المعنى
What is meant by the word "miṣr" in this āyah?
الجواب
Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:
- It refers to an unspecified city. They were commanded to go to a city because what they sought could be found there. [Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿAbbās, Qatādah, Ibn Zayd]
- It refers specifically to the land of Egypt (Miṣr). Ibn Masʿūd, al-Ḥasan, Ṭalḥah ibn Muṣarrif, and al-Aʿmash read "Miṣra" without nunation (tanwīn). Al-Farrāʾ favored this opinion, supporting it with this reading. [Abū Ṣāliḥ from Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, al-Farrāʾ, al-Aʿmash]

