The Qur'an and Its Study: An In-depth Explanation of Islam's Sacred Scripture

By Adnan Zarzour and Adil Salahi

Over the course of six sections, this rich reference book explores the various areas of Qur’anic studies:

1. its language,
2. the history of its documentation,
3. its many disciplines,
4. the methods of interpretation,
5. its inimitability,
6. and finally, as a work of art.

The themes explored also include the impact of the Qur’an on Islamic civilisation, as well as the various classical sub-disciplines of Qur’anic studies, including the study of the variant readings (qirā’āt), the reasons for revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), and abrogation (naskh).

Unlike some other works, Prof Zarzour also explores contemporary scholarship on the Qur’an, notably through a critical evaluation of modern tendencies such as the claim that the Qur’an contains scientific miracles, and an evaluation of some of the most recognised modern works of Qur’anic commentary (tafsir).

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Islamic Foundation
• Release date: Apr 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9780860377955

Adnan Zarzour

Prof Adnan Muhammad Zarzour gained his undergraduate degree from the University of Damascus’ faculty of Shari’a in 1960, and his Masters and PhD from Dār al-'Ulūm, Cairo University. Over a long and productive career, he has taught at numerous universities throughout the Arab world. He is currently a visiting professor at Qatar University. His scholarly work covers a wide spectrum of fields including: Qur’anic and Hadith studies, Islamic theology, intellectual history, scholarly biography, and studies in contemporary political philosophy, covering the topics of human rights, secularism and nationalism.

Book preview

The Qur’an and Arabic

Chapter 1

The Language of the Qur’an

Chapter 2

The Impact of the Qur’an on Arabic

Chapter 3

The Impact of the Qur’an on Islamic Culture and Civilisation

1

The Language of the Qur’an

1. The Arabic Tongue¹

That God chose Arabic from among the great multitude of human languages to be the language of His last Book addressed to mankind suggests that the Arabic tongue has particular and very important features that place it above others. We should remember too that the Prophet Muhammad’s greatest miracle is closely related to the expression of the message. So, the miraculous aspect of the Qur’an, which is associated with a challenge to produce even a small portion like it, relates purely to its language and way of expression, as confirmed by many scholars.

An important aspect of Arabic is that it uses the whole length of the vocal tract. Its sounds are perfectly and accurately arranged to make use of all places of articulation. This is a highly useful feature of Arabic. The late ‘Abbās Mahmūd al-‘Aqqād describes Arabic as a ‘poetic language’ which uses the artistic and musical patterns of poetry. He adds: ‘This quality is clear in Arabic sounds, on their own, and how they are articulated; in Arabic words, on their own; and in its rules and phraseology; as also in its metres of poetry... The human system of articulation is a complete musical instrument. No community, past or present, has used it to its full potential as the Arab nation has done, making use of all its places of articulation to distribute its sounds.’²

Al-Aqqad further explains that the Arabic alphabet does not include more sounds than these languages: ‘Arabic on the other hand has more sounds that are not repeated with additional features. No place of articulation in the vocal tract is missing in Arabic. Indeed, Arabic relies on distributing its sounds along the right places in the vocal tract, without the need to add or omit features of articulation.’³

In his discussion of the poetic aspect of Arabic, from the point of view of its sounds, al- ‘Aqqād describes Arabic as ‘an articulate human language’ because of its full usage of the system of speech. Arabic, in his view, does not omit any tool of sound.

The best known sound that, according to al-‘Aqqād, exists only in Arabic is the ḍād, given the symbol, ḍ. Indeed, Arabic is often referred to as the language of the ‘ḍād’, making it the one sound that distinguishes it from all other languages. Perhaps this is due to the fact that this sound alone represents the vocal system in Arabic, since some of the other five sounds that exist in Arabic only may also exist in other languages with some variation of articulation. This sound is the only one given in Arabic that features istiṭālah, which scholars of Qur’anic recitation define as ‘the spread of the sound along the length of the tongue’. As such, it represents the vocal system and has no parallel in other languages.⁴

Al-‘Aqqād’s remark that Arabic is an articulate language may refer to the fact that in addition to its having these special sounds, Arabic incorporates all that is given to other languages of these sounds.

We cannot include here even a summary of all that al-‘Aqqād says about what may be termed the excellence of the Arabic tongue, or how Arabic sounds give the language its poetic character. Nor can we give a full account of his discussion of individual terms, case markings, poetic metres, allegory, as well as what he terms scientific eloquence. Indeed, we will only make a few short quotations. On words, he says that poetic talent is equally or even more apparent in sounds ‘because words add the musical quality of rules and meanings to the clearly noticeable music of pronunciation, even without any particular meaning speakers express.’⁵

In the composition of words from letters and sounds, it is sufficient to note that the wazn, i.e. phonic pattern, is what distinguishes the parts of speech in Arabic. Other derivative languages of the Semitic group have not attained the same high standards of derivation control according to the phonic pattern.

In Arabic, phonic patterns apply to all parts of speech and match, as perfectly as possible, the structure of a word to its meaning. Yanẓur, nāẓir, manẓūr, naẓīr, naẓā’ir, naẓẓārah, munāẓarah, minẓār, manẓar, muntaẓar, are a few of the derivations from the root naẓara. The differences between them are those of nouns, verbs, adjectives, singular and plural. Yet all these differences are based on the phonic patterns, or rather the different musical notes in pronouncing them.⁶

Phonic patterns of individual words in other languages do not follow the same system. Words may have the same phonic pattern but without any reference to similarity of meaning, or coining nouns, verbs or prepositions. They may have phonic similarities, but it is only accidental. Without it, such languages would have had as many phonic patterns as their vocabulary.⁷

These quotations give us enough to understand why the Arabic tongue is described in the Qur’an as ‘making things clear’, and why it is contrasted with other languages.⁸ God says in the Qur’an: ‘We know fully well that they say: It is but a man that teaches him [all] this. But the man to whom they so maliciously allude speaks a foreign tongue, while this is Arabic speech, pure and clear’ (16: 103). ‘Most certainly, this [Qur’an] has been bestowed from on high by the Lord of all the worlds. The trustworthy Spirit has brought it down into your heart – so that you may give warning, in the clear Arabic tongue’ (26: 192–195). We now realise why the Qur’an was revealed in the Arabic language. Many Muslim authors have expressed the view that as a clear and lucid tongue, Arabic is the most suited language God has given to communities and nations to carry God’s Book which is inimitable in both word and meaning. God says: ‘Yet before this the book of Moses was revealed as a guide and a (sign of God’s) grace. This Book confirms it in the Arabic tongue, to warn the wrongdoers and to give good news to those who do good’ (46: 12).

