Al-Kashshaf

Al-Zamakhshari's Mu'tazilite Exegesis of the Qur'an

Kifayat Ullah

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9783110532012
• eBook ISBN: 9783110532685
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

The book analyzes extensively al-Zamakhshar?'s tafs?r al Kashsh?f within the framework of the Mu'tazilites' five principles: (us?l al-khamsa) of their theology. Andrew Lane in his book entitled "A Traditional Mu'tazilite Qur'?n Commentary: The Kashsh?f of J?r All?h al-Zamakhshar?" states that al-Kashsh?f is not a Mu'tazilite tafs?r of the Qur'?n. This book has been written to prove that al-Zamakhshar?'s tafs?r is completely in accord with the Mu'tazilites' theology which is embodied in their five principles.

The book is divided into two parts. Part I comprises of al Zamakhshar?'s biography, al-Kashsh?f, and his methodology of tafs?r. Part II covers comprehensive analysis of the five principles: unity of God; justice; the promise and the threat of divine reward and punishment; the intermediate position between belief and unbelief; and enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.

The book concludes that al-Zamakhshar?'s al-Kashsh?f is a Mu'tazilite tafs?r completely adhering to the Mu'tazilites' theology.

Part I:Al-Zamakhsharī’ Life and Works

Chapter 1Al-Zamakhsharī’s Biography

1Al-Zamakhsharī’s Early Life

Biographical dictionaries provide very little information about al-Zamakhsharī’s life. Jane Dammen McAuliffe describes that, “The biographical material on al-Zamakhsharī strikes very few personal notes.”23 In this book, the information derived from more than twenty-five biographical sources, spans a period of eight centuries from Ibn al-Anbārī’s (d. 577/1181) Nuzhat al-alibbā’ fī ṭabaqāt al-udabā’ to Khayr al-Dīn Ziriklī’s (d. 1395/1976) al-Aʻlām. Qāmūs tarājim li-ashhar al-rijāl wa-al-nisā’ min al-‘Arab wa-al-mustaʻribīn wa-al-mustashriqīn.

Al-Zamakhsharī’s full name is Maḥmūd b. ‘Umar b. Muḥammad b. ‘Umar, his kunya (patronymic) is Abū al-Qāsim and his alqāb (honorific titles) are Jār Allāh (neighbor of God), and Fakhr Khawārzm (Glory of Khawārzm). The nisba al-Zamakhsharī is derived from the place Zamakhshar in Khwārazm, where he was born on Rajab 27, 467/March 18, 1075.24

Al-Muqaddasī (d. 380/990) describes that, “Zamakhshar is a small city having a fortress, a ditch, a prison, and gates braced with iron, and bridges are raised every night, and a main street that crosses through the city. The mosque is very elegant which is at the end of the market.”25 Al-Samʻānī (d. 562/1167) mentions that, “Zamakhshar is one of the big villages of Khwārazm which is equivalent to a small city.”26 Yāqūt (d. 626/1229) quotes al-Zamakhsharī that he said, “As far as my place of birth is concerned, it is one of the unknown villages of Khwārazm.”27

Al-Zamakhsharī died on Dhū al-Ḥijja 8, 538/June 12, 1144 in Jurjāniyya, where he was buried. Jurjāniyya, also known as Gurganj, capital of Khurāsān is located on the bank of the Jayhūn River. It was ranked after Kath as the second principal city, and had four gates and a large palace near the Bāb al-Ḥajjāj, on the edge of a huge market place and consisted of an outer and an inner city.28

Although of Persian origin, al-Zamakhsharī’s command over Arabic was superb, and unparalleled. He was always motivated in his scholarship to serve and promote the Arabic language. He always taught his students in Arabic, and used Persian only for those who were beginners in their studies.29 Arabic was, in his view, the most perfect language which God had preferred to all languages as He preferred the Qur’ān and Islam over all scripture and religions.30 He was a strong opponent of the shuʻūbiyya,who held the view that Persians were superior to the Arabs.31

