Timeless Tafsirs: Exploring Six Landmark Commentaries and Beyond

21st February: Al-Zamakhshari & Al-Alusi - Shaykh Akram Nadwi

This seminar introduces two towering exegetes whose tafsirs remain central for students of Qur’anic language and interpretation: Abu al-Qasim Mahmud al-Zamakhshari (d. 538H) and Shihab al-Din al-Alusi (d. 1270H). We will explore how their works exemplify two different but complementary strengths within the tafsir tradition: precise linguistic-rhetorical analysis on the one hand, and expansive scholarly synthesis on the other.

Al-Zamakhshari’s Al-Kashshaf is renowned for its close attention to Qur’anic Arabic: syntax, word-choice, rhetorical effect, and the subtleties of expression that shape meaning. Al-Alusi’s Ruh al-Ma‘ani, written many centuries later, is known for its breadth and range: it draws together earlier tafsir streams, engages linguistic and juristic discussion where relevant, and offers a wide-angle reading of interpretive possibilities across the tradition.

Across the day, we will examine how each mufassir approaches the text, what kinds of questions they prioritise, and how their methods affect the reading of particular verses. We will also discuss how later scholars benefited from (and sometimes criticised) these approaches, and how a student can use each tafsir responsibly and productively.

By the end of the seminar, students should be able to: recognise what Al-Kashshaf is uniquely strong in, what Ruh al-Ma‘ani adds as a later synthesis, and how both works can deepen one’s engagement with Qur’anic language, meaning, and interpretive method.

28th March: Al-Razi & Ibn Ashur - Dr Sohaib Saeed

This seminar explores two major mufassirun projects celebrated for intellectual depth and methodological sophistication: Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606H) and Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn Ashur (d. 1393H). While separated by centuries, both represent a serious attempt to engage the Qur’an with breadth, rigour, and close attention to how meanings are established and defended.

Al-Razi’s tafsir, widely known as Mafatih al-Ghayb (and also referred to as Al-Tafsir al-Kabir), is famous for its expansive analytical style.  He often explores multiple interpretive possibilities, mapping the debate around a verse with striking clarity, and the work is admired for its superb arrangement and rigorous argumentative structure. Ibn Ashur’s Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir is likewise regarded as a major modern-era contribution, marked by sustained attention to how meanings unfold across a passage, the interconnection of ideas, and the subtleties of Qur’anic expression.

Across the day, we will look at what drives each mufassirs' method, how they construct interpretation, and what kinds of interpretive “moves” they model for serious students. We will also examine sample passages to see how their approaches play out in practice — including how each treats language, structure, and interpretive reasoning.

By the end of the seminar, students should be able to: identify the distinctive strengths of Al-Razi and Ibn Ashur, understand how their methods differ, and appreciate how each can cultivate a disciplined, reflective approach to reading the Qur’an with depth and clarity.

25th April: Al-Tabari - Ustadh Hussan Mahmood | Islahi - (TBC)

This seminar brings together two highly influential approaches to tafsir that model rigorous engagement with the Qur’an from different angles: the foundational transmitted method represented by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d. 310H), and the coherence-centred approach associated with Hamid al-Din al-Farahi (d. 1349H) and Amin Ahsan Islahi (d. 1418H).

Al-Tabari’s Jami‘ al-Bayan ‘an Ta’wil Ay al-Qur’an is among the earliest and most foundational tafsir works. It is known for collecting and weighing transmitted explanations (athar), careful attention to Arabic usage, and reasoned preference between interpretations. Al-Farahi and Islahi, by contrast, are closely associated with an approach that foregrounds nazm — the coherence and structure of the Qur’an — reading verses in relation to their wider passage, surah structure, and thematic flow.

We will examine sample passages to see how Al-Tabari’s method weighs readings, and how a nazm-centred approach reads the same passage through structure, context, and interconnection.

By the end of the seminar, students should be able to: understand why aAl-Tabari remains foundational for tafsir methodology, what the al-Farahi/Islahi coherence approach contributes, and how engaging both can sharpen one’s reading of the Qur’an — with deeper grounding, clearer structure, and stronger interpretive discipline.

9th May: The Qur’an as a Living Source: Evidential Primacy and Endless Pearls - Shaykh Akram Nadwi

This capstone seminar steps back from individual tafsir works to address a foundational question: what does it mean to treat the Qur’an as a living source of guidance—one that holds epistemic primacy for the believer and remains continually rich in meaning, reflection, and insight? The aim is to deepen the student’s relationship with the Qur’anic text itself, while clarifying the proper place of tafsir within Qur’anic study.

A key focus of the day will be the distinction between reading the Qur’an and reading tafsir. While tafsir is an indispensable scholarly tradition, it is not a substitute for direct engagement with the Qur’an. We will explore how students can approach the Qur’an with attentiveness, humility, and discipline, and how to benefit from tafsir without becoming dependent on it or reducing the Qur’an to a set of inherited explanations.

The seminar will also reflect on gaps and underdeveloped areas within the tafsir tradition—not as a critique of the tradition’s integrity, but as an honest recognition that tafsir is a human scholarly enterprise: vast, profound, and yet inevitably shaped by the concerns, tools, and contexts of its scholars. This opens space for thoughtful discussion on how serious students and scholars can continue to serve the Qur’an today, while remaining firmly rooted in sound methodology and adab.

Finally, the session will include reflections on future directions in tafsir work, including unique insights and methodological contributions emerging from Shaykh Akram’s forthcoming tafsir. The goal is not “novelty”, but a mature appreciation of how Qur’anic engagement can remain fresh, deep, and transformative across generations—while staying anchored to the disciplines of scholarship and the priorities of guidance.

By the end of the seminar, students should be able to articulate what it means to privilege the Qur’an as a primary source of knowledge and guidance, distinguish direct Qur’anic engagement from reliance on secondary commentary, and appreciate how tafsir can continue to yield “endless pearls” when approached with discipline, sincerity, and depth.