The language that is poetic in its sounds, vocabulary and inflection is the one most suited to express the Qur’an, God’s eternal word. God wanted His Book to be superior to poetry in its precision and effect, as well as in its rhythm and music.⁹ It is well known that, unlike Arabic poetry, the Qur’an does not maintain rhymes or metres. Yet the Qur’an renders itself to reading and recitation in a way that accommodates musical tunes. As such, it is superior to poetry, but it is unique prose. Hence, people memorise it in full in a few months, and some people achieve this even in a few weeks. None of the superb speeches of the Arabs of old, or the texts of the finest writers of Arabic literature, of olden and recent times, comes close to this.

May we say that the revelation of the Qur’an in ‘poetic language’ meant that it did not need to be in poetry so as to be recited and memorised. This is particularly so because it attained with this language a standard of superior excellence that is impossible to imitate. Moreover, the poetry of this language needs metres that bear special significance once added to the phonic patterns of words and structures. Hence, what may be called poetry in other languages does not necessarily apply to Arabic. Hence, we find it very strange when writers speak of their ‘prose poems’.

Moreover, in its sentences, verses and surahs, the Qur’anic text flows in a unique way, one that we may describe as the Qur’anic spirit or the essence of its construction. Hence, it is perhaps right to say that whoever achieves a good standard of reading or reciting this inimitable book can read and recite well any text of Arabic literature across the language’s history from pre-Islamic days to the present. The reverse does not apply. To prove this we may need broad theoretical and applied studies. What we may say for the present is that the literary or poetic nature of Arabic, which is reflected in its sounds, vocabulary, rules and constructions, attains in this immortal book a summit that cannot be scaled by anyone. Reading the Qur’an and reciting it according to the considered rules of recitation, i.e. tajwīd, gives a person a good command of literary language and enhances his phonetic skills. Furthermore, it gives him a wealth of expressions and fine meanings that is not confined to scholars or adults. The Qur’an is a book that is rich in the best linguistic constructions and the finest literary expressions, all of which are easily memorised. When children start, at five years of age, to memorise parts of the Qur’an, they are able to achieve a good command of Arabic and gain a keen sense of faith and solid moral values that stay with them for life.

2. The Arabs and the Qur’an

The Qur’an was revealed to the Arabs in their own language. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was an Arab from the Quraysh, and he was given his message among them. Then, the Arabs carried this noble book, the Qur’an, to the world as a message for mankind embodying God’s grace to the world. The role of the Arabs with regards to the Qur’an is to deliver or present it to people, showing them the guidance it provides and to strive to make it known. In this way, they take mankind from darkness into light. Their role is by no means one of stressing their own supremacy or fanatic preaching. It is the role of one assigned a hard task for which he has to strive with great effort. Human privileges are associated with tasks to be fulfilled and burdens to be carried, not with pleasure and enjoyment. God says to His Messenger in the Qur’an: ‘Hold fast to what has been revealed to you: you certainly are on a straight path; and it is an honour for you andyour people. In time, you will all be called to account’ (43: 43–44). Commenting on these verses, Ibn Kathir said: ‘Take the Qur’an, revealed to you, because it is the truth. It guides you to the truth and to God’s straight path that leads to Heaven and its everlasting happiness and bliss... The Qur’an is an honour granted to the Prophet and to his community. It has been revealed in their language. They are the ones who understand it best. Hence, they should be the keenest to learn what it requires of them and to fully implement it.’¹⁰

God has made mankind into nations and communities, giving them talents of different types: mental, literary, artistic and scientific. Thus, mankind can complement one another. They should not make their talents a basis to press their superiority on one another. To press one’s superiority over others on the basis of natural qualities that are given to man, and about which one can do nothing either to acquire or discard them, such as regards race or colour, is merely to confine oneself to the stage of childhood or adolescence. This is something that is unbecoming of any rational and mature person. Humanity should have got rid of such attitudes when it received the Qur’anic revelation that says: ‘Mankind! We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another’ (49: 13). Having established this, the verse goes on to state the proper criterion which gives people their status. This is due to personal action that is undertaken by free will and clear resolve. God says: ‘Truly, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most genuinely God-fearing’ (49: 13).

The criteria to determine superiority is not based on the qualities that distinguish a particular community or nation. These qualities are meant to stress the unity of the human race and to make it easier for people to get to know one another. Moreover, every good quality entails certain duties and responsibilities that are commensurate with its nature and value. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: ‘The people who are put to the hardest test are the prophets, then the most God-fearing, then the test gets easier as their good qualities get less and less.’¹¹

God chose the Arabs to be the bearers of His last message to mankind. He knew that they were most qualified for this by their nature and talents, not by their behaviour and practices. Such was the case at a moment in history which witnessed wars and conflicts and in an environment that suffered a number of ills in relation to the economy pertaining therein, social relations and other areas of life. Hence the Prophet’s statement: ‘You find people of different metal. The best of them prior to Islam are the best under Islam, if they get a good grasp of it. You will find among the best people in this faith some who hated it most before accepting it’ (Related by Muslim). This is also indicated by the Prophet’s supplication: ‘My Lord, give good support for Islam through the one who You love best: either Abū Jahl or ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb’ (Related by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhī). This prayer for one of the two means that each of them could, by nature and talent, achieve a high standard. In reality, it was ‘Umar who became a Muslim and climbed higher and higher to achieve a unique status in Islamic and human history. Abū Jahl was by no means a lesser person by nature or talent, but all this was smothered by hatred and arrogance and was eventually buried under heaps of desert sand. His talent and good nature were lost when the man denied Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Qur’an. In the context of mental, literary and other qualities possessed by the Arabs, Ibn Taymiyyah draws the same distinction and says:

The basis of the [Arabs’] distinction is their special qualities: mental, language, ethics and actions. People are distinguished either by useful knowledge or good action.

