Examples of Inimitability of the Qur’anic Contents from the Perspective of Shi’ite and Sunni Exegetes; A Comparative Study

To study the inimitability of the Qur’an, many Qur’anic exegetes have obviously paid more attention to its lexical and rhetorical features. However, it should not be forgotten that an important aspect of inimitability of the Qur’an can also be considered related to its content, which in its turn correlates to the inner meanings of the Qur’an. What can be deduced from the comparison shows that attention to this specific aspect of inimitability has been associated with strengths and weaknesses over the centuries. Accordingly, the present study tries through an analytical-comparative approach to examine the examples of the inimitability of the content of the Qur’an from the perspective of Shi’ite and Sunni scholars. Comparing the two viewpoints, one can recognize that although these two groups do not differ much in expressing the dimensions of the inimitability of the Qur’anic contents, the main discrepancy between them seems related to the type of attention to these examples. In addition, Sunni exegetes have paid more attention to this aspect in the first centuries, while their Shi’ite colleagues have mostly heeded these examples in contemporary times. Of course, a more careful study of the viewpoints of Shi’ite and Sunni scholars shows that there are some differences between them in the examples of contents and issues related to them. For example, one can refer to a case such as buṭūn (ventricles) of the Qur’an that, although its instances are quoted in the Sunni narrations, with a slight omission from the Prophet (PBUH) or his companions, do not raise a significant issue, however, the Shi’ites have paid special attention to it.