في تفسير القرآن وأسلوبه المعجز علمياً وبيانياً-المنهاج القويم

Fi Tafsir al-Quran wa Uslubih al-Mu'jiz Ilmiyyan wa Bayaniyyan

A valuable work of Qurʾānic interpretation by the distinguished Syrian scholar and muḥaddith Prof. Dr. Nūr al-Dīn ʿItr (d. 1442 AH), presenting a selection of Qurʾānic passages through close attention to their language, rhetorical expression, thematic coherence and aspects of the Qurʾān’s inimitable style. The work represents an important dimension of Dr. ʿItr’s scholarship alongside his better-known writings in ḥadīth and the sciences of the Qurʾān.

Rather than constituting a continuous commentary on the entire Qurʾān, the book contains detailed studies and tafsīr of selected sūrahs and passages. Among the subjects treated are the istiʿādhah and its ruling, the basmalah, and the interpretation of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, together with a summary of its principal objectives and virtues. It also includes studies of Sūrat Luqmān, al-Mulk, al-Qalam, al-Muzzammil, al-Nabaʾ, ʿAbasa and al-Burūj.

A particular feature of the work is its attention to the linguistic, rhetorical and stylistic dimensions of Qurʾānic expression. Dr. ʿItr examines the choice and arrangement of words, the construction of verses and the expressive qualities through which meaning is conveyed, drawing attention to features of the Qurʾān’s bayān and literary inimitability. Alongside this, he discusses a number of modern scientific indications connected with the verses under study, hence the description of the Qurʾān’s miraculous character as both ʿilmiyyan and bayāniyyan in the title.

A useful work for students of Tafsīr, Qurʾānic rhetoric and Iʿjāz al-Qurʾān, combining traditional exegetical scholarship with close linguistic and rhetorical analysis and reflections on the relationship between selected Qurʾānic passages and scientific knowledge.