Rawd al-jinan wa rawh al-janan fi tafsir al-Qur'an (book)
 Bibliographical Information | |
| Author | Husayn b. Ali al-Khuza'i al-Nisaburi |
|---|---|
| Original title | رَوضُ الجِنان و رَوحُ الجَنان فی تفسیر القرآن |
| Language | Persian |
| Subject | Exegesis of Qur'an |
| Published | Mashhad |
| Publisher | Bunyad-i Pazhuhish hay-i Islami |
Rawḍ al-Jinān wa Rawḥ al-Janān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān (Arabic: رَوضُ الجِنان و رَوحُ الجَنان فی تفسیر القرآن ) is written by Husayn b. Ali al-Khuza'i al-Nisaburi known as Abu l-Futuh Razi who was among the Twelver Shi'a theologians and hadith scholars of 6th/12th century. This book which is the most famous work of Abu l-Futuh Razi is in Persian and is one of the oldest commentary references of Shi'a for later commentators and exegetes.
Author
Abu l-Futuh al-Razi (b. 470/1077-8 - d. 552 or 556/1157-8 or 1160-1) was one of the greatest Shi'a exegetes and hadith scholars of 6/12 century. He was a student of al-Zamakhshari. Ibn Shahr Ashub and Muntajab al-Din al-Razi are among his students.
Description
This book is the first complete Shi'a commentary in Persian which covers all the suras of the Qur'an. The name of the book is not mentioned in the commentary and mentioned in the works of Shaykh Muntajab al-Din Razi and Ibn Shahr Ashub as Rawd al-jinan wa rawh al-janan.[1].[2] Ibn Shahr Ashub has mentioned this book in another work of his as Rawh al-janan.[3]
Goal of Writing
According to what the author says in his introduction to commentary, he wrote the book as an answer to a suggestion made by some friends and scholars for writing a comprehensive commentary. He chose Persian language because there were more people asking for such a commentary in this language and that its benefits would be wider.
Writing Style and Order
After mentioning a brief introduction on meaning and a discussion on the meaning of tafsir and ta'wil, the author begin interpreting verses by the normal order in the Qur'an from the beginning to the end word by word.
He then explains the meaning of words and different literary, traditions, historical, jurisprudential, theological and moral aspects of the verses and mentions the opinions of exegetes, companions of the Prophet (s) and their Followers without any criticism about them.
Since the author's look at verses is mostly rational and tradition-based, his commentary is regarded among Ijtihadi (analytical) commentaries.[4]
Advantages and Features
Rawd al-jinan and its author have been highly mentioned and praised by many Shi'a scholars.[5].[6].[7].[8] Some scholars have mentioned the following features for this commentary:
- Observing the relation between words for a better understanding of verses
- Explaining the position of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) especially Imam Ali (a) in the views of his opponents
- Benefitting from "Persian poems" for explaining verses
- Defending Shi'a school of theology and jurisprudence using rational and tradition-based arguments[9]
Notes
- ↑ Rāzī, Fihrist Muntajab al-Dīn, p. 4.
- ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, al-Manāqib, vol. 1, p. 14.
- ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Maʿālim al-ʿulamā, p. 175.
- ↑ Noor Computer Research Center of Islamic Sciences, Abu l-Futuh al-Razi Software.
- ↑ Shūshtarī, Majālis al-muʾminīn, p. 489.
- ↑ Mudarris Tabrīzī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 2, p. 314.
- ↑ Nūrī, Khātima al-mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 72.
- ↑ Amīn ʿĀmilī, Aʿyān al-Shīʿa, vol. 6, p. 125.
- ↑ Paknīya Tabrīzī, Āshnāyī bā manābi' muʿtabar-i Shīʿa.
References
- Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Ḥusayn b. 'Alī. Rawḍ al-Jinān wa Rawḥ al-Janān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Mashhad: Bunyād-i Pazhūhishha-yi Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍawī, 1375 Sh.
- Amīn ʿĀmilī, al-Sayyid Muḥsin al-. Aʿyān al-Shīʿa. Beirut: Dār al-Tʿāruf li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, [n.d].
- Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. Najaf: al-Maktaba al-Ḥaydarīyya, 1376 AH.
- Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Maʿālim al-ʿulamā. Qom: [n.d].
- Khāwnsārī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Rawḍāt al-jannāt fī aḥwāl al-ʿulamā wa al-sādāt. Qom: Intishārāt-i Ismāʿīlīyān, [n.d].
- Mudarris Tabrīzī, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Rawḍāt al-jannāt fī aḥwāl al-ʿulamā wa al-sādāt. [n.p], [n.d].
- Nūrī, Mīrzā Ḥusayn al-. Khātima al-mustadrak. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1415 AH.
- Paknīya Tabrīzī, ʿAbd al-Karīm. Āshnāyī bā manābi' muʿtabar-i Shīʿa: Rawḍ al-Jinān wa Rawḥ al-Janān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Spring 1389 Sh. No 128.
- Qazwīnī Rāzī, ʿAbd al-Jalīl. Al-Naqḍ. [n.p], [n.d].
- Rāzī, Muntajab al-Dīn al-. Al-Fihrist Muntajab al-Dīn. Qom: Maktabat Āyat Allāh al-Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1366 Sh.
- Shūshtarī, Nūr Allāh al-Ḥusaynī al-. Majālis al-muʾminīn. Tehran: Islāmīyya, 1377 Sh.