Khalid Nawaf al-Shawha
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Khalid Nawaf al-Shawha is a contemporary scholar and researcher in Qur'anic studies, best known for his monograph Wujuh I'jaz al-Qur'an al-Azim (Facets of the Inimitability of the Great Qur'an) .
Scholarly Views on Qur'anic Inimitability
In his studies on the discipline of i'jaz (Qur'anic inimitability), al-Shawha defines the concept terminologically as "the Qur'an's establishment of the incapacity of created beings to produce the like of it" . He emphasizes that the Qur'an is inimitable in its own right rather than through an external impediment, that this incapacity encompasses all creation, and that establishing this inimitability serves as proof of the divine origin of the text and the validity of prophetic revelation .
Regarding the various facets of inimitability proposed by scholars, al-Shawha accords primacy to rhetorical and stylistic inimitability (al-i'jaz al-bayani) . He argues that the rhetorical facet is universally applicable across the entirety of the Qur'anic text, whereas other proposed facets—such as scientific (al-i'jaz al-ilmi), psychological/affective (al-i'jaz al-ta'thiri), or numerical (al-i'jaz al-adadi)—only pertain to specific verses . He also notes that rhetorical inimitability has faced fewer conceptual ambiguities and objections than other contemporary categorizations, while maintaining that affirming the rhetorical dimension does not inherently contradict or negate other valid facets of inimitability .
In classifying the scholarly heritage on the subject, al-Shawha identifies multiple historical avenues through which Muslim scholars treated i'jaz, including specialized individual treatises, thematic monographs on single facets, dedicated sections within general compendia of Qur'anic sciences—such as the works of Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, and Muhammad Abd al-Azim al-Zarqani—and discussions incorporated into exegesis introductions or commentary on the challenge verses (ayat al-tahaddi) . He also critically engages with modern structural divisions of the field, including those framed by Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafi'i .
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List of Works
Wujuh Ijaz al-Quran al-Azim is a contemporary treatise on the inimitability of the Qur'an. The book presents a structured overview of the discipline of Qur'anic inimitability (ilm i'jaz al-Qur'an), tracing its conceptual definitions, historical development, and the major facets proposed by scholars across the centuries.