al-Ijaz al-Ilmi Ila Ayn
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dar Ibn al-Jawzi
al-Ijaz al-Ilmi Ila Ayn (Scientific Inimitability: Where To?), subtitled Critical Essays on Scientific Inimitability (Maqalat Taqwimiyyah lil-Ijaz al-Ilmi), is a methodological critique of contemporary scientific exegesis (al-tafsir al-ilmi) and claims of scientific inimitability in Islamic scripture by Saudi Quranic scholar Musaid al-Tayyar .
Composition and Structure
The book was published in its second edition in 1433 AH (2012 CE) by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi . It brings together eight critical articles and research papers that al-Tayyar wrote and published across several venues before compiling them into a single volume :
- First Article: An assessment of scientific inimitability in the Quran, initially published in 1424 AH (2003 CE) in responses on the Multaqa Ahl al-Hadith online forum and later included in his collection Maqalat fi Ulum al-Quran wa-Usul al-Tafsir .
- Second Article: An evaluation of concepts surrounding the term "scientific inimitability," presented at the Seventh Conference on Quranic Inimitability at Zarqa University in Jordan in Rajab 1426 AH (August 2005 CE) .
- Third Article: A discussion outlining the exegetical stance toward empirical sciences and modern inventions, distinguishing between studying the cosmos and binding Quranic texts to shifting scientific hypotheses .
- Fourth Article: A study on correcting the treatment of the early generations' exegesis (tafsir al-salaf) in scientific inimitability research, published in the Journal of the Imam al-Shatibi Institute for Quranic Studies in Dhu al-Hijjah 1427 AH (December 2006 CE) .
- Fifth Article: An examination of whether inimitability can be legitimately attributed to the Prophetic Sunnah .
- Sixth Article: A critique of defining scientific inimitability primarily through the concept of scientific precedence (al-sabq) .
- Seventh Article: An analysis of the usage of the concept of scientific inimitability by Tunisian scholar Muhammad al-Tahir ibn Ashur, demonstrating that his scope of "science" was broader than just modern empirical disciplines .
- Eight Article: An argument establishing that correlating scientific discoveries with Quranic verses remains a probabilistic interpretation (zanni ihtimali) rather than absolute certainty (yaqini) .
The book concludes with analytical indexes, including an index of scholarly benefits (fihris al-fawa'id al-ilmiyyah) .
Methodological Themes
The primary objective of the work is to realign the discourse on scientific inimitability with the established principles of Quranic exegesis (usul al-tafsir) . Al-Tayyar argues that Quranic scholars do not reject modern empirical discoveries or technology, but rather object to forced exegetical attempts to link mutable scientific hypotheses to definitive divine texts .
He critiques contemporary practitioners of scientific inimitability for frequently relying on late commentaries while overlooking the inherited understandings of the Salaf, and for entering the text with preconceived scientific theories that result in straining the plain meaning of Quranic vocabulary . Al-Tayyar also scrutinizes the restriction of the word "science" (ilm) solely to empirical fields, tracing this usage to colonial educational divisions, and maintains that non-specialists in Islamic legal and hermeneutical sciences must acquire grounding in usul al-tafsir before interpreting scripture through scientific lenses .
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