Tabari, Selections from The Comprehensive Exposition of the Interpretation of the Verses of the Qurʾān, 2 vols., Islamic Texts Society (2017): Surat al-Shams and Surat al-Layl (original) (raw)
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"Tafsīr al‑Ṭabarī and Shiʿa Tafsīrs," Journal of Shi‘a Islamic Studies, 9ii (2016)
The earliest surviving Shiʿa tafsīrs are from some of al‑Ṭabarī’s contemporaries in Kufa, Qum, and Khurasan, all of which cite Shiʿa traditions to interpret Qurʾanic verses. During the fourth century ah, this trend continued; however, towards the end of this century, some Shiʿa scholars in Baghdad adapted some of the other methods of tafsīr, such as (1) citing the Sunni exegetical tradition, mostly Tafsīr al‑Ṭabarī; (2) considering grammatical and philological issues, partly through Tafsīr al‑Ṭabarī; and (3) analysing the theological issues of the day with reference to the Muʿtazilī tradition. This article explores the tafsīrs by two prominent Shiʿa scholars in this era – Abū al‑Qāsim ʿAlī ibn al‑Ḥusayn known as al‑Wazīr al‑Maghribī (370-418/980-1027) and Muḥammad ibn al‑Ḥasan al‑Tūsī known as al‑Shaykh al‑Ṭūsī (385-460/995-1067) – whose material and approaches from al‑Ṭabarī were adopted by later Shiʿa exegetes. KEYWORDS: Shiʿism; tafsīr; al‑Ṭabarī, Muḥammad ibn Jarīr; Tafsīr al‑Ṭabarī; al‑Ṭūsī, Muḥammad ibn al‑Ḥasan; al‑Tibyān fī Tafsīr al‑Qurʾān
Some Sunni Ḥadīth on the Qur’ānic Term Kalāla: An Attempt at Historical Reconstruction
For an exposition on isnād-cum-matn analysis and other methods of dating and reconstructing Muslim traditions, see Pavel Pavlovitch, “The Formation of the Islamic Understanding of Kalāla in the Second Century AH (718–816 CE),” 22–56. ============================================================================================================= Since the 1980s the Qurʾānic term kalāla has been studied comprehensively, using Islamic literary sources, by David Powers and Agostino Cilardo. Cilardo, who deploys J. Schacht’s ḥadīth-analytical criteria to date the kalāla traditions, points to the first half of the 2nd century AH and, occasionally, to the end of the 1st century AH as the period in which most of these traditions were circulated. Powers, who combines the literary evidence with the documentary evidence of BNF 328a, concludes that kalāla traditions evolved during the second half of the first and the first quarter of the second century AH. In the present essay I employ the isnād-cum-matn methodology to date several kalāla traditions discussed by Powers and Cilardo.
This essay provides an analytical description of the sources and collectors of the legal responsa (masāʾil) of Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241/855). It outlines the contents and characteristics of the various Masāʾil works, the backgrounds and approaches of their authors, and their current status (manuscripts and editions). The essay also describes efforts by Aḥmad's students and followers to address contradictions and discrepancies among his statements and to identify general principles within them in order to make possible the articulation of the legal doctrine of the Ḥanbalī madhhab. for their helpful comments and corrections. None of them is responsible for his errors. 1
The 'Ubāda b. al-Sāmit Tradition: at the Crossroads of Methodology
During the past few decades Western studies of the origin of Islam have made considerable advances in assessing sources which have long been considered a repository of exegetic, legal and historical material about the first centuries of Islam. Growing scepticism towards the Islamic foundation narratives and the traditional accounts of Islamic history undermined the notion that, unlike other religions, Islam “was born in the full light of history” and “its roots are on the surface” (A. Renan). The study of the first centuries of Islam has thus become the focus of clashing methodologies, often yielding conflicting accounts on how, when and where Islam emerged. While studying Muslim traditions (ḥadīths), Western Islamicists expressed varying opinions about reliability of lines of narrative transmission (isnāds), which, according to the traditional Muslim view, control the authenticity of the information included in the substantive part of the tradition (matn). One pole of the spectrum is represented by scholars who reject the link between the isnād and the matn. For them, the isnād is a fictitious authentication device that does not give any information about the historical development of the narrative. These scholars prefer to study the relationship between topically-affiliated narratives, whence they derive information about the chronological development of the concepts conveyed by these narratives (literary analysis). The other part of the spectrum varies in the degree of acceptance of the isnāds. Nevertheless, these scholars generally agree that, provided certain methodological stipulations are met, a considerable part of the transmission line is authentic and correctly represents the ways through which the traditions were transmitted. With certain qualifications, the method of scholars who accept the isnād may be described as isnād-cum-matn analysis. In this article, I study the famous ʿUbāda tradition dealing with the punishment for adultery and fornication (zinā). First, I follow the historical development of the tradition by means of literary analysis. Then I apply to the same tradition the principles of isnād-cum-matn analysis. Although different in their treatment of the ḥadīth material, the two approaches are shown as capable of yielding results that are not mutually exclusive.
A Pre-Modern Defense of Hadiths against Sodomy
This article provides an annotated translation of a treatise written by the famous scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911/1505) in defense of the hadiths condemning sodomy (liwāṭ). The article situates such a defense within the current discourse on Islam and homosexuality, summarizing the main arguments for and against the prohibition of liwāṭ as well as how the “traditionalist” and “Progressive” camps have constructed their arguments.
The Muṣannaf of Ibn Abī Shayba provides unparalleled access into the legal thought of the "Companions of ḥadīth" in 2 nd /8 th and early 3 rd /9 th century Iraq. This article consists of a quantitative analysis of 3628 narrations found in the Muṣannaf in the books on zakāt, divorce, and ḥadd crimes. It demonstrates that the Prophet Muḥammad was an important authority in the Muṣannaf, but that he appears in only 8.7% of the narrations examined. Furthermore, it shows that the "Companions of ḥadīth" relied upon the legal opinions of many of the same Companions and Successors whom Joseph Schacht identified as the primary authorities for the "Companions of raʾy". It also identifies a division within the "Companions of ḥadīth" between those who, like Ibn Abī Shayba, categorically reject the opinions of post-Successor jurists, and others who accept them.