Hıdır b. Abd al-Rahman al-Azdi and methodology in his exegesis titled al-Tibyan fi Tafsir al-Quran

This thesis is concerned with Hidir b. Abd al-Rahman al-Azdi and the methodology he followed in his exegesis titled "al-Tibyan fi Tafsir al-Quran". He lived in a turbulent place and time due to the attacks/invasions of Crusaders and Mongols. In this thesis, we first investigate the environment where he lived in XIII. BC (VII. Hijri century) and study his life, why he penned his exegesis, what message he aimed to convey in his work, and which missing parts in the exegesis tradition he would like to complete. We examine al-Azdi's exegesis and his methodology. The thesis consists of an introduction, three chapters, and conclusion. The introduction deals with the thesis' subject, importance, aim, and methodology. In the first chapter, after examining al-Azdi's time from the political, social, religious and cultural point of view, we study his life, education, and works. In the second chapter, we analyze the existing manuscripts of the exegesis and its properties in terms of writing style and interpretation along with the related studies focusing on the exegesis. We also determine al-Azdi's sources and his way of using these sources, and commentators affected by al-Azdi's exegesis by comparing his exegesis and others'. In the third chapter, we investigate the exegetical methods used in his exegesis and their way of application by providing examples from the exegesis. In the conclusion, we locate al-Tibyan fi Tafsir al-Quran within the exegetical tradition.