Page 47 - Tafsir of surat at tawba repentance

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Numerous editions have been printed, and many commentaries have been written
on it, the most famous being Haasheyah al-Jamal and Haasheyah as-Saawee. 137

8. Tafseer al-Khateeb ash-Shirbeenee, As-Siraaj al-Muneer

Muhammad ibn Muhammad ash-Shirbeenee (d. 1569 CE/1569 AH) was an
Egyptian scholar of the Shaafi‘ee school of legal thought. He was most commonly
known by the title, “al-Khateeb.” His tafseer is a concise abridgement of earlier
tafseers and is filled with many quotes from Tafseer ar-Raazee. He avoids
conflicting opinions, choosing only the most suitable or likely among them.
Grammatical breakdowns are only given where necessary and, occasionally,
recitations from the famous seven mentioned. Also, he only mentions reliable
hadeeths (saheeh or hasan) and criticizes some of the earlier mufassirs, like az-
Zamakhsharee and al-Baydaawee, for their use of fabricated hadeeths. Ash-
Shirbeenee took care to note various problematic verses and the relationship
between verses. As for legal issues, he only mentions them occasionally and in
concise terms. However, the author often mentions weird stories and the strangest
of Israa’eeleeyaat without making any comment on their accuracy. 138

9. Tafseer Abis-Sa‘ood, Irshaad al-‘Aql as-Saleem ilaa Mazaayaa al-Kitaab al-
Kareem

Abus-Sa‘ood Muhammad ibn Mustafaa al-‘Imaadee (1489-1574 CE/894-982
AH) was born in a village near Constantinople and became a scholar of the
Hanafee school. He taught in many Turkish Islaamic schools and was appointed
judge in a number of cities, including Constantinople itself. Later, he was
appointed a muftee and remained one for over thirty years. 139 His tafseer was
based on al-Kash-shaaf and that of al-Baydaawee, except that he avoided many of
their pitfalls. He did, however, fall into the trap of mentioning fabricated hadeeths
concerning the merits of each soorah. The author spends a great deal of effort
explaining the eloquence and miraculous construction of Qur’aanic expressions.
He only mentions variant recitations where they further explain the verses.

137
See at-Tafseer wal-Mufassiroon, vol. 1, pp. 341-5.
138
See at-Tafseer wal-Mufassiroon, vol. 1, pp. 346-52.
139
In fact, he was probably the single most influential scholar in the history of the Ottoman
empire. See The Venture of Islaam, vol. 3, The Gunpowder Empires, pp. 110-11.

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