Knowledge has a start which is the mental ability to understand and retain, and a final point which is the logical ability to express and explain. The Arabs are better qualified in these than other nations, and their tongue is the best in expression and distinction of meaning.

Action is determined by ethics, which are personal instincts. The instincts of the Arabs are more responsive to goodness. They are more ready to show generosity, forbearance, courage, honourable commitment and other good values. Prior to Islam, however, they had a nature that was susceptible to goodness but were prevented from doing it. They had no revealed knowledge, nor a code of law given to them by a prophet. Nor were they pursuing some purely mental knowledge. All their knowledge was what their talent gave them of poetry and fine speeches, what they learnt of their history, ancestors and special days, and what they needed to learn about the weather, the stars and war.

Then God sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the best guidance that He has or will ever place on earth, and they (the Arabs) first responded with determined opposition. He worked hard to move them away from their ignorant practices and the darkness of unbelief that corrupted their nature. When they accepted that great guidance, all the rust that covered their hearts and minds was removed. They now had the light of Divine guidance and responded to it with their good nature. Thus, they combined the power they were created with and the perfection God revealed to them. That was like a land that is fertile but neglected, allowing weeds and useless trees to grow in it and letting pigs and wild animals make it their habitation. If this land is cleared of useless plants and wild animals, and then planted with grains and fruit trees, it will yield very useful crops.¹²

In his lucid style, Ibn Taymiyyah refers to the advantage of the Arabic tongue. He also refers to the clear compatibility between the natural strengths of the Arabs and the perfection of the Qur’an and the Divine law revealed to them. In other words, the compatibility is total between the message of Islam and its first recipients, or between their talents and the special qualities of the Islamic message.

The revelation of the Qur’an and the Islamic message to the Arabs and the choice of the final messenger from among them were due to their psychological and mental qualities, good attributes and fine values. Moreover, the fact that they were greatly influenced by fine speech and eloquent address enabled them to fully interact with the Divine message, expressed in God’s own words and the unique style of the Qur’an.

In further explanation of our distinction between given talent and natural susceptibility on the one hand and the Arabs’ social environment at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation and the start of the Prophet’s mission, we may say that much of that corrupt reality had good and noble motives. Its corruption was the result of choosing the wrong methods and practices, or exaggeration that leads to worse results than any possible risks. For example, some Arabs buried their young daughters alive for fear that they might bring them shame. It is well known that the worst vices of the Arabs included their drunkenness and gambling. They indulged in these because of their generosity and compassion for the poor. Arab poets extolled the praises of drinking because it made a person ready to part with his money and to spend it generously. They might, for example, gamble for a number of camels. Yet the winner did not take any of them. Instead, he left their meat for the poor and needy. These were the benefits that accrued to people from drinking and gambling, as stated by the Qur’anic verse: ‘They askyou about intoxicants and games of chance. Say, In both there is great evil although they have some benefits for people, but their evil is far greater than their benefit’ (2: 219).

The Indian scholar Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Farāhi, nicknamed ‘the teacher’, called the negative practices of the Arabs in their pre-Islamic days ‘wrongs’, and explained at length their noble motives and moral aims, saying that these wrongs were the result of good qualities. He said:

Despite all their wrong doings, the Arabs were of simple nature, aspiring to noble actions such as hospitality, kindness to kinsfolk, protection of honour, and gratitude. This applied in particular to their chiefs and the good people among them. Even their wrongs had a basis in their good qualities. Their drunkenness and gambling were due to their generosity. Their battles were mostly to do with what was due to those who were killed. Their anger aimed to establish justice. Their injustice was motivated by their abhorrence of being humiliated. Therefore, they were compassionate to the weak and widows. In their wars, they did not kill women and children; nor did they deal badly with the vanquished. They tolerated poverty because they would not submit to a king who could have united them. They only submitted to a ruler who would maintain justice and live with them as one of them, like Abū Bakr and ‘Umar did after Islam and some of their chiefs in pre-Islamic days. The one who was able to exercise the greatest authority was the one who was most fair, like ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb who was able to exercise maximum authority through being most fair.¹³

We conclude this discussion by citing what the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself said about the moral values of the Arabs in their pre-Islamic days. A long Hadith describes how the Prophet presented Islam to the Banī Shaybān when he used to approach Arabian tribes during the pilgrimage season. He went, together with Abū Bakr and ‘Alī, and found the pilgrims from the Shaybān seated, calm and respectable. Abū Bakr started by offering a greeting: in this respect, ‘Alī said: ‘Abū Bakr was ahead in every good thing’. So, he introduced the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Mafrūq ibn ‘Amr, one of their chiefs, asked: ‘What are you advocating?’ The Prophet said: ‘I call on people to believe that there is no deity other than God and that I am God’s Messenger. And I ask you to accommodate and support me.’ He then recited: ‘Come, let me tell you what your Lord has forbidden to you: Do not associate partners with Him; (do not offend against but, rather,) be kind to your parents; do not kill your children because of your poverty – We provide for you and for them; do not commit any shameful deed, whether open or secret; do not take any human being’s life – which God has made sacred, except in the course of justice. This He has enjoined upon you so that you may use your reason’ (6: 151).

Mafrūq said: ‘What else do you advocate?’ The Prophet recited: ‘God enjoins justice, kindness [to all], and generosity to one’s kindred; and He forbids all that is shameful, all reprehensible conduct and aggression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed’ (16: 90).

Mafrūq said: ‘You certainly advocate good morality and fine action. Those who deny you and collaborate against you are in the wrong.’

Hāni’ ibn Qubayṣah, who was their religious chief, said to the Prophet: ‘I have heard what you said. I feel that if we were to abandon our religion and follow you after merely meeting you once would be unwise. It does not take into consideration all possible consequences. Error is often the result of hasty action. We left our people back home, and we do not like to conclude agreements without consulting them. I suggest that we and you go back, and each party will consider and weigh things up.’

Al-Muthannā ibn Ḥārithah, who was in charge of defence, said to the Prophet: ‘I have heard what you said. Our answer on the point of abandoning our religion is that expressed by Hāni’ ibn Qubayṣah. We have made a pledge to the Persian Emperor (as they had settled in an area between the rivers of Iraq and the springs in Arabia). This pledge requires us not to initiate action or give shelter to an offender. I feel that what you are calling on us to accept is something that kings dislike. If you wish that we accommodate you and help you against those who are beyond the springs in Arabia, we will do so.’

