Different Meanings of the Qur'ānic Term "Al-Qaryah": An Analytical Study of the Investigations of Exegetes and Experts of Qur'ānic Sciences

There are many words in the Qur’ān that are used in different contexts with different meanings. It is essential for an exegete and a jurist to determine which meaning a particular Qur’ānic word conveys in a given context. There are differences among exegetes regarding the interpretive referents of a Qur’ānic word or term. In some instances, the differences are merely due to diversity of interpretation (Ikhtilāf al-tanawwu‘), whereas only in a very limited number of cases, there is genuine disagreement. One such Qur’ānic term is “Al-Qaryah”. Determining its meaning and identifying its specific external referent is not necessarily significant from the perspective of deriving a legal ruling. However, exegetes have attempted to identify its external referent in their interpretation by taking the Qur’ānic context into consideration, wherever the term Al-Qaryah is present. In some instances, exegetes have retained the term Qaryah in its general sense without specifying a particular referent. Compared with the Qur’ānic commentaries, the writings devoted specifically to Homonyms and Synonyms in the Qur’ān have mentioned total thirteen different meanings of this term.