8. THE USE OF REPETITION IN THE QUR’ĀN (3)

8. THE USE OF REPETITION IN THE QUR’ĀN (3)

          A great scholar in the science of the Qur’ān who lived at the end of the 5^th Century H/11^th CE and the beginning of the 6^th Century H/12^th CE was called Maḥmūd ibn Ḥamzah al-Kermānī (al-Karamānī, or al-Karmānī or al-Kirmānī), the native of Kerman in Iran. (He was not to be confused with Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-Kermani, the well-known commentator of Bukhari’s Ṣaḥīḥ). He was known as Tāj al-Qurrā’ (“the Crown of Qur’ān Reciters”) for his mastering various readings in the Qur’ān. He lived in the era of the deterioration of the Abbasid caliphate where no more left except small image in Fatimi caliphate in Egypt, Syria and Morocco. At that time the Moguls (Mongols), the Qarmathians, and the Bāṭiniyyah (the upholders of the view in hidden and secret meanings of the divine texts) and other destructive religious views were being active extensively.

Al-Kermani’s work was entitled    أَسْرَارُ التَّكْرَارِ فِي الْقُرْآنِ(“the Secret Meanings of Repetition in the Qur’ān”), but originally it was entitled البرهان في توجيه متشابه القرآن لما فيه من الحجة والبرهان (“The Demonstration in Guiding Words Resembling each other in the Qur’ān Containing Evidence and Proof”). Modern scholars did not pay much attention to it as they thought that the term mutashābih in its title meant “ambiguous”, whereas the author meant “words resembling each other,” namely, the repetition of words. Its editor ‘Abd al-Qādir ‘Aṭā published it in two titles mentioned above as if it were two books. However, in the book entitled Asrār he also put al-Burhān ­the second title as a commentary of the first title.

Al-Kermani dealt with the meanings of repetition in the whole of the Qur’ān. He said many times that these repetitions are actually not repetitions at all, as every word has its own meaning and purpose. He mentions 590 repetitions in his book. We shall select what we think more important to know among them, as follows:

1 (89).  وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ  (“And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed”)

وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ (المائدة:44)

And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has

 revealed, such are the kāfirūn (disbelievers) (Q. 5:44).

وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ (المائدة:45)  

And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has

revealed, such are the ẓālimūn (wrong-doers) (Q. 5:45).

وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ (المائدة:47)

And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has

revealed, such are the fāsiqūn (offenders) (Q. 5:47).

Al-Kermani mentions four different interpretations of these verses, as follows:

a.     The kāfirūn (disbelievers; M. Asad, “deniers of the truth”) are Muslim rulers, the ẓālimūn (wrong-doers; M. Asad, “evildoers”,) are Jewish rulers, and the fāsiqūn (offenders, M. Asad, “are truly iniquitous”) are Christian rulers.

b.    All of the three words mean one, repeated in three words: kufr, infidelity.

c.     Whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed by denying it is kāfir (an infidel), whosoever does not judge with the truth knowing that it is truth, and judges the opposite of it is ẓālim (a wrong-doer), and whosoever does not judge with the truth unknowingly that it is truth, and judges the opposite of it is fāsiq (an offender).

d.    Whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed  is a denier of Allah’s blessings, a wrong-doer in his judgment, and an offender in his action (فهو كافر بنعمة الله, ظالم في حكمه, فاسق في فعله)

Commenting the first verse Ibn ‘Abbās, ‘Ikrimah, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, and others said that it was revealed about the People of the Book (the Jews and the Christians), and al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said that it was applicable to the Muslims. Ibn ‘Abbās also commented , “Whoever rejects what Allah has revealed, will have committed kufr, and whoever accepts what Allah has revealed, but does not rule by it, is a zālim (unjust), and a fāsiq (rebellious), and a sinner.”

The term kāfir (, كافرdisbeliever) is originally derived from the verb kafara  , كفر) to cover). Therefore, the term kāfir literally means “a coverer, a person who covers (something). The poet Labīd ibn Rabī‘ah al-‘Āmirī al-Muḍarī (d. 41/661), the well-known knight in pre-Islamic Arabia who converted to Islam in ca. 629, said in one of his poems, as follows:

... فِي لَيْلَةٍ كَفَرَ النُّجُومَ غَمَامُها (ديوان لبيد بي ربيعة العامري)

… in a night where its clouds covered its stars

Similarly, the tillers in the Qur’ān are called kuffār (pl. of kāfir) because they covered the seeds with soil in the following verse:

... كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ ... (الحديد:20)

… ( It is) as the likeness of vegetation after

 rain, thereof the growth is pleasing

to the tillers; … (Q. 57:20)

        Based on this literal meaning of the term kāfir it is totally incorrect to brand a person an infidel, a disbeliever until he covers or denies the truth. A person is not called kāfir if he does not know the truth, and if knows it and denies it, then he is coverer of the truth, namely, kāfir.

