Aims, Methods and Contexts of Qur'anic Exegesis (2nd/8th-9th/15th Centuries)

Edited by Karen Bauer

OUP in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies Qur'anic Studies Series

480 pages | 216x138mm

978-0-19-967064-2 | Hardback | September 2013 (estimated)

Price: £50.00

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Essays written by leading scholars, who provide multiple perspectives on the interpretation of the Qur'an
Focuses on the genre of tafsīr in the 2nd/8th to the 9th/15th centuries and shows how theories and contexts affect the content and method of exegesis
Individual essays emphasise how geography, human networks, hermeneutical systems and genre boundaries affected the writing of tafsīr
Includes Arabic editions and translations of two introductions: al-Basīt by al-Wāḥidī and the Tahdhīb ī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān of al-Jishumī, as well as the translation of sections of the tafsīr of al-Kāshānī
Proposes new methods for the study of the genre of tafsīr

Medieval interpretations of the Qur'an often serve as points of reference for Muslim thought; yet Qur'an commentaries were shaped not only by the Qur'an itself, but also by their authors' ideological viewpoints, their theories of interpretation, their methods, and the conventions of the genre. This volume is the first to focus solely on the complicated relationship between exegetes' theoretical aims, their practical methods of writing, and the historical and intellectual contexts of Qur'an commentaries (tafsīr). Experts in various aspects of the Qur'an and its interpretation have contributed essays, spanning the 2nd/8th to the 9th/15th centuries, the period in which the commentarial tradition developed and flourished. They emphasise the ways in which geography, human networks, hermeneutical systems and genre boundaries affected the writing of these texts. This volume offers fresh analytical perspectives and addresses new methods for the study of tafsīr. It also provides resources for scholars, by including editions and translations of the introductions to al-Basīt of Abū'l-Ḥasan 'Alī al-Wāḥidī (d. 486/1076) and the Tahdhīb fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān of al-Ḥākim al-Jishumī (d. 494/1101), as well as translated selections from the introduction to the tafsīr of 'Abd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. 736/1336). The detailed studies in this volume will help scholars and students alike to comprehend accurately the purpose and content of Qur'an commentaries individually and as a genre.

Readership: Students and scholars of Qur'an and Qur'anic Exegesis; students and scholars of the history of Islam.

The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.

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Aims, Methods and Contexts of Qur'anic Exegesis (2nd/8th-9th/15th Centuries)

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