Discover the meaning of the term Al-byan (بيان) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 4 min readIt denotes the speaker's making manifest to the listener what he intends; with respect to its relation (idafa), it is of five kinds.
It is eloquent, well-articulated speech, that is, that which reveals what lies in the mind.
The manifestation of the meaning and the clarifying of what was hidden before; it has been said: the drawing out of a thing from the limit of perplexity. The difference between ta'wil and bayan: ta'wil is what is mentioned in speech from which a determinate meaning is not grasped at first glance, whereas bayan is what is mentioned concerning that from which it is grasped, owing to a measure of obscurity with respect to part of it.
Linguistically: manifestation. With some theoreticians of the principles: the expression of what one intends to the addressee, separate from what conceals it, which is the correct view; it may occur by speech or by deed. The science of bayan (al-bayan) is the science by which one learns to convey a single meaning, the one signified, by speech matching the requirement of the situation, through ways, that is, combinations, varying in the clarity of their indication of that meaning. The difference between ta'wil and bayan: ta'wil is what is mentioned in speech from which a determinate meaning is not grasped at first instant, in order to grasp the intended meaning; bayan is what is mentioned concerning that from which it is grasped, with a measure of obscurity with respect to part of it.
Linguistically: it is used for appearing and becoming unveiled, and for manifestation; its root is from al-bayn, which is separation; one says: "he bared his brow (abbana ra'sahu) and it became plain (bana)", that is, he separated it, and it was so named because a thing, when separated from its like, appears. It means manifestation, clarification, and the unveiling of the intended object; one says: "the matter or the crescent appeared" when it shows itself and is unveiled; in the Quran: "This is an exposition for the people".
Eloquence; in the noble hadith: "Some eloquence is sorcery". The proof (hujja). Dhat al-bayn: what exists between people as kinship, bond and affection, or as enmity and hatred. Al-bayn: separation. Connection (the contrary). Al-bayyin: the evident. Al-bayyina: the manifest proof; plural: bayyinat; in the Quran: "We have certainly sent down to you clear proofs, and none disbelieves in them except the defiant" (al-Baqara 2:99). With the jurists: it is restricted to the two witnesses, or to the witness and the oath; in the Word of Allah, of His Messenger (peace be upon him) and in the sayings of the Companions, it is the name of everything that establishes the truth, hence broader than the jurists' sense (Ibn al-Qayyim). In the Mejelle (art. 1676): the decisive proof.
﴿هَـٰذَا بَيَانٌۭ لِّلنَّاسِ وَهُدًۭى وَمَوْعِظَةٌۭ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾
« This [Qur'an] is a clear statement to [all] the people and a guidance and instruction for those conscious of Allah. »
Surah آل عمران : 138
﴿عَلَّمَهُ ٱلْبَيَانَ﴾
« [And] taught him eloquence. »
Surah الرحمن : 4
﴿ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُۥ﴾
« Then upon Us is its clarification [to you]. »
Surah القيامة : 19