al-Wajiz lil-Wahidi
- Author died
- 468 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Qalam, al-Dār al-Shāmiyyah
al-Wajiz fi Tafsir al-Kitab al-Aziz (The Concise Commentary on the Mighty Book), commonly known as al-Wajiz, is a concise Quranic commentary (tafsir) composed by the Nishapuri scholar Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi (d. 468 AH / 1076 CE) .
Context and Purpose of Composition
al-Wahidi stated in his introduction that while he was engaged in composing an extensive, unprecedented commentary, he was urged before its completion by students of limited aptitude and modest learning to prepare a brief work on tafsir . He composed it to accommodate the abilities of the people of his era, aiming to make Quranic interpretation easily accessible and immediately beneficial for those seeking to memorize and study it .
Method and Scope
The author structured the work on strict brevity, avoiding lengthy discussions, divergences of opinion, and extensive lexical discursions . In interpreting verses, he restricted himself to a single authoritative statement attributed to Ibn Abbas or a scholar of equivalent standing, focusing on glossing difficult vocabulary with simpler phrasing .
Position Among al-Wahidi's Tafsir Works
al-Wajiz forms the shortest tier in al-Wahidi's celebrated trilogy of Quranic commentaries, which also comprises the extensive al-Tafsir al-Basit and the intermediate al-Wasit fi Tafsir al-Quran al-Majid . In the introduction to al-Wasit, al-Wahidi described al-Wajiz as being limited to the bare minimum of exposition, standing in contrast to the comprehensive elaboration of al-Basit . Unlike al-Wahidi's other two major commentaries, which remained in manuscript form for centuries, al-Wajiz was published earlier .
Notable Editions
The work was edited by Safwan Adnan Dawudi and published in a first edition in 1415 AH (1994/1995 CE) jointly by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus and al-Dar al-Shamiya in Beirut .
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