The Prophet said to them: ‘You have given a good reply as you stated the truth. God’s faith cannot be supported except by people who understand it fully. What would you say if it happens that before long God gives you their land and wealth...’.

The Prophet then rose up. He took Abū Bakr’s hand and said: ‘Abū Bakr, Abū Ḥasan: how splendid are these moral values that prevail in the time of jāhiliyyah! It is by such values that God protects some people from the tyranny of others, and they stand apart from each other.’¹⁴

This conversation is reported in full in books of the Prophet’s biography; we, however, have chosen to leave out some portions of it. Nonetheless, it is clear that at least this Arabian tribe had a system of authority and that their chiefs ruled on the basis of consultation. Mutual respect is evident in their talk, with everyone speaking about his area of responsibility. Moreover, they received their visitors well, and looked at the matter patiently, giving it due consideration and diligence. Honouring their pledges was paramount to them. Besides, Arabs placed bravery and support for those suffering injustices among their top priorities. In addition, they gave high value to clear expression and lucid speech.

To sum up: it was God’s will that He chose the Arabs and their language for His message. The Qur’an was revealed in their tongue and they were given the task of delivering its message to the world. This choice fits perfectly with the general and everlasting nature of this message. Indeed, the choice points to the human, not national, nature of the Islamic message. When we looked at Arabic, we found it a language for humanity, as al-Aqqad rightly described it. When we looked at the total picture of human virtues advocated in the Qur’an on the one hand and at the true moral motives, talents, psychological and rational qualities that enable people to undertake responsibility for the complete and balanced implementation of Islam on the other hand, we found ourselves facing that Arab generation. God knows best whom to choose to deliver His message.

1.The Qur’an uses the word lisān, which means tongue, in both its singular and plural forms. The word lughah, which means language, does not occur in the Qur’an. Hence, we can infer that the choice of lisān carries connotations of sound and meaning, which subsequently opens the way to the study of linguistics, particularly in the study of the Arabic language. The idea of using linguistics in the interpretation of the Qur’an is, however, something that we will not attempt in this study.

2.Al-‘Aqqād, Al-Lughah al-Shā‘irah, p. 11.

3.Ibid, p. 9.

4.Perhaps this explains why scholars differ in prescribing the place of articulation of the ḍ sound, or the part of the vocal tract where it is articulated. Ibn Abi Maryam (died 565/1170) said: ‘The ḍ sound is articulated with the edge of the tongue touching the molars next to it. Some scholars place it before the place of articulation of the group j, sh, y, which are articulated between the middle of the tongue and the hard palate... In articulating the ḍ sound, you may use either edge of the tongue, but using the left edge with the molars is easier.’ Ibn Abī Maryam, Al-Kitāb al-Muwaḍḍaḥ, vol. 1, p. 164.

5.This perhaps explains the enchantment one feels when merely hearing this language, as expressed by the German author Annemarie Schimmel: ‘We feel enchanted when we listen to music, but a Muslim is more enchanted by the mere sound of words.’

6.The root naẓara means ‘to look’ and these words mean: Yanẓur, he looks; nāẓir, on-looker; manẓūr, looked at; naẓīr, parallel or equal; naẓā’ir, things looking similar; naẓẓārah, spectators; munāẓarah, debate; minẓār, telescope or magnifying glass; manẓar, scene; muntaẓar, something yet to happen or awaited.

7.Al-Aqqad, p. 12. He adds: ‘English has words like Anne, pan, tan, ban, than, can, ran, fan and man, but these only accidentally have the same phonic pattern. Some of these words are nouns, some verbs and some prepositions. As such, the phonic pattern does not have any meaningful significance as is the case in the phonic patterns in Arabic.’

8.Some Arabic words, sentences or constructions are described as ineloquent, but this appears to be due to the fact that these, rare as they are, do not use the vocal tract properly. Such poor usage clearly appears in using several sounds that are close together in their places of articulation. An example is the word hu ‘khu‘, which includes three pharangeal sounds. Ineloquence may also be reflected in using similar sounds in consecutive words. This means that ineloquence is the result of bad usage, and not due to any poor quality of the language itself. One aspect of the inimitable musical pattern of the Qur’an is the splendid succession of Arabic sounds, regardless of their features and places of articulation, in an easy flow in the Qur’anic verses and surahs. This attains the summit of eloquence in all Qur’anic terms and sentences.

9.Annemarie Schimmel quotes the German poet Friedrich Ruchert as saying that poetry is the mother tongue of the human race. On this basis, can we say that poetic language is the mother of all languages, or the one that provides the example to follow? I think so.

10.Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qur’an al-‘Aẓīm, vol. 4, p. 128.

11.Related by al-Ṭabarānī in Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr, with a good chain of transmission. Also related by Ibn Mājah and al-Ḥākim. The latter said that it is authentic according to the criteria set by Muslim.

12.Ibn Taymiyyah, Iqtiḍā’ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm, pp. 106–162.

13.Cited by A.H. Farhat, Journal of the Faculty of Jurisprudence and Islamic Studies, vol. 6, no. 13, Ramadan 1409 AH, p. 11.

14.Al-Suhaylī, Al-Rawḍ al-Unuf, vol. 2, pp. 181–182.

2

The Impact of the Qur’an on Arabic

This impact has two main aspects: historical and linguistic.

1. The Historical Impact

We may sum up the historical impact of the Qur’an on Arabic by saying that it has been its driving force on the one hand and its protective force on the other.

1.1 The Driving Force

The Qur’an was for the Arabic language a very powerful force that took it far beyond its geographical area, and even beyond the Arabian Peninsula. The Qur’an spread Arabic into Iraq, Syria, Egypt and the rest of North Africa at the time of the early Islamic expansion during the reign of the rightly-guided Caliphs and the Umayyad state. Sāṭi‘ al-Ḥuṣarī, the leading author on Arab nationalism says:

It must be remembered that prior to Islam, the Arabs were relatively small in number. The areas that could be called Arab were confined to the Arabian Peninsula and the border areas of some adjacent countries. That Arabism expanded to cover the present Arab world was only achieved by the Arab conquests under the Islamic banner. Most areas of Iraq and Syria, as well as all north Africa, from Egypt and Sudan to Morocco, were non-Arab. It only became Arabised after Islam.¹⁵

This does not mean that the Arabs remained confined to their Peninsula over a very long time. Rather, there were several migrations out of the Peninsula into these countries. However, before they adopted the message of the Qur’an, Arab immigrant tribes ‘lost their relations with their original home and went through events and developments that helped them to forget their past and become integrated with the populations of the lands where they chose to live’. Al-Ḥuṣarī adds: ‘The waves of migration that took place at the advent of Islam took an attitude that was totally different in these respects. They did not lose relations with their origin. Indeed, they remained in close contact, physically and mentally. Moreover, they were able to take their language into their new areas.’¹⁶

This was, then, the driving force which the Qur’an brought about. It may be summed up as propagating Arabic and broadening its scope.

