Abstract

This study aimed to examine the Qur'anic readings (al-qirā'āt al-Qur'āniyyah) in light of the methodology of Imām al-Bayḍāwī in Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Ta'wīl, as a descriptive-analytical study. The significance of this research lies in uncovering Imām al-Bayḍāwī's methodology in presenting the Qur'anic readings in his exegesis Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Ta'wīl, inasmuch as it benefits students of sacred knowledge and assists them in verifying and tracing these readings; for knowledge of the readings is the finest means of understanding the meanings of the Qur'an. Indeed, many jurisprudential rulings (aḥkām fiqhiyyah) and grammatical and morphological inferences (istidlālāt naḥwiyyah wa-ṣarfiyyah) were attainable only through the Qur'anic readings. The research likewise adopted the inductive-analytical method (al-manhaj al-istiqrā'ī al-taḥlīlī) in examining Imām al-Bayḍāwī's methodology in presenting the Qur'anic readings contained in his exegesis Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Ta'wīl. The study reached a number of key findings, the most important of which are: that Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Ta'wīl constitutes a comprehensive compendium (dīwān jāmi') of the Qur'anic readings in all their varieties; and the study's findings further affirm that what Imām al-Bayḍāwī compiled in his book of the readings in their various types is worthy of being an independent work after its issues have been verified and documented. It also established that he attended to the justification (iḥtijāj) for the readings in their various types, frequently cited the anomalous readings (al-qirā'āt al-shādhdhah) without clarifying their anomalous nature, and did not encompass all the readings—rather, he omitted some and did not address them. The study recommended that this blessed exegesis be given further attention, research, and study; that its readings be verified and evaluated; that none should engage in verifying the readings in books of exegesis except one who has received them from the mouths of scholars who are precise in them and whose chain of transmission (isnād) is connected to the Prophetic presence; and that such work be supervised only by a professor who is specialized and thoroughly competent in this field, so that their work may be precise and free from error and mistake.

Keywords

Methodology; al-Bayḍāwī; Qur'anic readings; exegesis; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Ta'wīl.