Tafsir al-Nisaburi

Ghara'ib al-Qur'an wa Ragha'ib al-Furqan (Arabic: غرائب القرآن ورغائب الفرقان; lit. 'Wonders of the Qur'an and Desiderata of the Criterion')^[1] or, named in brief, Ghara'ib al-Qur'an (lit. 'Wonders of the Qur'an'),^[2] better known as Tafsir al-Nisaburi (Arabic: تفسير النيسابوري), is a classical Sunni–Sufi^[1][3][4] tafsir (exegesis) of the Qur'an,^[5] authored by the Shafi'i-Ash'ari scholar Nizam al-Din al-Nisaburi (died c. 730 AH; c. 1330 CE), who closely follows al-Fakhr al-Razi's tafsir in many places.^[6][7]

Ghara'ib al-Qur'an

Editor	Zakariyya 'Umayrat
Author	Nizam al-Din al-Nisaburi
Original title	Ghara'ib al-Qur'an wa Ragha'ib al-Furqan
Country	Khorasan (in Persian stands for 'Land of Sunrise')
Language	Arabic
Subject	Tafsir, Sufism, Kalam, Cosmology
Publisher	Dar al-Kutub, al-'Ilmiyyah, Beirut
Publication date	1996
Pages	3776
ISBN	978-2-7451-0603-2
Followed by	Lub al-Ta'wil fi Tafsir al-Qur'an

It was the first commentary of the Qur'an in Arabic written in India. A handwritten copy of this commentary is available in the Library of the tomb of Hadrat Peer Muhammad Shah Sahib in Ahmedabad.^[8]

This commentary took him about five years to finish.^[1][9]

Background

Nizam al-Din al-Nisaburi relied on several earlier sources for his interpretation, including the following:^[7][10][11]

• Mafatih al-Ghayb by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, died 606 AH (1210 CE).
• Al-Kashshaf by al-Zamakhshari, died 538 AH (1144 CE).
• Al-Wasīt fi Tafsir al-Qur'ān al-Majīd by al-Wahidi al-Nisaburi, died 468 AH (1075–1076 CE).

Reception

According to Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi, the tafsir was praised by Muhammad Baqir al-Musawi al-Khawansari al-Isfahani [ar] (died 1313 AH; 1895 CE) in his book Rawdhat al-Jannat.^[12]

About the author

Main article: Nizam al-Din al-Nisaburi

He was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, Faqīh (jurist), Qur'an exegete, poet, and was generally regarded as a sage, that is, one attuned to philosophy and logic.^[1] He was born in Nisapur and was known as Nizam al-A'raj. The origin of his family and his clan is the city of Qom. After completing his education he came to India, settling there, most likely in Daulatabad.^[1] He wrote several books on philosophy, geography and sufism. He wrote another commentary of the Qur'an in one volume known as Lub al-Ta'wil fi Tafsir al-Qur'an. The exact year of his death is not known, but it was after 1329 CE. It is variably reported in available records as occurring in years from 710 AH to 728 AH.^[8]

See also

• Tafsir al-Razi
• Tafsir al-Baydawi
• Tafsir al-Tabari
• Tafsir Ibn Ajiba
• List of tafsir works
• List of Sunni books

References

1. Gilliot, C (1992). "Qur'anic exegesis". In Ahmad Hasan Dani; M. S. Asimov; Clifford Edmund Bosworth; Muhammad Osimi (eds.). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Vol. IV. UNESCO Publishing; Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House. p. 105. ISBN 9788120815964. He displays considerable veneration for the family of the Prophet, but makes no concessions to Imami Shi'ite teachings, and so shows himself to have been a Sunni."... "al-A'raj composed his commentary, entitled [...] (Wonders of the Qur'an and Things to be Desired in the Revelation), a task which took him some five years.
2. Jane Dammen McAuliffe, ed. (2002). Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān. Brill Publishers. p. 112. ISBN 9789004120358.
3. "Ghara'ib al-Qur'an by Nizam al-Din Nishapuri". www.albayan.ae (in Arabic). Al-Bayan. 14 October 2005. Archived from the original on 10 Jul 2021. وإذا كان هناك من يتوهم فيه التشيع أو الميل للاعتزال، فإنه ينفي عن نفسه ذلك بوضوح ويقرر انه ينطلق من معسكر أهل السنة، فيقول رحمه الله: «إنني لم أمِلّ في هذا الكتاب إلا إلى أهل السنة والجماعة، فبينت أصولهم ووجوه استدلالاتهم».ومن أجل ذلك كان إذا تعرض للاختلافات الفرعية، ذكر كل وجهة نظر بأدلتها دون تعصب أو خصومة؛ ويحبذ ان تتعدد الآراء وتتنوع الاجتهادات..!
4. Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi (1997). Al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun (in Arabic). Vol. 1. Cairo: Maktabat Wahbah. pp. 231–236.
5. "Ghara'ib al-Qur'an by Nizam al-Din Nishapuri". Youm7. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 10 Jul 2021.
6. Mohammed Rustom (2012). The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra. SUNY Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781438443416.
7. Mahmoud M. Ayoub (1984). The Qur'an and Its Interpreters. Vol. 1. SUNY Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780873957274.
8. Muhammad Zahid-ul-Hussaini (1992). Commentators of the Holy Quran. Ferozsons. p. 51. ISBN 9789690100689.
9. "Ghara'ib al-Qur'an by Nizam al-Din Nishapuri". www.albayan.ae (in Arabic). Al-Bayan. 14 October 2005. Archived from the original on 10 Jul 2021. وشغل نفسه ـ رحمه الله ـ بتدريس هذا التفسير بعد إتمامه، خلال أربع سنوات وسبعة أشهر، بينما كان يؤمل ان تمتد مدة تأليفه إلى ثلاثين سنة، وهي مدة الخلافة الراشدة، غير انه بورك له في وقته، وتيسر له إنجازه في أقل من خمس سنين، ويقول: ولولا ما اتفق أثناء التفسير من وجود الأسفار الشاسعة، ومشقة الحصول على المراجع العلمية النافعة، ونزول هموم وغموم لكان يمكن إتمامه في مدة خلافة أبي بكر رضى الله عنه، أي خلال سنتين وثلاثة أشهر وثمانية أيام.
10. "Ghara'ib al-Qur'an by Nizam al-Din Nishapuri". www.albayan.ae (in Arabic). Al-Bayan. 14 October 2005. Archived from the original on 10 Jul 2021. قال النيسابوري في كتابه: لقد تضمن كتابي هذا حاصل التفسير الكبير ـ ويقصد بالتفسير الكبير كتاب الفخر الرازي ـ وهو جامع لأكثر التفاسير، وفيه حلُّ لكتاب الكشاف، وقد احتوى على النكت المستحسنة الغريبة مما لم يوجد في سائر التفاسير..!
11. Kâtip Çelebi (January 2017). "Kashf al-Zunun 'an Asami al-Kutub wa al-Funun". Google Books (in Arabic). pp. 448–449.
12. Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi (1997). Al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun (in Arabic). Vol. 1. Cairo: Maktabat Wahbah. p. 236.

Further reading

• Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi (1997). Al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun (in Arabic). Vol. 1. Cairo: Maktabat Wahbah. pp. 228–236.
• Morrison, Robert G. (2011). Islam and science: The intellectual career of Nizam al-Din al Nisaburi. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415663991.

External links

• Tafsir al-Nisaburi - Altafsir.com (in Arabic)
• The Comprehensive Elucidation of the Interpretation of the Qurʼan - World Digital Library