al-Zamakhshari’s Al-Kashshaf an haqaiq al-tanzil
wa uyun al-aqawil fi wujuh al-tawil (The Unveiler
of the Subtle Truths of Revelation and Essences
of Discussions Concerning Aspects of Exegesis,
12th century), which approaches the Quran with
a focus on its grammar, philology, and literary
qualities. Al-Zamakhshari was a Hanafi jurist from
Persia, and like al-Tabari, he excelled in his com-
mand of Arabic. Even though his commentary
reflects Mutazili influence, it nevertheless holds
high esteem among Sunni scholars. An abridged
version of it, Anwar al-tanzil (The Lights of Rev-
elation), was composed by al-Baydawi (d. 1286)
and became a popular text in Sunni madrasas. It is
short and relatively easy to use. Another commen-
tary based on those of al-Zamakhshari and al-Bay-
dawi, but with all traces of Mutazilism removed,
was that of the Hanafi scholar Abu al-Barakat
al-Nasafi (d. 1310). Fakhr al-Din al-Razi’s Mafatih
al-ghayb (Keys to the Unseen, published in eight
large volumes), written in the late 12th/early 13th
century, represents a more theological and scien-
tific approach to interpreting the Quran. Al-Razi
was an expert in Ashari theology, and wrote his
tafsir under its influence, but added significant
scientific and philosophical insights drawn from
Greek, Persian, and Indian sources, as well as Ara-
bic ones. A pious man by nature, he nevertheless
favored reason over unquestioning reliance on
traditional sources, and he maintained that nature
itself provided proof of God’s existence. A later
tafsir, written in the 16th century, was Jalal al-
Din al-Muhalla and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti’s Tafsir
al-Jalalayn (The Commentary of the Two Jalals).
Along with al-Baydawi’s commentary, it was widely
used in madrasas and has become a popular tafsir
because of its brevity and simplicity.
The Shia consider their Imams to be the
most learned and qualified to engage in quranic
commentary, not the Companions and their Suc-
cessors. Among the Twelve-Imam Shia, a further
distinction is made between commentaries writ-
ten before the Great Occultation (ghayba) of the
12th Imam in 941 and those that came later. Two
early commentaries are attributed to the sixth and
eleventh Imams, Jaafar al-Sadiq and Hasan al-
Askari (d. 874). The leading commentaries of the
later period were Abu Jaafar al-Tusi’s (d. 1066–67)
Al-Tibyan fi tafsir al-Quran (The Clarification
in Quran Commentary) and Abu Ali al-Fadl al-
Tabarsi’s (d. 1154) Majmaa al-bayan li-tafsir al-
Quran (The Confluence of Elucidation for Quran
Commentary), both of which took a more moder-
ate attitude toward Sunnism than early Shii com-
mentaries and reflect Mutazili influence.
Like the Shiis, especially the Ismailis, Sufis
looked for the hidden, allegorical, and moral
meanings of the Quran, although a number of
them also treated its grammatical, historical,
and legal aspects. Perhaps the most notable early
Sufi commentary was Sahl al-Tustari’s (d. 896)
Kitab fahm al-Quran (Book of Understanding the
Quran), compiled by his disciples. Al-Tustari, a
Persian who spent his last years in Basra (Iraq),
provided commentary for about 1,000 verses of
the Quran, including lore about the prophets, sto-
ries and teachings of earlier Sufis, moral advice,
instructions for his disciples, and anecdotes about
his personal life. He included little of the standard
kinds of commentary found in the works of al-
Tabari, al-Zamakhshari, and Ibn Kathir. His work
was especially influential in andalUsia (Islamicate
Spain), where it contributed to the formation of
Muhyi al-Din ibn al-Arabi’s (d. 1240) mystical
thought. Ibn al-Arabi himself is credited with
having written a partial commentary consisting
of some 66 volumes, but it has been lost. Com-
mentaries by him and his disciples on specific
sections of the Quran have survived, however, and
significant parts of his other major works, includ-
ing Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (Meccan Revelations),
contain large amounts of exegetical material.
Other Sufi commentaries include those of Abu
Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (d. 1021), Abd al-Karim
al-Qushayri (d. 1072), Ruzbihan baqli (d. 1209),
and Rashid al-Din al-Maybudi (d. 1135).
Modern Commentaries. Print editions of medi-
eval tafsir books enjoy widespread circulationK 654 tafsir