Saquab Ashraf, 'A Critical Survey of the Qur'anic qul Verses and their Literary Function in Selected Polemical Exchange'

The Centre of Islamic Studies is delighted to announce the inaugural presentation for the SOAS Islamic Studies Group.

Professor Abdel Haleem (Director, Centre of Islamic Studies) will chair a presentation by Dr Saquab Ashraf (MA, SOAS; DPhil, University of Oxford) on: 'A Critical Survey of the Qur'anic qul Verses and their Literary Function in Selected Polemical Exchange'

Abstract

For what is often described as ‘the most common command in the Qur’an’, the literary function of the word qul (‘Say!’, in the second person singular imperative form) still remains unclear and continues to pose ‘one of the most vexed questions of Qur’anic rhetoric’. According to the standard concordance to the Qur’an, the word qul appears 332 times in 57 of its 114 sūras. Scholars have put forward a variety of classifications and interpretations for its Qur’anic usage. Having considered existing interpretations of the word qul and classified the 332 qul statements according to their function in their respective passages, I posit that the vast majority, 93%, of the qul statements are related to an antecedent in the Qur’an. Moreover, the rhetorical effect of these qul statements is determined by the antecedent, other responses and the syntagmatic interplay between them. 

In this talk I will demonstrate how qul’s function varies depending on the theme and the antecedent to which it is related. For example, quls in the form of rhetorical questions mostly draw attention to an aspect of God’s power, and they usually form a question and affirmation exchange; also nearly half of the quls in the Qur’an respond to an audience question or statement beginning with an introductory verb derived from the Arabic root q-w-l, such as, ‘They say (yaqūlūna), “…”.’ 

Documenting these qul statements highlights the Qur’an’s pervasive engagement with an audience, as well as its disputational character. Indeed, unlocking the function of qul statements reveals how Qur’anic polemics work, and how it engages with its audience. 

Speaker Biography

Saquab Ashraf is founding director of CEI and Blackstone Architects. He has studied the Qur’an for nearly two decades and has taught an MA module on the History of the Qur'an at AKU London. Dr Ashraf is currently teaching various tafsīr classes for CEI, including the Q-Club in London and Q-Immersion at Oxford.

This, inaugural, lecture for the Islamic Studies Group will be chaired by Professor MAS Abdel Haleem (Director of the Centre of Islamic Studies).

About the SOAS Islamic Studies Group

The SOAS Islamic Studies Group aims to provide a forum for our graduate and post graduate students, as well as a platform for invited guests from our alumni community, to exchange research and share their knowledge of the Islamic disciplines and traditions. This venture will allow our students to present papers they are currently working on as well as to share ideas related to their fields.

Further information may be requested via enquiries addressed to cis@soas.ac.uk. Subject header should include 'SOAS ISG'.

Image: David Billings, Hagia Sofia (Unsplash)