Tafsir Ayat al-Ahkam - al-Sayis
- Author died
- 1396 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Asriyyah lil-Tiba'ah wal-Nashr
Tafsir Ayat al-Ahkam (Interpretation of the Verses of Legal Rulings) is a modern Arabic work of legal Quranic exegesis commonly attributed to the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Ali al-Sayis (1319–1396 AH / 1899–1976 CE), former dean of the Faculties of Usul al-Din and Sharia at Al-Azhar University . The book surveys the majority of the legal verses across the Quran and elucidates the substantive Islamic legal rulings derived from them .
Authorship and Attribution
Although the work is widely taught and referenced under al-Sayis's name among students and scholars of Islamic jurisprudence, researchers have noted questions surrounding its authorship . An edition published in 1356 AH (1937 CE) appeared without an author's name on the title page, while a later printing in 1373 AH indicated on its cover that it was revised and corrected under the supervision of al-Sayis . Consequently, scholars such as Fahd al-Rumi concluded that its precise attribution to al-Sayis is primarily one of scholarly revision, editing, and supervision rather than original composition .
Scope, Method, and Sources
The work is structured around the Quranic text, examining legal verses and extracting their jurisprudential implications . Its exegetical approach integrates various classical methodologies and draws upon foundational reference works across three main domains:
- Traditional Exegesis (tafsir bi-l-ma'thur): The text relies primarily on Ibn Jarir al-Tabari's Jami' al-Bayan, as well as al-Suyuti's al-Durr al-Manthur .
- Rational and Linguistic Exegesis (tafsir bi-l-ra'y): It draws extensively on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's Mafatih al-Ghayb, al-Zamakhshari (especially for linguistic and theological discussions), Abu al-Su'ud's Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim, and al-Alusi's Ruh al-Ma'ani .
- Legal Literature (ahkam al-Qur'an): For comparative jurisprudence and the analysis of legal derivations, the text relies predominantly on the classical works of al-Jassas, Abu Bakr Ibn al-'Arabi, and al-Qurtubi .
Reception and Editions
Tafsir Ayat al-Ahkam is regarded as one of the prominent twentieth-century reference texts in the field of legal exegesis within Sunnite scholarship, frequently categorized alongside modern works such as Siddiq Hasan Khan's Nayl al-Maram and Muhammad Ali al-Sabuni's Rawa'i' al-Bayan .
The work has been issued in multiple printings, including early editions printed by Matba'at Muhammad Ali Subayh in Cairo , an edition edited by Naji Suwaydan published by al-Maktaba al-'Asriyya (1423 AH / 2002 CE) , and a edition published by Dar Ibn Kathir in Damascus .
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