The Culmination of Tradition based Tafsīr.PDF DOWNLOAD

The Culmination of Tradition based Tafsīr by Shabir Ally

About the Thesis

This is a study of Jalal al-Dln al-Suyuti’s al-Durr al-manthur fi-l-tafsir bil ma’thur (The scattered pearls of tradition-based exegesis), hereinafter al-Durr. In the present study, the distinctiveness of al-Durr becomes evident in comparison with the tafsirs of al-Tabari (d. 310/923) and Ibn Kathlr (d. 774/1373). Al-Suyuti surpassed these

exegetes by relying entirely on hadTth (tradition). Al-Suyuti rarely offers a comment of his own. Thus, in terms of its formal features, al-Durr is the culmination of tradition based exegesis ( tafsir bi-l-ma ’thur).

This study also shows that al-Suyuti intended in al-Durr to subtly challenge the tradition-based hermeneutics of Ibn Taymlyah (d. 728/1328). According to Ibn Taymlyah, the true, unified, interpretation of the Qur’an must be sought in the Qur’an.