QURAN? Language of the Quran

The Quran was revealed in Arabic. Pre-islamic Arabic was a spoken language with an oral literature of elaborate poetry and prose.

Writing had not yet fully developed and memorisation was the most common means of preserving the literature. Arabs in Muhammad’s day had political freedom, the precondition for linguistic integrity. The Roman Byzantium had dismissed the Arabian Peninsula as the barren desert, and the Persian Sassanid dismissed he Arabs as barbarians not worth conquering. Arabian Peninsula became the most isolated piece of populated land in the world — virginal container for God’s last revelation. At the time of the Quran’s revelation, the Arabs were experts in the art of recited poetry. They believed that oratory was a means to accesveral and political influence in the tribe. It is not surprising that the Quran was revealed in the most eloquent, articulate and elaborate style the Arabic language has ever known. The Quran has without doubt provided a level of linguistic excellence unparalleled to that of Arabic poetry and beyond human capacity to reproduce (Quran 2:23). The Quran has been admired for its restrain and grace of style, its eloquence and refinement. Its pleasant prose and dignified style are instantly recognized as ingredient of its sublime charm. The Quran describes its own status: God has revealed “the most beautiful message in the form of a book internally consistent and reiterative.” (Quran 39:23).