Fath al-Qadir li al-Shawkani
- Author died
- 1250 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn Kathīr
Fath al-Qadir (fully titled Fath al-qadir al-jami' bayna fannay al-riwayah wa-l-dirayah min 'ilm al-tafsir, "The Opening of the All-Powerful: Combining the Arts of Transmission and Rational Analysis in Exegesis") is a comprehensive commentary on the Quran written by the Yemeni jurist and traditionist Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shawkani (1173–1250 AH / 1760–1834 CE) .
Background and Purpose
In the introduction to the work, al-Shawkani explains that he undertook the compilation because earlier commentators had largely divided into two distinct methods: one group restricted itself purely to transmitted narrations (al-riwayah), while the other focused almost entirely on Arabic linguistics, grammatical structures, and rational sciences (al-dirayah), paying little attention to transmitted traditions . Al-Shawkani designed Fath al-Qadir to combine both methodologies into a single balanced resource without relying exclusively on either school .
Method and Sources
Al-Shawkani follows the sequential order of the Quranic text from Surat al-Fatihah to the end of the Quran . For each passage, his exegesis proceeds in two main stages:
- Linguistic and Rational Analysis: He begins by interpreting the verses through Arabic lexicography, morphology, syntax (i'rab), and rhetoric (balaghah), and details variant Quranic readings (qira'at) and their authorities . When addressing legal verses (ayat al-ahkam), he presents the viewpoints of different legal schools, weighs their evidence, and exercises independent reasoning (ijtihad) to prefer specific conclusions without partisan adherence (taqlid) to a particular school .
- Transmitted Exegesis: At the end of his commentary on a given passage or set of verses, he enumerates the transmitted traditions (al-tafsir bi-l-ma'thur), citing prophetic hadiths, statements of the Companions, and narrations from the early generations (al-salaf) .
In constructing his analysis, al-Shawkani drew extensively upon major classical exegetes and authorities, including Abu Ja'far al-Nahhas, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Ibn Atiyyah, al-Zamakhshari, al-Qurtubi, and Ibn Kathir . For the transmission-based sections, he drew primarily upon Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Durr al-manthur fi al-tafsir bi-l-ma'thur ("The Scattered Pearls in Transmitted Exegesis"), supplementing it with other source collections .
Reception and Scholarly Assessment
Scholars have praised Fath al-Qadir for its integration of textual reports and linguistic deduction in a moderate length that avoids excessive elaboration while omitting little of substance . The Indian scholar Siddiq Hasan Khan observed that although earlier authors—such as Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Bahran—had attempted to combine transmission and reason, al-Shawkani's commentary was broader, better organized, and more comprehensive .
Regarding theological approach, commentators note that despite al-Shawkani's early background in Yemen's Zaydi tradition, Fath al-Qadir does not promote sectarian Zaydi doctrine; instead, it adheres to the creed of early Sunni traditionalists (madhhab al-salaf), affirming the scriptural descriptions of the divine attributes without figurative interpretation (ta'wil) or distortion (tahrif) .
A primary critique leveled against the work is that al-Shawkani frequently relied on al-Suyuti's compilation for narrations without examining their primary chains of transmission, at times citing weak or unverified reports alongside their source attributions without evaluating their authenticities directly in the text .
Publication
The book has been printed in several multi-volume editions, including an early standard Egyptian print in five volumes, as well as modern editions published in Cairo, Damascus, and Beirut .
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