The major tafsirs — an expanded panorama
Sunni, Shia, Ibâḍî, Muʿtazilite and Sufi — corrected, expanded and verified edition (2026)
An expanded version of the “Table of the various tafsîr”: the Sunni entries have been verified and corrected and the early philological school (Maʿânî / Majâz / Iʿrâb) has been added; the Shia and Sufi sections have been enriched; Ibâḍî and Muʿtazilite sections, together with Zaydî/Ismâʿîlî additions, have been created. Dates of death are given in Hijrî/Gregorian (for modern figures: birth–death); the genre appears in the 4th column; genuine uncertainties are flagged “(to be verified)”. The corrections and clarifications are listed at the end of the document.
| Date (d.) | Title (Arabic) | Author | Genre | Distinctive features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I. Sunni tafsirs | ||||
| Early philological school (Maʿânî / Majâz / Iʿrâb al-Qurʾân) | ||||
| d.207/822 | معاني القرآن | الفرّاء (يحيى بن زياد) | Maʿânî (Kûfa) | The oldest extant Kûfan philological commentary; grammar, dialects and reading variants. |
| d.209/824 | مجاز القرآن | أبو عبيدة معمر بن المثنى | Majâz / lexicon | The first extant work on the style and language of the Qur’an; founds the study of majâz. (date 209–213, to be verified) |
| d.215/830 | معاني القرآن | الأخفش الأوسط (سعيد بن مسعدة) | Maʿânî (Baṣra) | A student of Sîbawayh; the Baṣran counterpart to al-Farrâʾ’s Maʿânî. (215 or 221, to be verified) |
| d.311/923 | معاني القرآن وإعرابه | الزجّاج | Maʿânî wa iʿrâb | A synthesis linking meaning and grammatical analysis; more attentive to the Qur’anic sense than his predecessors. |
| d.338/950 | إعراب القرآن | النحّاس | Iʿrâb al-Qurʾân | The oldest extant systematic work of grammatical analysis (iʿrâb) of the Qur’an (he also has a Maʿânî). |
| Classical exegesis | ||||
| d.150/767 | تفسير مقاتل بن سليمان | مقاتل بن سليمان | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | The oldest extant complete tafsir; verse by verse, rich in isrâʾîliyyât. |
| d.211/827 | تفسير عبد الرزّاق | عبد الرزّاق الصنعاني | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | A very early collection transmitted through chains; a major source for the traditions of the earliest generations. |
| d.310/923 | جامع البيان عن تأويل آي القرآن | الطبري | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | ≈ 28 volumes; cites and weighs the chains of transmission; the first major extant continuous exegesis. |
| d.327/938 | تفسير ابن أبي حاتم | ابن أبي حاتم الرازي | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | Almost exclusively traditions traced back through chains; one of Ibn Kathîr’s sources. |
| d.370/981 | أحكام القرآن | الجصّاص | aḥkâm (legal, Ḥanafî) | Verses of legal import according to the Ḥanafî school; one of the first major legal tafsirs. |
| d.373/983 | بحر العلوم | أبو الليث السمرقندي | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | An early Ḥanafî tafsir blending transmitted tradition and analysis (date sometimes given as 375 H). |
| d.427/1035 | الكشف والبيان | الثعلبي | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | Rich in isrâʾîliyyât and variants; Shâfiʿî in orientation; the model for al-Baghawî. |
| d.450/1058 | النكت والعيون | الماوردي | concise (Shâfiʿî) | Sets out the various opinions concisely and in an orderly way; a Shâfiʿî and philological perspective. |
| d.468/1076 | الوجيز | الواحدي | abridgment | An accessible compendium (the model for the Jalâlayn); the author also wrote al-Wasîṭ and al-Basîṭ. |
| d.489/1096 | تفسير القرآن (تفسير السمعاني) | أبو المظفر السمعاني | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission, Shâfiʿî) | Grand mufti of Khurâsân; a concise tafsir grounded in tradition, a Sunni alternative to the Kashshâf. |
