Sūrat Maryam (Part 5)

Part 5 of observations on the structure, organization, and coherence of Sūrat Maryam

See last week’s post for Part 4.

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If we break the section down further, we will see that [B1] contains a ring structure with the argument of Ibrāhīm embedded in the middle as a parallel structure:

CONNECTIONS

[B1.1/B1.1’] - The intro tells us who Ibrāhīm is; a man of truth and a prophet of Allah ﷻ. The corresponding conclusion shows Ibrāhīm’s commitment to prophethood and monotheism as he is outcast by his own father because he “has no desire” for their fake gods.

[B1.2] - At the center lies the beautiful argument of Ibrāhīm to his father. Each sentence begins with “My dear father,” to emphasize the care behind the words to come. Ibrāhīm begins twice with a statement about the irrationality behind worshiping (ta‘bud) other than Allah ﷻ, and twice he provides his rationale for saying what could be perceived as harsh words to his father. In both cases, he acknowledges that Allah ﷻ has given him knowledge of the unseen that his father could not be privy to without guidance.

Summarized another way:

[B2] and [B2’], the center of Section [B], which describes Ibrāhīm leaving his people, is also set up in a parallel structure:

CONNECTIONS

[B2.1/B2.1’] - Both halves begin in the same manner, with Ibrāhīm praying to his Lord, and Ibrāhīm adding in both instances a point of optimism about his prayer being fulfilled.

[B2.2/B2.2’] - Both halves also end the same way with Ibrāhīm leaving his family and community with almost the same wording, “And I will leave you and those you invoke other than Allah (waaʿtazilu-kum wamā tadʿūna min dūnil-lāhi)” versus “He had left them and those they worshipped other than Allah (iʿtazalahum wamā yadʿūna min dūnil-lāhi).”

[B1’], the conclusion of Section [B], is also set up as a parallel structure:

CONNECTIONS

[B1.3/B1.3’] - Both parts begin with Allah ﷻ saying “We gifted (wahabnā)” something to Ibrāhīm and his family.

[B1.4/B1.4’] - Both parallels conclude with Allah ﷻ saying, “We made (jaʿalnā)...” in reference to the family of Ibrāhīm.

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We will continue our study of Sūrat Maryam next week :)