sciousness. Another prominent S:u ̄f ̄ı, Abu ̄ H:am ̄ıd al-Ghaza ̄l ̄ı
(d. 1111), did not write a commentary on the QurDa ̄n as such
but found many occasions on which to record his approach
to the text of scripture from the point of view of the intellec-
tual S:u ̄f ̄ı. For al-Ghaza ̄l ̄ı as for most other mystics, the
QurDa ̄n works on two levels: the practical and the cognitive.
The former applies to the inner self and its purification with-
out neglect of the outer activities, while the latter is a mean-
ing found through inner experience in light of mystical
thought, and it can be reached only through firm knowledge
of the practical or outer aspects. EAbd al-Razza ̄q al-Qa ̄sha ̄n ̄ı
(d. 1330?) compiled perhaps the most widely known S:u ̄f ̄ı
tafs ̄ır, although it has often been mistakenly attributed di-
rectly to his teacher, the famous Muh:y ̄ı al-D ̄ın ibn al-EArab ̄ı
(d. 1240), and thus is usually known under the title of Tafs ̄ır
Ibn al-EArab ̄ı (The interpretation of Ibn al-EArab ̄ı). As with
al-Ghaza ̄l ̄ı, the outer principles of religion are not to be for-
gotten, although within the context of the tafs ̄ır they certain-
ly become submerged under allegorical interpretation, here
seen in terms of the esoteric inner meaning as well as the
symbolism of real events in the world.
EMERGENCE OF MODERN TAFS ̄IR. The rise of colonialism
and the impact of Western thought in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries certainly did not spell the end of tafs ̄ır
activity; in fact, at various times, the modern world has pro-
voked more and more voluminous commentary upon the
QurDa ̄n. Modern tafs ̄ır is no different in basic impetus from
its classical counterpart; it, too, desires to fit the text of scrip-
ture to the conditions of the era contemporary with the inter-
preter.
The impact of science has perhaps been the major factor
in creating new demands and also the element of contempo-
rary life to which much early modern tafs ̄ır made its re-
sponse. Muslims had not understood the true message of the
QurDa ̄n, most modernists argued, and had therefore lost
touch with the true scientific, rational spirit of the text. Out
of this basic point several elements have emerged that unite
all modernist interpretations: (1) the attempt is made to in-
terpret the QurDa ̄n in the light of reason (“to interpret the
QurDa ̄n by the QurDa ̄n,” as it is frequently phrased) rather
than with all the extraneous material provided by tradition
in the form of h:ad ̄ıth reports and earlier commentaries;
“Back to the source” often becomes the motto of such ap-
proaches; (2) the attempt is made, through the expediency
of interpretation, to strip the QurDa ̄n of all legendary traits,
primitive ideas, fantastic stories, magic, fables, and supersti-
tion; symbolic interpretation is the primary means for such
resolutions; (3) the attempt is made to rationalize doctrine
as found in or as justified by reference to the QurDa ̄n.
The earliest focal point of modernist tafs ̄ır activity arose
in India. Sha ̄h Wal ̄ı Alla ̄h (1703–1762) is often seen as the
precursor of the Indian reformist movement, but that trend
reached its true blossoming with the Indian civil servant and
educator Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817–1898), who wrote the
first major explicitly modernist tafs ̄ır, entitled simply Tafs ̄ır
al-QurDa ̄n. His commentary was directed toward making all
Muslims aware of the fact that Western influence in the
world required a new vision of Islam, for Islam as it was actu-
ally practiced and believed in by most of its adherents would
be seriously threatened by modern advances in thought and
science. Where, therefore, was the true core of Islam to be
found? How was its center to be defined? For Ahmad Khan,
these questions were to be answered through reference to the
QurDa ̄n, which, if it were properly understood through the
use of the powers of reason, would provide the necessary an-
swers. The basis of the required social and educational re-
forms, for example, were to be found in the QurDa ̄n. By re-
turning to the source of Islam, the religion would be
revitalized and the future would be secure.In the Arab world, Muh:ammad EAbduh (1849–1905),
a vigorous champion of educational reform, also wrote a
commentary on the QurDa ̄n, commonly called Tafs ̄ır
al-Mana ̄r (The interpretation of al-Mana ̄r), which was com-
pleted after his death by his pupil Rash ̄ıd Rid:a ̄ (1865–1935).
Not overly modernistic in outlook, EAbduh’s tafs ̄ır does,
however, urge the moderate use of rationality in matters of
theology and tries to demonstrate that the QurDa ̄n is to be
read primarily as a source of moral guidance applicable to the
modern situation. The spiritual aspect of the QurDa ̄n was
most important to EAbduh, and he, like many commentators
in the past, was quite prepared to leave certain matters in the
QurDa ̄n unexplained and to concentrate on their mysterious-
ness rather than to suggest resolutions for interpretational
difficulties.
This type of interpretation continues more recently in
the Arab world, represented, for example, by the intellectual
spokesman for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid
Qut:b (1906–1959), who in his work F ̄ı z:ila ̄l al-QurDa ̄n (In
the shade of the QurDa ̄n) interprets the text according to his
own particular ideological leanings. India, too, has produced
many such commentaries; examples are Abu ̄ al-Kala ̄m Aza ̄d
(1888–1959), whose Urdu work Tarjuma ̄n al-QurDa ̄n (The
interpretation [or translation] of the QurDa ̄n) emphasized the
notion of the unity of humankind while its author faced the
rising tide favoring the formation of Pakistan, and Abu ̄
al-AEla ̄ Mawdu ̄d ̄ı (1903–1979), the author of Tafh ̄ım
al-QurDa ̄n (The meaning of the QurDa ̄n), who uses the
QurDa ̄n to establish a blueprint for a future Islamic society
in Pakistan to be formed through his political party,
Jama ̄Eat-i Isla ̄m ̄ı.
The impact of Western science is perhaps the most no-
table aspect of modern commentaries. Both Ahmad Khan
and EAbduh were intent on encouraging their compatriots to
embrace the scientific outlook of the West in order to share
in the progress of the modern world. Often this effort in-
volved little more than simply stating that the QurDa ̄n en-
joins its readers to seek and use rational knowledge, but at
other times it also involved the historical claim that Islam
had developed science in the first place and had then passed
it on to Europe, so that in embracing the scientific outlookTAFS ̄IR 8955