| d.516/1122 | معالم التنزيل | البغوي | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | Abridges and purges Thaʿlabî (fewer isrâʾîliyyât); widely circulated. |
| d.538/1144 | الكشّاف عن حقائق التنزيل | الزمخشري | linguistic | A pinnacle of grammatical and rhetorical analysis; conveys Muʿtazilite theology. |
| d.541/1147 | المحرّر الوجيز | ابن عطية | linguistic | An Andalusian Mâlikî-Ashʿarî exegesis, selective and critical; much used by Qurṭubî. |
| d.543/1148 | أحكام القرآن | ابن العربي (القاضي أبو بكر) | aḥkâm (legal, Mâlikî) | Verses of legal import according to the Mâlikî school, by the great qâḍî of Seville. |
| d.597/1201 | زاد المسير في علم التفسير | ابن الجوزي | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | Organizes the opinions of the Salaf in an orderly way; a synthetic, handy Ḥanbalî tafsir. |
| d.606/1210 | مفاتيح الغيب (التفسير الكبير) | فخر الدين الرازي | bi-l-raʼy (by reasoning) | ≈ 32 volumes; a tafsir “by reasoning”: Ashʿarî theology, philosophy, the sciences. |
| d.671/1273 | الجامع لأحكام القرآن | القرطبي | aḥkâm (legal, Mâlikî) | Focused on legal rulings but embracing hadith, language and narratives; a Mâlikî reference. |
| d.685/1292 | أنوار التنزيل وأسرار التأويل | البيضاوي | mixed | Condenses and “Sunnifies” the Kashshâf (without its Muʿtazilism); a classic teaching manual. (685 or 691) |
| d.710/1310 | مدارك التنزيل وحقائق التأويل | النسفي | mixed (Ḥanafî-Mâturîdî) | A clear abridgment (Zamakhsharî + Bayḍâwî, without Muʿtazilism); among the most widely taught. |
| d.741/1340 | لباب التأويل في معاني التنزيل | الخازن | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | A very popular summary of al-Baghawî’s Maʿâlim al-tanzîl; rich in narratives. |
| d.741/1340 | التسهيل لعلوم التنزيل | ابن جزي الكلبي الغرناطي | concise (Mâlikî) | A synthetic and accessible Granadan tafsir, a digest of the Qur’anic sciences; widely circulated in the Maghreb. |
| d.745/1344 | البحر المحيط | أبو حيان الأندلسي | linguistic | A major linguistic commentary (grammar, lexicon, readings), by the foremost grammarian of his time. |
| d.756/1355 | الدرّ المصون | السمين الحلبي | linguistic | Grammatical and iʿrâb analysis (≈ 11 vols.); continues the Baḥr al-muḥîṭ of his teacher Abû Ḥayyân. |
| d.774/1373 | تفسير القرآن العظيم | ابن كثير | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | The reference for tafsir by tradition: Qur’an by the Qur’an, hadith, the Salaf, criticism of the chains. |
| d.864/1459 | تفسير الجلالين (first half) | جلال الدين المحلّي | concise abridgment | Began the Jalâlayn (from al-Kahf to the end, plus al-Fâtiḥa); died before its completion. |
| d.875/1471 | الجواهر الحسان في تفسير القرآن | الثعالبي (عبد الرحمن) | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission, Mâlikî) | An enriched abridgment of Ibn ʿAṭiyya’s tafsir; a Maghrebî reference (an Ashʿarî author with a Sufi sensibility). |
| aft. 880/aft. 1475 | اللباب في علوم الكتاب | ابن عادل الدمشقي | encyclopedia (Ḥanbalî) | A vast compilation (~20 vols.) merging chiefly Râzî and Abû Ḥayyân. (exact date to be verified) |
| d.885/1480 | نظم الدرر في تناسب الآيات والسور | البقاعي | munâsabât | The reference work on the internal coherence of the Qur’an: the links between verses and between suras. |
| d.911/1505 | تفسير الجلالين (completed) | جلال الدين السيوطي | concise abridgment | Completed the work of his teacher al-Maḥallî; a tafsir of great concision, very popular. |
| d.911/1505 | الدرّ المنثور في التفسير بالمأثور | السيوطي | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission) | Encyclopedic, made up entirely of transmitted traditions (often contradictory, with no sifting). |
| d.977/1570 | السراج المنير | الخطيب الشربيني | bi-l-maʼthûr (by transmission, Shâfiʿî) | A clear and didactic Ottoman tafsir, predominantly Shâfiʿî legal and linguistic. |
