MS Yah. Ar. 374: An Edition and Study of an Unknown Muʿtazilite Tafsīr (4th/10th-5th/11th Centuries)
Document Type : pajoohesh
Author
10.22081/jap.2024.76680
Abstract
Early Muʿtazilite Qurʾānic exegeses form an important part of the classical exegetical heritage. Although influential on subsequent commentaries, most of these works have been lost, with few extant manuscripts. Prominent Muʿtazilite exegetes of the late 4th century AH include Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Kaysān al-Aṣamm, Abū Ali al-Jubbāʾī, Abū Muslim al-Iṣfahānī, Abū al-Qāsim al-Balkhī, and Abū al-Ḥasan al-Rummānī, whose exegetical views survive only in fragments preserved by later scholars. Meanwhile, a recently accessible manuscript of an unknown early commentary, likely of Iranian provenance and reflecting a distinctly Muʿtazilite approach, offers valuable new material. Housed in the National Library of Israel (Ms. Yah. Ar. 374), this unexplored text represents a significant document for the history of Muʿtazilite exegesis. The author is unlikely to be among the prominent figures mentioned above, but perhaps a lesser-known Muʿtazilite from Baghdad or Rayy, or possibly a Hanafi Muʿtazilite from 5th or 6th- century AH Khurasan or Transoxiana. This article presents an edition of the surviving text and explores its significance within the history of Muʿtazilite exegesis, analyzing its unique features and contribution.
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