Sufi Koran Commentary: a Survey of the Genreby A. Godlas (This is a web-based version of the article "al-Tafsir al-Sufi" to be published by the Encyclopaedia Iranica)Note that to read this article you will have to download the font "Iran Web 2" from the Encyclopaedia Iranica web page. The Third Phase, the Sufi "Schools" of Commentary:The Kobra@w^ya and the School of Ebn ¿Arab^Kobra@w^ya--Kobra@, Ra@z^, Semna@n^One of the most urgent needs in the scholarship of Sufi tafs^r is the publication of the collective tafs^r of the Kobra@w^ya tradition, often known as the al-Ta÷w^la@t al-najm^ya. In the most recent examination of the problematic authorship of this tafs^r, J. Elias concluded that Najm-al-D^n Kobra@ (a Sha@fe¿^ from K¨úa@razm) may have written the first part--from the beginning of the Koran to Su@rat al-D¨a@ria@t 51:19--entirely by himself. It is also possible that his disciple Najm-al-D^n Ra@z^ Da@ya (d. 654/1256) may have written part of it. The first part--containing both exoteric and esoteric tafs^r-- has been variously titled ¿Ayn al-háaya@t, al-¿Awa@ref, and Bahár al-háaqa@÷eq (D¨ahab^, vol. 2, p. 395; Elias, 1995, pp. 204-5). Nevertheless, Bahár al-haqa@÷eq also appears to have been the title of a different tafs^r written by Najm-al-D^n Ra@z^ (Ate¶, pp. 142-44; William Shpall, 1981-84; Süleyma@niye: ms. Hasan Hüsnü #37 mokarrar). Elias has demonstrated, however, that ¿Ala@÷-al-Dawla Semna@n^ (d. 736/1336) wrote a distinct commentary, one of the names of which is Tafs^r Najm al-Qor÷a@n and which is entirely esoteric. It begins with Su@rat al-T®u@r (Su@rat 52) and covers the remainder of the Koran, although it is prefaced by a long introduction and commentary on the Fa@teháa and in various mss. begins when the tafs^r of Kobra@/Ra@z^ leaves off (Elias, 1995, pp. 203-212; D¨ahab^, p. 395). The introduction was edited by Nwyia (1973-77, pp. 141-57) and studied by Corbin (1978, pp. 121-44). Elias edited various excerpts of Semna@n^'s tafs^r, basing his edition on two related mss., one of which was collated with Semna@n^'s own copy (1991, pp. 281-321). Elias also discussed Semna@n^'s understanding of the Koran--which he explicitly expresses in his tafs^r--noting that according to Semna@n^ one can become transformed into a mirror for Divine attributes by contemplating the Qor÷a@n (Elias, 1995, pp. 107-110).Kobra@w^ya--Naysa@bu@r^Another tafs^r related to the Kobraw^ school is that of the Sha@fe¿^ scholar Nezáa@m-al-D^n H®asan b. Moháammad b. H®osayn Qomm^ Naysa@bu@r^ (d. 728/1327, but this is problematic). Although his tafs^r, Tafs^r GÚara@÷eb al-Qor÷a@n wa-rag@a@÷eb al-forqa@n (which has been published), is largely a traditional exoteric tafs^r, it includes significant Sufi commentary, most of which--as the author himself stated-- came from Najm-al-D^n Ra@z^ Da@ya (Naysa@bu@r^, vol. 30, p. 223; Aya@z^ p. 528; D¨ahab^, vol. 1, p. 321). Zarqa@n^ noted that after Naysa@bu@r^ discussed the exoteric meaning (záa@her ma¿na@) of an a@ya, he would write, "The people of 'allusion' (esha@ra) say..." Or, he simply wrote "al-ta÷w^l" and thereafter explicated the esoteric meaning (al-ma¿na@ al-esha@r^) of the a@ya (Zarqa@n^, vol. 2, pp. 82). M. Ayoub has translated excerpts of the Sufi component of Naysa@bu@r^'s tafs^r (1981, vol. 1, and 1992, vol. 2).Ebn ¿Ara@b^ and His school-- Ebn Barraja@n and Ebn ¿Ara@b^Ebn ¿Ara@b^÷s school of Koran commentary, influenced mainly by Moháyi'l-D^n Ebn ¿Arab^'s writings and to a lesser degree by his predecessor Ebn Barraja@n, was continued by Qa@sha@n^ and S®afad^ (Böwering, 1991, p. 43), although the connection of Safad^ to this school is problematic. These tafs^rs consist of independently composed commentaries that nevertheless are united by their common usage of Ebn ¿Arab^'s terms and concepts. According to Ate¶--who described various mss. of the tafs^r of ¿Abd-al-Sala@m b. ¿Abd-al-Raháma@n Abu'l-H®akam Eshb^l^, known as Ebn Barraja@n (d. 536/1141) (d. 536/1141)--the tafs^r of Ebn Barraja@n greatly influenced Ebn ¿Arab^ (Ate¶, 1974, pp. 130-31). In addition, Ate¶ argued that a partial commentary--from Su@rat Yu@nus (10) to Su@rat al-T®u@r (52) --by Ebn ¿Arab^ is extant (ms. ?ehid ¿Al^ Pa¶a #62) and that it was a model for the commentary of Qa@sha@n^ (Ate¶, 1974, pp. 178-79, 187-88). If Ate¶ has indeed correctly identified Ebn ¿Arab^ as the author of this manuscript, its publication is another of the major needs of the field.Ebn ¿Ara@b^ and His school-- S®afad^Böwering noted that the tafs^r of S®afad^ (d. 696/1296)--whose full name was Jama@l-al-D^n Yu@sof b. Hela@l b. (?) Abi 'l-Baraka@t H®alab^ H®anaf^ Abu'l-Fazµa@÷el S®afad^--was influenced by Ebn ¿Arab^'s school of thought (1991, p. 43). Ate¶ demonstrated that this unpublished tafs^r, the title of which is Kashf al-asra@r f^ hatk al-asta@r, had been mistakenly attributed to Ebn ¿Arab^ himself (Ate¶, 1974, p. 197). Although Ate¶, in the table of contents of ˶a@r^ tefs^r okulu, lists S®afad^'s tafs^r as being among those that were influenced by the "unity of being" (wahádat al-woju@d) (which is an important doctrine of Ebn ¿Arab^'s "school"), later, however, in his discussion of S®afad^'s exegetical method, Ate¶ concluded by stating that S®afad^'s tafs^r did not exhibit the characteristics of the "unity of being" (Ate¶, 1974, p. 202).Ebn ¿Ara@b^ and His school-- Qa@sha@n^In contrast to S®afad^, the tafs^r of ¿Abd-al-Razza@q Qa@sha@n^ (d. 730/1330) clearly exhibits the influence of the "unity of being." This is a major reason why even to this day Qa@sha@n^'s tafs^r is known as the "Tafs^r of Ebn ¿Arab^" (ed. GÚa@leb, 1401/1981). Studied by Pierre Lory (1980), excerpts of this tafs^r have been translated into English by Ayoub (1981, vol. 1, and 1992 vol. 2). The most recent contribution to the tafs^rs of the "school" of Ebn ¿Arab^ is a contemporary collection of Ebn ¿Arab^'s Sufi exegeses found throughout his works and compiled by M. GÚora@b (Aya@z^, pp. 464-69).Copyright A. Godlas 1998 All rights reserved.
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