1 In the name of God, the Mercy- giving, the Merciful.
2 P raise to G od , Lord of the worlds,
3 the Mercy- giving, the Merciful, 4 Master of the Day of Judgement.
5a You we worship b and You we implore .
6 G uide- us on the right path, 7a the path of those you have blessed,
b not those who incur anger,
c nor those who go astray. (1)
Second law of Lund
At the centre there is oft en a change in the trend of thought and an antithetical idea is introduced. Aft er this the original trend is resumed and continued until the system is concluded. For want of a better term, we shall designate this feature as the law of the shift at the centre .
ØVerse 2 of sura 5 gives a good example of this process. Th is verse constitutes a part with a concentric construction. We have already discussed the composition at the end of the preceding chapter.
A 2a O you who BELIEVE ,
B b do not profane God’s rites nor the holy month
c nor the off erings nor the garlands ,
C d nor those making their way to the H oly H ouse e [and] seek favour from their Lord and satisfaction.
f But when you are no longer in a sacred state, then go hunting!
C’ g And let not hatred of people
h who held you back from the H oly M osque i incite you to transgress.
B’ j And help one another to righteousness and fear [of God], k and do not help one another into sin and hostility . A’ l F EAR God!
m Truly, God is terrible in his punishments. (5: 2)
Th e extreme pieces (2a–e and g–m) could very well be read one aft er the other.
Both express the duty to respect sacred things and the life of pilgrims, even ancient enemies, during the pilgrimage. But the trend of thought is brusquely interrupted by the unexpected member f which, in the centre (X) introduces an opposite idea in so far as it authorizes to kill (game) but only aft er being desacralized – i.e. aft er the end of the pilgrimage. Th ere is an antithesis between the two statements ‘do not profane’ (b) and ‘when you are no longer in a sacred state’ (f), two forms of the same verb in Arabic.
We will examine this text again when we deal with the fourth law of Lund.
Th e following passage, taken from sura 5 (65–71), is composed concentrically: two long parts (65–68; 70–71) form the framework for the short central part (69).
65a If THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK had believed and been pious b we would have wiped out from them their bad actions, c and we would have let them enter to the gardens of delight. 66a And if they had followed the Torah and the Gospel b and what has been sent down to them from their Lord, c they would have eaten of what is above them and of what is under their feet. d Among them is a moderate community, e but for MANY AMONG THEM is bad WHAT THEY DO !
67a Prophet, communicate what has been sent down to you from your Lord!
b And if you did not do this, c you would not communicate his message. d And God will protect you from men. e Surely, God does not guide the unbelieving people.
68a Say: ‘O people of the Book, you do not rely on anything b as long as you do not follow the Torah and the Gospel c and what has been sent down to you from your Lord.’ d And certainly makes MANY AMONG THEM grow e what has been sent down to you from your Lord, f in rebellion and unbelief. g And do not torment yourself for unbelieving people.
69a Surely, those who believe, b and THOSE WHO PRACTICE JUDAISM, AND THE SABIENS AND THE CHRISTIANS, c whoever believes in God and the Last Day, d and does good works, e there is no fear for them, f and they will not be affl icted.
70a Surely, We have received the covenant of THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL , b and W e have sent to them messengers. c Each time came to them a messenger d with what their souls did not want, e some they treated as liars, f and some they killed.
71a Th ey reckoned there would be not test, b and they became blind and deaf. c Th en God came back to them . d Th en became blind and deaf MANY AMONG THEM .
e But God is well- seeing WHAT THEY DO .
Th e ‘peoples of the Book’ appear at the head of each part. Th ey are named as such in 65a, then, in a more detailed way in the central part (69b), then fi nally reduced to the ‘children of Israel’ in the third part (70a).
In the extreme parts the peoples of the Book and the children of Israel are the ungrateful benefi ciaries of God’s solicitude. In the fi rst part, God makes the Qur’an descend to them (66b and 68c); in the third part He sends them his envoys (70b–c) and He Himself ‘came back to them’ aft er their fi rst infi delity (71c). But they have not responded to the divine kindness; they are rebels and have not believed (65a; 68f–g). Th ey have treated the prophets as liars and have killed them (70e–f).
But the extreme pieces, as well as the extreme parts, have as fi nal (or almost fi nal) terms the syntagma ‘many among them’ (66e; 68d; 71d). Th us it is not all the peoples of the Book or children of Israel who are rebellious but ‘only’
many among them. Th is means that there are some who are faithful. Th is is what will be strongly declared in the central part by granting salvation to the Jews, the Sabians and the Christians on equal footing with ‘those who believe’ (the Muslims) if they believe in God and in the last Day and do good works.
Th e extreme parts here can still be read in continuity. Th e central part, which interrupts their development, is antithetical to their overall theme condemning the peoples of the Scripture. With this example can be seen all the theological importance contained in the paradoxical contrast between the centre and the units that frame it.
For Régis Blachère, a specialist in historical criticism, this central verse 69 would not be in its true place since it ‘forms a contradiction with v. 70’. 3 It is true that there is a contradiction but that does not mean that the verse is not in its place. Th e paradox might well be intentional. We will return to this point in the chapter on interpretation (Chapter 7, see p. 169).
65a If THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK had believed and been pious b we would have wiped out from them their bad actions, c and we would have let them enter to the gardens of delight. 66a And if they had followed the Torah and the Gospel b and what has been sent down to them from their Lord, c they would have eaten of what is above them and of what is under their feet. d Among them is a moderate community, e but for MANY AMONG THEM is bad WHAT THEY DO !
67a Prophet, communicate what has been sent down to you from your Lord! b And if you did not do this, c you would not communicate his message. d And God will protect you from men. e Surely, God does not guide the unbelieving people.
68a Say: ‘O people of the Book, you do not rely on anything b as long as you do not follow the Torah and the Gospel c and what has been sent down to you from your Lord.’ d And certainly makes MANY AMONG THEM grow e what has been sent down to you from your Lord, f in rebellion and unbelief. g And do not torment yourself for unbelieving people.
69a Surely, those who believe , b and THOSE WHO PRACTICE JUDAISM, AND THE SABIENS AND THE CHRISTIANS , c whoever believes in God and the Last Day, d and does good works, e there is no fear for them, f and they will not be affl icted.
70a Surely, We have received the covenant of THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL , b and W e have sent to them messengers. c Each time came to them a messenger d with what their souls did not want, e some they treated as liars, f and some they killed.
71a Th ey reckoned there would be not test, b and they became blind and deaf. c Th en God came back to them . d Th en became blind and deaf MANY AMONG THEM . e But God is well- seeing WHAT THEY DO .