Al-Tabarsi’s (d. 548 AH) violation of grammatical rules and their meanings

Abstract

The research shed light on some of the sources of Al-Tabarsi's (d. 548 AH) disagreement with the famous grammarians in what he went to in interpreting the verses of the Qur’an. We find him in these sources disagreeing with that famous one, and the reasons for that disagreement were either doctrinal, jurisprudential, interpretive or grammatical. Accordingly, the research came in four sources:

The first source: Doctrinal disagreement. Three disagreements were mentioned in it, the first in verse 143 of Surat Al-A'raf, the second in verse 34 of Surat Al-Baqarah, and the third in verse 40 of Surat At-Tawbah. The reason for the disagreement was his doctrinal reference as he was a Shiite.

The second source: Jurisprudential disagreement. Three disagreements were mentioned in it, the first in verse 143 of Surat Al-A'raf, the second in verse 34 of Surat Al-Baqarah, and the third in verse 40 of Surat At-Tawbah. The reason for the disagreement was also his jurisprudential reference, as he was a Shiite.

The third source: The interpretive disagreement. Four disagreements were mentioned in it, the first in verse 235 of Surat Al-Baqarah, the second in verse 12 of Surat Al-An'am, the third in verse 78 of Surat Al-Hajj. The fourth in verses 7 and 8 of Surat Al-Tariq. The reason for the disagreement was his reference in interpretation, as he relied on the method of Sheikh Al-Tusi, and previous opinions from the authors of books on the meanings of the Qur'an and interpretation.

The fourth source: The grammatical disagreement. Four disagreements were mentioned in it, the first in verse 217 of Surat Al-Baqarah, the second in verse 42 of Surat Al-Qasas, the third in verses 12 and 13 of Surat Al-Hajj. The fourth in verse 45 of Surat Ibrahim. The reason for the disagreement was his reference in grammar, as he did not adhere to a Kufi or Basran school, but rather preferred the opinions of his predecessors, such as Al-Khalil, Sibawayh, and Ibn Al-Sarraj. I have therefore made an introduction in which I have discussed the life of Sheikh Al-Tabarsi, his works, his teachers, his students, and his references in guiding interpretation. Then I concluded with the most important results I reached with a list of sources and references.