ABSTRACT
The Qur’an is the basis and heart of Islamic faith, life and culture. Muslims believe that the first exegesis of the Qur’an ( tafsīr ) was produced by the Prophet Muḥammad. For the most part of the past century and to a lesser extent even today, the sources of Qur’anic exegesis have been the subject of vigorous debate between two opposing groups: a traditional Muslim view and the Orientalist reading. According to the traditional Muslim version, the exegesis of the Prophet is the point of departure, then that of his Companions ( al-Ṣaḥāba ), who transmitted by authoritative chains of transmission ( isnād ) and added to his exegesis, and then that of the Successors ( al-Tābiʿūn ), who also transmitted in the same way and added to the previous interpretations. 1 Consequently, exegetical traditions without authoritative chains, including exegesis by personal opinion or that promulgated by popular preachers (quṣṣāṣ) , were rejected by orthodox scholars, who classified them as exegeses without a true origin ( aṣl ) . On the other hand, the early Orientalist point of view questioned the reliability of the authoritative chains of transmission as a means of reconstructing supposedly early tafsīr works. The question they raise is: “Are the interpretations of the late second and third Islamic centuries, in which material of older authorities is merely passed on, historically correct?” 2 Sezgin responds affirmatively, whereas Wansbrough and others believe that narrative exegesis began quite late. The fact that the majority of the exegetes among the tābiʿūn died in Mecca, as Gilliot points out, “adds weight to the claim that the early exegesis is a transmission from the Prophet to the Companions and Successors”. 3
According to al-Dhahabī, tafsīr in the early period was principally a simple verbal narration of the Prophet’s commentaries. 4 Apparently, among the Companions of the Prophet, only Ibn ʿAbbās, the alleged father of Qur’anic
exegesis, produced some more sophisticated works. 5 Over time, Qur’anic exegesis enjoyed a rich scholarly tradition and is regarded as one of the most important branches of the Qur’anic sciences ( ʿulūm al-Qur’ān ). Although there were several other commentaries at the end of the second and the beginning of the 3rd century AH, the tafsīr of al-Ṭabarī (d. 923 AD) has been regarded as a key source of exegesis in Islam in the classical period. Most scholars identify two main types within classical tafsīr literature: 1 al-tafsīr bi al-ma’thūr – predominantly based upon transmitted materials; 2 al-tafsīr bi al-ra’y – relying on independent thought and the application
of rational disciplines.
