Nazm al-Durar fi Tanasub al-Ayat wa al-Suwar

Nazm al-Durar fi Tanasub al-Ayat wa al-Suwar (The Stringing of Pearls on the Harmony of Verses and Surahs) is a multi-volume work of Quranic exegesis by Burhan al-Din al-Biqa'i (d. 885 AH / 1480 CE) dedicated to demonstrating structural, rhetorical, and thematic coherence (tanasub) across the entire Quran Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1.

Composition and Context

Al-Biqa'i commenced writing the work in Sha'ban 861 AH and completed it on 7 Sha'ban 875 AH, a task spanning fourteen years Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1. In verses composed in the rajaz meter celebrating its completion, he also dubbed it Kitab Lamma due to his frequent reliance on that particle in analyzing sentence transitions Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1. In the tenth year of drafting, upon reaching Surah Saba', al-Biqa'i formulated his methodological principle that every surah's title encapsulates its overarching intent Mabahith fi al-Tafsir al-….

He drew upon the theoretical framework of his teacher Abu al-Fadl Muhammad al-Bijai al-Maliki regarding the correlation of premises to overarching objectives Mabahith fi al-Tafsir al-…, and incorporated extensive extracts from the exegetical treatises of Abu al-Hasan al-Haralli, including Miftah al-Bab al-Mughlaq li-Fahm al-Kitab al-Munazzal, al-'Urwah, and al-Tawshiyah wa-l-Tawfiyah Turath Abi al-Hasan al-Ha…+1.

Method and Structure

Al-Biqa'i's exegesis approaches the Quran as an organically unified discourse in which each component serves a defined contextual function al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…+1. His hermeneutical method follows several core steps for each surah:

• Central Objective: Identifying the primary aim (al-maqsad al-a'zam) around which the entire chapter revolves al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…+1.
• Titular Correspondence: Demonstrating how the surah's name corresponds to and summarizes that core objective Mabahith fi al-Tafsir al-…+1.
• Contextual Basmalah: Interpreting the opening Basmalah in terms specific to the chapter's unique theme al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha….
• Inter-Surah Links: Connecting the initial verses of each chapter to the concluding verses of the preceding one al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…+1.
• Internal Closure: Returning the final section of each surah back to its opening (radd maqta' al-surah 'ala matla'iha), conceptualizing the chapter's thematic structure as a closed circle al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha….
• Macro-Level Unity: Maintaining that there is no absolute final break (waqf tamm) anywhere in the text, asserting that the concluding chapter, Surat al-Nas, links back continuously to the opening chapter, Surat al-Fatihah al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha….

A distinctive feature of the commentary was al-Biqa'i's extensive quotation from earlier scriptures, including the Torah, the Gospel, and the Psalms, to corroborate Quranic narratives and counter non-Islamic doctrines al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…+1.

Controversy and Reception

When al-Biqa'i had completed roughly half of the work, fierce controversy erupted in Cairo Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1. Opponents, led by Badr al-Din ibn al-Qattan and Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi, condemned his use of Jewish and Christian scriptures, deeming it unlawful to introduce altered texts into Quranic commentary al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…+1. Critics further accused him of relying excessively on personal opinion (tafsir bi-l-ra'y) and appropriating earlier scholars' ideas, culminating in accusations of heresy and attempts to initiate apostasy proceedings against him al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…. Al-Sakhawi composed a dedicated rebuttal titled al-Asl al-Asil fi Tahrim al-Naql min al-Tawrah wa-l-Injil al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…+1.

In response, al-Biqa'i defended his methodology by writing Masai'd al-Nazar lil-Ishraf 'ala Maqasid al-Suwar and al-Aqwal al-Qawimah fi Hukm al-Naql min al-Kutub al-Qadimah, the latter completed in 873 AH, in which he cited legal precedents from al-Shafi'i, al-Nawawi, and al-Rafi'i alongside eleven contemporary endorsements (taqriz) of his commentary Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1.

Bibliographer Hajji Khalifa praised Nazm al-Durar as an unprecedented treatise that gathered subtleties of the Quran that astonish the intellect Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1. Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Shawkani noted that despite not personally subscribing to the methodology of verse-by-verse munasabat, he routinely found solutions in Nazm al-Durar for difficult textual issues where other commentaries failed to satisfy al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…. Modern and classical critics have noted, however, that the work occasionally succumbs to artificiality and strained connections (takalluf) when forcing thematic continuity between disparate subjects within a single surah al-Muqaddimat al-Asasiyya…+1.

Abridgments

Al-Biqa'i authored an abridgment of the work titled Dalalat al-Burhan al-Qawim 'ala Tanasub Ay al-Qur'an al-'Azim, stripping away lengthy hadith isnads, extensive lexicographical discussions, and citations from ancient scriptures while retaining the core analysis of surah objectives and structural transitions al-Imam al-Biqai wa Minha…+1.