The Aesthetic of the Qur’anic Fāṣilah in Sūrat al-Takwīr

Abstract

Abstract:

The fāṣilah (verse-ending) in the system and discourse of the Qur’anic text constitutes a fundamental dimension firmly rooted in the divine design of Almighty Allah, mirroring the depth of the innate Arabic sensibility of the time, penetrating the recesses of the human soul, activating the signals of the intellect, probing the depths of thought, striking the melodic chime of the spirit, and captivating minds with the sweetest of rhythms.

From this premise, the present study focuses on examining the aesthetic elements—without delving into rhetorical analysis and its related fields—that shape the fāṣilah in Sūrat al-Takwīr, considering the architectural design of its structure, the arrangement of its sequence, and the harmony of its selection with the meanings of the sūrah, the meaning of each individual verse, and the meaning of each group of verses sharing a unified fāṣilah. This unique alignment justifies its exclusive selection for this study, as the sūrah is distinguished by the divine precision in depicting major events and monumental transformations occurring on the Day of Resurrection—its proceedings, outcomes, and consequences—which bring about a complete and radical change in two grand spheres of creation perfected by Almighty Allah: the sphere of the cosmos with all its non-sentient entities, and the sphere of humankind with all its intellectual faculties.

The transformations encompass the alteration and replacement of both the cosmic and human orders, manifesting the absolute power and will of Allah over all things, and the role of His Noble Messenger, embodying the truth that shatters falsehood and annihilates Satan. These thematic considerations, ordered in the sequence of the fawāṣil of the verses in Sūrat al-Takwīr, are distributed into three sections that determine the sūrah’s structural composition. The fāṣilah aligns partially with words and sentences, and fully with clauses and the broader context.

The study undertakes a critical aesthetic analysis, aiming to identify the secrets behind the formation of the architectural elements of the fāṣilah and the value of its aesthetic structure.