69/ AND [thus it is:] We have not imparted to this [Prophet the gift of] poetry, nor would [poetry] have suited this [message]:1 it is but a reminder and a [divine] discourse, clear in itself and clearly showing the truth,2
1This passage resumes the theme enunciated in the opening verses of this sûrah, namely, the revelation of the Qur’ân. As in 26:224, we have here an allusion to the allegation of Muhammad’s opponents, in his own as well as in later times, that what he described as divine revelation as exemplified by the Qur’ân: whereas in the former the meaning is often subordinated to the rhythm and the melody of language, in the Qur’ân the exact opposite is the case, inasmuch as here the choice of words, their sound and their position in the sentence–and, hence, its rhythm and melody–are always subordinated to the meaning intended. (Cf. also 26:225 and the corresponding note 100.)
2For this composite rendering of the adjective mubîn, see sûrah 12, note 2. Literally, the above phrase reads, “a reminder and a [divine] discourse…”, etc., with the conjunctive particle wa (“and”) being used here, as in 15:1, to point out that the Qur’ân is an integral element in the process of divine revelation.
2For this composite rendering of the adjective mubîn, see sûrah 12, note 2. Literally, the above phrase reads, “a reminder and a [divine] discourse…”, etc., with the conjunctive particle wa (“and”) being used here, as in 15:1, to point out that the Qur’ân is an integral element in the process of divine revelation.
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