LessonsWisdom of Recurrence and Arrangement, and Dimensions of Qur’anic InimitabilityQuiz

The first recipients of the message were Arabic speakers. An address using forms of speech they recognized was more intelligible to them. This does not narrow the universality of the Qur’anic meanings; it recognizes the linguistic capacity of the initial audience.

In Fussilat 41:44, an objection concerning foreign-language discourse addressed to Arabs is expressed in the phrase: أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ وَعَرَبِيٌّ
“Foreign-language speech and an Arab [audience]?”

The example highlights the relationship between language and listeners. An unfamiliar technical order or opaque stylistic convention might have complicated, rather than facilitated, the initial communication of guidance.

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Addressing the first audience in its own language

Wisdom of Recurrence and Arrangement, and Dimensions of Qur’anic Inimitability

The first recipients of the message were Arabic speakers. An address using forms of speech they recognized was more intelligible to them. This does not narrow the universality of the Qur’anic meanings; it recognizes the linguistic capacity of the initial audience.

In Fussilat 41:44, an objection concerning foreign-language discourse addressed to Arabs is expressed in the phrase: أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ وَعَرَبِيٌّ
“Foreign-language speech and an Arab [audience]?”

The example highlights the relationship between language and listeners. An unfamiliar technical order or opaque stylistic convention might have complicated, rather than facilitated, the initial communication of guidance.