Tafsir al-Nasafi = Madarik al-Tanzil wa Haqaiq al-Tawil
- Author died
- 710 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kalim al-Ṭayyib
Madārik al-Tanzīl wa-Ḥaqāʾiq al-Taʾwīl (Arabic: مدارك التنزيل وحقائق التأويل, lit. 'The Perceptions of Revelation and Realities of Interpretation'), commonly known as Tafsīr al-Nasafī, is an intermediate-length commentary on the Qur'an authored by the Hanafi scholar Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi (d. 710 AH / 1310 CE; also recorded as d. 701 AH) .
Background and Composition
In his introduction, Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi states that he was requested by an unnamed patron whose request he could not refuse to author a balanced commentary—neither excessively long nor deficiently concise—that harmonized syntax, variant readings, and rhetorical nuances, while presenting Sunni theological tenets free from what he characterized as the erroneous views of sectarian groups . Although he initially hesitated out of caution and a sense of human limitation, he subsequently undertook the project and completed it within a brief period .
Method and Sources
The work is largely structured as a selective synthesis and abridgment of two major earlier commentaries: al-Kashshaf by al-Zamakhshari (d. 538 AH) and Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Ta'wil by al-Baydawi (d. 685 AH) . Al-Nasafi drew heavily upon al-Zamakhshari’s linguistic insights and rhetorical formulations (badiʿ and ishārāt), but stripped out the Muʿtazili doctrines present in al-Kashshaf, along with its question-and-answer expository style, in order to align the commentary with Sunni orthodoxy .
The commentary is characterized by several specific methodological features:
- Variant Readings (Qirāʾāt): Al-Nasafi adheres to the seven canonical readings, systematically identifying and attributing each variant to its respective reader .
- Grammar and Syntax (Iʿrāb): Grammatical analysis is incorporated where relevant without extensive digressions into broader grammatical disputes .
- Jurisprudence (Fiqh): In legal verses (āyāt al-aḥkām), al-Nasafi outlines the divergent positions among juristic schools and typically champions the rulings of the Hanafi school .
- Narratives and Hadith: The work generally limits reliance on Isrāʾīliyyāt (Judaeo-Christian narratives), at times explicitly rejecting reports that compromise theological principles—such as questionable narratives surrounding Dawud, Sulayman, and the report of the gharānīq—though critics note that certain unverified stories and fabricated narrations concerning the individual virtues of surahs were nonetheless reproduced .
Reception and Abridgments
Due to its balanced scope and conciseness, Madārik al-Tanzīl became a widely utilized manual of Qur'anic exegesis among students and scholars . It was later abridged with supplementary additions by Zayn al-Din Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr ibn al-Ayni (d. 893 AH) . A claim mentioned by Haji Khalifa that Burhan al-Din al-Nasafi (d. 687 AH) had abridged the book is noted as chronologically impossible, likely referring instead to Madārik al-ʿUqūl .
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