The relationship between qira'at and tafsir in the context of the Mazhari tafsir

This research, entitled explores the exegetical approach of Imam Māzharī an eminent figure in the field of Quranic exegesis focusing on his scholarly environment, his teachers and students, and his treatment of Quranic readings (qirāʾāt). In addition to his status as a distinguished exegete, Imam Māzharī was a sincere and broad-minded scholar with a deep interest in various branches of Islamic sciences. Having mastery over nearly all Islamic disciplines, he authored his tafsīr according to a unique methodology that he called "Māzharī Tafsīr. "Through this methodology, Imam Māzharī successfully integrated various Sharīʿah sciences. He then interprets the verse within the framework of Qur'anic sciences and supports his interpretation with various religious sources. A distinctive feature of his tafsīr is the significant emphasis placed on the science of qirāʾāt, which refers to the various canonical modes of Quranic recitation. Imam Māzharī not only included multiple readings in his commentary but also made critical choices among them, discussing in detail the criteria for preferring one reading over another. Given the inseparable relationship between the sciences of tafsīr and qirāʾāt, a dedicated section of this study examines the definition of qirāʾāt, the origins of their differences, and the historical development of this science. Imam Māzharī based his choices in qirāʾāt on numerous factors, including the reliability of transmission chains (isnād), the strength of the narrators, and the soundness of the reports. Accordingly, this study includes a special chapter dedicated to the methodological aspects of his use of qirāʾāt in tafsīr. Moreover, the study examines how differences among qirāʾāt can affect legal rulings (aḥkām fiqhiyyah), presenting examples of these implications in a separate section. The third part of the research focuses on the interpretation of selected surahs Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, Sūrat al-Baqarah, and Sūrat Āl ʿImrān based on the ten canonical readings (al-qirāʾāt al-ʿashr). In these sections, the text of each verse is presented, followed by an explanation of the variant readings and their linguistic and semantic analyses. The tafsīr is then elaborated based on these readings, aiming to demonstrate the exegetical quality of Imam Māzharī's approach and how he employed linguistic and qirāʾāt-based analysis to enrich his interpretation.