Mekkî-Medenî Sûre Tespitinde Üslup ve Muhtevanın Önemi: İnsan Sûresi Örneği
Kur’ân belli bir zaman aralığında Hz. Peygamber’e vahyedilmiş, ilâhî iradenin beyâni bir müdahalesidir. Bu beyâni müdahale belli bir tarihsel vasatta, yirmi üç yıllık süre zarfında nas-olgu diyalektiği içerisinde teşekkül etmiştir. Kur’ân’ın teşekkül sürecini etkileyen birçok etken olmakla birlikte bu etkenlerden birisi şüphesiz Mekke’den Medine’ye hicrettir. Zira hicretle birlikte olgusal ve mekânsal bir değişiklik meydana gelmiş ve bu durum Kur’ân’ın üslup ve muhtevasına etki etmiştir. Kur’ân sûrelerinin Mekkî-Medenî olarak tasnif edilmesinde nakil, kıyas ve ictihat şeklinde farklı kriterler esas alınmıştır. Nakil rivayete dayalı bilgiyi, kıyas ve ictihat ise, üslup ve muhtevadan hareketle ulaşılan sonucu ifade eder. Bu bağlamda İnsan sûresi nakledilen birçok rivayette Medenî olarak değerlendirilmiş, diğer bir takım rivayetlerde ise, Mekkî olduğu ifade edilmiştir. Biz bu çalışmada her iki görüşe yer vermekle birlikte sûrenin üslup ve muhtevasından hareketle hangi döneme ait olduğunu tespit etmeye çalışacağız. Zira üslup ve muhteva sûrelerin dönemlerini belirlemede önemli esaslardan birisidir. Bu çerçevede İnsan sûresinin Mekkî olduğu kanaatine ulaştığımızı belirtmeliyiz.
The Significance of Content and Style and in Determining Meccan-Medinan Sūrahs: The Case of Sūrah al-Insān
The Quran is a Bayānī intervention of the divine which will be revealed to the Prophet Mohammad (Pbuh) within a certain time range. This intervention, completed in 23 years, was formed by using text-phenomena dialectics. Without a doubt, the Hegira from Mecca to Medina is one of the key factors that has affected the formation of the Quran, for a significant shift emerged from this, which, in turn, altered the overall style and content of the Quran. Several criterion, like tradition, analogy, or Ijtihad, have been used in the classification of Sūrahs in the Quran as coming from Mecca and Medina. Tradition relies solely on transmission whereas analogy and Ijtihad refer to a judgement that is based on content and style. In this sense, Al-Insan has been considered as coming from Medina in some traditions and from Mecca in others. This study aims to examine this era through paying attention to the Quran’s style and content by analyzing contradictory traditions.
The classification of Sūrahs as coming from either Mecca or Medina is based on a variety of criteria. One of these criteria – which has been expressed in the transmission from the Sahabah, Tabi’un, by Islamic scholars – constitutes transmitted narrations and the arrangement of revelatory sequences. Another criterion for determining the relevant period of Sūrahs is ijtihād (“legal reasoning”) and qiyās (“analogy”). In this context, ijtihād and qiyās, so-called mental activities, articulate the conclusion that is reached with respect to the content and stylistic features of the Sūrahs. This study attempt to determine the period to which Ṣūrah al-Insān actually belongs. In doing so, first, opinions on the issue in classical and contemporary sources were determined. In this context, the arguments and evidence of scholars who contend that Ṣūrah al-Insān was either from Mecca or from Medina are taken into account. Thereafter, we examine the period during which Ṣūrah al-Insān was revealed by analyzing the style and content of the Sūrahs.
In this study, we have observed that nearly all the transmitted arrangements of revelatory sequences of Ṣūrah al-Insān were classified under Medinan ṣūrahs, and also that this view was related by many scholars. In fact, some scholars have attributed this view to the jumhūr (“masses”). On the other hand, transmitted narrations appear to be the underlying justification of the evaluation of the ṣūrah as Medinan. It may be argued that some of the narrations conveyed about ‛Alī and Fāṭimah, especially in connection to the environment in Medina, were the main factors in assuming the ṣūrah’s “cause of revelation” (sabab al-nuzūl) and evaluating it as coming from Medina.
In spite of the classification of Ṣūrah al-Insān as being from Medina throughout the narrations, some scholars in the classical and modern era have stressed, notwithstanding the narrations, that Ṣūrah al- Insān is, in effect, a ṣūrah coming from Mecca. Some of these scholars, moreover, have gone even further to attribute this view to the jumhūr. As for the scholars who defend this position, they have shown evidence on the issue that the ṣūrah treats and the stylistic features it employs. In other words, according to the scholars defending this view, the contents and stylistic features of Ṣūrah al-Insān indicate that the ṣūrah is from Mecca.
In this context, on the one hand, we observed that there were two different approaches put forward in the classical and modern era regarding the cause of revelation of Ṣūrah al-Insān. On the other hand, it appears that these two approaches were a result of methodology, that is, while scholars who maintain that the ṣūrah is from Mecca have taken as a basis the ṣūrah’s style and content, while scholars who claim it as from Medina have taken narrations related to the issue as its basis.
As a result of this study that we have conducted, we can say that the view of scholars that Ṣūrah al-Insān is from Mecca is more consistent and convincing. For when the scholarly value of the narrations which constitute the basis for the acceptance of the ṣūrah as Medinan, and the style and content employed are examined, it becomes apparent that the ṣūrah was revealed in the Meccan period. This is because the basic stylistic features used in the ṣūrah reflects the stylistic features of the Meccan ṣūrahs, that is, stylistic features that were used, such as emphatic statements, physical and concrete depictions in the context of the hereafter, performative (inshā’) statements used for the Prophet, and short and pithy āyahs, indicate that Ṣūrah al-Insān is a ṣūrah of the Meccan period.
However, a similar conclusion is reached when considering the content features employed in the ṣūrah, that is, the emphasis on the creation, freedom, and responsibility of human beings, expressions about the life of the hereafter, the advice of patience to the Prophet, and the reactions of those being addressed in response to injunctions, indicate that Ṣūrah al-Insān was a ṣūrah revealed during the Meccan period. Therefore, in spite of the fact that Ṣūrah al-Insān is classified in the narrations of the Medinan ṣūrahs, the style and content suggests that the ṣūrah is from Mecca.
Based on this study specific to Ṣūrah al-Insān, we can say that the content and style features are arguably more operative and significant in determining the revelatory period of ṣūrahs. Because, as is the case with Ṣūrah al-Insān, the outcomes may be deprived of scholarly merit by basing it on several unauthentic narrations and on a biased approach towards narrations. However, when the content and style are being examined, more consistent and objective outcomes can be reached with regards to the relevant period.
Finally, when determining the revelatory period of a ṣūrah, the issue should not be approached from one direction, but rather from a more holistic and objective view with scholarly thoroughness of the narrations related to the revelatory period, the arrangement of revelatory sequence, and the content and style of the ṣūrah. In particular, the style and contents should be taken into consideration by an efficient arbitrator when contradictory narrations have been transmitted concerning the relevant period. We have thus attempted to implement this method in this study specific to the Ṣūrah al-Insān.
