إيجاز البيان عن معاني القرآن

Ijaz al-Bayan 'an Ma'ani al-Qur'an

A concise yet remarkably rich classical commentary on the Qurʾān by Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn Abī al-Ḥasan al-Naysābūrī al-Ghaznawī, known as Bayān al-Ḥaqq al-Naysābūrī (d. 553 AH). As its title suggests, the work aims to explain the meanings of the Qurʾān with considerable brevity, while bringing together the fruits of numerous branches of Tafsīr and ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān.

Al-Naysābūrī states that despite its relatively compact size, the book contains more than ten thousand individual benefits, encompassing Tafsīr and Taʾwīl, linguistic evidence and parallels, iʿrāb, Asbāb al-Nuzūl, legal rulings, unusual Arabic usages and explanations of uncommon expressions occurring in ḥadīth. His purpose was to distil into a manageable work the substance of what earlier scholars had written on the interpretation and meanings of the Qurʾān.

A particularly prominent feature is its treatment of Qurʾānic vocabulary and Arabic language. The author concisely explains words, their derivations and their different meanings and usages in Arabic, while also noting significant grammatical possibilities. Thus, although brief in expression, the commentary frequently combines lexical, grammatical, exegetical and juristic observations within the explanation of a single passage.

Ījāz al-Bayān is consequently valuable for readers seeking a compact classical tafsīr with substantial scholarly content, particularly students interested in Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, Gharīb al-Qurʾān, Arabic language, iʿrāb and concise exegetical analysis.

The well-known Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, Beirut edition was critically edited by Dr. Ḥanīf ibn Ḥasan al-Qāsimī, whose study and edition originated as a doctoral dissertation. It was published in 1415 AH / 1995 in two volumes, comprising approximately 976 pages