Al-Iklil fi Istinbat al-Tanzil
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Al-Iklīl fī Istinbāṭ al-Tanzīl (The Diadem in Deducing from the Revelation) is a specialized treatise on Quranic legal and doctrinal exegesis by the Shafi'i polymath Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (849–911 AH / 1445–1505 CE) . The work extracts legal rulings (fiqh), principles of jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh), and theological tenets (uṣūl al-dīn) directly from the verses of the Quran .
Purpose and Composition
In his introduction, al-Suyuti explains his motivation for compiling the work, reviewing earlier authors of Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (Legal Rulings of the Quran) literature, including al-Qadi Ismail, Bakr ibn al-Ala, Abu Bakr al-Razi al-Jassas, Ilkiya al-Harrasi, Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi, and Abd al-Mun'im ibn al-Faras . While acknowledging their contributions, al-Suyuti criticized their works for excessive length, digressions into scholastic disputes, and overlooking subtler points of deduction . He aimed instead to produce a concise, refined handbook gathering all legal, fundamental, and doctrinal matters derived from the Quranic text .
Al-Suyuti considered the work among his distinct compositions, listing it in his autobiographical account al-Tahadduth bi-Niʿmat Allāh as one of the books in which he claimed unprecedented originality . In Taqrīr al-Istinād fī Tafsīr al-Ijtihād, he cited it as his definitive contribution summarizing the rulings deduced from the Quran necessary for the rank of legal deduction (ijtihād) .
Structure and Method
The book begins with an extensive introductory theoretical discourse demonstrating that all fields of knowledge are rooted in the Quran . Al-Suyuti outlines the linguistic forms and stylistic indicators used in the text to denote obligation, prohibition, and permissibility .
Following the introduction, the book proceeds sequentially through the entire Quran, surah by surah, beginning with Surat al-Fatiha . Under each verse capable of yielding a ruling, al-Suyuti provides:
- The legal or theological deduction drawn from the verse, accompanied by brief exegetical clarifications whenever the deduction relies on particular wording .
- Attribution of the deduction to early authorities among the Companions, Successors, or recognized scholars .
- Creedal points and rebuttals of sectarian positions, such as deductions countering the views of the Mu'tazilites .
Editions and Studies
Al-Iklīl has been published in modern scholarly editions, including:
- An edition edited by Sayf al-Din Abd al-Qadir al-Katib, published in a single volume by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya (Beirut, 1401 AH / 1981 CE) .
- An edition edited by Amir ibn Ali al-Arabi, published by Dar al-Andalus al-Khadra' (Jeddah, 1422 AH / 2001 CE) .
A modern commentary on its introduction and legal derivations from Surat al-Baqara, titled Fatḥ al-Jalīl fī al-Taʿlīq ʿalā Kitāb al-Iklīl, was prepared by Abd al-Rahman ibn Ali al-Hattab .
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