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Verse: "All praise is for Allah, Lord of all worlds" Reflection: Allah opened His Book with "al-hamd" (praise) rather than "shukr" (t…

Verse: "Will they not reflect on the Quran? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found in it much contradiction." (4:82) …

Verse: "Ya-Sin. By the Wise Quran. Indeed you are of the messengers." (36:1-3) "Heart of the Quran": The Prophet ﷺ reportedly said: "E…

Verse: "Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of jinn listened and said: We have heard a wondrous Quran." (72:1) The jinn's amaz…

Verse: "Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of people, King of people, God of people — from the evil of the whisperer who retreats." (114:1-4…

Verse: "We have diversified in this Quran all kinds of examples for people — but man has been the most argumentative of things." (18:54) …

Verse: "Had We sent down this Quran upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, split apart from the fear of Allah." (59:21) — The mo…

Verses: "Indeed, it is the word of a noble messenger (40) and it is not the word of a poet — little do you believe (41) nor the word of a …

Verse: "And indeed, it is the absolute truth" Reflection: Surah Al-Haqqah closes with this unique description of the Quran. In the Qu…

The complete surah: "Say: He is Allah, One (1) Allah, the Eternal Refuge (2) He neither begets nor is born (3) nor is there to Him any equ…

Verse: "We have made the Quran easy for remembrance — is there anyone who will remember?" (54:17) — Repeated four times in Surah Al-Qamar …

Verse: "When We directed to you a group of jinn listening to the Quran — when they attended to it they said: Be silent!" (46:29) — In Wadi…

Verse: "A good word like a good tree — its root firm, its branch in the sky." (14:24) — "Good word" = laa ilaaha illallah. "Root firm" = m…

Verse: "We have sent down the Reminder and We are its guardians." (15:9) — "Indeed We" — emphatic plural. The repetition = double affirmat…

Occasion of Revelation (Sahih — Agreed Upon): When Jibril brought revelation, the Prophet ﷺ would move his lips, fearing he might miss so…

Occasion of Revelation (Hasan — Tirmidhi & Tabarani): The polytheists — or some People of the Book — asked the Prophet ﷺ: "Describe your …

Verse: "When you said to the one Allah had blessed and you had blessed: Keep your wife and fear Allah." (33:37) Occasion (Agreed Upon):…

Verse: "They ask you about the new moons — say: they are timing indicators for people and the Hajj." (2:189) Occasion (Hasan): Ibn Abi …

Surah: "Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent." (112:1-4…

Verse: "Indeed, Allah commands justice and goodness and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality and wrongdoing and oppression." (16…

Quranic context: Al-Kahf, verses 22-26 Context: People disagreed about the number of the Cave's companions — three? five? seven? — and…

Definition: Meccan: revealed before the Hijra regardless of physical location. Medinan: revealed after the Hijra regardless of location.…

Definition: Naskh: lifting a preceding Sharia ruling by a subsequent legal evidence. Nasikh: the abrogating evidence. Mansukh: the abrog…

Definition: Events or questions that formed the context for a verse's revelation. Value: More precise understanding, knowing legislati…

Tafsir: Uncovering the verse's apparent intended meaning through language rules, Sharia, and context. Ta'wil: Directing a word to a po…

Definition: Different modes of pronouncing Quranic words — taken through continuous chains from the Prophet ﷺ. All are authentic Quran. …

What are they? 29 surahs begin with isolated letters: Alif-Lam-Mim, Kaf-Ha-Ya-Ain-Sad, etc. Scholarly views: (1) Mutashabih — knowledg…

Definition: The science of Waqf (stopping) and Ibtida (beginning) studies the positions where a reciter may pause or resume during recita…

Direct Cause: After the Battle of Yamama (12 AH), seventy Quran memorizers were martyred. Umar ibn al-Khattab feared that portions of the…

Cause: During Uthman's reign (25 AH), Islam spread widely and differences in recitation arose among armies in distant regions, threatenin…

Definition: Rhetorical Inimitability (I'jaz al-Bayani) is the incapacity of all humans and jinn to produce anything comparable to the Qur…

Definition: Legislative Inimitability is humanity's inability to devise a legal and moral system matching the Quran in comprehensiveness,…

