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Tafseer-e-Kabeer (
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
of the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
written by Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, the second
Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
, over a period of 20 years. It is often seen as his masterpiece by some scholars.


Background and purpose

Mirza Mahmood Ahmad was the second caliph and leader of the
Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
movement in Islam. The first of the 10 volumes this work were published in 1940 by Zia ul Islam Press,
Qadian Qadian (; ; ) is a city and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India. Qadian is the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya m ...
. In the preface to the first volume, explaining need for a modern commentary, Mahmood Ahmad acknowledged the importance of the classical commentators like Ibn Kathir, Zamakhshari, Abu Hayyan etc. and the great service they rendered for the Quran, but stated that they made two fundamental mistakes. Namely, they uncritically included questionable narrations from unsound sources in their comments and they relied too heavily on
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
literature. As a result, some subjects had become a source of ridicule for Islam and the person of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
. He also believed that the idea of abrogation had been of great detriment to the purity and authenticity of the divine nature of the Quran from which it needed to be absolved. Moreover, according to the author, the Quran contained prophecies and those prophecies which had been fulfilled up until the time of this commentary, constituted an important part of the evidence that it was the revealed word of God.


Features and themes

A peculiar feature of this work is that the author claimed to have been divinely taught the meanings and purport of Quranic verses and chapters. Throughout the commentary he suggests the vital importance of the order in which chapters were arranged in the present form. The commentary stresses the importance of a number of aspects in Quranic commentary which were thought a novel approach at the time of its publication such as the inter-relationship of the text of the entire Quran and of each
Surah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah (''Al-Ka ...
to the preceding, the themes of the Quran are connected and all chapters, verses and words are perfectly and purposefully arranged according to a coherent and logical system. It also presents a distinctive
eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
reading of the Qur'an, applying many of its prophecies to the present times, as per Ahmadiyya beliefs, such as with reference to Surah 18 (al-Kahf) and especially the latter chapters of the Quran.Abdul Basit Shahid. ''Swaneh Fazl-i-Umar'' vol III, Fazl-i-Umar Foundation, 2006, p.155-6 the explanatory notes place a particular importance on refuting the principal objections raised against Islam by non-Muslim writers. It is claimed that such objections were based either upon ignorance or deliberate misrepresentation of the teachings of Islam. Such objections have been refuted with the intent to remove the bias and prejudice against Islam, and make a better understanding of its teachings possible. The commentary is thus written in the style of an argument for Islam. Repeated references and comments are made on the works of famous
orientalists In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
like
Theodor Nöldeke Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German orientalist and scholar. His research interests ranged over Old Testament studies, Semitic languages and Arabic, Persian and Syriac literature. Nöldeke translated several ...
,
William Muir Sir William Muir (27 April 1819 – 11 July 1905) was a Scottish Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Provinces of British India. Life He was born at Gl ...
and
William Montgomery Watt William Montgomery Watt (14 March 1909 – 24 October 2006) was a Scottish Orientalist, historian, academic and Anglican priest. From 1964 to 1979, he was Professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Edinburgh. Watt was one ...
as well as numerous Muslim theologians and commentators. The author has frequently dismissed the views of these writers in favour of a more linguistic approach towards understanding the meanings of the Quran. As compared to other classical texts, this commentary seems to rely less on ''
Asbab al-nuzul Occasions or circumstances of revelation (''asbāb'' ''al-nuzūl'', ) names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of Traditionalist theology (Islam), traditional Islam. Though of some use in reconstructi ...
'' or reasons of revelation of verses. This approach greatly reduces the impact and validity of negative remarks and objections made on the Quran by non-Muslim critics. It deals particularly with such practical teachings of the Quran as pertain to moral and socio-political ideas and economic relations; and frequently comments upon verses with reference to the various theories and findings of what were then the newly emerging
natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
and
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
sciences of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The commentary also adopts a more comparative approach to the Quran than earlier commentators vis-a-vis the beliefs and teachings found in other religions and ideologies. Each verse is explained separately in two sections. The first section gives different translations of the words in the verse according to major classical
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
lexicons along with their different uses derived from classical Arabic prose and poetry. The second section contains detailed commentary. A detailed bibliography of references and indices are provided at the end of each volume.


Translations

The work, originally written in Urdu, has been translated into
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
. An English 5 volume commentary by
Malik Ghulam Farid Malik Ghulam Farid (1897–1977), was a notable Ahmadiyya Muslim scholar. He was deputed the task of preparing the 5 Volume The English Commentary of the Holy Quran, in 1942, by Mirza Mahmood Ahmad, the second Khalifa Khalifa or Khalifah (Arab ...
, though not strictly a complete translation, is largely based on this commentary.


Contents of the commentary


Urdu

In 10 volumes:
Volume 1
Surah 1 and portion of Surah 2.
Volume 2
Surah 2 (remaining portion)
Volume 3
Surahs 10-14
Volume 4
Surahs 15-18
Volume 5
Surahs 19-21
Volume 6
Surahs 22-25
Volume 7
Surahs 26-29
Volume 8
Surahs 78-90
Volume 9
Surahs 91-104
Volume 10
Surahs 104-114


See also

* The English Commentary of the Holy Quran


Notes


External links

* Tafseer-e- Kabeer (Urd


Tafseer-e-Kabeer Arabic
{{Tafsir Works by Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Islamic theology books Ahmadi tafsir