| d.982/1574 | إرشاد العقل السليم | أبو السعود العمادي | linguistic / rhetorical | An Ottoman tafsir renowned for its eloquence and its treatment of iʿjâz; in the Zamakhsharî–Bayḍâwî lineage. |
| d.1250/1834 | فتح القدير | الشوكاني | mixed (riwâya + dirâya) | Combines transmitted tradition (riwâya) and critical analysis (dirâya); of the traditionist current. |
| d.1270/1854 | روح المعاني | الألوسي | encyclopedic (+ ishârî, allusive) | A summa synthesizing tradition, language, theology and Sufi touches; prefigures the scientific tafsir. |
| Modern and contemporary period | ||||
| 1849–1935 | تفسير المنار | محمد عبده / رشيد رضا | reformist (iṣlâḥ) | Born of ʿAbduh’s lectures and continued by Rashîd Riḍâ; reformist, social, rationalist (unfinished). |
| 1866–1914 | محاسن التأويل | القاسمي (محمد جمال الدين) | reformist (Salafî) | A modern exegetical encyclopedia synthesizing the early sources; close in spirit to the Manâr. |
| 1862–1940 | الجواهر في تفسير القرآن | طنطاوي جوهري | “scientific” | Sets the modern sciences alongside the verses; a pioneer of scientific exegesis. |
| 1889–1940 | مجالس التذكير | عبد الحميد ابن باديس | reformist | An Algerian reformist exegesis (the journal al-Shihâb); cultural revival and nationalism. |
| 1883–1952 | تفسير المراغي | أحمد مصطفى المراغي | popularization (Azharî) | An accessible reformulation (~8 vols.) in contemporary language; a pedagogical heir of ʿAbduh. |
| 1878–1954 | المصحف المفسَّر | محمد فريد وجدي | popularization | A tafsir for a general readership, accompanying the muṣḥaf. |
| 1889–1957 | تيسير الكريم الرحمن | السعدي | concise Salafî | A concise and clear tafsir in the understanding of the Salaf; very widespread. |
| 1906–1966 | في ظلال القرآن | سيد قطب | literary / committed | An exegesis at once literary and committed, largely written in prison; highly influential. |
| 1879–1973 | التحرير والتنوير | ابن عاشور | linguistic / maqâṣid | A Tunisian exegesis attentive to Arabic rhetoric and to the maqâṣid; ≈ 50 years of work. |
| 1907–1973 | أضواء البيان | الشنقيطي | Qur’an by the Qur’an | The method of tafsîr al-Qurʾân bi-l-Qurʾân; completed by his student ʿAṭiyya M. Sâlim. |
| 1903–1979 | تفهيم القرآن | المودودي | reformist (Urdu) | A translation-commentary in Urdu oriented toward Islamic social and political thought. |
| 1888–1984 | التفسير الحديث | محمد عزّة دروزة | order of revelation | A distinctive feature: it comments on the suras in the chronological order of revelation, not that of the muṣḥaf. |
| 1935–1989 | الأساس في التفسير | سعيد حوّى | thematic (reformist) | A reading of each sura by thematic “units,” in the lineage of Sayyid Quṭb. |
| 1913–1998 | التفسير البياني للقرآن الكريم | عائشة عبد الرحمن (بنت الشاطئ) | literary (bayânî) | A literary and thematic approach to the Meccan suras. |
| 1911–1998 | خواطر الشعراوي | محمد متولي الشعراوي | oral / popularization | Oral “reflections” transcribed by a team; immense popularity in the media. |
| 1932–2015 | التفسير المنير في العقيدة والشريعة والمنهج | وهبة الزحيلي | contemporary legal | A major modern tafsir (30 vols.) articulating creed, law (fiqh) and method; very widely used. |
| II. Shia tafsirs (Imamite, Zaydî, Ismâʿîlî) | ||||
| Imamites (Twelvers) — early, riwâʾî | ||||
| c.307/919 (or 329) | تفسير القمي | علي بن إبراهيم القمي | riwâʾî | The oldest transmitted Imamite tafsir; interpretations attributed to the Imams. Date uncertain. |
| c.320/932 | تفسير العياشي | محمد بن مسعود العياشي | riwâʾî | Early; the extant text stops at sura 18 (the chains of transmission pruned by copyists). |
| c.310/922 (to be verified) | تفسير فرات الكوفي | فرات بن إبراهيم الكوفي | riwâʾî | ≈ 775 hadiths, centered on the virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt; a poorly documented biography. |