Definition: Inimitability of the Unseen is the Quran's disclosure of matters unknown to any human except by revelation — some fulfilled d…

Definition: A Quranic parable (Mathal) is the illustration of an abstract meaning through a tangible image to bring it closer to the mind…

Definition: An oath (Qasam) affirms a statement by invoking something venerable — Allah swears by many things in the Quran with profound …

Definition: Iltifat is the shift from one grammatical person to another — from first to third person, or from third to second, etc. — wit…

Definition: Rhetorical Ellipsis (Hadhf) is the omission of a word or phrase with the context indicating what was omitted — more eloquent …

Definition: Uslub al-Hakim is when a speaker responds to a questioner with other than what was expected — either because the wiser answer…

Definition: Tadmin is when a verb or noun carries the meaning of another word and therefore follows that word's grammatical pattern — a s…

Definition: Legal abrogation (Naskh): the lifting of an established Sharia ruling by a later Sharia evidence — proof of divinely guided g…

Definition: Translation of the Quran means conveying its meanings into another language — there are two types: literal and interpretive. …

Definition: A question not intended to seek information, but to deny or rebuke — negating an act's occurrence or correctness. It is one of…

Definition: Matters mentioned in the Quran without explicit naming — whether persons, places, times, or quantities. Quranic scholars have …

Definition: A reading that lacks one of the conditions required for an accepted qira'a, even if its chain of transmission is sound — contr…

Definition: When a narrator conveys the content of a Prophetic hadith in his own words rather than the Prophet's exact wording, provided h…

Definition: Directing Quranic verses toward modern empirical scientific discoveries — deriving cosmological, medical, and physical truths …

Linguistic definition: "Tajweed" derives from "jawwada" — to perfect and master. "He improved his work" means he brought it to the highest…

Reason for the name: Called "Mother of the Quran" and "Mother of the Book" because it encompasses all the objectives of the Quran in a sin…

Definition: The Hawamim are the seven surahs beginning with "Ha-Mim" — appearing consecutively in the Mushaf from Surah Ghafir (40) to Al-…

First: Nafs (Soul/Self) Used in the Quran with multiple meanings: The person/individual: "Every soul shall taste death" (3:185) — ev…

Definition: Gharib (rare/obscure): a Quranic word whose meaning is unclear to many due to its rarity in Arab dialects, its origin in anot…

Definition: Al-Mutashabih al-Lafzi: verses that share similar or identical wording but differ in context, order, addition, or omission — …

Definition: Al-Huruf al-Muqattaah (disconnected letters / fawatih): the alphabetic letters that open some surahs — like Alif-Lam-Mim, Ali…

Meaning: The Quran is the primary source of Islamic legislation. Scholars of usul al-fiqh derived near-universally agreed-upon principles…

Meaning: Numerical inimitability: using the proportionality of word, letter, and verse counts in the Quran as evidence of its miraculous …

Meaning: Scientific inimitability: correspondence between Quranic allusions and recently discovered scientific facts — used as evidence t…

The well-known division: Scholars divided the Quranic surahs by length into four categories: 1. Al-Sab al-Tiwal (Seven Long Surahs): A…

The term "Al-Ummahat" (the mothers): Some scholars called Al-Baqarah and Al Imran "Al-Zahrawain" (the two luminous ones) or "the two mothe…

Definition of the Quranic story: Historical events and figures mentioned by the Quran for a guidance purpose — not mere historical docume…

The question: Does each Quranic surah have a unifying central theme that connects all its verses? — A contested issue among scholars. …

The question: The Quran uses first-person plural pronouns — "We," "Indeed We," "We revealed," "We created" — referring to Allah alone. …

Definition: Iltifat (shifting): a transition in style from one form to another — from first-person (I/We) to third-person (he/they), or f…

Meaning: The Quran accords the intellect a high status — calling to reflection, pondering, and observation, and censuring those who do no…

The comprehensive verse: "So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. The fitrah of Allah upon which He has created peopl…

Names of Dua in the Quran: Dua carries multiple names in the Quran expressing its meanings: "nida" (calling — Yunus 10:10), "sual" (asking…

