er-Risâle’de Şâfiî’ye Göre Kur’ân’ın Arabîliği
The Arabic Character of the Qurān According to Shafi'i in al-Risāla

Summary/Abstract: Since the arising days of Islam, different remarks have been asserted on whether the Qurān includes words outside of the Arabic language or not. Within the scope of these remarks, the issue has been discussed centering the idea whether the Qurān has words borrowed from foreign languages or not. Additionally, although some words were originally Arabic, after the emergence of Islamic law terminology, whether the fact that these words gained new meanings -that Arabs were not aware of before- presents an impediment to the Arabic Character of the Qurān or not, has been discussed as another aspect of the issue. Shafi'i is one of the first and the most uncompromising defenders of the Arabic Character of the Qurān notion. The Qurān was revealed in Arabic because its addressees were Arabs. All languages encompass the culture and mindset of the people they belong to. From the view of Shafi'i, the Qurān having an Arabic essence carried a meaning beyond it is following the rules and patterns of Arabic language; it also meant the Qurān's harboring of the Arabic culture and mindset. Looking at the issue from the point of view of the addressees, the revelation that was revealed in their language needs to be as clear and as understandable for them as possible. Therefore, Shafi'i's al-bayān theory, which he based upon the regard of Arabic rules and patterns while he estimated decrees from the text, is closely related to the Qurān having an Arabic essence. In this article, Shafi'i's remarks on the issue are discussed by centering his work, al-Risāla.

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