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 5th Century H/11th CE and the
beginning of the 6th Century H/12th 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
[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.