Unwan al-Dalil min Marsum Khatt al-Tanzil
- Author died
- 721 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī
Unwan al-Dalil min Marsum Khatt al-Tanzil (The Guidepost to the Inscribed Script of the Revelation) is a treatise on Quranic orthography (rasm al-mushaf) by the Moroccan scholar Ibn al-Banna al-Marrakushi (d. 721 AH / 1321 CE) .
Purpose and Subject Matter
The work is dedicated to rationalizing and explaining (tawjih) the instances where the Uthmanic script diverges from conventional orthographical rules . In it, Ibn al-Banna posits that the specific variations in the written forms of Quranic words correspond to subtle variations in their underlying states and meanings, conveying distinct rhetorical, linguistic, and grammatical benefits .
The book is classified among the prominent specialized monographs composed on Quranic orthography, alongside works such as Abu Amr al-Dani's al-Muqni' .
Methodological Approach and Assessment
The treatise approaches orthographical anomalies through interpretive reasoning rather than purely descriptive documentation . Scholars have noted that Ibn al-Banna's approach in the treatise is akin to an esoteric Sufi (batini) methodology . Modern specialists in Quranic orthography have also characterized his rationalizations as carrying obscurity, being founded largely upon subjective deduction and imaginative interpretation (al-takhyil wa-l-istinbat al-dhati) .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of the treatise are preserved across several collections, including Rabat (Collection 1134 K), the Egyptian National Library (Taymur collection, no. 571 Tafsir), the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts (no. 41 Tafsir), the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library (no. 129 Tajwid), the Berlin State Library (no. 450/IV/10), and the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh .
The text was edited and introduced by Hind Shalabi at Ez-Zitouna University and published by Dar al-Gharb al-Islami in 1990 .
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