تفسير النسفي: مدارك التنزيل وحقائق التأويل

Al-Imam al-Nasafi’s tafsir entitled Madarik al-tanzil wa-haqa’iq al-ta’wil is one of three texts that were most taught in traditional Islamic studies curricula: the tafsir works of al-Baydawi, al-Jalalayn and al-Nasafi. Of the three, al-Nasafi avoids some of the complexity of al-Baydawi and shuns the overly concise form of al-Jalalayn, making it ideally suited for group study. He bases his tafsir on the earlier tafsir works of al-Zamakhshari and al-Baydawi, while shunning the mu’tazili views of al-Zamakhshari. He engages with law and theology where relevant, and champions the Hanafi and Maturidi views throughout. He also adds details from the hadith-based tafsir tradition from the tafsir of al-Tha’alabi.

We will aim over several parts to complete the tafsir of the Holy Qur’an. In this introductory course, the aim will be a general introduction to the text and the science of tafsir. The teacher will summarise a broader tafsir of each surah, based on the work of Sh ‘Ali Hani, in addition to reading the full text of Tafsir al-Nasafi. The text shall be explained in English during the class, and registered students will be able to access a digital version of the course text, recordings, and links to the Telegram group and discussion/question forum.

Author: Imam Abu al-Barakat Hafiz al-Din ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Mahmud al-Nasafi (d. 710/1310).

Al-Imam al-Nasafi is the celebrated author of key works in the Hanafi tradition. His legal primer (mukhtasar), Kanz al-Daqa’iq, generated many commentaries, and it was an abridgement from his longer mukhtasar, al-Kafi, on which he authored his magisterial commentary, al-Wafi. His work in usul al-fiqh, Manar al-anwar fi al-usul, is perhaps the second most commented on work of legal theory in Islamic history. His ‘Umdat al-‘aqa’id with his commentary on it al-I’timad was an important work in Hanafi Maturidi theology. And his al-Musaffa was an important commentary on the renowned work of divergent legal views (khilafiyyat) Manzumat al-khilaf of Najm al-Din Umar al-Nasafi. Al-Imam al-Nasafi’s two honorific titles ‘Abu al-Barakat’ (Father of Blessings) and ‘Hafiz al-Din’ (Guardian of the Faith) indicate the wide acceptance of his authority. His written works were exceptionally well received, treasured and taught throughout Islamic history. It is rare to find an author producing authoritative, widely celebrated teaching texts across the fields of law, legal theory, theology and tafsir. He was also recognised for his piety, and is recorded in biographical works as a zahid (renunciant).

Topics: We will read all the Surahs in the last 30th of the Holy Qur’an, from surat al-Naba’ (78) to surat al-Nas (114).