Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri

Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri is an early work of traditional Quranic exegesis (tafsir bi-l-ma'thur) by the Kufan jurist and traditionist Sufyan al-Thawri (97–161 AH / 715–778 CE), preserved through the transmission of his student Abu Hudhayfa Musa ibn Mas'ud al-Nahdi (d. 220 AH) Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri+1.

Scope and Method

The work comprises both traditional narrative exegesis transmitted from earlier generations and interpretive statements formulated by Sufyan himself, though transmitted traditions make up the bulk of the text Mawsuat al-Tafsir al-Math…. The majority of these reports stem from the Meccan school of exegesis, prominently relying on Mujahid ibn Jabr Mawsuat al-Tafsir al-Math…+1. It also cites other leading Successors, such as 'Ikrima, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim, al-Hasan al-Basri, 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah, Tawus, and al-Suddi Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri.

Narrations in the collection are linked to numerous Companions—including Abu Bakr, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, and the mothers of the believers 'A'isha and Umm Salama—alongside rare traditions attributed directly to the Prophet ﷺ Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri+1. Most chains of transmission (isnads) within the surviving text are broken (munqati'), and the total number of recorded narrations stands at 911 Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri+1. Sufyan’s approach was selective rather than sequential, focusing primarily on obscure or difficult phrasing rather than providing a continuous, verse-by-verse commentary Mawsuat al-Tafsir al-Math….

Structure and Arrangement

The surahs in the text are arranged according to the standard 'Uthmanic order, though certain chapters, such as Surah Muhammad and Surah al-Dukhan, are absent due to the lack of recorded traditions for them in Sufyan's transmission Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri. Within individual surahs, the verse order does not strictly follow conventional sequencing: later verses are occasionally placed before earlier ones, and interpretations of certain verses are found grouped under different surahs Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri.

Reception and Manuscripts

Sufyan’s exegetical reports were widely drawn upon by prominent classical compilers of Quranic commentary, notably his student 'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani, as well as Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim Mawsuat al-Tafsir al-Math….

The surviving text of the work was preserved in a single manuscript lacking its opening and concluding folios, discovered in the Raza Library in Rampur, India Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri+1. It was first edited and published in India by the scholar Imtiyaz 'Ali 'Arshi, and this edition was later reprinted in Beirut in 1403 AH / 1983 CE Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri+1.