Mabahith al-Tafsir li-Ibn al-Muzaffar al-Razi
- Author died
- 638 AH
- Editions
- Kunūz Ishbīlyā
Mabahith al-Tafsir (Inquiries of Exegesis) is a critical Quranic commentary treatise composed by the Hanafi scholar Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar al-Razi (d. after 630 AH / 1233 CE), consisting of glosses, corrections, and critical discussions on al-Kashf wa-l-Bayan by Abu Ishaq al-Tha'labi .
Subject and Methodology
The work serves as a detailed commentary and set of rectifications (istidrakat) directed at al-Tha'labi's major exegesis . The author begins the text without a traditional preface, citing passages directly from al-Tha'labi and proceeding to scrutinize them, expand upon the meanings, or respond to theological and interpretive difficulties . The discussion generally follows the standard sequence of the chapters (surahs) of the Quran .
Structure and Scope
The critiques in the book encompass 70 surahs of the Quran, while leaving 44 surahs without comment . Across these chapters, Ibn al-Muzaffar addresses a total of 255 discrete academic issues, divided across several disciplines:
- Exegesis, Quranic sciences, recitations (qira'at), and tajwid: 149 issues .
- Arabic language (grammar, poetry, proverbs, and vocabulary): 34 issues .
- Hadith studies: 34 issues, including 12 placed together at the conclusion of the treatise .
- Jurisprudence (fiqh): 15 issues .
- History, biography, and sirah: 13 issues .
- Creed and theology (aqidah): 10 issues .
In some biographical and bibliographical registers, the work is also referred to under the title Mabadi al-Tafsir .
Transmission and Publication
A surviving manuscript of the work preserved at Dar al-Kutub contains an exegesis license (ijazah) at its conclusion written by the author for his student Jamshid ibn Yahudha, dated Rabi' al-Awwal 630 AH . The treatise was edited and studied by Hatim ibn 'Abid ibn 'Abdullah al-Qurashi and published in a single volume by Kunuz Ishbilya in Saudi Arabia in 1430 AH / 2009 CE .
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