Basair Dhawi al-Tamyiz fi Lataif al-Kitab al-Aziz
- Author died
- 817 AH
- Editions
- Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs - Committee for the Revival of Islamic Heritage
Basa'ir Dhawi al-Tamyiz fi Lata'if al-Kitab al-Aziz (Insights for the Discerning into the Subtleties of the Mighty Book) is an encyclopedic Quranic sciences and exegetical dictionary composed by the lexicographer and scholar Majd al-Din al-Fayruzabadi (729–817 AH / 1329–1415 CE) .
Background and Composition
Al-Fayruzabadi composed the work at the behest of the Rasulid ruler of Yemen, Sultan al-Ashraf Isma'il ibn al-Abbas, who had welcomed him to Zabid and appointed him chief judge . The Sultan originally planned an extensive compendium structured around an introduction and sixty distinct objectives (maqasid), spanning religious disciplines as well as sciences such as geometry, music, and optics, designed to spare scholars from carrying numerous volumes while traveling . However, only the introductory discourse on knowledge and the first objective—devoted to the subtleties of Quranic interpretation and sciences—was realized, which became known as Basa'ir Dhawi al-Tamyiz .
Structure and Content
The work opens with an introduction examining the virtues of the Quran, abrogation (naskh), modes of divine address, and general principles of Quranic sciences . The body of the text is organized into two primary analytical divisions:
- Surah-by-Surah Analysis: Al-Fayruzabadi surveys the surahs in their traditional textual order, treating each surah through nine set categories: (1) place of revelation (Meccan or Medinan); (2) counts of verses, words, and letters; (3) differences among reciters concerning verse counts; (4) rhyming verse-endings (fawasil); (5) name or names of the surah; (6) core objective and thematic contents; (7) abrogating and abrogated verses; (8) mutashabih (analogous or difficult) verses; and (9) reported virtues of the surah . This is followed by a quantitative overview of the Quran's total verses, words, letters, and individual letter frequencies .
- Alphabetical Lexicon of Quranic Vocabulary: Structured in twenty-nine alphabetical chapters following the approach of al-Raghib al-Isfahani's Mufradat, each chapter begins with an analysis of the letter's linguistic properties before defining terms alphabetically .
- Concluding Section on Prophetic Narratives: A thirtieth and final chapter details the prophets mentioned in the Quran, their adversaries, their narratives, and related historical accounts .
Manuscript Heritage and Publication
Haji Khalifa recorded the work in Kashf al-Zunun as comprising two large volumes . In modern print, the text was edited by Muhammad Ali al-Najjar (with portions co-edited by Abd al-Alim al-Tahawi) based on manuscripts preserved in the Taymur collection at Dar al-Kutub in Cairo, and published by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in six volumes .
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