al-Taqubat al-Mufida ala Kitab Kalimat al-Quran Tafsir wa Bayan li-Makhluf
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al-Taqubat al-Mufida ala Kitab Kalimat al-Quran Tafsir wa Bayan li-Makhluf ("Useful Critical Remarks on the Book 'Words of the Quran: Exegesis and Clarification' by Makhluf") is a theological treatise by the Saudi scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Khamis, dedicated to critiquing figurative interpretations (ta'wil) of divine attributes in the popular vocabulary manual Kalimat al-Quran: Tafsir wa Bayan by the Egyptian scholar Hasanayn Muhammad Makhluf.
Background and Purpose
The treatise was composed in response to requests from several colleagues and scholars who asked al-Khamis to review theological formulations in Makhluf's widely circulated Quranic glossary. In his introduction, al-Khamis states that Makhluf followed the method of the speculative theologians (ahl al-kalam) by reinterpreting certain verses concerning the divine attributes (ayat al-sifat) rather than maintaining them upon their apparent meaning (zahir) according to the creed of the early generations (al-salaf).
Structure and Content
The work consists of an introduction followed by eight numbered critical remarks examining specific glosses across various Quranic chapters:
- Divine Istawa upon the Throne (Surat al-A'raf: 54 and others): Al-Khamis critiques Makhluf's definition of istawa as "in a manner befitting Him," arguing that while the modality (kayfiyyah) is unknown to humans, the linguistic meaning itself (elevation, rising, and establishing) is known and affirmed by early authorities such as Malik ibn Anas.
- Divine Plotting (Surat Yunus: 21): On the phrase قُلِ اللَّهُ أَسْرَعُ مَكْرًا , Makhluf glosses makr simply as swift recompense and punishment; al-Khamis clarifies that makr specifically denotes a deliberate, precise punishment brought upon the offender from where they do not perceive.
- The Most High (Surat al-Ra'd: 9): On the divine name al-Muta'al, which Makhluf glosses as elevated over all things by His power, al-Khamis notes that divine highness (uluww) encompasses highness of subjugation, highness of perfection above defects, and the highness of God's Essence (dhat) above His creation.
- The Words of Allah (Surat Luqman: 27): On مَا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ , Makhluf glosses kalimat as God's decreed matters, wonders, or knowledge. Al-Khamis rejects this gloss as leaning toward the Ash'ari doctrine of eternal internal speech (kalam nafsi), asserting that God literally speaks with words and voice whenever and however He wills.
- Righteous Deeds (Surat Fatir: 10): Commenting on وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ , al-Khamis reviews the interpretive opinions regarding whether righteous deeds are raised to God or whether deeds elevate pure speech, noting the verse's significance in debates over God's aboveness.
- The Manifest and the Hidden (Surat al-Hadid: 3): Makhluf explains al-Zahir and al-Batin through divine acts and incomprehensibility of essence; al-Khamis prefers grounding both names in the explicit prophetic supplication: وأنت الظاهر فليس فوقك شيء، وأنت الباطن فليس دونك شيء ("You are the Manifest, there is nothing above You; and You are the Hidden, there is nothing closer than You").
- The Uncovering of the Shin (Surat al-Qalam: 42): Makhluf interprets يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ as a metaphor for the severe terror of the Day of Resurrection. Al-Khamis discusses the two classical interpretations of the verse and argues that the attribute of the Shin (al-saq) is definitively affirmed through authentic hadith.
- The Name of the Most High (Surat al-A'la: 1): Al-Khamis notes Makhluf's omission of the term al-A'la in his gloss of the verse's opening and explains its theological import regarding God's absolute elevation in rank, power, and essence.
Sources
In his critical discussions, al-Khamis relies on major classical exegeses and creedal texts, including Jami' al-Bayan by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Ma'alim al-Tanzil by al-Baghawi, Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman by Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, Kitab al-'Uluww by al-Dhahabi, 'Aqidat al-Salaf Ashab al-Hadith by Abu Isma'il al-Sabuni, and Majmu' Fatawa by Ibn Taymiyyah.
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