Tafsir Asma Allah al-Husna li al-Saadi
- Author died
- 1376 AH
- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
Tafsir Asma Allah al-Husna li al-Saadi (تفسير أسماء الله الحسنى للسعدي, Explanation of the Most Beautiful Names of God by al-Sa'di) is a treatise compiling and studying the theological commentary on the Divine Names by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Sadi (1307–1376 AH / 1889–1956 CE) . The collection was assembled, edited, and studied by researcher Ubayd ibn Ali al-Ubayd from across al-Sa'di's various writings on Islamic creed and Quranic exegesis .
Background and Compilation
The compiler originally planned to publish an independent edition of a specific chapter dedicated to explaining the Divine Names that al-Sa'di had placed following his commentary on Surat al-Nahl in his major exegesis Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman . Upon consulting other scholars, al-Ubayd decided instead to broaden the scope by collecting every discussion of the Divine Names scattered across al-Sa'di's published oeuvre . In compiling the material, al-Ubayd utilized an index of passages on the Divine Names in al-Sa'di's writings provided to him by Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr (al-Abbad) .
The material was gathered from seven of al-Sa'di's works :
- Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman fi Tafsir Kalam al-Manan
- Taysir al-Latif al-Mannan fi Khulasat Tafsir al-Qur'an
- Tawdih al-Kafiyah al-Shafiyah
- Al-Haqq al-Wadih al-Mubin fi Sharh Tawhid al-Anbiya' wa-al-Mursalin min al-Kafiyah al-Shafiyah
- Al-Mawahib al-Rabbaniyyah min al-Ayat al-Qur'aniyyah
- Bahjat Qulub al-Abrar wa-Qurrat Uyun al-Akhyar fi Sharh Jawami al-Akhbar
- Majmu al-Fawa'id wa-Iqtinas al-Awahid
Methodology and Structure
The compiled volume is organized into an introductory study followed by the core alphabetical presentation of the Divine Names :
- The Introductory Study: Comprises four research topics: a biographical sketch of al-Sa'di; an analysis of his methodology regarding the Divine Names; the scriptural nature (tawqifiyyah) of God's Names; and an analytical discussion of the prophetic hadith mentioning ninety-nine names . In examining al-Sa'di's method, the editor notes that al-Sa'di did not restrict himself to previous enumerations or rely strictly on the narrations listing ninety-nine names attributed to Abu Hurayrah—citing names like al-Sattar based on his reading of scriptural texts—while giving special emphasis to systematic theological rules governing the Names and Attributes .
- The Textual Corpus: The Names are arranged alphabetically, numbered sequentially, and presented using al-Sa'di's direct words placed within quotation marks while removing redundancies across his texts . The editor added scriptural citations in footnotes where al-Sa'di had not explicitly cited verses or hadiths, cross-referenced Quranic passages, provided hadith documentation (takhrij), and concluded with analytical indexes .
Publication
The work was published in Medina within the academic journal Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah bi-al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (issue 112, 1421 AH / 2000 CE) .
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