Medieval Exegesis: The Golden Age of Tafsir

Abstract

This chapter covers the major trends in medieval exegesis, from al-Ṭabarī to the al-Qunawī (d. 1195). The article gives a narrative of the development of the genre that centres on thematic and regional developments. It places the two Qur’an commentaries of al-Zamakhsharī and al-Bayḍāwī and the glosses they spawned as central to this history. The article identifies the most important tools to study and document the medieval history of tafsīr, noting the academic production of the Islamic world in tafsīr. Ottoman contribution to the history of the field is also highlighted, since it is the Ottoman libraries that preserved for us this heritage.