Ibn 'Atiyya’s approach in determining generalization and specification

Abstract

The matter of determining generalization and specification
has always been at the center of scholars’ and interpreters’
attention, being the most prominent of Qur’anic sciences and they
developed fundamental rules related to them that help achieve a
better understanding of Book of Almighty Allah. The problem of
research is: the differences of scholars opinions to explain qur’anic
text when it is seemingly open to both generalization and
specification. Those differences undoubtedly render any attempt
to understand Ibn Atiyya’s approach in determining generalization
and specification all the more difficult. The research aims to
elucidate Ibn Atiyya’s approach in determining generalization and
specification through an in-depth study of his opinion on such
controversial texts. Towards that end, we adopted the inductive
approach. The key conclusions of this research are: there are three
types of generalization, namely a categorically generalized text, a
generalized text that is intended to be categorically specific, and a
generalized text that is open to being specific. According to the
standards developed by Ibn Atiyya, specification may be based
upon Holy Quran or the Sunna of the prophet, generalization has
prevalence over specification, and finally the context of qur’anic
verse is the determinant of a generalization being open to
specification. In conclusion, this researcher recommends that more 

research be conducted into the critical matter of generalization and
specification.