Lamasat Bayaniyya fi Nusus min al-Tanzil - Kitab
- Author died
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- Dār ʻAmmār lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ
Lamasat Bayaniyya fi Nusus min al-Tanzil (Stylistic Touches in Texts from the Revelation) is a study on the rhetorical nuances and stylistic choices of Quranic discourse by the grammarian and linguist Fadil Salih al-Samarrai .
Background and Purpose
Al-Samarrai compiled the work in response to questions he received regarding the expressive rationale behind specific Quranic verses, combining these with his own selections from various chapters to illustrate their underlying rhetorical secrets (asrar ta'biriyya) and artistic craftsmanship (lamasat faniyya) . He conceived the book as a subsequent step to his earlier treatise, al-Ta'bir al-Qur'ani (Quranic Expression) .
When advised by some readers to title the project al-I'jaz al-Qur'ani (The Inimitability of the Quran), al-Samarrai declined, explaining that claiming to encompass Quranic inimitability exceeded individual capacity; he noted that the multifaceted nature of the Quran cannot be exhausted by a single scholar or generation, and defined his work instead as an exploration of expressive choices that serves as a pathway toward appreciating that inimitability .
Scope and Contents
The book analyzes grammatical, morphological, and rhetorical variations across selected chapters and thematic passages. Its textual analyses examine specific surahs and passages—such as Surat al-Fatihah, Ayat al-Kursi, the accounts of the Night Journey (al-Isra'), Surat al-Kahf, Luqman's counsels, Surat al-Qamar, Surat al-Insan, and several shorter surahs including al-Layl, al-Balad, al-Duha, al-Tin, al-Kawthar, and al-Nas .
Al-Samarrai also addresses comparative stylistic phenomena across different chapters, such as the linguistic variations between the narrative of Moses in Surat al-Naml and Surat al-Qasas, demonstrating how omissions or additions correspond to the overall contextual scope of each surah . His broader thematic topics include word order (al-taqdim wa-l-ta'khir), mention versus ellipsis (al-dhikr wa-l-hadhf), gender agreement of verbs with feminine subjects, end-rhyme semantics (al-fasila al-qur'aniyya), syntactic detachment (al-qat'), semantic expansion, and verbal similarities and differences throughout the text .
Publication
The work has been published in Amman, Jordan, by Dar 'Ammar, appearing in multiple printings, including a third edition in 1423 AH (2003 CE) and an eighth edition in 2012 CE .
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