The Role of the Holy Qur an in the Development of Criticism and Rhetoric

Since the beginning of the presence of the holy Qur’an, criticism and rhetoric have received attention in the areas of culture and thought, too. In this respect we can name some literary and rhetorical works like Majāz al-Qur’ān by Abu Ubaydah Ma’mar Ibn Muthannā, Ketāb al-Fasāhah by Abu Hātam Sajestāni, E’jāz al-Qur’ān by Jāhez Basri, Naqd al-Nathr wa Naqd al-She’r by Abu al-Faraj Qudāmah ibn Ja’far, al-She’r wa al-Shu’arā by Ibn Qutaybah Dinvari and al-Kāmel by Mubarrad. Furthermore, in the fourth century AH, Abdullah Ibn Mu’tazz studied Quranic figures of speech and wrote on the science of rhetoric, Āmedi authored Movāzeneh and Abu Helāl ‘Askari, in the middle of the fourth century, wrote al-Sanā’atain. The role of the Qur’an in criticism and rhetoric has also influenced the focus of writers on issues like rhetoric and balance from Aristotle’s perspective, the mysteries of language, aesthetic skills, syntax and its functions, Quranic sciences as well as the relation between rhetoric and the miraculous inimitability of the Qur’an. This paper studies the role of the Qur’an in criticism, rhetoric, lexis, collocations, form, content, music, imagery, the harmony of form and content, and the features of storytelling and stylistics.