I’Jaz Al-Qur’an Al-Karim an Evaluation of Historical Discourse and Dimensions

This paper aims at an evaluation of various approaches to define and redefine the classical theory of the I‘jaz (the inimitability of the Qur’ān) in the perspective of the challenges and problems faced by the Muslim society emphasising a need to cope with the rational thinking, modernity, scientific progress, psychological advancement and civilizational development, though there has been a comparatively lesser description of the rhetoricism of the Qur’ān too. It provides an account of scholarship exploring some novel dimensions of the matchlessness of the Qur’ān in the contemporaneous context. They have justified rationally and psychologically the Qur’ānic historic challenge of producing a book or its some surahs or few verses similar to the Qur’ān that has offered the irresistible call to the whole mankind: “Say: “If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’ān, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support”. (Al-Isra 17: 88) The same challenge occurs in the Qur’ān on three previous occasions (Al-Baqarah, 2: 23-24; Yunus 10: 38, and Hūd 11: 13) and later also in al-Tūr (52: 33-34). The content of all the verses referred to above is in response to the allegation of the unbelievers that the Qur’ān had been composed by the Prophet (peace be on him) and then falsely ascribed to God. All this was refuted. This refutation of the Qur’ān was logically established by the modern Arabic scholars through their sound arguments.

Factors That Facilitate or Hinder Students Learning of Geometry In Pakistani Classroom

This was a small scale study to understand the factors that facilitate or hinder students' learning of geometry, because within mathematics, geometry teaching and learning has some specific features, which need to be understood. I conducted this study in a private primary school in Karachi, Pakistan. My role in this study was to observe a group of four students of class five. The data which I collected, came from observing students doing their geometry lessons, having pre-and post-observation conversations with the students and the teacher, field notes, audiotapes transcriptions, and children's written work. I also did pre- and post- observation meetings with a group of students and their teacher. Findings of the study show that in a Pakistani primary classroom, many factors facilitate and help children's learning of geometry in the classroom. These facilitative factors include: teacher's questions; clarity of task instructions; use of question-answer approach; use of concrete material; and learning, from peers. Also, there were factors that hindered students' learning such as in-effective usage and quality of geometrical instruments, the representations of the geometrical concepts in the prescribed textbook, and use of body movements. The study provides significant insights into students' learning and raises several implications and recommendations for mathematics teachers and teacher educators.