hamidreza basiri; mina shariati
Abstract
Surah is the most important division in divisions of the Qur'an into different parts because God has invited and challenged all human beings to cite one Surah like those of the Qur'an, but there has been no mention of such a challenge for division ranks below Surah. The division of the Qur'an is not ...
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Surah is the most important division in divisions of the Qur'an into different parts because God has invited and challenged all human beings to cite one Surah like those of the Qur'an, but there has been no mention of such a challenge for division ranks below Surah. The division of the Qur'an is not of a human origin, but was created according to the Will of God and the command of the Angle of Revelation which marked the start of every new section in the Qur'an by a Bism-i Allah al-rahman al-rahim (“In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful”), and the contemporaries of such Divine revelations, especially the Qur'an scribes, were familiar with such divisions. This raises the question as to the features of the Surah which God has chosen to challenge the defiant to cite one like. Why is it that one or a few verses from the Qur'an might be copied by the words of man, but citing a Surah, even as short as Kowasr which is of only three verses, is out of man’s reach? Is the arrangement of verses in a Surah done according to a certain wisdom and to a certain purpose? If yes, what is the wisdom behind the structure of Surahs? Why it that the division of the Qur'an into a hundred and fourteen Surahs is not topic-based and according to the common structure of scientific books? For example, why is it that faith-related Surahs focusing on Divine Unity, prophecy (prophethood), resurrection, etc. are not placed in the beginning and separated from Quranic stories, instruction and other subjects? This article attempts to answer such questions using a descriptive method. Every Surah contains a Divine wisdom which guides human beings in the path of accomplishment and perfection. It is impossible for a Surah to have such an inherent wisdom and for its verses not to be arranged in way to serve and advance that wisdom. Therefore, a Surah is a coherent, purposeful collection. God, knowing the talents, potentials and characteristics of human beings, has offered us a comprehensive program to prosperity and achievement. Therefore, His words are addressee-oriented and guiding, words that man can never produce alike because of the limitations of the knowledge he has of himself, his God and the path that leads to Him.
