A Comparative Study of the Status of Variant Readings (Ikhtilāf al-Qirāʾāt) in the Exegetical Approaches of al-Ṭabrisī and al-Zamakhsharī

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.A. in Quranic Sciences and Exegesis, University of Qom, Qom, Iran,

2 Corresponding author, Assistant Professor, University of Sciences and Education of the Holy Quran, Qom, Iran

3 Full Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to comparatively examine the status and function of variant Qurʾānic readings (ikhtilāf al-qirāʾāt) in two major exegetical works of the Islamic intellectual tradition: Jawāmiʿ al-Jāmiʿ by al-Ṭabrisī and al-Kashshāf ʿan Ḥaqāʾiq al-Tanzīl by al-Zamakhsharī. The central research problem concerns the extent to which variant readings influence the exegetical interpretations of these two scholars and how each determines the “sound” or preferable reading.
Method: The study employs a descriptive–analytical methodology with a comparative framework. Data were collected through library research and close textual analysis of the two tafsīr works. The research corpus includes all Qurʾānic verses in which variant readings are explicitly discussed in these commentaries. Purposeful sampling was used to select cases where differences in reading yield interpretive variation. Qualitative content analysis was conducted based on the classical criteria for the acceptance of a reading: authenticity of transmission (ṣiḥḥat al-sanad), conformity with Arabic grammatical norms, and agreement with the rasm al-muṣḥaf.
Findings: The findings indicate that both exegetes give considerable attention to variant readings; however, their approaches differ significantly. Al-Zamakhsharī demonstrates marked preference for the reading of Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim and frequently upholds it as authoritative. In contrast, al-Ṭabrisī does not exhibit exclusive commitment to this transmission and, in certain instances, advances alternative readings, including those attributed to the Ahl al-Bayt. These methodological differences result in divergent exegetical outcomes in areas such as semantic clarification, expansion of interpretive scope, juristic inference, engagement with asbāb al-nuzūl, and literary–linguistic analysis.
Conclusion: Variant readings play a decisive role in exegetical interpretation. The differing methodologies of al-Ṭabrisī and al-Zamakhsharī largely stem from their theological orientations, source
Studies of Quran Reading, 2025, 13 (24) 70
authorities, and criteria for preferring one reading over another. This study highlights the importance of comparative analysis between Sunni and Shiʿi tafsīr traditions in order to attain a more comprehensive understanding of Qurʾānic meaning.

Keywords

References

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Studies of Quran Reading
Volume 13, Issue 25 - Serial Number 25
September 2024
Pages 33-62

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History

  • Receive Date: 18 September 2022
  • Revise Date: 31 December 2022
  • Accept Date: 25 March 2023

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