Articles |
A Comparison of the References to Muq
til b. Sulaym
n (150/767) in the Exegesis of al-Tha lab
(427/1036) with Muq
til's Own Exegesis*
Ankara University, Turkey
Muq
til b. Sulaym
n's work is the oldest surviving exegesis which comments on the entire Qur'
n from the beginning to the end. Analytical comparisons between different manuscripts of this exegesis and the quotations made by the exegetes, who greatly benefited from Muq
til, give us important information about the history of Quranic exegesis. al-Tha lab
's references to Muq
til offer valuable data illuminating the role of the changing contents of the manuscripts in understanding the history of the exegesis. Changing evaluations and criticism about Muq
til's personality and his opinions show that the history of Quranic exegesis needs to be further critically studied.
* My thanks are due to Associate Professor Ismail Albayrak (Faculty of Divinity/Sakarya University) for comments and for correcting the English text of my article. I am also grateful to Professor Osman Ta=tan (Faculty of Divinity/Ankara University) for his advisory support during my final English corrections upon editorial suggestions.