Review and Critique of the Encyclopedia of Qurʾanic Sciences With Special Reference to the Entries on the Inimitability of the Qurʾan

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Tahereh Noori ¹

Mohammadreza Hajiesmaeili Hosseinabadi ²

Mohammadreza Sotoudehnia ³

Davod Esmaeili ⁴

¹ PhD Student of Qur’anic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Ahl al-Bayt Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

² Professor, Department of Qur’anic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Ahl al-Bayt Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

³ Associate Professor, Department of Qur’anic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Ahl al-Bayt Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

⁴ Assistant Professor, Department of Qur’anic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Ahl al-Bayt Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

10.22067/jquran.2026.94772.1868

Abstract

The Encyclopedia of Qurʾanic Sciences, compiled by a group of scholars under the auspices of the Islamic Information and Documentation Center, represents the only specialized Persian encyclopedia in this field. Its significance, the availability of a free online edition, and its recognition as a “Book Worthy of Commendation” motivated the present review and critique. Employing a descriptive–critical approach and aiming at the scholarly improvement of the work, this study is organized into three sections. The first section introduces the encyclopedia and its overall structure, while the second evaluates its formal aspects; the findings of these two sections indicate a satisfactory level of coherence and standardization. The third section is devoted to a content-based critique of the entries related to the inimitability (iʿjāz) of the Qurʾan.
The findings of the content analysis reveal significant shortcomings, including a lack of logical coherence in the allocation of content, weak or insufficiently rigorous arguments, inconsistency between the definition of “miracle” and the proposed aspects of inimitability, unsystematic referencing, inadequate coverage of related concepts, absence of diverse scholarly perspectives, and limited engagement with recent international research. Overall, the results suggest that in order to attain the status of a reliable academic reference work, this encyclopedia requires substantial revisions in both methodology and content.

Keywords

Inimitability (iʿjāz) of the Qurʾan

Encyclopedia of Qurʾanic Sciences

aspects of Qurʾanic inimitability

book review

Subjects

• Quran and Hadith Studies

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