Tafsir al-Quran al-Aziz li-Ibn Abi Zamanin
- Author died
- 399 AH
- Editions
- Al-Fārūq al-Ḥadīthah
Tafsir al-Quran al-Aziz (Interpretation of the Mighty Quran) is a fourth-century AH work of Quranic exegesis by the Andalusian Maliki scholar Ibn Abi Zamanin (324–399 AH / 936–1008 CE), composed primarily as an abridgment and expansion of the earlier commentary of Yahya ibn Sallam (d. 200 AH) .
Origin and Purpose
In the introduction to the work, which was read to him in Cordoba in Sha'ban 395 AH, Ibn Abi Zamanin explains that he examined Yahya ibn Sallam's extensive tafsir and found within it considerable repetition and hadiths that were not essential to the core science of exegesis . Noting the declining stamina of contemporary students for voluminous texts, he sought to condense the original into a more manageable manual for study and memorization while supplementing areas that Yahya had left unexplained .
Method and Contents
Ibn Abi Zamanin's approach combines traditional transmission-based exegesis (tafsir bi-l-ma'thur) with linguistic and legal exposition:
- Structure and Attribution: Rather than providing a word-by-word gloss of every verse, the author selects specific phrases and passages that require clarification . He maintains a clear division between his source material and his own contributions: transmissions retained from Yahya ibn Sallam are typically prefaced with Qala Yahya ("Yahya said") or Yahya, whereas his own additions and explanations begin with Qala Muhammad ("Muhammad said") .
- Language and Grammar: Ibn Abi Zamanin incorporated substantial grammatical analysis (i'rab) and lexical explanations derived from philologists and grammarians whose approach aligned with the interpretive methods of the jurists .
- Variant Readings: He cites Quranic reading variants (qira'at) selectively, utilizing them to clarify the meaning, derivation, or grammatical function of words rather than compiling variants for their own sake .
Significance and Editions
Yahya ibn Sallam's original exegesis was highly regarded in North Africa and al-Andalus—with the Quran scholar Abu Amr al-Dani asserting that none among the early generations produced a work like it—leading several western Islamic scholars to adapt it, including Abd al-Rahman ibn Marwan al-Qanaza'i (d. 413 AH) and Hud ibn Muhakkam al-Hawwari (d. c. 380 AH) . Because large parts of Yahya's original commentary have not survived, Ibn Abi Zamanin's text serves as a primary source for preserving and reconstructing the missing portions of that second-century AH commentary .
Manuscripts of the work are preserved in repositories such as the al-Qarawiyyin Library in Fez and the British Museum . It was edited by Husayn ibn Ukashah and Muhammad ibn Mustafa al-Kanz and published in five volumes by al-Faruq al-Hadithah in Cairo (1423 AH / 2002 CE) .
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