al-Qawaid al-Hisan li-Tafsir al-Quran
- Author died
- 1376 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Rushd
al-Qawaid al-Hisan li-Tafsir al-Quran (The Fine Principles for the Exegesis of the Quran) is a treatise on the hermeneutical rules and foundational principles of Quranic exegesis by the Najdi scholar Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Sadi (d. 1376 AH / 1956 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
Al-Sadi completed writing the text on 6 Shawwal 1365 AH (September 1946 CE) . In his introduction, he states that he compiled these principles and overarching rules to aid readers and meditators in comprehending the speech of God and finding guidance through it . He notes that grasping such principles opens paths of interpretation and understanding that suffice the seeker from having to rely on extensive commentaries that lack such analytical discussions .
Structure and Content
The work is organized as a series of distinct exegetical rules, comprising seventy numbered principles followed by a concluding seventy-first principle addressing the concise, comprehensive expressions (jawami al-kalim) in the Quran . Each rule is stated as a universal or general maxim, followed by an explanation and applied Quranic examples .
The principles span various interpretive categories:
- Theological and Creedal Rules: Such as the principle that faith in the Divine Beautiful Names rests on three pillars—affirming the Name, affirming the attribute it indicates, and affirming its associated effects—and the division of Divine Lordship (rububiyyah) in the Quran into general and specific types .
- Linguistic and Semantic Rules: Such as terms that convey comprehensive religious meanings when mentioned alone (like iman or taqwa) but carry distinct specific meanings when paired with related terms (like righteous deeds or birr) .
- Rhetorical and Stylistic Rules: Including the function of textual qualifications (qayud) and clarifying caveats (al-muhtarazat) placed across various verses to dispel misunderstandings .
- Legal and Practical Hermeneutics: Explaining how Quranic directives relate to changing times, customs, and circumstances in matters governed by societal norms (urf and awa'id), alongside immutable obligations .
- Textual Coherence: Treating how the Quran as a whole is described as muhkam (decisive) in its consistency, mutashabih in its uniform excellence, and containing both types where ambiguous passages are clarified by decisive ones .
Reception and Editions
The treatise is cited as one of the notable contemporary works of the fourteenth century AH that codified Quranic exegetical principles as an independent, theoretical discipline .
It was first printed in Egypt at Matba'at Ansar al-Sunnah al-Muhammadiyyah in 1366 AH (1947 CE), under the editorial supervision of Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqi . It was subsequently reissued in Riyadh by Maktabat al-Ma'arif in 1400 AH, by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi in 1413 AH, and by Maktabat al-Rushd in 1420 AH . It was also included in al-Sadi's collected works published by the Salih ibn Salih Cultural Center in Unayzah in 1408 AH . The text was taught and commented upon by his student Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin in a recorded series across twelve audio cassettes .
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