Risala fi Bayan Ajma Ayah fi al-Quran
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Risala fi Bayan Ajma Ayah fi al-Quran (A Treatise Explaining the Most Comprehensive Verse in the Quran) is an exegetical booklet written by the Jordanian author Sami al-Qudumi, focusing on the linguistic and thematic commentary of verse 90 of Surah al-Nahl .
Background and Purpose
The treatise was completed in Amman, Jordan, in Rabi al-Thani 1430 AH (April 2009 CE) . It was extracted from al-Qudumi's larger approximately 400-page work, al-Tafsir al-Bayani lima fi Surat al-Nahl min Daqa'iq al-Ma'ani (The Rhetorical Exegesis of the Subtle Meanings in Surah al-Nahl), which formed the inaugural release in his multi-part series titled al-Rayhan fi Tafsir al-Quran . The author noted that he wrote the exegesis in response to requests for an accessible, instructional commentary tailored for contemporary readers .
The treatise focuses specifically on verse 90 of Surah al-Nahl: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ("Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded") . Al-Qudumi cites the statement of the companion Abdullah ibn Mas'ud recorded in al-Bukhari's al-Adab al-Mufrad and al-Hakim al-Naysaburi's al-Mustadrak, identifying this text as the most comprehensive verse in the Quran encompassing the lawful and unlawful, commands, and prohibitions .
Structure and Method
Al-Qudumi organized the commentary in an educational format divided into three successive levels of comprehension :
- Vocabulary (al-Mufradat): Brief definitions of the specific terms in the verse, such as al-fahsha' (immorality), al-munkar (bad conduct), al-baghy (oppression/transgression), and tadhakkarun (being reminded or taking heed) .
- General Meaning (al-Ma'na al-Ijmali): An overview connecting the verse to the preceding Quranic statement that the Book was revealed as an explanation of all things, demonstrating how its broad commands and prohibitions encompass all necessary human guidance .
- Detailed Meaning (al-Ma'na al-Tafsili): An expanded analysis deducing fine rhetorical, legal, creedal, and linguistic subtleties . This section discusses grammatical points such as the omission of direct objects to signify universal applicability, the reason for prefacing commands before prohibitions, the rhetorical significance of ordering justice before beneficence, and precise distinctions between terms like al-zulm (injustice) and al-baghy (transgression) .
In his introduction, the author articulates several methodological principles governing his exegesis. He adopted clear language, verifying comprehension by testing his drafts on non-specialists . Rather than detailing every source citation, he relied on general attribution to previous classical commentaries, citing the precedents of Abu al-Su'ud and Ibn Ashur . He also committed to evaluating and grading the authenticity of every cited hadith, highlighting structural and contextual coherence (al-munasabat) between verses, following the approach of early generations (al-salaf) on divine attributes, and critiquing exegetical errors neutrally without naming individual scholars out of respect .
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