Critical Study of Orientalists’ Opinions on the Arabic Language of the Quran

The language of the Qur'an was criticized specially by orientalists. They had previously proposed the idea of adapting the Qur’an from the Testaments and other holy books. Regarding language, some western scientists believe that the Arabic language of the Qur’an also is not original. Alphonse Mingana (1881-1937) at the beginning of the 20th century considered the Qur’an to be merely an adaptation of the Holy Bible. He claimed the Syriac language played an important role in the foundations of Islam and the vocabulary and grammar of the Arabic language of the Qur'an originated from Syriac. Christoph Luxenberg also referred to the Aramaic language of the Qur’an in his book entitled “Siro-Aramaic Reading of the Qur’an,” published at the beginning of the 21st century. This paper analyses the works of Arab linguists concerning the history and the origin of the Arabic language. It also evaluates archaeological and epigraphic works in this regard. It concludes that the Arabic language existed before the advent of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, and of course, the Holy Qur'an caused the advancement and evolution of this language.