Tanwir Al Miqbas Min Tafsir Ibn Abbas - Tafsir Book English Translation

Tanwir al-Miqbas is often attributed to the Companion Abd Allah b. Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib (d. 68/687), cousin of the Prophet and father of the discipline of Quranic exegesis, or to the renowned Shafi‘i scholar Majd al-Din Muhammad Ibn Yaqub al-Firuzabadi (d. 817/1414). Despite its uncertain authorship, Tanwir al-Miqbas remains a pivotal work for the study of Islamic exegesis for the following reasons:

1. The traditions attributed to Ibn Abbas that are at the core of this work render it as a seminal work of exegesis.

2. This commentary is unabridged and uncensored.

3. The work is an example of the tafsir type known as tafsir bi’l-riwaya or tafsir bi’l-ma’thur. That is, it contains reports going back to the Prophet (pbuh) or a Companion, in this case Ibn ‘Abbas.

4. Tanwir al-Miqbas does not contain elaborate theological or philosophical explanations.

5. Tanwir al-Miqbas does not contain the technical grammatical explanations commonly found in other works.

6. Tanwir al-Miqbas is unencumbered by isnads or chains of transmission, occasionally found in other tafsir works, thus making the work accessible to the non-specialist.