Analytical Tafseer I
Analytical Tafseer I (3 Credits)
This course introduces students to the practice of classical Qurʾānic exegesis (tafsīr) through a close reading of Sūrat Yūsuf in al-Bayḍāwī’s Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Taʾwīl, read both in Arabic and in Beeston’s English translation. Rather than studying tafsīr simply as a body of information, students will learn to ask how a commentator reads the Qurʾān, what sources and methods he uses, and how his interpretation develops from verse to verse. Al-Bayḍāwī’s concise style makes him useful for this course, alongside selected earlier commentaries and modern academic studies of Sūrat Yūsuf. The course will help students understand how classical tafsīr works and encourage them to read tafsīr as a source of moral and spiritual reflection. Sūrat Yūsuf provides a rich setting for both, with its themes of patience, hardship, temptation, trust in God, forgiveness, and divine providence.
About the Instructor(s)
Dr Mohamed Moustafa teaches analytical tafsīr at Mishkah University. He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Arizona’s School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, an MA in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations from Hartford Seminary (now Hartford International University), and a BA from the School of Languages and Translation at al-Azhar University. Dr Moustafa is currently converting his doctoral dissertation on al-Bayḍāwī’s renowned Qurʾān commentary into a monograph. His research situates Anwār al-tanzīl within the evolution of classical tafsīr to illuminate its textual utility and historical significance. He has also published on other themes in Islamic intellectual history, including the ontology of the human soul as well as the historical reception of Jewish and Christian scriptures among Muslim scholars. Prior to joining Mishkah, Dr Moustafa taught courses on Islam, Middle Eastern studies, and Arabic language at the University of Arizona. He also taught tafsīr, Islamic civilization, Hadith studies, and Arabic-English translation at al-Azhar University.
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