al-Tasarif li-Tafsir al-Quran Mimma Ishtabahat Asma'uhu wa Tasarrafat Ma'anihi
- Author died
- 200 AH
- Editions
- al-Sharikah al-Tunisiyyah lil-Tawzi'
Al-Tasarif li-Tafsir al-Quran Mimma Ishtabahat Asma'uhu wa Tasarrafat Ma'anihi ("The Semantic Variations in Interpreting the Quran Regarding Terms of Identical Form and Divergent Meanings") is an early Quranic treatise on al-wujuh wa-l-naza'ir (polysemy and semantic variants) authored by the Basran exegete Yahya ibn Salam (124–200 AH / 742–815 CE) .
Authorship and Attribution
The surviving manuscript leaves bear the title ascribed with the preposition li- to the author's grandson, Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Salam . However, comparative analysis demonstrates that the grandson acted as the transmitter (rawi) of his grandfather's compositions, following the same scribal notation found on manuscripts of Yahya ibn Salam's Tafsir . The text exhibits near-total phrasing and interpretive alignment with Yahya ibn Salam's Tafsir, regularly incorporates internal statements such as "said Yahya" (قال يحيى), and reflects early Basran exegetical transmissions, confirming that the original author was Yahya ibn Salam himself .
Subject and Methodology
The work belongs to the field of al-wujuh wa-l-naza'ir (Quranic homonyms and polysemy), examining recurring terms whose contextual meanings shift across different passages . Unlike most contemporary books in this genre that used the terms al-ashbah or al-wujuh in their main titles, Yahya employed the term al-tasarif (semantic derivations and permutations) .
For each treated lemma, the author states the total count of distinct meanings (wujuh) it assumes across the Quranic text, enumerates each facet in numerical sequence, and cites parallel verses (naza'ir) exhibiting that specific meaning using the formula "and its parallel is" (ونظيرها) . A significant portion of the selected vocabulary addresses theological themes—such as kufr (unbelief), huda (guidance), iman (faith), and shirk (polytheism)—as well as eschatological terms like al-akhirah (the Hereafter), al-sirat (the path), and al-sayhah (the blast) . The work relies heavily on transmitted exegetical reports (riwayah) from Early Successors, including al-Hasan al-Basri, Mujahid ibn Jabr, and Qatadah ibn Di'amah .
Comparison with Other Works
Al-Tasarif shares extensive structural and lexical parallels with the earlier treatise al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza'ir by Muqatil ibn Sulayman (d. 150 AH / 767 CE), with both works opening with the term huda . The two texts share approximately 77 common words; however, al-Tasarif includes roughly 40 entries absent from Muqatil's text . In 11 entries, Yahya identifies more semantic facets than Muqatil, whereas Muqatil provides more in only 3 instances . Furthermore, while Muqatil largely omitted authorities for his glosses, Yahya regularly attributes interpretations to early authorities . Because both scholars were active in Basra during the mid-2nd century AH, scholars consider it probable that they drew from shared teachers or common early Basran traditions .
Manuscript and Publication
The work was long obscured in biographical records and bibliographies until its manuscript was identified in Kairouan, Tunisia . Written on parchment in clear Maghrebi script, the manuscript dates to around the middle of the 4th century AH and preserves auditory certificates (sama'at) referencing the scholar Abu Zakariyya .
The extant portions include Part 1 (containing 32 explained words, starting with huda and closing with the heading ‘udwan), Part 4 (containing 39 entries, from zahr to yawm), and surviving folios from Part 2, while other segments remain lost . The treatise was critical-edited by the Tunisian scholar Hind Shalabi and published in Tunis in Rabi' al-Awwal 1400 AH (1980 CE), with gaps supplemented from parallel early works, primarily Muqatil's al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza'ir .
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