| Imamites — classical (balâghî, ʿaqlî, linguistic) | ||||
| 406/1015 | تلخيص البيان في مجازات القرآن | الشريف الرضي | balâghî (rhetorical) | The oldest tafsir devoted to the figurative language (majâz) of the Qur’an, by the compiler of Nahj al-Balâgha. |
| 460/1067 | التبيان في تفسير القرآن | الشيخ الطوسي | ʿaqlî (rational) / linguistic | The first complete Imamite tafsir; a rational turning point (grammar, theology, readings, the weighing of opinions). |
| 548/1154 | مجمع البيان لعلوم القرآن | الطبرسي | ʿaqlî (rational) / linguistic | An Imamite reference; linguistic rigor, a clear structure, a moderate tone; in the lineage of al-Ṭûsî. |
| c.552/1157 | روض الجنان وروح الجنان | أبو الفتوح الرازي | Persian | The first complete Imamite tafsir in Persian (≈ 20 vols.). Death in 552 or 556 H. |
| Imamites — Safavid and modern (a return to riwâʾî) | ||||
| 1091/1680 | الصافي (and the abridgment الأصفى) | الفيض الكاشاني | riwâʾî + spiritual | A traditional approach tinged with spirituality (the Isfahan school); al-Aṣfâ is its short version. |
| 1107/1696 | البرهان في تفسير القرآن | السيد هاشم البحراني | riwâʾî | ≈ 10 vols. based entirely on Shia hadiths linking verses to the virtues of the Imams. |
| 1112/1700 | نور الثقلين | الحويزي | riwâʾî | A systematic compilation of the traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt, verse by verse, with little commentary. |
| 1125/1713 | كنز الدقائق وبحر الغرائب | القمي المشهدي | riwâʾî | A vast tafsir (~14 vols.) based on the hadiths of the Imams; a major source for the Akhbârî school. |
| 1242/1827 | الجوهر الثمين (and تفسير شبّر) | السيد عبد الله شبّر | riwâʾî | “The second Majlisî”; a major tafsir (6 vols.) and a widely circulated one-volume abridgment. |
| Imamites — contemporary | ||||
| 1352/1933 | آلاء الرحمن في تفسير القرآن | محمد جواد البلاغي | apologetic / comparative | An unfinished tafsir, noted for its refutation of Orientalist and Christian objections. |
| 1402/1981 | الميزان في تفسير القرآن | العلامة الطباطبائي | philosophical | A major 20th-century work (27 vols.); the method of tafsîr al-Qurʾân bi-l-Qurʾân; philosophical and social dimensions. |
| 1413/1992 | البيان في تفسير القرآن | أبو القاسم الخوئي | ʿulûm al-Qurʾân | Devoted chiefly to the Qur’anic sciences (iʿjâz, the integrity of the text, qirâʾât); a tafsir of the Fâtiḥa alone. |
| 1400/1979 | الكاشف (and المبين) | محمد جواد مغنية | reformist / social | A Lebanese scholar; accessible prose, a social orientation, a concern for the modern reader. |
| 2010/1431 | من وحي القرآن | محمد حسين فضل الله | contextual / committed | A Lebanese scholar (≈ 24 vols.); a literary and committed approach, a relatively open reading. |
| alive (b. 1945) | من هدى القرآن | محمد تقي المدرّسي | educational / social | An 18-volume tafsir linking the text to reality; an influential Iraqi-Iranian marjaʿ. |
| alive (b. 1927) | الأمثل (Ar.) / تفسير نمونه (Pers.) | ناصر مكارم الشيرازي | didactic | A collective tafsir (27 vols.) under his direction; Nemûneh = the Persian original, al-Amthal = the Arabic version. |
| Zaydîs | ||||
| 298/911 | تفسير القرآن (+ معاني القرآن) | الإمام الهادي إلى الحق يحيى بن الحسين | Muʿtazilite-Zaydî | Founder of the Zaydî imamate of Yemen; a scattered exegesis, the foundation of the Hâdawî school. |
| 310/922 | تفسير القرآن (الشرح والبيان) | المرتضى محمد بن يحيى | Muʿtazilite-Zaydî | The eldest son of al-Hâdî and a Zaydî imam; a tafsir in nine volumes. |
| 494/1101 | التهذيب في التفسير | الحاكم الجشمي | Muʿtazilite-Zaydî | A rationalist Muʿtazilite tafsir (9 vols., mostly in manuscript); a major source and the teacher of Zamakhsharî. |
