The aim of this article is to critique the transmission‑related and semantic foundations of Bint al‑Shāṭiʾ’s literary exegesis based on the views of Ayatollah Javadi Amoli.
Bint al‑Shāṭiʾ, by focusing on the language of the Qur’an and literary analysis, offers an independent method for understanding the divine text; however, according to Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, exclusive reliance on such factors leads to semantic limitations and insufficient attention to the rational and narrational capacities of the Qur’an.
This qualitative research, conducted through an analytical‑critical approach and based on library sources, shows that although Bint al‑Shāṭiʾ’s interpretive foundations effectively safeguard the linguistic authenticity of the text and restrain unregulated readings, they nonetheless suffer from shortcomings.
For Bint al‑Shāṭiʾ, Qur’anic inimitability is restricted to linguistic structure, whereas Ayatollah Javadi Amoli expands the notion of iʿjāz to include conceptual, numerical, and guidance‑related dimensions. Her exclusive emphasis on the context of revelation reduces the trans‑historical capacities of the Qur’an, while Javadi Amoli, by distinguishing between hādhā al‑Qurʾān and dhālika al‑kitāb, affirms layers of meaning that transcend history.
Her opposition to scientific interpretation deprives the Qur’an of dialogue with human knowledge, whereas Javadi Amoli’s differentiation between “application” (tatbīq) and “submission of scientific claims to the Qur’an” (ʿarḍ) opens a middle path. The claim of eliminating sectarian presuppositions is hermeneutically problematic, and the absolute rejection of taʾwīl is incompatible with the multilayered meaningfulness implied by rhetorical inimitability.
In conclusion, although the foundations of Bint al‑Shāṭiʾ’s rhetorical‑literary exegesis have notable merits, they remain insufficient for explaining the diverse epistemic layers— theological, mystical, juridical, and ethical —of the Qur’an. Completing this framework requires the incorporation of rational demonstration, mystical intuition, and the tradition of the Maʿṣūmīn.