The Qur'an

The Qur'an defines itself specifically as an 'Arabic scripture', and the message is shaped to the complex structure of the chosen language, a structure fundamentally different to that of any European tongue. Even if one understands no Arabic - as in the case with the vast majority of Muslims - it is essential to know how meaning and language, essence and form, are married in the text of the Qur'an.

Every Arabic word may be traced back to a verbal root consisting of three consonants from which are derived up to twelve different verbal modes, together with a number of nouns and adjectives. This is referred to as the triliteral root, and specific words are formed from it by the insertion of long or short vowels and by the addition of suffixes and prefixes. The root as such is 'dead' - unpronounceable - until brought to life, that is to say vocalised, by the vowels, and it is according to their placing that the basic meaning is developed in a number of different directions.

The root has sometimes been described as the 'body' while the vowelling is the 'soul'; or again, it is from the root that a great tree grows. "In Arabic," says Titus Burckhardt, "the 'tree' of verbal forms, of derivations from certain roots, is quite inexhaustible; it can always bring forth new leaves, new expressions to represent hitherto dormant variations of the basic idea - or action. This explains why this Bedouin tongue was able to become the linguistic vehicle of an entire civilization intellectually very rich and differentiated." [from Art of Islam: Language and Meaning, Titus Burckhardt]

A certain ambiguity is inherent in language as such because it is alive and forms a bridge between living and thinking beings. The opposite to the bare precision of mathematics is not vagueness of definition but a wealth of interconnected meanings, sometimes merging into one another, always enriching each other, which cluster around a single basic idea (or, in Arabic, a simple action) - in this case the triliteral root. Such variations upon a single theme may give rise to words which appear, on the surface, unconnected. Awareness of their relationship to their root makes the connection apparent, so that the whole 'extended family' or words is illuminated.

This may be illustrated in terms of a word referred to in my earlier entry in this Blog, Fitrah (meaning primordial nature, natural disposition). The root word, F-T-R gives us, in the first place, the verb fatara, meaning 'he split', 'he broke apart', 'he brought forth' or 'he created'. The connection between 'splitting' and 'creating' is interesting, particularly if we bear in mind the element of continuity so characteristic of Islam; ancient traditions from many different cultures describe the first step in creation as the 'breaking apart' of heaven and earth. God is referred to in the Qur'an as fatir as-samawati wa'l-ardh, Creator (or, 'Originator') of the heavens and the earth. From the same root we have the 'Id ul-Fitr, the festival which marks the end of the sacred month of Ramadhan, and iftar, meaning 'breaking of fast'. Among other derivations, there are fatr, a 'crack' or 'fissure', fitri, 'natural' or 'instinctive' and fatirah, 'unleavened bread or pastry', fresh and life-giving.

It is as though each individual word emerged from a matrix which contains, potentially, a variety of meanings that are all subtly interrelated, or as though, when one string is plucked, many others vibrate in the background; and it is precisely through such interrelationships that tawhid - the 'unity' which is the basic principle of Islam - finds expression in the midst of limitless diversity.