We may add that the Qur’an clearly influenced the languages of the communities that came to believe in the Qur’an but that did not adopt Arabic as their language, such as Persian and Turkish. Its influence is even greater on languages that had drawn considerably on Arabic, such as Urdu. Moreover, all these communities adopted an essential portion of Arabic vocabulary, drawn from the Qur’anic surahs that they had to learn in order to perform their prayers and other acts of worship, some supplications, readings and religious duties and practices.

An aspect that is most worthy of note in this regard is that reading the Qur’an, vocalising its words and sounds is an act of worship for Muslims, because the challenge posed by the Qur’an includes both its wording and meanings, as we will discuss when we define the Qur’an. Therefore, a person who reads a translation of the Qur’an does not read the Qur’an. As such, the reader of a translation does not receive the reward promised by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to anyone who reads the Qur’an. He says: ‘Whoever reads a letter of God’s book receives a reward of a good act, and a good act is rewarded ten times its value. I am not saying that ‘Alif. Lām. Mīm’ is a letter, but alif is a letter, lām is one and mīm is one.’¹⁷ Thus, we have two important points to note: the first states the reward accruing to the person who recites the Qur’an, urging all Muslims to read it, and the other makes it clear that a translation is not considered the Qur’an. This is unanimously agreed by scholars throughout all generations. In this respect, Imām al-Nawawī said: ‘The Qur’an may not be read in a language other than Arabic, whether the reader can read Arabic or not, and whether in prayer or at other times. If a person reads it in a foreign tongue during prayer, his prayer is not valid. This view is agreed by our school of thought (al-Shāfi‘ī), Mālik, Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd and Ibn al-Mundhir.’¹⁸ Thus, the spread of Arabic through the Qur’an and by its force is seen as an integral part of the message of Islam.

1.2 The Spread of lslam and Arabic

We have noted that in certain areas where Islam spread, the spread of Arabic lagged behind. This is due to a number of reasons, some of which are historical, and of which a detailed discussion is beyond this study’s scope. We may say, however, that the spread of Islam right to the farthest points of what is today Indonesia was due to the efforts of Islamic advocacy undertaken by traders from Southern Arabia, who travelled by sea to these areas. These traders, together with a small number of advocates, were able to advocate Islam among the local population, through their behaviour and advice. They did not, however, have the means to make people change their language. Later, though, Arabic did become the standard language in all Islamic schools and institutes in these areas. Similar reasons applied to the spread of Islam into sub-Saharan Africa.

Moreover, the spread of Islam was undertaken over time by the Moguls and the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks, shortly after they themselves had converted to Islam; here again, they had undertaken the message, before learning Arabic.

We note that those countries which accepted the Qur’an in the early period of Islamic expansion have retained Arabic as their language. The only exception was Persia, which started to move away from Arabic nearly three centuries later,¹⁹ as a result of ethnic and secessionist movements led by rulers seeking to resist the spread of Arabic. However, Arabic was not totally discarded at any time.

Taha Husain said: Once the Arabs went into Persia and settled there, the local population started to learn their language. Arabic became the language spoken and written by most people. Indeed, many were the Persian scholars who contributed to the rise of Arabic Studies, and many were those that assumed leadership in such studies, to the extent that they became associated with them. We all know that the Persians were the ones who developed the studies of Arabic literary styles... Although the Persians loved their own language and began to write poetry in Persian as from the middle of the fourth century (the tenth century in the Gregorian calendar), Arabic continued to be the academic language until the end of the Middle Ages. Authors like Avicenna, al-Taftāzānī, al-Jurjānī, al-Ṭūsī and many others all wrote their books in Arabic. All this is due to the Qur’an.²⁰

1.3 A Driving Force but Not a Ruling Authority

It cannot be overemphasised that the driving force that Arabic received through the Qur’an was certainly due to the majestic status of the Qur’an and its message. Moreover, the different communities that embraced Islam loved Arabic and started to prefer it to their own local languages. This means that the view advanced by some writers who maintain that Arabic relied on the ruling or invading authority to ensure its spread is false. These areas were previously invaded by foreign forces, and they yielded to the political authority of their invaders. Yet such vanquished communities continued to hold on to their own languages and heritage until the advent of Islam. They only discarded their old languages when they embraced Islam and the Qur’an. This is confirmed by the principle of sociology, and whereby Professor ‘Ā’ishah ‘Abd al-Rahman states:

It was not an attitude of those communities that they dispensed of their languages all of a sudden; nor were they forced to do so by force, as Philip Hitti says in his voluminous book History of the Arabs. There were no laws issued by the state to enforce such a change. The language struggle went through its natural stages dictated by the laws of sociology. It went through an initial stage of estrangement which differed from one country to another, according to the different situation of each country, its geographical location, intellectual and civilisational heritage and the nature of its own language...

