 | |
| Author | Nasir al-Din al-Baydawi |
|---|---|
| Original title | أنوار التنزيل وأسرار التأويل |
| Translator | Gibril Fouad Haddad |
| Language | Arabic Edition & English translation based on 14 manuscripts, 12 commentaries, & 16 editions. |
| Subject | Qur'anic Exegesis (tafsir) |
| Publisher | Beacon Books |
Publication date | July 17, 2016 |
| Publication place | Shiraz, Persia |
| Pages | 902 pages |
| ISBN | 9780992633578 |
| Regarded by the Sunnites as the most authoritative Qur'anic exegesis. | |
Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Ta'wil (Arabic: أنوار التنزيل وأسرار التأويل, lit. 'The Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation'), better known as Tafsir al-Baydawi (Arabic: تفسير البيضاوي), is one of the most popular classical Sunni Qur'anic interpretational works (tafsir) composed by the 13th-century Muslim scholar al-Baydawi (d.1319), flourished especially among non-Arab Muslim regions.[1] This work is based on the earlier work of al-Zamakhshari's al-Kashshaf ("the unveiling"). Al-Kashshaf, which has Mu'tazilite views, some of which al-Baydawi has amended, and some omitted.[2] Tafsir al-Baydawi is also based on al-Raghib al-Isfahani's Mufradat Alfaz al-Qur'an and his tafsir, as well as al-Tafsir al-Kabir (or Mafatih al-Ghayb) by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi.[3]
The commentary begins with a short opening, in which the author praises the value of interpreting the verses of the Qurʼan and argues that Qurʼanic exegesis is at the head of all sciences. The author then gives the name of his work, before launching into the explanation of al-Fatihah ("the opening"), the first chapter of the Qurʼan.[4]
According to the Islamic scholar Gibril Fouad Haddad, the work “became and remained for seven centuries the most studied of all tafsirs,” and it is to be regarded as “the most important commentary on the Qur'an in the history of Islam.” Tafsir al-Baydawi is considered to contain the most concise analysis of the Qur'anic use of Arabic grammar and style to date and was hailed early on by Muslims as a foremost demonstration of the Qur'an’s inimitability (i'jaz ma'nawi wa-lughawi) in Sunni literature. Thus, the work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and significant, because of its fame and influence, and many commentaries have been written on Baydawi's work. [5]
The work became one of the standard tafsirs in the Muslim world, receiving many supercommentaries and commonly being studied in madrasa courses on Qur'anic interpretation, and was one of the first Qur'an commentaries published in Europe (1846 – 48).[6]
- ^ Oliver Leaman The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia Taylor & Francis, 2006 ISBN 9780415326391 p. 118
- ^ Imam al-Baydhawi. "Tafsir al-Baydawi - Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta'wil". Looh Press; Islamic & African Studies.
- ^ Dr. Gibril Fouad Haddad. "Tafsir al-Baydawi: First Hizb, English". UBD Press & Beacon Books.
- ^ al-Baydawi's "Anwar al-tanzil wa asrar al-ta'wil" with Frontispiece. World Digital Library. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ Gibril Fouad Haddad. "Lights of Revelation & Secrets of Interpretation". Beacon Books.
- ^ "Baydawi". Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017.