An Investigation of Basic Aspects of the Quranic Miracle

Abstract

The Quranic miracle is an important issue in Quranic studies and Islamic philosophy (kal?m) that providesevidence for the miraculousness of the Quran. Muslim scholars have presented wide-ranging discourses on thebasic aspects of the Quranic miracle. Three basic aspects have been propounded by scholars including literary,legislative, and scientific miraculousness, each of which is discussed in the present study. Even though the Quranconsist of common letters and words in the Arabic language, the eloquence (fa???at wa bal?ghat) and uniqueplacement of words in the Quran are miraculous. The special style of the Quran is neither poetry, nor prose, noteven rhymed prose (saj?). It is a unique style that cannot be imitated. The laws presented by the Quran arecomprehensive, complete, and based on rational principles. The scientific miracle of the Quran relates toscientific truths that exist in some verses of the Quran though enumeration of these truths is not the main purpose.This is because the Quran is a book of guidance, and its main purpose is to direct the course of human lives andshow the path to eternal happiness, not to discuss scientific matters.