International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities Research · Vol. 2 No. January Issue (2026)

Scholars Who Contributed To The Field Of “Wujuh Wa Nazair” And The Works Produced In It

Authors

  • Zafar Fakhriddinov

Keywords

wujuh wa nazair Qurʼanic sciences polysemy Muqatil ibn Sulayman Ibn al-Jawzi tafsir Qurʼanic lexicology Balkh school

Abstract

“Wujuh wa nazair” –the Qurʼanic discipline that studies the multiple senses (wujuh) a single word may carry and the different words that share one meaning (nazair) –is among the oldest branches of the Qurʼanic sciences. This article traces the historical formation of the field and surveys the scholars who composed works in it from the era of the Companions onward. Particular attention is given to Muqatil ibn Sulayman al-Balkhi (d. 767), whose al-Wujuh wa-n-nazair fi-l-Qurʼan al-azim is recognized as the earliest complete surviving work in the field, as well as to the testimony of Ibn al-Jawzi and later bibliographers concerning earlier and subsequent authors whose works have not survived. The article also examines the critical assessments directed at Muqatil and argues that, given the conventional structure of wujuh-wa-nazair works, an authorʼs doctrinal affiliation could not materially affect their content.

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References

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