Fath al-Rahman fi Tafsir al-Quran
- Author died
- 928 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Nawadir (Publications of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs - Department of Islamic Affairs)
Fath al-Rahman fi Tafsir al-Quran (The Opening of the Beneficent in the Interpretation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quranic commentary written by the Palestinian Hanbali jurist, historian, and judge Mujir al-Din al-Ulaymi (860–928 AH / 1456–1522 CE) .
Title and Scope
The work is known under closely related titles across its manuscript tradition. In the oldest dated manuscript, it is titled Fath al-Rahman bi-Tafsir al-Quran, while on the title pages of copies in the Süleymaniye Library, the Chester Beatty Library, and the Zahiriyya Library, it appears as Fath al-Rahman bi-Tafsir al-Furqan . Biographical dictionaries such as Muhammad Jamil al-Shatti's Mukhtasar Tabaqat al-Hanabila and modern biographical reference works standardise the title as Fath al-Rahman fi Tafsir al-Quran .
Al-Ulaymi structured the work as an abridged yet refined synthesis drawn from the classical books of prominent Islamic scholars . He aimed to condense the core elements of Quranic exegesis into an accessible reference, avoiding excessive length while retaining essential linguistic, legal, and theological discussions .
Methodology and Structure
In his introduction, al-Ulaymi outlines the methodological framework applied throughout the commentary:
- Variant Readings (Qira'at): He incorporates the variations among the ten canonical reciters transmitted through sound chains, addressing differences in vocalization, their grammatical directions, and their interpretive meanings .
- Pausing Rules (al-Wuquf): He systematically indicates four categories of recitation pauses across verses: the complete pause (al-tamm), the sufficient (al-kafi), the good (al-hasan), and the deficient or prohibited (al-qabih) .
- Comparative Jurisprudence (al-Ahkam): Where a verse involves legal rulings, he summarizes points of consensus and divergence among the four Sunni legal schools—Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali—clarifying that his use of the phrase "by consensus" (bi-l-ittifaq) specifically denotes the unanimous agreement of these four schools .
- Theology and Principles: He concisely touches upon issues pertaining to Islamic creed (usul al-din) and legal theory (usul al-fiqh) in contexts where relevant verse themes arise .
- Context and Rhetoric: The commentary integrates historical contexts of revelation (asbab al-nuzul), distinctions between Meccan and Medinan passages, lexical clarification, rhetorical analysis, and relevant prophetic traditions and narratives .
Abridgment and Manuscripts
Al-Ulaymi prepared an abridgment of his own commentary titled al-Wajiz . Multiple manuscript copies of the original work have survived across international libraries, including the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, Princeton University Library, as well as institutional repositories in Damascus, Doha, and Riyadh .
Publication
A modern critical edition edited and verified by Nur al-Din Talib was published in 1430 AH / 2009 CE by Dar al-Nawadir under the auspices of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Qatar .
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