Mujam al-Mufassirin "min Sadr al-Islam wa Hatta al-Asr al-Hadir
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Mu'jam al-Mufassirin: Min Sadr al-Islam wa-Hatta al-'Asr al-Hadir (Biographical Dictionary of Quran Commentators: From the Advent of Islam to the Present Day) is a two-volume biographical encyclopedia authored by Adil Nuwayhid, cataloging the lives and works of Quranic exegetes across Islamic history .
Background and Composition
The dictionary was compiled as the second work in Nuwayhid's intended series of biographical dictionaries covering notable Arab and Muslim figures, and represented his first dictionary dedicated specifically to Quranic commentators . Nuwayhid completed compiling the text in May 1982 amidst severe disruptions caused by the civil conflict in Lebanon, during which he moved between the capital and the mountains and lost research materials, private papers, and working index cards to shelling and bombardment . Publication was further delayed when the 1982 Israeli invasion and siege of Beirut suspended printing operations and dispersed the publishing team, leaving the manuscript at the printing press until production could resume .
The book includes a preface penned by Nuwayhid dated 3 Sha'ban 1403 AH (15 May 1983 CE) and an introductory presentation by the Grand Mufti of the Republic of Lebanon, Shaykh Hasan Khalid . It was published in Beirut by Mu'assasat Nuwayhid al-Thaqafiyyah in two volumes, with its first edition appearing in 1403 AH (1983 CE) and a third edition in 1409 AH (1988 CE) .
Scope and Contents
The work contains approximately 2,000 biographical entries of Quran commentators from the early Islamic era through the contemporary period . It includes scholars who authored complete commentaries on the Quran as well as those who composed treatises on individual chapters (surahs) or specific verses . Nuwayhid also incorporated prominent figures among the Companions of the Prophet, the Successors (Tabi'un), and subsequent generations who were renowned for teaching tafsir in recognized study circles .
Methodology and Structure
The biographical entries are arranged alphabetically according to the Arabic alphabet, beginning with the subject's common name or sobriquet (shuhrah), or their given name if no famous title existed, placed alongside their birth and death dates in both the Hijri and Gregorian calendars . For instances where historical sources omitted the specific Hijri month of birth or death, Nuwayhid chose to provide a single preferred corresponding Gregorian year rather than listing both overlapping years .
Within each entry, the biography provides:
- The subject's full lineage, including their given name, father's and grandfather's names, and their descriptive affiliations (nisbahs) .
- Their secondary specializations outside tafsir, such as hadith, literature, or Arabic language .
- Places of birth and death, stages of education, and official positions held .
- An enumeration of their works on Quranic exegesis, with notes indicating whether each title has been printed or remains in manuscript form .
Entries sharing identical names are ordered chronologically by the death date of the biographees .
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