Quran: Literary Strengths And Weaknesses

The Quran, according to its own content and how it was transmitted, is a compilation of poetry.

It is a time capsule about the life of a merchant dreamer who transitioned from following tribal religion (every human’s default position from birth) to formulating a religion he claimed as ‘perfected’ or ‘true’.

It is largely a first-person claim from one man, his dreams, and the contentions he experienced, with prescriptions for and against those who believed him / his poetry.

Its content reflects his conversations with other religious people, yet is stamped with an Arabic-centric branding that still carries the weight of Arab identity to this day.

The content shows what was adopted from previous ideas (Jewish and Christian), and also the adoption of Arabic-centric lore, regional myths, and popular legends of that time.

Because it is claimed / believed to be a divine message from God through a man (or an angel of God to a man), it is taken very seriously and literally.

However, such claims are unfounded when all things are closely researched and the previous sources carefully looked at.

Its legends are revealed to be exaggerated myths.

These are its strengths and also its weaknesses.

Its delivery has always been ‘sung’ in poetic verse reminiscent of ancient Arabic poetry.

That singsong delivery conveys an emotional aura, which is part and parcel with the religious practices.

Think of the repetitive and mesmerizing ‘ohm’ of certain eastern religious meditation, or the bobbing back and forth at the wailing wall, or any repeating over and over again of written prayers or religious text performed systematically as a form of ‘adoration’.

Thus, to read the Quran without understanding the fact that it is poetry intended to be sung, is to not comprehend why it often makes illogical sense or lacks clear historical references.

This is why its recitation is so honored, because it triggers emotions in both the singer and the listener.

It is a work of artistic expression… and poetry was the highest and most noble of expressions at the time (and is still among some Arab communities).

This is why for religious Muslims, to memorize and deliver the poetry well is akin to being deemed ‘righteous’ or ‘honorable’.

Its literary ‘strength’ is the use of rhyme and rhythm to convey its messages.

Like sounding words and words with phonetic similarity are used to convey a variety of messages in making completed rhymes.

Some conveyance is literal, while other is metaphorical (typical in poetry).

Sadly, what was conveyed through metaphor is largely interpreted literally… while the parts of literally killing those opposed to the religion were conveyed literally (thus its hostile and violent history since its origins in Muhammad).

The claim to its message being divine unfortunately breaks with how, according to previous sources, prophecy came about to men.

Thus, its greatest weakness regarding its message is that it is an invention from the dreams of a man who had (and fulfilled) many of his carnal desires before his food was poisoned by the widow of a man he had ordered killed.

Unlike actual and proven prophets who were warned by God about their eminent demise, or the manner of their death, or that they would perish at a certain time (or other similar prescient cues), Muhammad was uninformed and quite surprised at his surreptitious end.

For more about the Quran's development according to Islamic scholarship, visit this insightful exploration.