al-Amthal fi al-Quran - min A'lam al-Muwaqqi'in
- Author died
- 751 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Ṣaḥāba
al-Amthal fi al-Quran - min A'lam al-Muwaqqi'in (Parables in the Quran – from I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in) is a treatise on Quranic parables by the Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH / 1350 CE), extracted from his larger legal and jurisprudential work I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in .
Origin and Extraction
The material originally forms an extensive section within I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in, where Ibn al-Qayyim commented on the judicial letter sent by the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari . In that context, Ibn al-Qayyim addressed analogical resemblance (qiyas al-shabah) and adduced the parables of the Quran to illustrate legal and rational analogy .
Scholars have noted that the treatise was extracted from the parent work and circulated independently at an early date, with early biographers listing it among his standalone writings . While it has been attributed directly to Ibn al-Qayyim as an independent composition, evidence from the manuscript tradition indicates that it was excerpted by one of his students—either during the author's lifetime or shortly thereafter . The standalone manuscripts open with the phrase: قال شيخنا رحمه الله: وقع في القرآن أمثال ("Our Shaykh, may God have mercy on him, said: Parables occur in the Quran..."), and their text matches the corresponding portion of I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in almost verbatim . Although Ibn al-Qayyim expressed an intention in his didactic poem al-Kafiyah al-Shafiyah to author an independent volume dedicated to the secrets and meanings of Quranic parables, this specific treatise represents the excerpted section from I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in .
Purpose and Scope
Ibn al-Qayyim's primary aim in compiling these parables was not a conventional exegetical survey, but rather to prove that the Quran explicitly guides believers toward valid analogical reasoning (qiyas) . He approached the parables as expressions of likening an entity to its counterpart, equating them in ruling, and bringing abstract meanings closer to comprehension through tangible, sensory examples .
The work covers the parables presented across the Quran from beginning to end, surveying more than forty distinct parables . Following the analysis of Quranic parables, the text discusses the interpretation of dreams (ta'bir al-ru'ya), explaining that oneiric interpretation operates on the same principle of analogy and drawing parallels between similar concepts .
Editions
The treatise has been published in multiple standalone editions under titles such as al-Amthal fi al-Quran al-Karim . A notable edition was prepared by Ibrahim ibn Muhammad and published in 1406 AH, based on four manuscript copies alongside earlier printings .
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