The Eloquence of the Quran

BrotherZak

Junior Member
When the Qur'an was first recited, the Quraysh immediately recognized it to be of great speech and eloquence, but were trying to make excuses to hide the fact. Ibn Ishaq recounts the incident of their consultation with al-Walid b. al-Mughira in his book Sirat Rasul Allah as follows:

"A number of the Quraysh came to al-Walid b. al-Mughira, who was a man of some standing and he addressed them in these words: 'The time of the fair has come round again and representatives of the Arabs will come to you and they will have heard about this fellow of yours, so agre upon one opinion without dispute so that none will give the lie to the other'. They replied, 'You give us your opinion about him.' He said, 'No, you speak and I will listen.' They said, 'He is a kahin.' He said, 'By God, he is not that, for he has not the unintelligent murmuring and rhymed speech of the kahin.' 'Then he is possessed,' they said. 'No, he is not that,' he said, 'we have seen possessed ones and here is no choking, spasmodic movements and whispering.' 'Then he is a poet,' they said. 'No, he is not a poet, for we know poetry in all its forms and metres.' 'Then he is a sorcerer.' 'No, we have seen sorcerors and their sorcery, and here is no spitting and no knots.'3"
 
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