However, this stage did not last long. The Qur’an was there to open the hearts of those who accepted Islam to also embrace Arabic.²¹

Professor ‘Abd al-Raḥmān comments on the victory scored by Arabic against foreign languages that were imposed on the communities of the area, including Roman, Greek, Persian and Byzantine, and on how Arabic dealt with national languages:

It was expected that these communities would combine Arabic as a religious language with their own national languages as the languages of daily life, since they had long preserved these languages against different invaders. Yet it was only within a couple of generations that Arabic became the common language of the different communities of a united nation. They discarded their national languages and adopted Arabic under no pressure from any quarter, just as there was no compulsion felt by anyone to embrace Islam. So, Arabic was fighting its own battle against the languages of the communities that decided to adopt the Islamic faith.²²

The victory scored by Arabic in this battle was marked by enthusiasm at the time when Islam found its way into people’s hearts and minds. Hence, some writers attribute this victory to ‘the religious dominance of Islam’ which was adopted freely by overwhelming majorities in these communities. Professor ‘Abd al-Salām Hārūn states:

The religious dominance of Islam was such that in Egypt it ended, within a short period, the Coptic language which was a product of the old language of the Egyptian civilisation. It also ended the languages of the peoples of Carthage and other areas in North Africa and the Nabataeans in northern Iraq. It also severely curtailed the Byzantine language in the northern parts of Syria.²³

Professor Ahmad Muhammad al-Hūfi said that both Coptic and Greek disappeared from Egypt. The first was the spoken language of the people and the second was the language of literature and government circles. He further comments on the fast spread of Arabic as the Muslim state continued to expand. He mentions that in North Africa the Berber language considerably retreated before the advance of Arabic, while ‘Persian was severely curtailed in Iraq and Persia, the Nubian dialect became confined to the Nubian provinces as did the Sudanese dialects which later disappeared in Sudan. None of these managed to reappear at a later period except Persian which was revived in the fourth century of the Islamic calendar (10th century CE).’²⁴

1.4 The Protective Force

No book of Divine or human origin has played a role even remotely similar to that played by the Qur’an in preserving Arabic as a language. Indeed, no book has ever had such an influence in the history of any language. It is this role of the Qur’an that we call its protective force.

The Qur’an has always been an impregnable barrier against the spread of local dialects. This was particularly true during the period when the great Muslim state was fragmented into city and mini states. Had it not been for this glorious book, which God has undertaken to preserve intact, in its original form, until the end of life, Arabic would have suffered the same sort of division and splintering as Latin. It is due only to this immortal book that the linguistic and intellectual unity of the Arab countries continues. It is also due to the Qur’an that we are today able to read Arabic literature across sixteen or seventeen centuries, from the pre-Islamic era up to the present.²⁵

S. Al-Ḥuṣarī said:

It must be noted that having become the common language in such a vast area, Arabic went through hard times over long centuries because of the political fragmentation, intellectual and social stagnation, and cultural backwardness the Arab world had suffered. These factors could have led to the weakening of material and moral ties between Arab countries, and would have opened the way for the dominance of local dialects. Indeed, Arabic was exposed to the risk of complete disintegration and branching into numerous languages that would differ greatly so as to make it impossible for their respective native speakers to communicate. This is exactly what happened to Latin...

Needless to say, had this happened, the Arabs would have become a host of different nations, and there would have been nothing worth calling Arab nationalism...

It was the Qur’an that stood as an impregnable barrier preventing such great risks. It was able to prevent such fragmentation because it is Arabic and because Islam makes it a duty of all Muslim men and women to memorise some of its verses to read several times a day in prayer.²⁶

1.5 The Qur’an and the Failure of the Call to use Dialects

We may say briefly that the calls for replacing Arabic with local dialects, which are well documented by Dr Naffoosah Zakariyya,²⁷ will always end in complete failure. This is by no means a casual prediction, for history shows that classical Arabic is immune to disintegration and withering away. The Qur’an remains intact, declaring that its language will be everlasting, just as the Qur’an is everlasting by God’s guarantee. He says: ‘It is We Ourselves who have bestowed this reminder from on high, and it is We who shall preserve it intact, (15: 9).

God’s undertaking to preserve the Qur’an, as His final message of religion, implies an undertaking to keep Arabic immune from disintegration and disappearance. Just as the Qur’an remains, so does its honoured language remain. There will not come a time when Arabic will be a dead or historical language, or when its understanding and usage will be limited to an elite or need an interpreter. By virtue of God’s guarantee, Arabic will remain the language of millions of people. We need only to remember that God has made the Qur’an easy to understand, as He says: ‘We have made the Qur’an easy to bear in mind: will anyone take heed?’ (54: 17).

We have no doubt whatsoever that classical Arabic will always win against all dialects in Arab countries. This is a foregone conclusion that does not require much deliberation. Some writers, such as Saeed Aql and Lewis Awad, have called for the adoption of local dialects as a written language. Such calls are made despite the failure of long cultural imperialism in Muslim countries like Algeria. Hence, we look at such calls as having ulterior motives, aiming ultimately at separating the Arab Muslim nation from its past, heritage and history. They allege that what they advocate will enable the Arab nation to make a fresh start. But it will end up fragmenting into different nations and communities. Bearing in mind what we have said about the great contribution the Qur’an has made to Arabic, and the privilege and honour it imparted to it, it appears that such calls aim to undermine the Qur’an itself, as well as Arab culture and Islamic thought in general. They imagine that they will succeed in achieving what many professional western researchers in Islamic studies and missionaries have failed to achieve. We need only remember the Qur’anic verse that says: ‘They plot and plan, but God also plans. God is above all schemers’ (8: 30).

2. The Linguistic Impact

The special or linguistic impact of the Qur’an on Arabic is too great to be discussed in these preliminary topics. It is perhaps enough to refer to what al-Suyūṭī mentioned whereby the Qur’an was the immediate cause of the rise and development of most of the disciplines dealing with Arabic as also with Islamic Studies. Scholars devoted themselves to the Qur’an, initiating and developing various branches of study which continued to flourish and develop until they matured in the fourth century, which may also be described as the golden age of the history of Arabic and Islamic culture.

Perhaps the question of the disciplines that came into being as part of the care taken over the Qur’an and to facilitate its understanding is more related to the historical impact of the Qur’an, or to the next chapter that discusses the Qur’an’s impact on culture. However, we may refer in brief here to some aspects of its direct linguistic impact:

2.1 Unifying Accents

Prior to the revelation of the Qur’an, the Arabs spoke in more than twenty different accents, some of which were considered strange and unconventional, while others were viewed as clear and acceptable. These were due to the fact that the Arabs lived in different areas and that some of them were Bedouins and others lived in urban areas. Nevertheless, these accents had the same rules of derivation and case markings. The differences between these accents did not affect the fact that they belonged to a single language with rules that apply in all these accents. We are not speaking here of differences like that of the Himyar dialect which differed markedly from the Mudar dialect. Indeed, the two have many different constructions.²⁸ In addition to differences of pronunciation, there were also differences in the meanings of some words.

