''Al-Kashshaaf 'an Haqa'iq at-Tanzil'', popularly known as ''Al-Kashshaaf'' () is a seminal
tafsir
Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...
(commentary on the
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
) by
Al-Zamakhshari written in the 12th century. Considered a primary source by major scholars, it is famous for its deep linguistic analysis, demonstrations of the supremacy of declamation of the Qur'an, and the representation of the method the Qur'an uses to convey meaning using literary elements and figurative speech. However, it is criticized for the inclusion of
Muʿtazilah philosophical views.
John Esposito
John Louis Esposito (born May 19, 1940) is an American academic, professor of Middle Eastern studies, Middle Eastern and religious studies, and scholar of Islamic studies, who serves as Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic S ...
, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, pg. 346. Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
: Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2004.
Background
Al-Zamakhshari strongly insisted that scholars of the Muʿtazilah sect should have a basis tafsir of their own. Therefore, he started writing his commentary in 1132, after he was convinced by Emîr Ebü'l-Hasan İbn Vehhâs while he was residing in Mecca, and finished it in two years. He himself states that writing such a book in a short time is a blessing of God.
During his research, he referred to many older works and commentaries, especially Zeccac’s Mean’il-Kuran, which constitutes the basis of his work.
Content
In the preface, it is pointed out that commenting on the Quran is a challenging and difficult effort; and any
mufassir
Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...
willing to do so must have deep knowledge of Arabic language, literature, eloquence and culture, alongside critical thinking skills, a highly disciplined way of studying and general academic skills.
Comments are a blend of logic and narrative, including many
hadith
Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
(though the only source stated for these narratives is
Sahih Muslim
() is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...
) and older accounts of Arabic poems.
[ A very elegant analysis of words is done throughout the commentary, while figurative expressions are broken down, and appropriate ]qira'at
In Islam, (pl. ; ) refers to the ways or fashions that the Quran, the holy book of Islam, is recited. More technically, the term designates the different linguistic, lexical, phonetic, morphological and syntactical forms permitted with rec ...
is chosen where needed. Abrogated verses are indicated along with their successors. Verses containing Islamic jurisprudence are deduced according to the Hanafi
The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
school of law. Verses that seem contrary are reconciled.
Criticism
Muʿtazilah viewpoint
One of the most criticized aspects of Al-Zamakhshari’s interpretations is his adaptation of Quranic verses according to a Mu’tazilite viewpoint.[ For those who vehemently oppose the ]Mu'tazilites
Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...
and their views, Al-Zamakhshari has purportedly interpreted verses that cohere with his viewpoint as muhkam ''(rigid or univocal),'' and those which do not as mutashabih'' (ambiguous, equivocal, or allegorical)''. Thus, opponents of the Mu'tazilites accused him of "abandoning the apparent meanings" of some verses for the sake of preserving a strict Mu’tazilah view.
Editions
There are at least three[Cairo 1925, 1980; Beirut.] different editions of the book. Ibn Hisham Nahvi speculated some errors with some meanings given to certain words, correcting them in his own edition of the book.
Related works
* '' Tafsir al-Baydawi'' is largely a condensed and amended edition of ''Al-Kashshaaf''
* '' Tafsir al-Nisaburi''
External links
You can't tell a book by its author: A study of Muʿtazilite theology in al-Zamakhsharī's (d. 538/1144) Kashshāf
References
{{Tafsir
Tafsir works
12th-century Arabic-language books