QuoteWould it not be better to segment the Chapter into Paragraphs?
I divided it in main
textual units according to the principles of structural analysis (or Semitic rhetoric), I aimed to highlight the overall structure of this long surah. It is certain that this requires effort for the reader (but not too much i think). Ideally, the text should be detailed in Arabic, explaining all the levels and their interconnections, as well as the relationships between them (whether adjacent or distant). However, I neither have the time nor the literary talent to do so....And even then, it would need to be paired with Surah 16, with which it forms a duo (also divided into three parts). So, this is a compromise that allows the reader greater freedom for meditation and possibly to redo the work and compare our results.
However, having some knowledge of structural analysis, and practicing it, is definitely an advantage for better understanding the composition of the text.
QuoteLogical Organization:
Ideas are presented in a structured manner, often following a sequence such as chronological order, cause-and-effect, comparison, or general-to-specific.
Warning:
The Quran is not primarily structured according to the logical principles of our modern mentality (Greco-Roman heritage). For example, the effect may precede the cause, or the text may combine chronologically distant elements.
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According to this rhetoric (Semitic rhetoric), texts are built on the basis of a complex set of symmetries, at various textual levels. The "rhetorical analysis" is the technique which allows bringing to light the composition of texts according to this rhetoric. It establishes the coherence of texts which, at first sight, seems muddled. It is also the way towards a faithful interpretation of the text. " (M. Cuypers, The Semitic rhetoric in the Koran and a Pharaonic papyrus)
A brief aside about the verse 1: it is a unique one due to its singular rhyme in this surah, and could have been understood as an introduction. However, among other aspects, there is a similar structure between the sub-parts A and A' of part I (a same thematic sequence, each sub-parts are composed of two sub-sections). Additionally, the key term "
masjid" frames sub-part A (and linked verse 1 with verses 2-8). Part I begins and ends with the mention of signs/
āyāt (verse 1 and 59), and the vision at the end of part I refers back to verse 1, clarifying the significance of the night journey. Furthermore, the text starts with the word "
sub'ḥāna" (corresponding to the beginning of surah 16, which connects them) and ends with "
kabbir'hu takbīran."
