“التَّضادُ عندَ الطَّبرسيّ في تفسيرهِ ( مجمع البيانِ ) “

Abstract

Abū ʿAlī al-Faḍl ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭabarsī (d. 548 AH) stands as one of the eminent scholars of the 6^th century Hijri, distinguished for his extensive and profound engagement with the linguistic and semantic analysis of Qurʾānic terms. This is evident in his exegetical work, Majmaʿ al-Bayān li-ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān, which is recognized as a major reference in the field of Qurʾānic and linguistic studies due to its meticulous attention to the lexical analysis of words, relying on authoritative classical linguistic sources.

Given that al-Ṭabarsī devoted considerable attention to the phenomenon of al-ṭaḍād—a linguistic phenomenon wherein a single term denotes two opposite meanings—and addressed it within his exegesis while elucidating Qurʾānic vocabulary, this study seeks to investigate and trace this phenomenon throughout Majmaʿ al-Bayān. Adopting a descriptive methodology, the research aims to clarify the exegete’s role in treating semantic opposition by demonstrating his comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon and his early contributions to the field. This is reflected in his consistent approach of citing both antithetical meanings of a word, then favoring one based on contextual evidence and narrative coherence, occasionally supported by linguistic evidence.