The verse: "Indeed Allah and His angels send salah upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send salah upon him and salute him with peace." (A…

Numbers: literal vs. figurative: Numbers in the Quran serve two functions — literal (an actual count) and figurative (an indefinite large …

Prepositions and the secret of selection: Scholars of balaghah pay close attention to why one preposition was chosen over another — each c…

Definition: The parenthetical clause (jumla itiradhiyya): a clause inserted between two parts of another clause for a rhetorical purpose. …

Definition: Al-Tadhjil: adding an independent-meaning clause after a preceding clause to reinforce and confirm it — like a proverb that is…

Definition: Al-Idah bada al-ibham (clarification after vagueness / general then specific): mentioning a vague or general term first, then …

Plural where singular is expected: "My Lord, send me back" (23:99) — the speaker addresses one Lord but uses the plural for majesty (the r…

Definite and indefinite in Arabic: The definite article "al" indicates totality and comprehensiveness — the indefinite refers to an unspec…

The principle and its importance: Ibn Kathir said in his introduction: "The most sound method of tafsir is explaining the Quran by the Qur…

Al-Jurjani's principle: "Nazm is the arrangement and composition of words according to their meanings and relations — and the Quran has th…

Definition: A tangible analogy to clarify or establish an abstract meaning in the mind. Famous Quranic parables: "Like a donkey carryi…

Quranic address categories: (1) "O people" — the most universal human address. (2) "O People of the Book" — for the religious. (3) "O you …

Verse: "His example is like that of a dog — if you chase it away it pants, and if you leave it it pants." (7:176) The simile's signific…

Verse: "The example of those who take allies other than Allah is like the spider who makes a home — indeed the flimsiest of homes is the s…

Definition: The Quranic fasilah: the letter(s) ending each verse, analogous to rhyme in poetry. Not mere saj' (prose rhyme) — it is a high…

Definition: Indirect allusion (ta'rid): conveying meaning through an indirect path — the intent is understood from context and indication …

Definition: Rhetorical gradualism (tadarruj): building a ruling or idea through ascending stages — beginning with hint, moving to allusion…

What is Badi'? Badi': the science of verbal and semantic embellishment — enhancements that add sonic and intellectual beauty without being…

The Quranic story is not literary fiction: Literary fiction seeks excitement and entertainment, presenting events in chronological order. …

Definition of kinaya (metonymy): A word used to mean the necessary implication of its meaning, while the original meaning remains possible…

Introduction: Multiple mutawatir Quranic readings are not discrepancies — each is an independent rhetorical perspective adding meaning the…

Introduction: Word selection in the Quran is not random — every word enriches beyond its alternative, and any substitution loses precision…

Verse: "And among His signs are the ships sailing the sea like mountains." (42:32) Meaning: Among Allah's signs are the ships sailing t…

Definition of implicit simile: A simile without explicit comparison particle or explicit terms — it is inferred from the spirit and contex…

Definition of muqabala (antithesis/parallel opposition): Bringing two or more meanings then their opposites in order — broader than tibaq …

Definition of rhetorical interrogative: Using the question form not for seeking information — but for various rhetorical purposes: affirma…

Definition of urging (ighra) and warning (tahdhir): Urging: Inciting the addressee toward a praiseworthy action — the object is present…

Definition of restriction (hasr): Limiting the subject by its predicate — affirming the ruling for what is mentioned and negating it for a…

The rhetorical principle: Word choice in the Quran is not built on dictionary meaning alone — it includes: sonic weight, number of letters…

Definition of concision by omission: Omitting a word indicated by context or a clue — with the meaning complete and rhetorical power enhan…

Repetition in Quranic rhetoric: Not every Quranic repetition is mere emphasis — each serves a specific rhetorical purpose: creating awe, e…

Definition of departing from apparent meaning: Using a form beyond its original meaning for rhetorical purposes — such as a command for ch…

Separation and connection in rhetoric: Connection (wasl): Joining two sentences with a conjunction (wa) when there is a relationship be…

Definition of laf and nashr (envelopment and unfolding): Mentioning multiple items (envelopment) then following them with their rulings or…

Definition of scrambled unfolding: Mentioning several items (envelopment) then their descriptions or rulings (unfolding) — but the order o…