This thesis investigates the relationship between third/ninth century Muslim rhetorical exegesis of the Qur'an and the emergence of a stylistically based demonstration of the Qur'an's miraculous inimitability (i'jaz al-qur'an) in the fourth/tenth century. After first introducing the problem to be discussed, it examines relevant aspects of four interrelated disciplines: tafsir, i'jaz al-qur'an, Arabic literary theory and criticism, as well as Arabic grammar. Then the thesis explores the specific understanding of brevity according to the third/ninth century literary critic and exegete, Ibn Qutayba (d. 276/889), as found in the chapter of ellipsis and abbreviation (bab al-hadhf wa'l-'ikhtisar) in his Ta'wil mushkil al-qur'an (The Interpretation of the Difficulties of the Qur'an) as a representative example of this relationship. Through this examination of brevity, the thesis argues that the evaluative process involved in the stylistic demonstration of the Qur'an's inimitability, like the formal discipline of Arabic literary theory and criticism, possesses its technical origins within the philological Quranic studies of formative Muslim exegesis.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.60016 |
| Date | January 1991 |
| Creators | MacKay, Floyd W. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Institute of Islamic Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001239266, proquestno: AAIMM67712, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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