The origins and early development of the theory of I‘jāz al-Qur’ān

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Ph.D. Student of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, University of Tehran

Abstract

The oldest works of Muslim scholars in the fields of
kalām
, ḥadīth and tafsīr during the 2nd and 3rd centuries
AH rarely offer an explicit basis for regarding the Qur’ān
as an inimitable miracle of the Prophet. However, the
issue appears fully fledged in the works of scholars such
as al-Bāqillānī, Qāḍī ‘Abd al-Jabbār and al-Sharīf al-
Murtaḍā. This silence in the early Islamic centuries, when
considered side by side with the profusion of other
Qur’ānic discussions in the same period, raises the
question of when and under what conditions the early
Muslim scholars began to deal with the subject of
 
i‘jāz al-
Qur’ān
. The essay identifies two factors that gave impetus
to the emergence and development of theories about the
Qur’ān’s inimitability: first, Christian-Muslim polemics
about the signs of Muhammad’s prophecy, and second, the
literary and theological endeavors of the
 
Mu‘tazilīs of
Baghdad and Basra.
After initiating discussion and speculation about the nature
of the Qur’ān’s inimitability, some
 
Mu‘tazilī theologians
extended the scope of the topic during the 4th century,
until it assumed the form of a bona fide Qur’ānic issue in
tafāsīr
. From the beginning of the 5th century until the
present, speculation about the
 
i‘jāz and its nature became a
common feature of theological and exegetic works for all
Islamic sects.

Keywords

Quranic Sciences and Tradition
Volume 46, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
August 2013
Pages 113-144

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