Tafsir al-Hibari (book)

Tafsir al-Hibari (book)

Bibliographical Information
Author	Abu 'Abd Allah Husayn b. Hakam al-Hibari al-Kufi
Original title	تَفسير الحِبَري
Language	Arabic
Series	1 vol.
Subject	Exegesis
Genre	Hadith-based exegesis
Published	1408/1987-8, Beirut
Publisher	Al al-Bayt (a)

Tafsīr al-Ḥibarī (Arabic:تَفسير الحِبَري) is a theological, Hadith-based exegesis of the Qur'an. Its author, Abu 'Abd Allah Husayn b. Hakam al-Hibari al-Kufi, was a Zaydi scholar of the 3rd/9th century. The book mainly contains hadiths about the verses which were revealed about Imam Ali (a).

Author

Abu 'Abd Allah Husayn b. Hakam b. Muslim al-Kufi al-Hibari was an exegete, muhaddith and jurist of the 3rd/9th century. He followed Zaydiyya - a branch of Shi'a. Hafiz Sarim al-Din has praised him in Tabaqat al-Zaydiyya and said no one has dispraised him. Husayn b. Hakam al-Hibari was one of the famous narrators of his time in Kufa. He was contemporary with Imam al-Jawad (a) and has narrated hadith from him. Al-Hibari wrote two books: al-Musnad and Tafsir; however, only his Tafsir has survived.

Book Profile

In manuscripts of the book, it is titled as Tanzil al-ayayt al-munzala fi manaqib Ahl al -Bayt (Arabic: تَنْزیل‌ُ الآیات‌ِ المُنْزِلَة فی مَناقِبِ اَهْل‌ِالْبَیْت) or Mā nazal mīn al-Qur'ān fī Alī b. Abī Ṭālīb (a) (Arabic: ما نَزَلَ مِن‌َ القُرْآن فی عَلی‌ّ بْن اَبی‌‌طالب علیه‌السلام) or al-Ayat al-muntazi'a (Arabic: اَلْآیات‌ُ الْمُنْتَزِعَة).

As the book contains the occasion of revelation of the verses in the Qur'an, it is counted as an exegesis of the Qur'an and is counted among the first works written in this regard. However, as the book has collected the verses that are revealed about Imam Ali (a) and hadiths explaining them, it is regarded as a theology source.

Abu 'Ubayd Allah Muhammad b. Umran al-Marzbani (d. 384/994-5) has narrated this Tafsir from Abu l-Hasan Ali b. Muhammad b. 'Ubayd al-Hafiz from al-Hibari.

Compilation Method

In this book, al-Hibari only narrated hadiths and did not add his own opinion and explanation. He has narrated the hadiths with their chains of narrators and in the recent publications, the book's researcher has studied them in footnotes. Moreover, the researcher of the book has added a section to the book as Mustadrak (addendum), in which he collected hadiths narrated by al-Hibari, which are not found in the main text of the book. The book has a narrative aspect like Tafsir Furat al-Kufi and Tafsir al-'Ayyashi and is arranged according to the order of the suras of the Qur'an.

Status

The hadiths that al-Hibari had narrated in his book were quoted by later scholars, such as al-Hasakani in Shawahid al-tanzil, Furat al-Kufi in his Tafsir, Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari in his Tafsir, al-Tahawi in Mushkil al-athar, al-Bahrani in Ghayat al-maram, al-Lawami' al-nuraniyya and Al-Burhan fi tafsir al-Qur'an (book). It seems that this book was not available to some later Shi'a scholars, including al-Majlisi; thus, they have not mentioned it in their works. Many excerpts of the book are quoted in the commentary of Ihqaq al-haqq.

Content

Al-Hibari has narrated 150 exegetical hadiths in this book. 100 hadiths are about the verses which were revealed about Ahl al-Bayt (a), 30 about the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (a), and 20 on various topics of jurisprudence, history, and morality.

Manuscripts

• A manuscript in "al-Mustansariyya" library in Baghdad, by the handwriting of Ibn Hilal al-Katib, known as Ibn Bawwab.
• A manuscript in the "library of Majlis Shura-i Islami" (Islamic Consultative Assembly).

Publication

• Under the title Ma nazal min al-Qur'an fi Ahl al-Bayt (a), researched by Sayyid Ahmad Husayni Ishkivari, in Qom (1359/1940-1)
• Published by Al al-Bayt Institute. Sayyid Muhammad Rida Husayni Jalali has written a lengthy introduction to the book and quoted the Hadiths related to the main text and provided several indexes of its content.