al-Siraj fi Bayan Gharib al-Qur'an

al-Siraj fi bayan gharib al-Qur'an ("The Lamp: Explaining the Rare Words of the Qur'an") is a concise work on the meanings of the Qur'an's rare words by Dr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Khudayri, professor of Qur'an and its sciences at King Saud University; the university's Chair of the Holy Qur'an and its Sciences published its second edition in 1435 AH, after an earlier printing supported by the Chair at Maktabat Dar al-Minhaj in Riyadh in 1432 AH. ^{1 2 3}

The Chair's supervisor, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'ada al-Shihri, writes that knowing the meanings of single words is "a first step" towards understanding the Qur'an and progressing in its interpretation, that scholars have written on the meanings of Qur'anic words since the first century, and that the need for such works recurs "according to people's needs and the level of language they understand". ³ He describes the book as "concise and easy", its author aiming at simple and sound wording and avoiding "blameworthy interpretation" in the verses where some commentators erred, and says the Chair took care to issue it at a reduced price and in various sizes. ^{3 4}

The author opens by saying that knowing the single words is the first step in understanding speech and that whoever has not grasped them finds the door of reflection closed, summarising this from Abd al-Hamid al-Farahi's introduction to Mufradat al-Qur'an, and then quotes al-Raghib al-Isfahani that learning the meanings of single words is among the first aids for anyone who wishes to grasp the meanings of the Qur'an. ⁵ He says he compiled the book as a reminder for those seeking the meanings of the Qur'an's rare words, "from old and modern books of tafsir, gharib and ma'ani al-Qur'an", simplifying the wording and trying to combine the differing views in a single comprehensive phrase where possible, and otherwise choosing between them. ⁶ He sometimes extends a meaning to those resembling the people meant in a verse, as when he explains "those who incurred wrath" as the Jews and whoever resembles them in failing to act on knowledge. ⁷

It follows the order of the suras, giving the Qur'anic phrase in brackets and then its meaning, beginning with al-Fatiha, as in his gloss on "the straight path": the road with no crookedness in it, which is Islam. ⁷ It is one of the contemporary works on gharib al-Qur'an.