| 832/1429 | الثمرات اليانعة والأحكام الواضحة | يوسف بن أحمد الثلائي | âyât al-aḥkâm (Zaydî) | A legal tafsir (verses of law) in several volumes; a Zaydî author from northern Yemen. |
| 877/1472 | شافي العليل شرح الخمسمائة آية | ابن القاسم النجري | âyât al-aḥkâm (Zaydî) | A commentary on the “five hundred verses of law” by a Zaydî polymath of Yemen. |
| Ismâʿîlî (for reference) | ||||
| 363/974 | تأويل الدعائم | القاضي النعمان | bâṭinî (esoteric, taʼwîl) | Not a verse-by-verse tafsir, but the Fatimid Ismâʿîlî allegorical hermeneutics (taʼwîl). |
| III. Ibâḍî tafsirs | ||||
| 3rd c. AH / 9th c. | تفسير كتاب الله العزيز | هود بن مُحكَّم الهوّاري | riwâʾî (Ibâḍî) | One of the oldest Ibâḍî tafsirs to have come down to us; an abridgment of the tafsir of Yaḥyâ b. Sallâm, with Ibâḍî positions. A Berber author of the Maghreb. |
| 570/1175 | تفسير القرآن (largely lost) | أبو يعقوب الوارجلاني | ʿaqlî (rational, Ibâḍî) | A vast tafsir attributed by the Ibâḍî sources to the reviver of the Musnad al-Rabîʿ; the text is today essentially lost. |
| 1207/1792 | التفسير الميسّر للقرآن الكريم | سعيد بن أحمد الكندي النَّزوي | riwâʾî (Ibâḍî) | Presented as the first complete tafsir by an Omani scholar (3 vols.). An Ibâḍî attribution is very likely (to be confirmed). |
| 1332/1914 | هِمْيان الزاد إلى دار المعاد | محمد بن يوسف اطفيّش | ʿaqlî (rational, Ibâḍî) | A great exegetical summa (~14 vols.) by the leading figure of modern Maghrebî Ibâḍism (the Mzab, Algeria). |
| 1332/1914 | تيسير التفسير | محمد بن يوسف اطفيّش | ʿaqlî (rational, Ibâḍî) | A complete tafsir by the same author, a synthetic abridgment of his works; published by the Ministry of Heritage of Oman. |
| IV. Muʿtazilite tafsirs | ||||
| ~200/816 (to be verified) | تفسير القرآن | أبو بكر الأصمّ (عبد الرحمن بن كيسان) | kalâm (theology, early) | One of the oldest Muʿtazilite tafsirs; LOST, reconstructed from quotations (date 200/201 or 279, disputed). |
| 303/915 | تفسير القرآن | أبو علي الجبّائي | kalâm (theology, Baṣra school) | An immense work by the head of the Baṣra school; LOST, reconstructed by D. Gimaret (1994) from those who quote it. |
| 319/931 | التفسير (تفسير الكعبي) | أبو القاسم البلخي الكعبي | kalâm (theology, Baghdad school) | A tafsir (~12 vols.) by the head of the Baghdad school; LOST, with fragments gathered in the Mawsûʿat tafâsîr al-muʿtazila. |
| 322/934 | جامع التأويل لمحكم التنزيل | أبو مسلم الأصفهاني (محمد بن بحر) | rationalist taʼwîl | A major tafsir (14 vols.) noted for its rejection of abrogation (naskh); LOST, partially reconstituted. |
| 384/994 | الجامع لعلم القرآن (+ النكت في إعجاز القرآن) | علي بن عيسى الرمّاني | philological / iʿjâz | al-Jâmiʿ (a question-and-answer method) partially extant in manuscripts; al-Nukat, a short foundational treatise on iʿjâz, extant. |
| 415/1025 | تنزيه القرآن عن المطاعن (+ متشابه القرآن) | القاضي عبد الجبّار | apologetic (tanzîh) | No continuous tafsir: two EXTANT treatises — a refutation of the “criticisms” of the Qur’an, and an exegesis of the ambiguous verses. |
| Also Muʿtazilites, classed elsewhere: al-Zamakhsharî (al-Kashshâf → Sunnis) and al-Ḥâkim al-Jishumî (al-Tahdhîb → Zaydîs). | ||||
| V. Sufi tafsirs (ishârî) | ||||
| 283/896 | تفسير القرآن العظيم (تفسير التُّستري) | سهل التُّستري | ishârî (allusive) | The oldest extant mystical tafsir; founds the inner (bâṭin) reading of the Qur’an. |
| 412/1021 | حقائق التفسير (+ زيادات) | السُّلَمي | ishârî (allusive, compilation) | The first systematic collection of Sufi exegesis (Tustarî, Junayd, Ibn ʿAṭâʾ…); a seminal work. |
| 465/1072 | لطائف الإشارات | القشيري | ishârî (allusive, continuous) | The first major continuous and personal ishârî tafsir; the allusions remain anchored in the literal sense. |