In any case, when the Qur’an was revealed in the Quraysh’s dialect, or language, it ended all these variations, and gave the Arabs this single dialect, or language. The dialect of the Quraysh was described as ‘the most eloquent and splendid language’, because it benefited from urbanisation and frequent contact with other tribes, due to the religious and commercial status of Quraysh in Arabia. Moreover, it was the most widely spoken dialect in Arabia; essentially, people preferred it to all others. Shaykh Muhammad al-Khidr Husayin sums up the reasons that distinguished the Quraysh dialect over all other Arab dialects as follows:

i.The Quraysh lived far away from non-Arab countries. Hence, linguists only accepted what was in their dialect or close to it. They did not accept the dialects of tribes that lived close to other nations, such as Lakham, Judhām, Quḍā‘ah and Ghassān. Only Ibn Mālik differed and accepted the dialects of tribes living in the outer parts of Hijaz, such as Lakham and Quḍā‘ah.

ii.Other Arabs came to Makkah, where the Quraysh lived, for the pilgrimage and stayed about fifty days. The Quraysh adopted the dialects of these pilgrims using words that were short and easy to pronounce and distinguish. They rejected all that was contrary to these.²⁹

When we remember the unifying influence of the Qur’an so as to mould the Arabs into a single nation, we must also remember that it ended most of the differences in dialects. All Arabs read the Qur’an in the Quraysh tongue.

2.2 The Qur’an’s Influence on Arabic Vocabulary and their Meanings

In this area, the Qur’an has had a great and revolutionary influence, so much so that it is worth careful and thorough study. We may say in brief that a language reflects the life, environment and knowledge of the community, and expresses its culture and thought. The impact of the Qur’an on the Arabs in all these areas has been phenomenal. Arabic vocabulary was directly influenced and refined as the Qur’an transformed the Arabs from a nomadic to an urban community and nation, and took them out of the Peninsula to other countries. Its influence is also to be seen in a host of terms that were given new meanings as also a whole host of new Islamic terms.

The first type refers to Arabic words that shed their original meanings in order to refer to new concepts that were at the time unfamiliar to the Arabs. In addition to adopting a more serious lifestyle, demarcating a system of government and other related areas, the Qur’an provided the bases of religious, linguistic, philosophical and scientific disciplines. Each of these has its own terminology and definitions. Some authors produced dictionaries of such terms, such as Al-Ta ‘rīfāt by al-Jurjāni and Kashshāf iṣṭilāḥāt al-Funūn by al-Tahānwī.

In his book, Al-Ṣāḥibī, Ibn Fāris said:

In their pre-Islamic days, the Arabs followed their ancestors in their language, manners, worship and offerings. When God revealed Islam, things changed, religions were abrogated, practices stopped. Terms of language were transferred. All this was accomplished through new additions, legislations and conditions that were put in place. The new ones replaced those of old. Having been preoccupied with adventures, earning their livelihood and making profit through the two trade trips of summer and winter; and having been devoted to hunting, wine drinking and gambling, the Arabs were now concentrating on reading the Qur’an. This is the book that admits no error or falsehood, as it is revealed by the God, the Wise, the worthy of praise. They concentrated on studying the new faith and preserving the Prophet’s practices, while exerting great efforts in combating Islam’s opponents. Thus, what they and their ancestors were brought up to accept was thrown into oblivion, as if it were never in existence. The transformation was so remarkable that they became interested in the finer points of Islamic law, the complex questions of inheritance, and other areas of Islamic Sharī‘ah and the interpretation of God’s revelations. What they discussed has been documented and well preserved up till now.

Ibn Fāris mentions several types of Islamic discipline and their terms that were new to Arabic. He then adds: ‘All praise be to the One Who over a short period of time transformed those people from all that they were brought up with into people who are interested in what we have just mentioned.’

He cites some Islamic definitions and terms that retained their linguistic meanings and what has been added to them or restricted. He then says:

When a person is asked about this, he should say, for example, that ‘prayer’ has two concepts, one linguistic and the other Islamic. He should then explain, mentioning what the Arabs used to understand by it and what Islam has brought in. The same may be applied in all disciplines.

This is certainly valid, but the matter goes further than that of terms and definitions. Arabic has become the means to transmit Islamic culture and express Islamic civilisation. The Qur’an was the heart of all the new areas of knowledge the Arabs acquired after the advent of Islam. It is true to say that the Qur’an became the main source and the ultimate resort of Arabic Islamic culture. Needless to say, it was a rich culture that incorporated many disciplines such as Qur’anic and Hadith studies, literature, linguistics, the history of the Prophet (peace be upon him), philosophy, Islamic jurisprudence (i.e. fiqh), as well as the principles and methodology of various branches of study. Arabic was able to accommodate and cater for all these disciplines after the revelation of the Qur’an.

The vocabulary of any language is merely a carrier of meanings and concepts, and the Qur’an had a clear impact in this area as a result of its new laws. The second type of impact is that of the emergence of new meanings: ‘The Qur’an tackled the meanings that were circulated among them. It refined, added to, and omitted from them, placing them in new contexts so as to make them suited to all mentalities in all ages. Prior to the Qur’an, they included what was suited only to a pagan society with a special mentality.’

Moreover, the meanings of Arabic vocabulary were also influenced by the settlement of Arabs in urban societies. In this way, Arabic had to borrow meanings and images that belonged to other civilisations. Indeed, it had to incorporate much of the heritage of different communities and the products of different languages.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Khiḍr Ḥusayn sums up this type of influence of Islam on Arabic as follows:

Islam came to the Arabs bringing guidance that included concepts which were unknown to them. Indeed, its guidance included what their language could not express. It, therefore, expressed these meanings with words that enriched the language.

It is also clear that the Qur’an and the Prophet’s hadiths used incomparably fine styles. Moreover, the conquest of large areas, such as the territories of the Persian and Byzantine Empires increased the scope of Arabic by adding scientific, scholarly and social meanings...

Islam’s contribution to Arabic is reflected in its richness, varied styles, different modes of expression and the numerous topics tackled by literary figures and great speakers.³⁰

15.S. Al-Ḥuṣarī, Mā Hiya al-Qawmiyyah, p. 206.

16.S. Al-Ḥuṣarī, Mā Hiya al-Qawmiyyah, p. 206.

