So in this article, I will try and explain to you one example of linguistic excellence in The Qur’an by comparing only 2 verses from The Qur’an.

A translation of 11:69 says, “And surely Our messenger-angels came to Abraham with good news ˹of a son˺. They greeted ˹him with˺, “Peace!” And he replied, “Peace ˹be upon you˺!” Then it was not long before he brought ˹them˺ a ˹fat,˺ roasted calf.”

And a translation of 51:26 says, “Then he went apart unto his housefolk so that they brought a fatted calf”

Now we will only compare the excellence of word selection between two words. The description of calf in 11:69 is “حَنِيذٍۢ” which is word which means fat, roasted on rocks, hot and dripping fat. The calf is described as something ready to eat.

However in 51:26, the calf is simply described as “سَمِينٍۢ” which only means fat.

Now in both cases the calf is fat, but additional details of the calf are given in 11:69 by a specific use of word. Whereas the calf is only called “fat” in 51:26. The question is: why?

The answer is beautiful. It all lies in the context of each verse. Both these verses are talking about the story of Abraham when the angels came to visit him. However in 11:69, the context is more detailed and alludes to a more hospitable and majestic mentions of things. But before I show you, just read a couple of verses before 51:24 and then we’ll be able to compare: “Has the story of Abraham’s honoured guests reached you ˹O Prophet˺? ˹Remember˺ when they entered his presence and greeted ˹him with˺, “Peace!” He replied, “Peace ˹be upon you˺!” ˹Then he said to himself,˺ “These people must be strangers!” Then he slipped off to his family and brought a fat ˹roasted˺ calf,”

Now let’s compare: Chapter 11 states the angels as “messengers” which is a noble mention than simply calling them “guests” in Chapter 51. Also, Chapter 11 mentions “good news” whereas Chapter 51 tells us that Abraham saw them as “strangers”. Chapter 11 shows that Abraham was “quick” to bring them food whereas there is no such mention in chapter 51.

Thus, it was more appropriate with a more hospitable environment to mention a “fat, roasted, heated and hot” calf than to simply state a “fat” calf in chapter 11 !!! How beautifully placed!!

THUS, it’s amazing that The Qur’an has such an intricate usage of word placements and pays so much attention to detail. In our daily lives, we may not care how we speak: “roasted” or “fat”. But The Qur’an even took care of this precise word selection according to the context. The Qur’an was revealed over about a period of 23 years and never changed across 14 centuries and yet contains such a consistent and detailed selection of words. And in addition to that it contains other linguistic, scientific, numerical miracles etc. along with this depth of linguistic excellence as well!!

Notes:

Translations are taken from sunnah.com

Video and proof of this miracle: https://youtu.be/TU30Iw6YFJo