Summary

The above study demonstrates that the termsMu‘jizah and I‘jaaz (miracle) are accepted and correct for the following reasons:

1) It would have been ideal to use one of the words used in the Qur’an to fulfill the purpose of the designation.

2) The miracle of the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is undying and ongoing, unlike previous miracles which ended when the respective prophets were taken to their Lord.

3) The meaning of the term I‘jaaz is unanimously accepted; it means the inability of the Arabs and others to come up with a Soorah such as one from the Qur’an.

4) It is correct to use this term linguistically as well as in terms of Islamic law, as the term’s denotation has a strong association with the context in which it is used. In fact, the root of the word (‘a - ja -za) is mentioned
several times in the Qur’an.

5) This term and other conventional terms like it have been used by Muslim scholars throughout history without objection or contest. In fact, such accepted conventions have been preferred to other terms as they have become customary realities [Al-Mustasfa, Al-Ghazali], even though they were not known in the era of the Companions and their successors, may Allah be pleased with all of them.

6) Of necessity, if such terms were dismantled and reconstructed – supposing that such was even possible – it would be both problematic and chaotic, as these terms are established in the Islamic heritage and in the minds of Muslim scholars and intellectuals.

7) Our scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, were realistic when devising these terms according to developments in Islamic culture in their time. They also devised conditions and guidelines to indicate what is meant by them, without violating other principles. Have we been able to do so with developments in our cultural life today, despite the many universities, language academies, research centers and the use of sophisticated computers? Or are we still unable to do so? This is what makes some intellectuals and students seek out terminology to correspond to some of the foreign terminology that has been introduced and become problematic. Without doubt, the Arabic language and Islamic culture have the capacity for that.

8) Finally, regardless of what the terms are or who coinedthem, there is a reality which reserves its own right to exist:any person has the right to use any lan guage that fulfills the meaning of its usage in any time or age, or in any specialization, such as the codes or terminology used by experts and scholars. Just as coining terminology was both commonplace and permissible for those people and others, it remains so for researchers, on condition that the term delivers its intended message within the scope of the intended designation. And since there are some non-Arabic words in the Qur’an [Tafseer Al-Qurtubi], the Qur’an being an eloquent Arabic book, that should in principle indicate that Arabizing words while maintaining clarity in meaning contributes to the word’s eloquence and clarity. Does it seem feasible then to object to the use of terminology to indicate a meaning based oncontext? The matter is not so complicated and does not require such scrutiny. And Allah knows best.