Al-Zamakhsharī was lame (aʻraj) because one of his feet had been amputated. There are five different versions, which describe how this may have happened. According to the first version, when he was a small child, he fell from a roof (saṭḥ) and broke his foot. It became bent and was amputated.32 The second version states that while he was traveling through Khwārazm, “he got frostbite in an extreme cold weather” (aṣābahu thalj kathīr wa-bard shadīd) and his foot “fell off” (saqaṭa).33 The third version mentions that his foot was stung by an insect and later it had to be cut off due to an abscess developing on the foot.34 The fourth version describes that on his way to Bukhārā; he fell from his horse and broke his foot. Afterwards, it became so painful that he had the foot removed.35 Finally, when al-Zamakhsharī was visiting Baghdād, Aḥmad b. ‘Alī b. Muḥammad Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Dāmaghānī (d. 540/1145), the Ḥanafīte jurist asked him about his foot. He replied that that the cause of his foot amputation was his mother’s prayer. He narrated that when he was a small child he caught a sparrow and tied its foot with a piece of thread. The sparrow managed to escape and took refuge in a wall’s hole. He tried to pull the bird out of the hole but its foot severed by the thread. His mother saw the incident and said, “May God sever your foot as you severed its foot.” Al-Zamakhsharī concluded that, “My mother’s benediction got me this.” Al-Zamakhsharī got his amputated foot replaced by a wooden one, which he used to hide by wearing a long cloak, so that people would not consider him lame.36 He always carried with him an official certificate (maḥḍar) signed by many witnesses who knew the circumstances and facts of his foot, to avoid suspicion or doubt of the people.37 The reason that he had to carry an official certificate was that it might be suspected that his foot was amputated as punishment for some crime.

2Al-Zamakhsharī’s Education

Al-Andarasbānī and Ṭashkubrīzāda mention that al-Zamakhsharī’s father was a scholar (imām) in the village of Zamakhshar and he taught him the Qur’ān. His father wanted him to learn tailoring since he was handicapped. However, al-Zamakhsharī requested that he send him to Jurjāniyya for more education, to which he agreed. He studied and acquired knowledge from a number of scholars (asātidha, shuyūkh, masahā’ikh). In Jurjāniyya, the brother of Abū al -Fatḥ b. ‘Alī b. al-Ḥārith al-Bayyaʻī saw his good handwriting and employed him as his secretary.38 Al-Zamakhsharī travelled to Bukhārā when he reached the age to acquire further knowledge, he continued studies outside of his village.39

3Al-Zamakhsharī’s Teachers

All the biographical dictionaries and ṭabaqāt works mention that al-Zamakhsharī acquired his education from a number of scholars. However, most of the information available about these scholars is scanty. There are approximately eleven names which have been mentioned in the sources who were his teachers. Sometimes, information is available about the area of studies in which they were specialized, while in other cases it is not mentioned at all.

According to al-Andarasbānī, al-Zamakhsharī, when he was already a famous authority on the Qurʼān exegesis, became associated with two prominent theologians of Khwārazm – Abū Manṣūr40 and Rukn al-Dīn Maḥmūd b. al-Malāḥimī al-Uṣūlī (d. 536/1141), who was known as farīd al-‘aṣr (unique in his time) in the field of theology. Al-Zamakhsharī studied theology with him. Besides being al-Zamakhsharī’s teacher, Ibn al-Malāhimī was also his student and studied with him exegesis.41 The evidence of al-Zamakhsharī’s close relationship with Ibn al-Malāḥimī is supported by the elegiac verses composed by him on the occasion of the latter’s death.42

Al-Zamakhsharī wrote a brief summary of his theological opinions entitled Kitāb al-Minhāj fī uṣūl al-dīn. In his Muʻtazilite creed, he was largely influenced by the doctrine of Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī, which is supported by the text. Throughout the book, he usually refrains from expressing his own preference with regard to the conflicting views of various schools on a question without ever entering the controversies. However, at some places when he indicates his opinion, it seems that he is in agreement with the views of Ibn al-Malāḥimī. The theologians most of the time mentioned by names are Abū ʻAlī al-Jubbāʼī and Abū Hāshim al-Jubbāʼī – “the two shaykhs” (al-shaykhān), and Qāḍī ʻAbd al-Jabbār is referred to only once. Madelung states that,

Al-Zamakhsharī’s attitude to the Muʻtazila and their schools thus seems well consistent with what is known of his career. He had most likely been a Muʻtazilī from his youth. Then he was attracted by the teaching of al-Ḥākim al-Jishumī, representative of the Bahashmiyya, perhaps in particular because of al-Ḥākim’s authority in Qurʼān exegesis. He probably visited Jishum, though apparently after al-Ḥākim’s death, and received his works from a student of his. Later he became closely associated with Ibn al-Malāḥimī, the Kawāzamian renewer of the doctrine of Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī. He was clearly impressed and influenced by his teaching. Yet he did not identify himself with it. In his theological compendium he rather lent support to a broadly based, catholic Muʻtazilism.43

Al-Zamak...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part I: Al-Zamakhsharī’ Life and Works
• Part II: The Five Principles
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• Bibliography
• Index of Names
• Index of Subjects
• Index of Qurʼān Citations