al-Intisar lil-Quran lil-Baqillani
- Author died
- 403 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fatḥ
al-Intisar lil-Quran (The Defense of the Quran) is a theological treatise on the sciences of the Quran by the Ash'ari theologian and Maliki jurist al-Baqillani (d. 403 AH / 1013 CE) . Also known under the fuller titles al-Intisar li-sihhat naql al-Quran wa-al-radd 'ala man nahalahu al-fasad bi-ziyadah aw nuqsan (The Championing of the Sound Transmission of the Quran and the Refutation of Those Who Ascribe Corruption to It by Addition or Omission) and al-Intisar li-naql al-Quran, the work is dedicated to demonstrating the historical authenticity, definitive transmission, and text-critical integrity of the Uthmanic codex .
Purpose and Scope
Al-Baqillani authored the treatise as one of two specialized books on the Quran alongside his I'jaz al-Quran (The Inimitability of the Quran) . While I'jaz al-Quran was written to establish the miraculous nature and divine authorship of the text, al-Intisar was designated to prove the certainty of its transmission (qat'iyyat al-thubut) and protect it from textual skepticism . Al-Baqillani sought to refute allegations of corruption, interpolation, and deletion, focusing particularly on polemics raised by the Rafidites accusing the Companions of altering the scripture .
Content and Methodology
The work contains extended chapters on the collection and compilation of the Quran (jam' al-Quran), the history of the codex finalized under the caliph Uthman ibn Affan, and the method of its oral and written delivery across generations . Al-Baqillani analyzes the hadiths concerning the revelation of the Quran in seven dialectal modes (al-ahruf al-sab'ah), the canonical variant readings (qira'at), and the scope of abrogation (naskh) . He concludes that the entire text revealed by God that was commanded to be recorded and neither abrogated nor withdrawn is precisely what is contained between the two covers of the Uthmanic codex without any addition or deficiency, transmitted by successive generations from the early community .
Regarding the structural arrangement of the scripture, al-Baqillani affirms that the ordering of verses within surahs is binding and divinely dictated (tawqifi), whereas he considers it possible that the sequencing of the surahs themselves was delegated to the ijtihad of the Companions, regarding this second view as more probable . The book also summarizes his theological stance on the threefold aspects of Quranic inimitability: its reports concerning the unseen, its accounts of earlier prophets and nations despite the Prophet's ﷺ lack of formal schooling, and its unique literary composition and eloquence .
Reception and Editions
Al-Intisar served as an authoritative reference in Quranic studies and theology, being widely cited by later scholars such as Ibn Hazm, Ibn Taymiyyah, Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi, and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti .
An abridged or summarized version of the text, known as Nukat al-Intisar li-naql al-Quran, was edited by Muhammad Zaghlul Sallam and published in Alexandria by Mansha'at al-Ma'arif in 1971 . An edition titled al-Intisar lil-Quran, edited by Muhammad 'Isam al-Qudah, was published in two volumes in 2001 (1422 AH) jointly by Dar al-Fath in Amman and Dar Ibn Hazm in Beirut .
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