Тафсир ат-Табари: Ранний комментарий к Корану IX века

9th century Quranic exegesis by al Tabari

Jāmiʿ al bayān ʿan taʾwīl āy al Qurʾān (, also written with fī in place of ʿan), popularly Tafsīr al Ṭabarī (تفسير الطبري), is a Sunni tafsir by the Persian scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir al Tabari (838–923). It immediately won high regard and has retained its importance for scholars to the present day. It is the earliest major running commentary of the Quran to have survived in its original form. The book was translated into Persian by a group of scholars from Transoxania on commission of the Samanid king, Mansur I (961–976). It is his second great work after "History of the Prophets and Kings" (Tarīkh al Rusul wa'l Muluk), also known as "Tarikh al Tabari".

Interpretations start with "al qawlu fī ta'wīli qawlihi ta'ālā" (English: The tawil of this word of God is) for every verse. Then hadith and other previous interpretations are stated and classified according to their compatibility to each other. Interpretation using other verses and Arabic language is favored, qualifying this tafsir as riwaya, but the inclusion of critiques and reason is an integral part of the books unique character; as Tabari has refrained from interpretation using merely his own opinion and opposed those who do so. Lexical meanings of words are given, and their use in Arabic culture is examined. Tabari's linguistic views are based on the school of Basra. Opinions of linguists are given where appropriate. Evidence from Arabic poetry is used frequently, sometimes with its origins. Tabari is also a qira'at scholar, reflected in his opinions on qira'at debates in his book. Choices of qira'at are usually given according to the Kufa school. Sometimes both qira'at are preserved, leaving the choice to the reader. Although rare, Tabari has included isra'iliyat occasionally in his book. Given only as notice, this information is not dwelled upon, usually left for the understanding of the reader.

The Tafsir gives information about older commentaries which have not survived to the present. Its content —which encompasses dictionaries, historical notes, law, recitation, theology and Arabic literature— has made it a highly referenced book throughout history, resulting in many editions. It is also a good example of reasoning in a tafsir by a widely accepted scholar, giving it a value of diraya. It was marked by the same fullness of detail as his other work. The size of this work and the independence of judgment in it seem to have prevented it from having a large circulation, but scholars such as Baghawi and Suyuti used it largely; Ibn Kathir used it in his Tafsir ibn Kathir. Scholars including Suyuti have expressed their admiration towards this tafsir, regarding it as the most valuable of commentaries. An abridgement was composed by Ibn Muṭarrif al Ṭarafī (d. 1062 CE). Until well into the 19th century Al Tabari's tafsir was considered lost by Western scholars, who knew it only from fragmentary quotations. In 1860 Theodor Nöldeke wrote: "If we had this work, we could do without all the later commentaries."

Mansur I, a Samanid king who ruled in Khorasan between 961 and 976, asked for the legal opinion (fatwa) of jurists on the permissibility of translating the Quran into Persian. The scholars affirmed that reading and writing the translation of the Quran in Persian was permissible for those who did not speak Arabic. Subsequently, the King ordered a group of scholars from Transoxiana and Khorasan to translate Tafsir al Tabari into Persian. The Persian translation of the tafsir has survived and has been published numerous times in Iran.