Muatarak al-Aqran fi Ijaz al-Quran
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Muatarak al-Aqran fi Ijaz al-Quran (The Arena of Peers on the Inimitability of the Quran), also known as Ijaz al-Quran wa-Muatarak al-Aqran, is an extensive treatise on the miraculous inimitability (i'jaz) of the Quran composed by the Egyptian polymath al-Jalal al-Suyuti (849–911 AH / 1445–1505 CE) .
Subject and Structure
The work is dedicated to examining the multifaceted dimensions of Quranic inimitability, gathering wide-ranging scholarly opinions and linguistic analyses . Al-Suyuti notes that while earlier authors had enumerated various aspects of i'jaz—with some reaching as many as eighty—the true aspects of the Quran's inimitability are limitless (la nihayata li-wujuh i'jazihi) .
In Muatarak al-Aqran, al-Suyuti presents and expounds upon thirty-five specific aspects of inimitability in its first volume . Among the primary aspects he discusses are:
- The Quran's comprehensive inclusion of diverse fields of knowledge and sciences .
- Its supreme composition, the harmonious arrangement of its words, and its extraordinary conciseness and eloquence, which broke the customary literary patterns of the Arabs .
- Its integration of all the dialects and linguistic varieties of the Arabic language .
- The thematic and structural coherence (munasabah) among its verses and chapters, connecting them into a unified whole .
Method and Content
Al-Suyuti integrates linguistic precision and thematic commentary throughout the work. He examines fine semantic distinctions between apparent synonyms within the Quranic text, such as differentiating between 'amal and fi'l (action and deed) or khawf and khashyah (fear and reverence) .
The work also deals extensively with Quranic polysemy and homonymy (al-wujuh wa-al-naza'ir), drawing upon and referencing works by earlier scholars such as Muhammad ibn Abd al-Samad al-Misri and Ibn Abi al-Ma'afi .
Publication
The book has been printed in three volumes . It was edited by Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi and published by Dar al-Fikr al-Arabi in Cairo, and has also been issued by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah in Beirut .
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