The Use of Qur’anic Readings in Fayḍ Kāshānī’s "Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī": Typology, Criteria of Selection, and Interpretive Consequences

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith Sciences, University of Ilam,

2 Corresponding Author, PhD Student, Department of Quran and Hadith Sciences, University of Ilam

3 PhD Graduate in Quran and Hadith Sciences and Deputy Director of the Center for Printing and Publishing the Holy Quran,

Abstract

Objective: This article examines how Fayḍ Kāshānī employs Qur’anic readings (qirāʾāt) in his Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī. Building a data-driven typology, it identifies the criteria by which readings are deemed valid and traces their interpretive consequences. We compiled a coded corpus of all loci in al-Ṣāfī where variant readings are cited or evaluated (1,160 instances), classifying each by type of variation (phonetic/graphic, morphological-syntactic, lexical-semantic) and by mode of use (mere reporting; explicit preference or selection; legal-theological deployment).
We operationalized Fayḍ’s criteria of authority, including the source of transmission, conformity to the ʿUthmānic rasm, grammatical correctness, coherence with context, degree of notoriety, and doctrinal compatibility, and we examined how these criteria interact when readings compete. The framework also clarifies the distinction between taʾwīl and tanzīl, and treats the Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim model as a practical baseline—rather than a normative lock.
Findings show that most reports of readings in al-Ṣāfī are descriptive lists, yet a substantial portion involves principled choices, and a smaller subset mobilizes readings to support legal or doctrinal claims. Although Ḥafṣ often functions as the default, Fayḍ at times prefers non-Ḥafṣ readings when they satisfy grammatical rules, the rasm, or contextual semantics. The oft-repeated claim that no reading is absolutely mutawātir is refined by articulating a real hierarchy that balances genuine plurality with circumscribed ijtihād.
Methodologically, the study sets out comprehensive, testable roles for qirāʾāt in al-Ṣāfī and clarifies terminological ambiguities surrounding mutawātir/shādh and taʾwīl/tanzīl. Substantively, it shows how the selection of readings can meaningfully reshape exegetical outcomes in law (e.g., ritual purity) and doctrine (e.g., interpretations pertaining to the Imamate). We conclude that Fayḍ’s use of the readings is a blend of transmitted authority and selective preference—an approach that crystallizes a Safavid method of reading: tradition-centered, meticulous, and consequential within Imāmī exegesis and studies of qirāʾāt. 

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 10 March 2025
  • Revise Date: 10 April 2025
  • Accept Date: 03 May 2025

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