| ~520/1126 (to be verified) | كشف الأسرار وعدّة الأبرار | رشيد الدين الميبدي | ishârî (allusive, Persian) | The longest Persian commentary; three “rounds” per verse (translation, exegesis, mysticism); the sayings of al-Anṣârî. |
| 606/1209 | عرائس البيان في حقائق القرآن | روزبهان البقلي | ishârî (allusive, ecstatic) | A complete tafsir of great visionary intensity (the language of divine love, ʿishq). |
| ≈ 618–736 | التأويلات النجمية (عين الحياة) | الكبرى / الرازي «داية» / السمناني | ishârî (allusive, Kubrawî) | A collective Kubrawî work spanning three generations (see the notes); a symbolic reading by levels of meaning. |
| 638/1240 | (no continuous tafsir — scattered work) | ابن عربي | ishârî (allusive, diffuse) | The Shaykh al-Akbar left no continuous tafsir; his exegesis is scattered (the Futûḥât, the Fuṣûṣ). See the notes. |
| 728/1328 (to be verified) | غرائب القرآن ورغائب الفرقان | نظام الدين النيسابوري | Ashʿarî + ishârî (allusive) | A synthesis of Râzî and Zamakhsharî crowning each sura with a Sufi taʼwîl (a Sunni author). (date 728 or ~850) |
| 736/1335 | تأويلات القرآن (تأويلات عبد الرزاق) | عبد الرزاق الكاشاني | ishârî (allusive, Akbarian) | A systematic tafsir of Akbarian inspiration. Often wrongly printed under “Tafsîr Ibn ʿArabî” (see the notes). |
| 835/1432 | تبصير الرحمن وتيسير المنّان | علي بن أحمد المهائمي | ishârî (allusive, Akbarian) | A tafsir by the Indian Sufi of Mahaim; it blends a rhetorical exegesis of iʿjâz and Akbarian taʼwîl. In Arabic. |
| 910/1505 | المواهب العلية (التفسير الحسيني) | حسين الواعظ الكاشفي | ishârî (allusive, Persian) | The most widely circulated Persian tafsir in Central Asia and the subcontinent; the author’s Sufi affiliation is debated (Sunni/Shia). |
| ~920/1514 (to be verified) | الفواتح الإلهية والمفاتح الغيبية | نعمة الله النخجواني | ishârî (allusive, Akbarian) | A complete Akbarian tafsir; a text connected to the “Tafsîr al-Jîlânî” (see the last row). |
| 1127/1725 | روح البيان | إسماعيل حقي البروسوي | ishârî (allusive, Ottoman) | A vast Khalwatî tafsir: classical exegesis, Sufi allusions, poetry (Arabic/Persian/Turkish), anecdotes. |
| 1224/1809 | البحر المديد في تفسير القرآن المجيد | ابن عجيبة | ishârî (allusive, Shâdhilî) | For each passage: the literal sense (ẓâhir) then the spiritual allusion (ishâra); a readable pedagogical synthesis. |
| 1270/1854 | روح المعاني | الآلوسي | mixed (classical + ishârî, allusive) | A complete classical exegesis followed by an ishârî section at the end of each passage; a “straddling” work. |
| 1327/1909 | بيان السعادة في مقامات العبادة | سلطان محمد الجنابادي (سلطان عليشاه) | ʿirfânî (Sufi-Shia) | Reputed to be the only complete tafsir according to the Shia mystical “taste”; master of the Niʿmatullâhî Gunâbâdî order. |
| attrib. 561/1166 (disputed) | تفسير الجيلاني | attributed to عبد القادر الجيلاني | ishârî (allusive, pseudepigraph?) | Its authenticity is strongly doubted; scholarship links it to the work of Nakhjuwânî. See the notes. |
Further reading
- The First Revealed Sura: An Inquiry into a Problem in the Qur’anic Sciences
- Was the Prophet Illiterate? What Ummî Really Means
- The Higher Purposes of the Qur’an (Maqâsid al-Qur’ân)
- Sufi Tafsîr: Reading the Qur’an from Within
- The Seven Aḥruf of the Qur’an (al-aḥruf al-sabʿa): Anatomy of an Exegetical Puzzle
Go further
These topics come to life once you can read the language of the Qur’an. Our method Qur’anic Arabic guides you step by step, from the alphabet to reading the verses — on your own or with our courses.
Much of what is discussed above rests on the Arabic of the Qur’an itself. Qur’anic Arabic Textbook: Understanding the Qur’anic language was written for readers who would rather meet that text in its own language than through translation; the method is outlined here.