Al-Ṭabarī and the Dynamics of tafsīr: Theological Dimensions of a Legacy.

The Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl ayy al-Qurʾān is fittingly recognised as representing an important milestone in the history of the discipline of tafsīr: within the work, al-Ṭabarī accomplished a uniquely comprehensive exegetical synthesis of literary, grammatical, legal and theological elements, bringing a broader sense of definition and purpose to the discipline of tafsīr. Among the characteristic features of the scholarship of al-Ṭabarī are the objectivity and consistency he brought to his work and such qualities resonate in his gauging of theological issues and topics. While it has been customary to view al-Ṭabarī’s theology as being strictly informed by a rigidly traditionalist methodology, a circumspect review of theological discussions in the tafsīr reveals not only the author’s accomplished marshalling of the attendant arguments and theses, but also the spirit of autonomy and resourcefulness with which he assesses points of doctrine and dogma. In this article an attempt is made to analyse aspects of the intertwined theological discourses of the tafsīr and related treatises, bridging them with materials articulated in the biographical sources. The aim is to explore the relationship between his approach to scholarship along with the standpoints to which he adhered and their impact upon attitudes towards his remarkable work and legacy. Key words: Tafsīr; Islamic theology; al-Ṭabarī; istiwāʾ; ism and musammā; Arabic grammarians; classical Arabic biograph

Hidāyat dhawī al-albāb ilá Muwaṣṣil al-ṭullāb ilá Qawāʻid al-iʻrāb, [1171, i.e. 1757 or 1758].

Fine copy of the gloss by Abū Bakr ibn Ismāʻīl al-Shanawānī (d.1610 or 11) on the commentary by Zayn al-Dīn Khālid ibn ʻAbd Allāh al-Waqqād al-Azharī (d.1499) on Ibn Hishām's (d.1360) popular grammatical textbook, Qawāʻid al-iʻrāb.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 1025Origin: As appears in colophon on p.263, copied by Mullā Ḥusayn ibn Mullā ʻAlī al-ʻUshārī al-Baghdādī al-Shāfiʻī al-Ashaʻrī (d.1785?) with transcription completed in the latter part of Rabīʻ II 1171 [January 1758].Former shelfmark: Mich. Isl. Ms. temp. no. 174Binding: Pasteboards (thin) covered in dark brown leather ; Type III binding (without flap) ; lower board lining in yellow tinted paper ; sewn in cream thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in yellow and pink, good condition ; overall in poor condition with upper cover entirely lost, much abrasion and losses of leather and board from lower cover, etc. ; spine repair (rebacked) in brown leather.Support: European laid paper of a few types ; one type with 12 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 25-27 mm. apart (horizontal), and watermark of double-headed eagle with heart at chest (see p.16, 18, 72, 106, 242, etc.) ; another type with 12 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 23-24 mm. apart (horizontal), and watermark of grapes (raisin) with cartouche and crown above (see p.52-53, 190, etc.) ; final quire in a type with 6-7 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 27 mm. apart (horizontal), and three crescents watermark (92 mm. long, perpendicular to chains, see p.248) ; a couple of name watermarks appear also, difficult to read, one possibly with "DAUPHINE" (see p.12, 20, 92-93, etc.) ; all sturdy and well-burnished ; flyleaves also in a three crescents watermarked paper (roughly 82 mm. long, perpendicular to chains, see back flyleaf).Decoration: Keywords and abbreviation symbols (mainly two-teeth stroke overlining some keywords) rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of red inverted commas.Script: Naskh ; elegant, compact Iraqi hand ; partially but irregularly seriffed with right-sloping tear-drop head-serif on occasional free-standing alif, lām, ṭāʼ, etc., effect of tilt to the left, curvilinear descenders, many open counters, words spaced very closely with many even touching by means of rising tail on a final descender, etc., pointing (two and three dots) in strokes or conjoined dots, final yāʼ usually unpointed.Layout: Written in 27 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, 12 V(120), V+1 (131),i ; exclusively quinions ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes flyleaves).Colophon: "Scribal," triangular, reads "قد فرغت من كتابة هذه الحاشية المباركة الميمونة ظهر يوم الاثنين من اواخر ربيع الثاني سنة ١١٧١ وانا العبد الفقير الى الله تعالى ملا حسين بن ملا علي العشاري قبيلة البغدادي وطنا الشافعي مذهبا الاشعري عقيدة رحمه الله تعالى امين"Explicit: "وانما ثبتت بالقياس على الال و في هذا القدر كفاية لمن تأمله بالدراية ... والحمد لله الذي هدانا لهذا وما كنا لنهتدي لو لا ان هدينا الله وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وعلى ال سيدنا محمد ... ورضا نفسك امين"Incipit: "الحمد لله المنعم بالهام الحمد لعبيده حمدا موافيا لنعمه ومدافعا لنقمه ... وبعد فيقول العبد الفقير الى مولاه الغني به عما سواه ... ابو بكر بن اسمعيل الشنواني ... هذه حواست [حواش] وضعتها على موصل الطلاب الى قواعد الاعراب للعلامة الشيخ خالد الازهري الشهير بالوقاد ... سميته هداية ذوي الالباب الى موصل الطلاب الى قواعد الاعراب ..."Title from opening matter on p.4.Ms. codex.Bauer, Thomas. "al-Azharī, Khālid b. ʿAbdallāh." In EI3,Brockelmann, C. GAL,Brockelmann, C. GAL,Fine copy of the gloss by Abū Bakr ibn Ismāʻīl al-Shanawānī (d.1610 or 11) on the commentary by Zayn al-Dīn Khālid ibn ʻAbd Allāh al-Waqqād al-Azharī (d.1499) on Ibn Hishām's (d.1360) popular grammatical textbook, Qawāʻid al-iʻrāb.Mode of access: Internet.Purchased in Egypt by Mr. Sulaiman ;Waqf statement possibly dated 1213 [?] [1798 or 9 ?] in name of Katkhudā-yi Baghdād Aḥmad Pāshā (كتخداى بغداد احمد پاشا / Kethüda-yi Bağdad Ahmet Paşa) with oval seal impression on 'title page' now obscured by bifolium affixed to it and verso of front flyleaf (pp.2-3) ; collation statement at close on p.263 indicating that the copy was collated by the copyist "بلغ مقابلة وتصحيحا حسب الطاقة على يد كاتبه المذكور غفر الله ذنوبه وستر عيوبه امين" ; UM Library inscription on verso of final leaf (p.264) "Spec. Coll. Lib. 690713-156 Suleiman 1968" ; marginal corrections in hand of copyist / collator