2 (363). فِي الصُّورِ ... مَنْ فِي السَّماواتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلاَّ مَنْ شاءَ اللَّهُ   “the Trumpet (will be blown)—and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth, … except him whom Allah will…”

وَيَوْمَ يُنْفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ فَفَزِعَ مَنْ فِي السَّماواتِ وَمَنْ فِي

الْأَرْضِ إِلاَّ مَنْ شاءَ اللَّهُ وَكُلٌّ أَتَوْهُ داخِرِينَ (النمل:87)

And (remember) the Day on which the Trumpet

 will be blown—and all who are in the heavens and

all who are on the earth, will be terrified except him

 whom Allah will (exempt).[1] And all shall come

 to Him, humbled (Q. 27:87)

وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَنْ فِي السَّماواتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلاَّ

مَنْ شاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرى فَإِذا هُمْ قِيامٌ يَنْظُرُونَ (الزمر:68)

   And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are

 in the heavens and all who are on the earth will

swoon away, except him whom Allah wills. Then it

will be blown a second time, and behold they will

 be stranding, looking on (waiting). (Q. 39:68)

In the first verse it is mentioned that they will be terrified(فَفَزِعَ)  in agreement with the verse that follows where terror (فَزَع)  is mentioned, namely,

مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ خَيْرٌ مِنْهَا وَهُمْ مِنْ

فَزَعٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ آمِنُونَ (النمل:89)

  Whoever brings a good deed, will have better

than its worth; and they will be safe from the

 terror of that Day (Q. 27:89)

In the second verse it is mentioned that they will swoon away (فَصَعِقَ)   which is in agreement with the verse mentioning “death”, because the term “swoon away” means “death,” as follows:

إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ (الزمر:30)

Verily, you (O Muhammad) will die, and

 verily, they (too) will die. (Q. 39:30)

Abū Hurayrah r.a. narrated that the Prophet said that Allah ordered the angel Isrāfīl to blow the Trumpet three times: the first blow is of terror, the second of swoon, namely, death, and the third is of resurrection (Ibn Rāhawayh’s Musnad).

 3 (372).   قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ ... سَرْمَدًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ إِلَهٌ غَيْرُاللَّهِ

         Say (O Muhammad): “Tell me! If Allah made … continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection which ilāh (a god) besides Allah …”

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ اللَّيْلَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ

مَنْ إِلَهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِضِيَاءٍ أَفَلَا تَسْمَعُونَ (القصص:71)

Say (O Muhammad): “Tell me! If Allah made  

the night continuous for you till the Day of the

 Resurrection which ilāh (a god) besides Allah

 could bring you light? Will you then not hear

 [i.e., listen to the truth]?” (Q. 28:71)

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ النَّهَارَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ إِلَهٌ

غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِلَيْلٍ تَسْكُنُونَ فِيهِ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ (القصص:72)

Say (O Muhammad): “Tell me! If Allah made

the day continuous for you till the Day of the

Resurrection which ilāh (a god) besides Allah

could bring you night wherein you rest? Will

you then not see [the truth]?” [2] (Q. 28:72)

The first verse talks about the continuous night where light is needed, and Allah Alone Who could bring it. Although we cannot see at night we still can hear, and therefore the verse ends with “will you then not hear?” The second verse talks about the continuous day where night is needed for rest, and Allah Alone Who could bring it. Since it is on the day time, seeing is mentioned at the end of this verse, namely, “Will you then not see?” Night is mentioned first where the morning is expected with the coming of the day. This is more important than the day in the second verse where night is expected to follow. “The day time,” said al-Kermani, “makes you able to see, whereas the sign of the day gives you mental perception.” (وَالنَّهَارُ مُبْصِرٌ, وَآيَةُ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَة)

          Al-Qurṭubī’s commentary in the first verse is that “light” is where people seek their livelihood, or daylight where they can find their livelihood and from which fruit and plants can get benefit. In the second verse “night” is needed to have rest from fatigue, and they should see that they are making mistake by worshiping other than Him. The conclusion is that if they confirm that no one can bring night and day other than Allah, why then they worship other than Him?                                               Allah has made neither continuous day time nor continuous night time, but He has made it alternately as blessings for his creatures. After mentioning verse 71 and 72 above He concluded with verse 73 as follows:      

وَمِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا

مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ (القصص:73)

It is of His Mercy that He has made for you the night

 and the day that you may rest therein (i.e., during the

 night) and that you may seek His bounty (i.e., during the

 day)—and in order that you may be grateful (Q. 28:73)

          We have seen the repetitions of words in the above examples are not of the same ideas, but rather of different ones.                                                (CIVIC, 26 February, 2016)

 المكتبة الشاملة:

تفسير الطبري )ت. 310 هـ (

تفسير القرطبى )ت. 671 هـ (

تفسير ابن كثير )ت. 774 هـ(

الكَرَمَانِي, تَاجُ القُرَّاء مَحْمُوْد بن حَمْزَة. أَسْرَارُ التَّكْرَارِ فِي الْقُرْآنِ. دراسة و تحقيق عبد القادر أحمد عطا. القاهرة: دار الإعتصام, 1398\1978.

Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar:  Dār al-Andalus  Ltd, 1984.

  http://www.alsh3r.com/encyclopedia/view/115

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[1] When Abū Hurayrah asked the Prophet who were the living who would be exempted from the terror, he answered that they were the martyrs; although they were dead they were alive with their Lord, and they have provision. Allah would protect and save them from the terror of that Day, which will be His punishment to be inflicted upon worst creatures. (Ibn Rāhawayh’s Musnad).

[2] “Will you then not see [the truth]?” means, “Will you not recognize the miracle of planned and purposeful creation?”  M. Asad’s commentary, see The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 602, n. 77.