A Study of Al-Biqa'i's Preferred Arabic Semantics Based on Hadith and History

Imran Kadhim Mansoor, Mohammed Dawood Mousa

Abstract


This study examines the principles of interpretive preference (tarjih) employed by Imam Burhan al-Din al-Biqa‘i, with particular emphasis on his use of Prophetic hadiths and reports attributed to the Companions and Successors in resolving differences among Qur’anic interpretations. Using a qualitative, text-based analytical approach, the study explores selected examples from al-Biqa‘i’s Nazm al-Durar fi Tanasub al-Ayat wa al-Suwar and compares his interpretive choices with alternative views reported by classical Qur’anic commentators. The findings demonstrate that Prophetic hadiths serve as a principal evidentiary basis for evaluating competing interpretations, particularly when determining the meaning of Qur’anic passages. The analysis also reveals that reports from the Companions and Successors function as supporting evidence for assessing divergent interpretations, although al-Biqa‘i does not always explicitly endorse a single transmitted opinion. The examined examples illustrate how he weighs interpretive alternatives concerning the identity of Iblis, the location of Prophet Idris, the meaning of the disconnected letters Ta-Sin-Mim, and the interpretation of selected Qur’anic expressions. Overall, the study establishes that al-Biqa‘i’s method of tarjih integrates Prophetic traditions and early exegetical reports into a broader process of textual interpretation and comparative evaluation. His approach highlights the importance of transmitted evidence in distinguishing among competing exegetical positions and clarifies a significant dimension of his contribution to classical Qur’anic exegesis.

Keywords


Preferences; Al-Biqa'i; Hadith; Narrations

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18860/ijazarabi.v9i4.41084

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