17.Related by al-Tirmidhī, Hadith no. 2921.

18.Al-Nawawī, Al-Tibyān fī Adāb Hamalāt al-Qur’an, p. 52.

19.When the Arabs took over Persia, its population spoke Pahlavi, or Middle Persian. With the spread of Islam, Arabic gained the upper hand and became the language of intellectual and literary circles, spoken by the educated class. Later, Modern Persian was started, adopting the same lines as Arabic, until it became the main language. Persians today cannot read Middle Persian, as the flourish of Modern Persian replaced it altogether. There is no more than 15–20% of Modern Persian vocabulary that comes directly from Middle Persian. A further 20% or so of its vocabulary are borrowings from Turkish, English and French, while the remaining 60% is of Arabic origin. Moreover, Persian grammar is strongly influenced by Arabic grammar, as are its poetry metres. Ref: A.M. al-Hūfī, Tayyārāt Thaqāfiyyah Bayn al-‘Arab wal-Furs, pp. 281–302.

20.Dr Taha Husain’s Introduction to A.Ḥ. al-Bāqūrī, Al-Qur’an al-Karīm wal-Lughah al-‘Arabiyyah.

21.A. Abd al-Rahman, Lughatunā wal-Hayāt. The author is also known by her pen name Bint al-Shāṭi’.

22.Ibid.

23.A. Hārūn, Quṭūf Adabiyyah, p. 160.

24.A.M. al-Ḥūfī, Tayyārāt Thaqāfiyyah Bayn al-‘Arab wal-Furs, pp. 227–228.

25.This is a unique phenomenon, and is due entirely to the Qur’an. Indeed, if a man who died a thousand years ago could hear people speaking Modern Standard Arabic today, he would fully understand them, for the most part. Some writers explain the survival of Arabic as being the result of the extra care Muslim scholars took of it so as to preserve the Qur’an from distortion. That scholars took such care is true, but this is putting the matter in reverse. Scholarly linguistic work could not have protected Arabic without the role of the Qur’an. This means that the Qur’an was the motive for the scholarly care and it was the factor that protected the Arabic language.

26.S. Al-Ḥuṣarī, Mā Hiya al-Qawmiyyah p. 207.

27.N. Zakariyya, Al-Da ‘wah ilā al-‘Āmmiyyah wa Āthāruhā fī Miṣr.

28.The Mudar dialect was the language of the northern Arabs in Najd. It is one of the Arabian languages that are erroneously called Semitic languages. In fact, Arabic should be considered the mother of all Arabian languages: Arabic, Ḥimyar, Aramaic, Babylonian, etc. Dr Farrūkh calls them Arabian languages because they all started in the Arabian Peninsula. Ref: ‘Umar Farrūkh, ‘Abqariyyat al-Lughah al-‘Arabiyyah.

29.M. A. Husain, Dirāsāt fī al-‘Arabiyyah wa Tārīhhihā, p. 128.

30.M. Husayn, Dirāsāt fī al-‘Arabiyyah wa Tārīkhihā.

3

The impact of the Qur’an on Islamic Culture and Civilisation

We need to speak briefly about the civilisational and cultural structure initiated by the Qur’an and accommodated by the Arabic language in the most admirable of ways. It must not be understood that Arabic merely added or deleted a number of words so as to express the ideas of Islamic culture or the meanings introduced by the Qur’an. To say so would be to reduce language to a mere lexicon that lists the names of things. The fact is rather that language is ‘a system of meaningful symbols that expresses the entire organisation and thought of a civilisation’.³¹ Culture includes much more than language, such as traditions, institutions, laws, literature, arts, professions and skills as well as all that man produces. Among all these aspects of culture, language has a unique status because it is the ‘mirror of all culture’. Everything that man produces has a name. Man’s laws, institutions and religions have their vocal expressions, and whatever is in nature has an expression in language, even though such an expression is from the point of view of a particular culture. Hence, languages do not only differ in the words that express common meanings, but they essentially differ in their way of thinking, or in the set of meanings that are expressed through the language. Every culture has its own concepts of life and knowledge, and these concepts are reflected in the nature of its language.

In his book, Philosophy of Education, Professor Philip H. Phenix discusses the impact language has on culture, saying that everyone contributes to the true meaning of culture through language. We learn foreign languages in order to be able to have a good grasp of the cultures of their peoples. It may be that learning Latin will enable the learner to better understand English and give the learner’s mind valuable training, but the main purpose of learning Latin is that it enables us to understand the Roman civilisation and its complex set of values, traditions and laws that enabled a host of nations to remain united and live in peace and security for several centuries. Likewise, learning Greek provides a bond with a civilisation that was based on profound philosophical thought, and was distinguished by its drama, history, political democracy and artistic creativity.

What we maintain is that the study of Arabic presents us with the meaning of Islamic civilisation and establishes a strong bond with this civilisation, one which is based on firm belief in God and His Oneness and which has balanced, comprehensive and positive rules. Moreover, Islamic civilisation upholds human principles that enshrine the spirit of equality for all individuals, communities and nations.

Many historians of human civilisation maintain, as does the Algerian author Malek Bennabi, that the most important civilisations in human history were the Roman, or Romano-Greek and the Arab-Islamic ones. The first had a strong imperial standpoint, dividing people into Roman citizens who enjoyed all rights and non-citizens who had no rights. It imposed its rule, hegemony and laws on this basis. Whatever it gave to people or denied them stemmed from this attitude. Hence, in its old version, it failed to deal with man’s problems. However, it reappeared in a new form, namely contemporary Western civilisation which inherited its imperialist spirit and principles, as well as many of its basic concepts. In fact, Western civilisation has flourished, bypassing the Islamic civilisation which had taken over human leadership from the Romans. We need not discuss here the extent of the Islamic civilisation’s contribution to Western civilisation, or how much it passed of itself to Greek heritage.

What we should note, however, is that the imperialist character of Western civilisation is equivalent to the imperial character of the old Roman civilisation. By contrast, Islamic civilisation justified itself by the spirit of equality stressed in the Qur’an and was given practical manifestations by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who emphasised the same in his last speech during his farewell pilgrimage: ‘All of you belong to Adam, and Adam was created of clay. No Arab has any advantage over a non-Arab, and no white person has an advantage over a coloured one except through piety and God-fearing’ (related by Aḥmad and