Tafsīr at-Tabarī

The original title of this work is: Jāmi’ al-Bayān fī Ta’wīl al-Qur’ān

The author’s full name is: Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Jarīr bin Yazīd bin Kathīr bin Ghālib al-Āmilī at-Tabarī (224-310H/839-929M)

Brief Biography:

He was born in Tabaristān and began seeking knowledge when he was 16 years old. He traveled to Baghdād and settled there after he visited a number of other towns.

Scholars praised at-Tabarī  a great deal, saying that he was trustworthy, himself a Scholar, one of the great leaders of the people of the Sunnah, his statements are taken and he is to be turned to on account of his volume of knowledge and soundness of his methodology.

He authored a number of beneficial texts, there most standout being his exegesis of the Qur’ān. His exegesis is the first one to reach us complete, and every exegesis to come after depends upon it, and due to this the Scholars considered at-Tabarī  to be the ‘father’ of exegesis.

Studying Arabic on Your Own

As Salaamu Alaykum,

Sorry but I’ve got it in for these ‘Arabic Language Institutes that only few can afford, and even fewer can get to, so please pardon this do-it-yourself service announcement…

Here is the self-study course and materials that I used to get started (the links are just examples of how accessible the books are, and their titles- I do not mean to advocate purchasing from any particular vendor or publisher):