path to Islam: So impressed was he by the sonic beauty of the Qur’ān that he accepted it as the Word of God and embraced Islam.
Qur’ānic Recitation vs. Music
The recitation of the Holy Qur’ān is based on the art of Tajwīd, which is not connected to musical rules. Jacques Gilbert found the nuances of Tajwīd to be in line with the highest principles of musical sophistication.
✔ The Pause (Waqf) Issue: Jacques once objected to a pause in Sūrah al-Naṣr, but when the correct method of Tajwīd was explained to him, he was immediately satisfied and acknowledged the grandeur of the Qur’ān.
The Sonic Impact of the Qur’ān: A Priceless Dimension
The sonic beauty of the Qur’ān is a dimension that has not yet been deeply explored by researchers. Despite its prose structure, the divine word holds an aesthetic and sonic impact unparalleled in any other discourse in the world.
The Holy Qur’ān is a unique discourse that, while written in a prose form, possesses a sweetness and elegance reminiscent of poetry. Human aesthetic taste naturally gravitates toward the rhythm and musicality found in poetry—qualities usually absent in plain prose. The secret of this quality in the Qur’ān lies in the arrangement of its words, which create a balanced auditory rhythm that provides extraordinary delight to the listener.
Poetic Meters and Rhymes: Styles Across Languages
✔ Nature of Poetic Meters: In Arabic, Persian, and Urdu poetry, the principles of poetic pleasure revolve around meters and rhymes. Arabic poetry has established specific rules for meter and rhyme, while in Persian poetry these rules have broadened slightly.
✔ Ancient Hindi Poetry: It focused on the number of letters rather than rhythmic meters.
✔ English Poetry: It does not strictly adhere to meters and rhymes; instead, it often creates melody through variations in pronunciation.
✔ Village Music: Rural communities generate distinctive melodies and rhythms in their music without following any formal rules, which adds vibrancy to their gatherings.
The Qur’ān: Free from Poetic Restrictions Yet Unique
Despite not adhering to the poetic rules of any language, the Qur’ān’s rhythm and impact are such that people of every language and region experience a profound sweetness and depth when they hear it.
Difference Between Poetry and Prose: The Response of the Arab Disbelievers
Although the disbelieving Arabs understood the Qur’ān’s prose nature, they still found such sweetness in it that they labeled it as “poetry.”
✔ Poetic Sweetness Without Poetic Rules: The miraculous nature of the Qur’ān is that it brings an exceptional aesthetic sweetness and impact without being bound to poetic meters and rhymes.
The Sonic Aesthetics of the Qur’ān: Jacques Gilbert’s Experience
Dr. Maḥmūd Aḥmad Ghāzī, in his book “Maḥāḍirāt Qur’ānī”, recounts the unique experience of French musician Jacques Gilbert that showcases the sonic impact of the Qur’ān:
✔ Background of the Event: In 1957-58, Jacques Gilbert, a renowned French musician, attended a gathering hosted by an Arab ambassador, where he heard the recitation of the Qur’ān for the first time.
✔ Impact of the Qur’ān: Gilbert felt that this “music” surpassed anything the world of music had ever created, declaring that music had not yet reached such heights. When he was told that this was not music but the recitation of the Qur’ān, he was astonished.
✔ Path to Islam: So impressed was he by the sonic beauty of the Qur’ān that he accepted it as the Word of God and embraced Islam.
Qur’ānic Recitation vs. Music
The recitation of the Holy Qur’ān is based on the art of Tajwīd, which is not connected to musical rules. Jacques Gilbert found the nuances of Tajwīd to be in line with the highest principles of musical sophistication.
✔ The Pause (Waqf) Issue: Jacques once objected to a pause in Sūrah al-Naṣr, but when the correct method of Tajwīd was explained to him, he was immediately satisfied and acknowledged the grandeur of the Qur’ān.
The Sonic Impact of the Qur’ān: A Priceless Dimension
The sonic beauty of the Qur’ān is a dimension that has not yet been deeply explored by researchers. Despite its prose structure, the divine word holds an aesthetic and sonic impact unparalleled in any other discourse in the world.
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