Exegetical Criticism in the Work of Al-Muhaqqiq Al-Ardabili (993 AH) in his commentary *Zubdat al-Bayan*

Abstract

The researcher aims to examine and analyse the process of exegetical criticism and to assess its scholarly value in al-Muhaqqiq al-Ardabili’s *Zubdat al-Bayan*, whilst elucidating his approach to exegetical criticism in all its practical applications and revealing its various forms and manifestations, by addressing the contention that al-Muhaqqiq al-Ardabili offers nothing new in his exegesis *Zubdat al-Bayan*, and that his exegesis is merely a regurgitation of the works of his predecessors, such as al-Rawandi in *Fiqh al-Qur’an* and al-Miqdad al-Sayuri in *Kanz al-‘Irfan*; in other words, he is merely a transmitter of others’ statements. Naturally, this issue became the focus of the researcher’s attention as he sought to refute it and investigate its validity or otherwise; he therefore undertook a study of the exegesis *Zubdat al-Bayan*, but from a different perspective to that of previous studies written about it, namely *Exegetical Criticism in the Exegesis of Zubdat al-Bayan.