Tafs¿r al-¿Ayy¿sh¿

Tafs¿r al-¿Ayy¿sh¿ is a fourth/tenth century commentary of the Qur¿an by the Sh¿¿¿ Im¿m¿ exegete Ab¿ al-När Mu¿ammad b. Mas¿¿d al-¿Ayy¿sh¿ (d. 320/932). Composed during the period of the Twelfth Imam's minor occultation (al-ghaybat al-¿ughr¿) it counts as one of the earliest surviving commentaries from the early phase of Im¿m¿ Sh¿¿ism. Comprising several thousand traditions gathered from the Prophet Mu¿ammad and his household (ahl al-bayt) al-¿Ayy¿sh¿'s tafs¿r provides an overall unique Sh¿¿¿ conception of Islamic sacred history as well as an early representation of Im¿m¿ exegesis and commentary on the outer and inner meanings of the Qur¿an, the sacred scripture of Islam. This bilingual Arabic-English edition of al-¿Ayy¿sh¿'s tafs¿r provides a complete translation in three volumes of a key text from the classical period of Im¿m¿ Sh¿¿ism and offers an indispensable resource for specialists and non-specialists alike interested in the history of Qur¿anic exegesis. This multivolume translation includes a detailed introduction by Professor Meir Bar-Asher, who has written extensively on the history of Im¿m¿ exegesis, as well as multiple indices that enable the reader to engage with the text as an ongoing tool for study and research.