The Science of Tafsīr in The Tradition of Islamic
Education and Instruction
In both the classical and modern periods, works belonging to the genres
of Ṭabaqāt al-mufassirīn and tafsīr history have predominantly highlighted
the biographies of exegetes and the exegetical works they composed.
By contrast, the processes of education and instruction in the
science of tafsīr have been largely neglected. Yet the intellectual formation
of mufassirs and the emergence of tafsīr texts are directly connected
with scholarly teaching and learning environments. Consequently,
a conception of tafsīr history constructed solely around the figures of
exegetes and their writings remains necessarily incomplete. This study
addresses precisely this often-overlooked dimension of tafsīr history,
namely, its educational and instructional processes. The first chapter
outlines the theoretical framework of tafsīr and situates its development
as a scholarly discipline within a broader historical trajectory.
The second chapter examines the teaching of tafsīr in the early period,
prior to the institutional emergence of the madrasa as a formalised setting
of instruction. The third chapter categorises scholars who taught
tafsīr during the classical period according to the intellectual traditions
with which they were associated. The fourth chapter is divided into
two sections: the first analyses the venues in which tafsīr lessons were
conducted—mosques, madrasas, palaces and Sufi lodges; the second
surveys the works taught in tafsīr instruction, classified according to
their relative popularity. The fifth and final chapter investigates practical
aspects of tafsīr lessons, including pedagogical methods, debates
and controversies, questions posed and their answers, as well as the
influence of teaching practices on the formation of exegetical works.
In conclusion, the study aims to demonstrate, on the basis of historical
experience, the significance of tafsīr as a scholarly discipline for the
Muslim community.
Keywords: Qurʾānic exegesis; History of Qurʾānic exegesis; Teacher of
tafsīr; Education and instruction; Curriculum