Tafsir al-Izz ibn Abd al-Salam
- Author died
- 660 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn Ḥazm
Tafsir al-Izz ibn Abd al-Salam (The Exegesis of al-Izz ibn Abd al-Salam) is a concise commentary on the Qur'an by the Shafi'i jurist Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam (d. 660 AH / 1262 CE), composed as an abridgment (ikhtisar) of Abu al-Hasan al-Mawardi's (d. 450 AH / 1058 CE) exegetical work al-Nukat wa-l-Uyun .
Context and Nature of the Work
Ibn Abd al-Salam authored two exegetical works: this abridgment of al-Mawardi's commentary and an original commentary composed from scratch that remained in manuscript form . In the abridgment, he did not explicitly state his motive or methodology for summarizing al-Mawardi's text .
Because the work is an abridgment of al-Nukat wa-l-Uyun, its underlying sources reflect those utilized by al-Mawardi . These include early traditional commentaries such as that of Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari; early philological and grammatical works on Qur'anic vocabulary and phrasing by scholars such as al-Farra', al-Akhfash, Tha'lab, al-Zajjaj, Qutrub, Abu Ubaydah, and Ibn Qutaybah; early narrative and exegetical texts by Muhammad ibn al-Sa'ib al-Kalbi, Muqatil ibn Sulayman, and Muhammad ibn Ishaq; Mu'tazili commentaries by Ali ibn Isa al-Rummani and Abu Muslim al-Isfahani; and Sufi interpretations such as those of Sahl al-Tustari .
Structure
The commentary opens with a brief introduction addressing fundamental Qur'anic topics, including the names of the Qur'an, the definitions of surah and ayah, the seven modes of revelation (al-ahruf al-sab'ah), and the inimitability of the Qur'an (i'jaz) . Following this introduction, Ibn Abd al-Salam comments on the Qur'an sequentially, surah by surah, beginning with Surat al-Fatihah and concluding with Surat al-Nas .
Methodological Characteristics
The work exhibits several distinguishing methodological features:
- Presentation of Multiple Interpretations: Ibn Abd al-Salam collects diverse exegetical views for individual verses, encompassing narrations from the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, and the Successors, alongside scholarly derivations from later Sunni, Mu'tazili, and Sufi figures . He typically links alternative interpretations with the disjunctive particle "or" (aw), frequently omitting the attribution of opinions to their specific authorities and rarely weighing (tarjih) between competing interpretations, in contrast to al-Mawardi's practice of enumerating and attributing opinions .
- Handling of Variant Readings (Qira'at): He presents variant readings concisely, highlighting their interpretive meanings while rarely naming the specific reciters associated with them .
- Reduction of Sufi Statements: While al-Mawardi frequently quoted statements from Sufis—often under headings such as ashab al-khawatir or ashab al-isharah—Ibn Abd al-Salam included such sayings only sparingly .
- Treatment of Israelite Narratives (Isra'iliyyat): Following al-Mawardi, Ibn Abd al-Salam minimized the inclusion of Isra'iliyyat narratives, further condensing or omitting several accounts present in al-Mawardi's original text .
Manuscripts and Publication
The text is preserved in a manuscript at the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah, MS 32 Tafsir) titled Tafsir al-Qur'an li-l-Shaykh al-Imam Sultan al-Ulama Izz al-Din Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd al-Salam al-Sulami al-Dimashqi al-Shafi'i ikhtisar al-Nukat wa-l-Uyun li-l-Mawardi . The manuscript comprises 230 folios (460 large-format pages) with 23 lines per page, transcribed in a hand resembling eighth-century AH calligraphy, with surah titles and Qur'anic verses written in red ink .
The commentary was edited by Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim al-Wahibi and published by Dar Ibn Hazm in Beirut (1416 AH / 1996 CE) .
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