RING COMPOSITION [LITERARY PROOF]
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The Qur’an is a very unique book in terms of its composition. Its 114 chapters are not arranged in chronological or thematic order.
Even within the individual chapters, numerous topics can be covered with sudden switches from one topic to another and then back again.
This unique structure on the face of it may appear to be disorganised. However, modern research has discovered a sophisticated structural coherence in the Qur’an known as ring composition.
So what is ring composition?
Ring composition is the equivalent of putting a mirror in the middle of the work – what is mentioned in the first half will be reflected in the second half. The central meaning of the text is placed at its centre.
Imagine you were to write a short story about your day. If you were to apply a ring structure to your story, then the middle of the story would contain the most important event, and the beginning and end would contain related themes. To take a simple example:
You can see that the essence of the story, meeting a long lost friend, is placed in the middle. The parts leading up to that, waking up and leaving the house, mirror the parts after - coming home and going to sleep.
What are the benefits of using ring composition?
Ring composition allows you to highlight your central message by literally putting it in the middle of the ring. It also serves as an aid in memorisation which is especially useful given what we know of the preservation of the Qur’an being an oral tradition.
Ring Composition in the Quran:
The 2nd chapter of the Qur’an, al-Baqarah or “The Cow”, which we are going to use as a case study, happens to be its longest chapter and was revealed over a span of many years.
There is a special verse in the chapter of al-Baqarah, the 255th verse known as ‘Ayat al-Kursi’, which consists of a ring composition:
This can be taken a step further. What we find is that this verse is contained within a group of verses, verses 254 - 284, which themselves make up a larger ring. So what we have is a ring within a ring:
We can take this yet a step further. This group of verses represents one of nine sections that make up the entire chapter of al-Baqarah:
Each of these sections also represents a ring, so what we have is a ring within a larger ring within an even larger ring:
So not only do we have concentric rings, but if you look at the list of the nine sections above, notice how there are no breaks or gaps in the 286 verses.
Ring composition is not just limited to the second chapter of the Quran. It is found throughout the Quran.
For example, it is also found in Chapter 12 of the Quran, Surah Yusuf:
How is it possible that the Quran exhibits such a remarkably harmonious structure when its verses were not revealed sequentially, but in random pieces over a span of 23 years, especially given that many of the 6,236 verses of the Qur’an are tied to particular historical events?
Were a human being to compose a book in such a manner, then its structure would undoubtedly be in disorder. Moreover, when each new verse was revealed, it was immediately put into its position within its respective chapter. This position was fixed.
There was no opportunity for modification or re-arrangement. How could Muhammad ﷺ have devised such an intricate plan when he could not predict the events that would dictate the revelation of the verses?
Such an arrangement would have to be planned in advance, but this was not possible due to these events being out of his control. This shows that the author of the Qur’an must have known the future, which is a quality of God.
REFERENCES:
Surah Baqarah Analysis: Abu Zakariya, The Eternal Challenge, p.64-71
Surah Yusuf Analysis: heavenlyorder.substack.com
Surah Baqarah Analysis: Abu Zakariya, The Eternal Challenge, p.64-71
Surah Yusuf Analysis: heavenlyorder.substack.com
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