Quranic Vocabulary from the Encyclopedia of Editorial Interpretation

Author's name: Dr. Saeed Abu Al-Ala Hamza

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The Encyclopedia of Islamic Interpretation is a comprehensive, edited encyclopedia of Islamic interpretation, published in 44 volumes by the Durar Al-Sunniyah Foundation in Riyadh. It was supervised by two specialized scholars of interpretation: His Excellency Prof. Dr. Khaled Al-Sabt and His Excellency Prof. Dr. Ahmed Saad Al-Khatib.

The encyclopedia also focuses on the unusual words in the Quran, the meanings of which the reader of the Quran must understand as a serious step toward understanding and contemplating the Quran. This is presented in precise, clear expressions through paragraphs, each of which includes verses with a thematic unity and a coherent meaning.
The researchers at the institution have made a tangible and visible effort, as they have extracted the meanings of these terms from the best classifications:

1- Books on the strange words, old and new, such as “Gharib al-Quran” by Ibn Qutaybah, “Nuzhat al-Qulub” by al-Sijistani, “Mufradat Alfaz al-Quran” by al-Raghib al-Asfahani, and others.
2- Language dictionaries, the most important of which are the dictionary of language standards by Ibn Faris the linguist, and Al-Kulliyyat by Abu Al-Baqa Al-Kafwi.
3- Interpretations, especially those concerned with explaining the wording of the Qur’an, such as the interpretations of al-Tabari, al-Razi, al-Qurtubi, al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir, and others.

Then the idea of ​​collecting the scattered words in the encyclopedia under the title: Strange Words in one volume (785 pages) came to my mind, making it easy for teachers and learners of the Holy Qur’an to refer to it while reading and reciting from the Holy Qur’an and to use it to understand the noble words and study it in Qur’anic circles and Qur’an memorization institutes.

I have preserved the texts included in the encyclopedia to the best of my ability, without any manipulation on my part. I have included the footnotes containing some comments and useful information as they are, and I have committed to mentioning the verse numbers of each paragraph to serve as an index for the book and to help the reader understand the connection between the word and the verses in which it appears.

I also distinguished the central meaning of the words with bold letters, without the details included in its explanation, to draw the reader’s attention to the brief meaning, making it easier to memorize and record it in the margin of his Qur’an, and in memory.

I ask God Almighty to benefit from the branch as He benefited from the root, and to reward the researchers and professors supervising the encyclopedia for this edited work.