ORAL CULTURE AND THE QURAN

It is a known fact that the first addressees of the Qur'anic revelation was Arab society so it's not surprising that the Qur'anic text reflects the elements, expressions and styles of the oral culture of that society. This article has an aim to clarify that there are great differences in understanding of the Qur'an before and after it was turned into a scripture. In this context, the Qur'an, revealed in Arabic, reflects the cultural and linguistic characteristics of its age. Regarding this fact, it is not surprising to witness several "oral" elements in the Qur'anic "Text".

THE ISLAMIC QUARTERLY, 2019

In its literal translation, the Qur’an is frequently subject to misinterpretation as a result of failures to deliver its meaning in another language. Drawing on the fact that the Qur’an is, by its nature, intended to be an oral performance, and with a specific focus on the delivery of the Qur’an’s meaning in English, this paper addresses the translation of the Qur’an in a way that differs from the usual formal linguistic approach, in order to include the extra-linguistic factor of its recitation or oral performance, or tajwīd as it is termed in Arabic. The translations employed in this paper were carefully chosen to illustrate the problems that exist in many Qur’an translations. These translations are The Meaning of the HolyQuran: Translation and Commentary by Ali (1989), The Meaning of the Glorious Koranby Pickthall (1997/1930), and The Quran: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings by Sahih (2010). By citing examples, this paper argues that the agents involved in producing a ‘translation’ of the Holy Qur’an should take into account its oral aspect, which yields additional understanding and meaning that is not captured by adhering to the words of the ‘written’ discourse alone. This paper attempts to address and incorporate the performance dimension of the Qur’an, an aspect that is generally overlooked in its translation into English.

Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2017

According to Muslims, the Quran is the main religious text of Islam which was verbally revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace. Be. Upon. Him.) through Jibril. It is said the holy book is the richest source of Islamic heritage. One of the significant parts of the Quran is its linguistic heritage. This paper strives to report the importance of Language in the Quran. A content-based analysis approach is used as the main tool of data collection and analysis. To achieve this goal, complete text of the Quran has been studied to extract related verses (ayahs). Then, a detailed explanation is given to show the significance of Language based on the Islamic religious text. The results of the related verses (ayahs) show that: 1. Islamic linguistic heritage is not limited to just one language despite the fact that the Quran is written in Arabic, 2. God has promised to save His heritage, 3. Various languages can be regarded as resources and motives which encourage Muslims to know each other better,...

RELIGIA, 2017

Tulisan ini menelaah makna bahasa dan teks yang digunakan dalam Al-Qur'an. Dalam mengajarkan Islam, pada dasarnya berdasarkan dua sumber fundamental, yaitu Al-Qur'an dan tradisi Nabi. Bagi muslim, Al-Qur'an adalah Wahyu Ilahi. Al-Qur'an merupakan perkataan dari Tuhan dan kehadiran Ilahi pada ruang dan waktu sejarah. Melalui penyelidikan terhadap interpretasi sejarah berdasarkan aspek linguistik dalam Al-Qur'an, sebuah usaha dilakukan untuk meningkatkan definisi yang jelas mengenai tafsir dan bagaimana Al-Qur'an itu diinterpretasikan dalam sejarah Islam. Berdasarkan pada contoh-contoh tersebut, tulisan ini membahas tentang pendefinisian kembali tafsir dilihat dari bentuk khusus yang berhubungan dengan interpretasi Sarjana Muslim sebagai penterjemah dan aturan mendefinisikan karakteristik budaya berdasarkan tafsir dan termasuk penekanan dalam memahami aspek linguistik dan kemanusiaan, serta tahapan interpretasi yang harus dilakukan. Tulisan ini juga bertujuan untuk mendiskusikan metode interpretif dan hubungan dialektika terhadap teks Al-Qur'an dan konteks linguistik Al-Qur'an. This paper explores the meanings of language and text used in the Holy Scripture (the Quran). In Islam, its teachings are based essentially on two fundamental sources, the Qur'an and the prophetic tradition. For Muslims, the Qur'an is Divine Revelation. It is the very word of God and the presence of the Divine in space and time of the history. Through an examination

Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2016

The study investigates the literary form of the Holy book-The Qur'an. The book is explaining the principles of Islam-a religion of Muslim Umah. In the era and since the Prophet Muhammad's time, it was questioned that it is a book written by a poet. It has been under the keen study to know the language used in the Holy Qur'an. The study explains the language of the Holy Qur'an. 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. The Holy Quran is the reference book for more than 1.6 billion of Muslims all around the world. Extracting information and knowledge from the Holy Quran is of high benefit for both specialized people in Islamic studies as well as none specialized people. The word Qur'an has never been used for any other book since long in the history of the universe. It has its unique form[1]. This study helps to introduce the reader to the language of the Holy Qur'an.

BASA Journal of Language & Literature

This study aims to analyze the impact of the language used in the Quran on Islamic discourse, using qualitative research methods and content analysis of Quranic verses and scholarly literature. The study finds that the Quranic language's unique literary style and linguistic features contribute to its authority and persuasiveness, shaping Islamic discourse over time. Rhetorical devices, such as repetition and parallelism, add to the text's effectiveness. The study highlights the importance of understanding the Quranic language and its impact on Islamic theology, jurisprudence, and ethics, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary research. By analyzing the linguistic and literary features of the Quran, scholars can gain a deeper understanding of the text's meaning and message and appreciate its continued relevance in contemporary times. This study contributes to the broader understanding of the role of language in shaping religious discourse and interpretation.

2022

The transition from orality to literacy is the focus of this dissertation. Studying orality and literacy in Western Academic scholarship focuses on the transitional phase (transition from orality to literacy) of the Western transitional. This project widens the focus of the transitional phase and analyzes the transitional phase of the old traditional Arabic culture. The dissertation analyzes both oral and transitional phases of the old Arabic culture. It studies the unique characteristics of these two phases (oral and transitional). Isnad was the main feature of the Arabic transitional phase. Isnad is a chain of narrators who convey sayings. Every narrator in this human chain should be reliable and creditable. Unlike narration known in the primary oral cultures, isnad conveys literate knowledge in the time of orality. Al-Jahiz’s Al-Bayan wa Al-Tabyeen is a book that is studied to find out the characteristics and the boundaries of the transitional phase. The project seeks to determine the characteristics of the transitional phase as a phase that is not only a bridge between orality and literacy through studying the transitional phase of the Arabic culture and analyzing one of the transitional works, namely Al-Bayan wa Al-Tabyeen.

The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies , 2020

Assessing the multiple ways the temporal and spatial boundaries of the Qur’an have been expanded through the interaction with culture, this essay sets out to probe the recipro­cal but also ambiguous relationship between the Qur’an and popular culture. It attempts to address the central question of how does a bound book in period-specific Arabic be­ come a universal source of mercy in multiple dialects of Arabic but also in multiple non- Arabic languages, as also for oral cultures, semi-literate populations, and non-elite groups, all of whom draw upon and relate to its divine aura? Issues of language access/ privilege, literacy in multiple registers, and the post-Enlightenment, colonial triad of rea­son/belief/magic—all have to be examined with attention to the central role of the Qur’an as both vehicle and transformer of popular culture, for Muslims and non-Muslims, from West Africa to South-East Asia.

Faculty of Languages and Simultaneous Interpretation Journal, 2020

The main aim of this paper is to examine the influence of a number of sociolinguistic and cross-cultural aspects on the translation of culturally-laden items in the Qur'an. The researcher pays due attention to the impact that a translator's cultural background and ideological affiliation may exert on the translation of Qur'anic culture