We Made the Quran Easy
[54:17]
“We made the Quran easy to learn. Does any of you wish to learn?”
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Verse informs us that the Quran's Miracle involves two simultaneous elements: [1] the superhuman mathematical design of its physical structure, and [2] the simultaneous composition of a literary work of extraordinary excellence.
One may be able to meet the numerical distribution requirements of a simple mathematical pattern. However, this is invariably accomplished at the expense of the literary quality. The simultaneous control of the literary style and the intricate mathematical distribution of individual letters throughout the Quran is evident in the fact that the Quran is made easy to memorize, understand, and enjoy. Unlike a human-made book, the Quran is enjoyable to read over and over, infinitely.
The title of this Appendix is repeated in Sura 54, verses 17, 22, 32, and 40. As it turns out, the Quran's Arabic text is composed in such a way as to remind the reader or the memorizer of the next correct expression, or the next verse. God created us and He knows the most efficient way for fixing literary materials into our memory. Memorization of the Quran has played a vital role in preserving the original text generation after generation at a time when written books were a rarity.
Without even realizing it, the person who memorizes the Quran is divinely helped by an intricate literary system as he utters the sounds of the Quranic words. Almost every verse in the Quran contains what may be called “Memory Bells.” Their function is to remind the reader of what comes next. This system is so vast that only two illustrative examples are given here.
Memory Bells
Example 1 — Sura 2, Verses 127–129
In Sura 2, verses 127, 128, and 129, each verse ends with a different pair of God's names: Al-Samee' Al-'Aleem (The Hearer, the Omniscient), Al-Tawwaab Al-Raheem (The Redeemer, Most Merciful), and Al-'Azeez Al-Hakeem (The Almighty, Most Wise), respectively. In an ordinary book, one would easily mis-match these six names.
Not so in the Quran. Each pair is preceded in the same verse by a “Memory Bell” that reminds us of the correct pair. Verse 127 describes Abraham and Ismail raising the foundations of the Ka'abah. The prominent sounds in “Ismail” — S, M, and 'Ayn — echo the names “Al-Samee' Al-'Aleem” at the verse's end. Notably, the word “Ismail” is conspicuously delayed in the sentence: “When Abraham raised the foundations of the Ka'abah, together with Ismail...” — rather than the expected “Abraham and Ismail” — bringing those sounds closer to the divine names.
Verse 128 has the prominent word Tubbjust before the names “Al-Tawwaab Al-Raheem,” serving as its memory bell. The names at the end of are Azeez, Hakeem — with prominent sounds Z and K — and their memory bell is the word Yuzakkeehim appearing just before them.
Example 2 — Sura 3, Verses 176–178
In , , and , the retribution for disbelievers is described as 'Azeem (Terrible), Aleem (Painful), and Muheen (Humiliating), respectively. In any human-made book, a memorizer could easily mix up these three descriptions. But each adjective is preceded by a powerful memory bell.
The word 'Azeem of verse 176 is preceded by the word Huzzun, characterized by a stressed letter “Z.” The word Aleem of verse 177 is preceded by the sound of the word Iman serving as the memory bell, and the word Muheenof verse 178 is preceded by an abundance of “M” and “H” sounds throughout that verse.
Other examples of memory bells include the ending of and the beginning of , the ending of and the beginning of , the ending of and the beginning of , the ending of and the beginning of , and many more throughout the Quran.