CRITICAL EDITION OF KITAB DURJ AL-DURAR FI TAFSIR AL-QUR´AN AL-AZIM ATTRIBUTED TO : ABD AL QAHIR AL- JURJANI ( d. 471/1078 )

Abdallah A. KHATIB

The aim of this thesis is to produce a critical and detailed edition of the work of Tafsir entitled Kitaab Durj al-Durar fi Tafsir  al-Qur’an al-Azim attributed to Abd al-Qahir b.'Abd al-Rahman al-Jurjani (471/1078) and to provide it with a critical English introduction.

This work then is composed of two parts:

The first part of this study consists of the English introduction which is subdivided into five chapters. The first chapter discusses al-Jurjani's biography and milieu. It also provides a description of his compositions, explains the question of the authenticity of this work and its relation to the genre of Tafsir. Chapter two describes the MSS used or consulted in producing the text, and the editorial methods employed in editing the text. Chapter three is an analytical study of the methodology exhibited in the text. Chapter four discusses the authorities quotient by the author of this text. Chapter five is made up of notes and comments on the text which include a) Corrections and emendations on the text and b) References covering all material of Qur’an, Hadith and poetry (with meters) adduced by the writer. There are two Appendixes to this introduction; the first Appendix includes biographical data of the people mentioned in the text and the second one presents illustrations of the MSS.

The second part of this study comprises an edition of the Kitaab Duri al-Durar fi Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Azim covering only Suras 1 to 3, as being adequately representative of the writer's technique and style. The work as a whole offers a commentary on all the Suras of the Qur'an, but the author of this tafsir is selective in his approach. He chooses to comment on most of the verses but sometimes only on some verses he thinks is appropriate. This Tafsir contains canonical segments followed by passages of commentary. The author cites many authorities, thereby sometimes giving rise to polyvalent readings of the Qur’an.

There are two indexes to this second part :

1- Hadith index.

2- Poem index.