al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun fi al-Asr al-Hadith - Fadl Abbas

al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun: Asasiyyatuhu wa Ittijahatuhu wa Manahijuhu fi al-Asr al-Hadith (Quranic Exegesis and the Exegetes: Its Fundamentals, Trends, and Methodologies in the Modern Era) is a three-volume study on the history, foundations, and modern approaches to Quranic interpretation by the Palestinian-Jordanian Islamic scholar Fadl Hasan Abbas (d. 1432 AH / 2011 CE) al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.

Background and Purpose

The book was conceived to provide a critical and systematic evaluation of Quranic exegesis (tafsir) and its practitioners in the modern period al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. Fadl Abbas noted that existing literature on modern tafsir required rigorous re-examination, as modern exegesis encompasses varied intellectual tendencies with distinct strengths and shortcomings al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. In the preliminary sections, the author reviews earlier academic surveys of exegetical literature, including works by Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi, Abd al-Majid al-Muhtasib, Muhammad Ibrahim al-Sharif, and Salah al-Khalidi, engaging critically with their classifications and assessments al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+3.

Structure and Contents

The work is organized into three volumes, divided across theoretical foundations, exegetical schools, and individual exegetical methodologies:

Volume 1: Fundamentals and Trends (al-Tafsir: Asasiyyatuhu wa Ittijahatuhu)

This volume lays down the theoretical grounding for Quranic exegesis and is structured into a preliminary section and three parts al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1:

• Preliminary section (al-Tamhid): Surveys the contributions of previous scholars who cataloged and analyzed tafsir literature al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.
• Part 1: Examines the definitions of tafsir and ta'wil, the necessity of exegesis, the historical stages of tafsir before and during the codification era (asr al-tadwin), tradition-based interpretation (al-tafsir al-ma'thur or al-athari) versus reason-based interpretation (al-tafsir bi-l-ra'y), and the scholarly stance on biblical narratives (al-Isra'iliyyat) al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.
• Part 2: Investigates the causes of disagreement among exegetes (ikhtilaf al-mufassirin), the linguistic and hermeneutical grounds for divergence, and includes an applied case study analyzing disputed verses across Surat al-Hajj al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.
• Part 3: Discusses major exegetical trends, including rhetorical (bayani), legal (fiqhi), theological (i'tiqadi), and thematic (mawdu'i) trends, as well as aberrant or deviant interpretations al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.

Volume 2: Exegetes and Their Schools (al-Mufassirun: Madarisuhum wa Manahijuhum – Part 1)

Completed by the author in Rabi al-Thani 1427 AH / May 2006 CE, this volume focuses on modern exegetical movements and their prominent figures al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1:

• The Modern Socio-Intellectual School (al-madrasah al-aqliyyah al-ijtima'iyyah): Covers the methodologies of Muhammad Abduh, Muhammad Rashid Rida, Abd al-Qadir al-Maghribi, Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi, Ahmad Mustafa al-Maraghi, Mahmud Shaltut, and Abd al-Jalil Isa al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru….
• Individual Modern Exegetes: Examines the commentaries of Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (Mahasin al-Ta'wil), Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (al-Tafsir al-Wasit), Muhammad Farid Wajdi, Muhammad Hasanayn Makhluf (Safwat al-Bayan li-Ma'ani al-Qur'an), Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, Abd al-Hamid Ibn Badis, Hasan al-Banna, and Muhammad al-Khidr Husayn Taaqibat Jamal al-Din al-…+1.

Volume 3: Exegetes and Their Schools (al-Mufassirun: Madarisuhum wa Manahijuhum – Part 2)

The final volume covers several key twentieth-century commentators al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1:

• Chapters authored directly by Fadl Abbas:
  • Abul A'la Maududi (Tafhim al-Qur'an) al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru….
  • Sa'id Hawwa (al-Asas fi al-Tafsir) al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru….
  • Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti (Adwa' al-Bayan) al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru….
  • Muhammad Izzat Darwaza (al-Tafsir al-Hadith) al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru….
  • Abd al-Qadir Mulla Huwaysh (Bayan al-Ma'ani) al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru….
• Posthumous supplementary chapters: As requested by the author prior to his death, three chapters were compiled and added to complete the volume: Muhammad Abu Zahra (written by his daughter, Dr. Sana Fadl Abbas), Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn Ashur (excerpted from a study by Dr. Jamal Abu Hassan), and Abd al-Karim al-Khatib (authored by Dr. Jihad al-Nusayrat) al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.

Publication

The work was published posthumously in three volumes by Dar al-Nafa'is in Amman, Jordan, in 1437 AH / 2016 CE Taaqibat Jamal al-Din al-…+1.