Translation of the Qur’an in Chinese language (source unknown)
Persian language, which script is formed with Arabic letter shapes (
2000-2001 www.arttoday.com)
Jay Whitten writes in his paper Arabic Language, Linguistics, and Culture:
"The history of Arabic’s rise to prominence is unparalleled among the world’s
languages, much as it is with the rise of Islam. What had once been an obscure
dialectal variation became in a short period of time the official political and
cultural language of a great empire, not to mention the only accepted language of
a major world religion. This period of linguistic expansion lasted roughly from
661 to 1258, when Islam and the Arabic language began to suffer setbacks, such
as the Crusades and the decline and ultimate loss of power in Iberia, and such
later upheavals due to European colonization of parts of the Muslim world,
especially northern Africa, and the rise of the Ottoman empire. This period of
decline lasted until the 19th century, when many intellectuals began to call for a
return to the language of the Quran. The revival has continued into the 20th
century and has put Arabic back at the center of Islamic societies, and has served
once again as a unifying force, this time in the ongoing confrontation with the
West. "
(Citation taken from: http://www.angelfire.com/ky/exquisitecorpse/arabicsocio.html)
The need for correct speech as well as the worry for an intonation as closest as
possible from prophet's Muhammad (peace be upon him)'s teachings gave birth to a
wealth of studies of the language of the Noble Qur'an and the Arabic language. There are
six recognized ways of reciting the Qur'an. Their study is called Tajweed or the ‘rt of
proper recitation’ There is one way of declining words depending on their place in the
sentence or the meaning one wants to convey; it is called classical grammar.
In that sense we can say that Islam gave birth to the finest linguists in the world.
People of the pre-Islamic period did not know how to write their own language since the
latter was essentially an oral language, which relied mostly on memorization and
improvisation. Writing was used only as a means to reciting poetry the most accurately as
possible.
Jay Whitten adds:
"The lack of vowels in early texts of the Quran led to confusion among some of
the non-Arab followers, and Muslim leaders became aware of horrible mistakes in
readings, especially in Iraq, and began to instruct the scribes to include vowel
marks. The situation of quick expansion did seem to lead to a very necessary
emphasis on phonological precision. Indeed, classical Arabic linguists specialized
in phonology. Two of the major figures in Arabic linguistics worked in the 8th
century, al-Khalil, and his disciple Sibawaihi, who also wrote a grammar of
Arabic that is still used today."
Before the rise of Islam, Arabic was mainly a spoken language with an oral
literature of elaborate poetry. Writing had not yet fully developed and memorization was
the most common mean of preserving the literature in the form of poetry praise, eulogy
(panegyric), defamation, and love.
Pre-Islamic Arabs took great pride in their language and in articulate and accurate speech,
the latter being one of the main requisites for social prominence. Parents therefore
sent their children from an early age to learn the art of speaking beautifully among the
Bedouins.
The oral tradition was so important that it replaced the near absence of other forms of
artistic expression such as music, painting, and drama. So the pre-Islamic Arabs were
very sensitive to words and had developed a sophisticated art of language. This point
is very important to understand because one of the miracles f the Qur'an is that Arab have
never been able to imitate the Qur’an either in content or in form.
The Arabic language of the 7th C AD was full of words describing horsemanship,
courage, and hospitality, which described well its people.
Whenever a poet emerged in an Arab tribe, other tribes would come to congratulate.
In his 'Uyun al-Akhbar, Ibn Qutayba says:
“Poetry is the mine of knowledge of the Arabs and the book of their wisdom, the
archive of their history and the reservoir of their epic days, the wall that defends
their exploits, the impassable trench that preserves their glories, the impartial
witness for the day of judgement.”
[Ibn Qutayba, 'Uyun al-akhbar, Cairo, 1964, vol. 2, 185.]
Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), a notable scholar of the fourteenth century, remarked on the
importance of poetry in Arab life:
“It should be known that Arabs thought highly of poetry as a form of speech.
Therefore, they made it the archives of their history, the evidence for what they
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