al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim
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- al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim
al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim (The Concise Commentary on the Noble Quran) is a contemporary single-volume Quranic exegesis prepared by a committee of Islamic scholars under the supervision of the Tafsir Center for Qur'anic Studies in Riyadh . It was developed to provide readers with an accessible, margin-style commentary aligned with the layout of the standard Medina Mushaf printed by the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran .
Authorship and Editorial Process
The work was initiated by the Tafsir Center for Qur'anic Studies under the board chairmanship of Dr. Salih ibn Abd Allah ibn Humayd . The drafting and editorial tasks were divided among several specialized scholars and committees:
- Initial drafting: Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Shinqiti authored the initial text of the exegesis. He also cowrote the section on lessons and reflections with Prof. Zayd ibn Umar al-Iys, while Dr. Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Rabiah authored the overviews of the surahs' overarching objectives .
- Academic referees: The draft was refereed across various stages by scholars of exegesis from across the Muslim world: Ahmad Khalid Shukri (Jordan), Ahmad Sad al-Khatib (Egypt), Ahmad Bazwi al-Dawi (Morocco), Husayn ibn Ali al-Harbi (Saudi Arabia), Khalid ibn Uthman al-Sabt (Saudi Arabia), Said al-Falah (Tunisia), Salih ibn Yahya Sawwab (Yemen), Ghanim Qadduri al-Hamad (Iraq), and Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia) .
- Supervisory and theological review: Overall scholarly oversight was managed by a committee comprising Musaid ibn Sulayman al-Tayyar, Abd al-Rahman ibn Muadah al-Shehri, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Baridi, and Nasir ibn Muhammad al-Majid. To ensure doctrinal adherence, three theologians evaluated the text: Sahl ibn Rifa al-Utaybi, Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad Al Abd al-Latif, and Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Anqari .
- Comprehensive revision: Musaid al-Tayyar, alongside a selected group of his students, conducted a thorough page-by-page revision of the text to incorporate reader suggestions, refining its formulations primarily based on the phrasing of Ibn Jarir al-Tabari .
Methodology and Structure
The book is structured to present commentary alongside the Quranic text without requiring the reader to navigate lengthy scholarly digressions . Its methodology is defined by specific guidelines:
- Direct meanings: The commentary restricts itself to explaining the core meaning of each verse, intentionally avoiding lengthy discussions of variant readings (qira'at), grammatical analysis (i'rab), jurisprudence (fiqh), or extraneous reports .
- Vocabulary glossing: Unfamiliar terms (gharib al-Quran) are glossed directly within the flow of the explanation and distinguished by a different color .
- Theological stance: It adheres to the interpretive method of the early generations (al-Salaf), specifically affirming the literal expressions in verses concerning the divine attributes (ayat al-sifat) without figurative interpretation (ta'wil) or alteration (tahrif) .
- Weighing opinions: When multiple interpretations exist, the book adopts the weightiest view (al-rajih) according to established hermeneutical principles, relying primarily on the authority of Ibn Jarir al-Tabari .
- Surah overviews and page benefits: Each surah opens with an indication of its revelation period (Meccan or Medinan) and a concise summary of its main objectives . At the bottom of each page, a designated section titled Min Fawa'id al-Ayat ("From the Benefits of the Verses") provides practical lessons and guidance, typically capped at three points per page .
Editions and Scope
The work was initially issued under the title al-Mukhtasar fi al-Tafsir, but by its third edition in 1436 AH (c. 2015 CE), the title was adjusted to al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim to make its subject explicit to general readers . The third edition, published in a 624-page single volume in Riyadh, was updated based on reader feedback and aligned with the latest Medina printing of the Quran . The text was also formulated to serve as a standardized base for translation projects into other languages .
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