Tafsir Ishaq al-Busti
- Author died
- 307 AH
- Editions
- Tafsir Ishaq al-Busti
Tafsir Ishaq al-Busti is an early work of transmission-based Quranic commentary (tafsir bi-l-ma'thur) by the judge and traditionist Ishaq al-Busti (d. 307 AH / 919–920 CE) .
Author and Context
The author, Abu Muhammad Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Busti al-Qadi, belonged to the generation of the junior recipients from the successors of the Followers (tabi' al-atba'), comparable to the rank of al-Tirmidhi, and was among the teachers of Ibn Hibban . Despite his scholarship, al-Busti remained relatively obscure in biographical literature, and his commentary was not among the sources cited by al-Suyuti in his compilation al-Durr al-manthur .
Content and Characteristics
The work is characterized by its high-quality chains of transmission (isnad), most of which meet the criteria of the two sound collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim ('ala shart al-Sahihayn) . It preserves several unique and rare early traditions (athar) :
- Transmission of Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah’s Tafsir: The work stands as one of the primary extant sources for the lost Tafsir of Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah (d. 198 AH), transmitting a distinct, well-preserved version through al-Busti’s teacher, Muhammad ibn Abi 'Umar al-Adani (d. 243 AH) .
- Quranic Readings (Qira'at): It transmits the work of Harun ibn Musa al-A'war on variant readings, with a particular focus on the readings of the Basran tradition, notably those of al-Hasan al-Basri and Abu 'Amr al-Basri .
Manuscript and Academic Editions
A surviving manuscript representing the second half of the work—beginning from Surah al-Kahf and extending through the end of the Quran—is preserved in the Alexandria Municipal Library (Maktabat al-Baladiyyah) in Egypt, with the author explicitly identified in folio 126b . Portions of this manuscript have been edited in doctoral dissertations at the Islamic University of Madinah:
- An edition from the beginning of Surah al-Kahf to the end of Surah al-Shu'ara, prepared by Awad ibn Muhammad ibn Dhafir al-Omari in 1413 AH .
- An edition from the beginning of Surah al-Naml through verse 12 of Surah al-Najm, prepared by Uthman Ma'allim Mahmud Shaykh Ali in 1416 AH .
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