Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation

Book excerpt: This single volume contains the Arabic edition, English translation and notes by Dr. Gibril Fouad Haddad of 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar b.Muhammad b. 'Ali al-Baydawi's first hizb of Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Ta'wil (The Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation). As a revised and improved version of al-Zamakhshari's landmark Tafsiral-Kashshaf, Anwar al-Tanzil contains the most concise analysis of the Quranic use of Arabic grammar and style to date and was viewed early on as a foremost demonstration of the Qur'an's essential and structural inimitability (i'jaz ma'nawi wa-lughawi) in Sunni literature. Anwar al-Tanzil is important and significant, because of its fame and influence. In Dr. Haddad's own estimation, this work "became and remained for seven centuries the most studied of all Tafsirs," and it is to be regarded as "the most important commentary on the Qur'an in the history of Islam."