Translations of tafsirs by m?s? iznik? and the authenticity of the tafsir attributed to sur?r?

Abstract

It is seen that serious mistakes were made in determining the names, authors, and translators of many scientific works written in the past and mostly remained in manuscript form in our libraries. This situation does not allow us properly to benefit from our important scholarly collections by preventing some significant works from being explored. In this context, some research and library records indicate that the 15th-century Ottoman scholar M?s? Iznik? (d. 838/1434-35 [?]) translated Ali b. Muhammad al-Kh?zin’s (d. 741/1341) work called as “Lub?b al-ta’w?l f? me??n al-Tanz?l”. Similarly, it is claimed that the 16th-century Ottoman scholar and court poet Muslihuddin Mustafa Sur?r? (d. 969/1562) wrote a complete Turkish tafsir. These two claims share a common point as they eventually converge on the same translator. This article aims to investigate the originals and translations of these two works to determine their actual authors and titles. The urgent need for such research for thousands of works in our libraries is apparent, as some researchers have based their master’s and doctoral theses and various articles on incorrect information. This article aims to contribute to the academic world by presenting new findings on the two works, which are clouded by incorrect information and uncertainties, and to draw attention to the need for further research in this field. This research, which utilized document scanning, data collection, and data analysis techniques, has led to the following conclusions: The work that M?s? al-Iznik? translated and named “Tafs?r al-Lub?b” is actually an abridged version of “Ba?r al-?a??’ik wa al-me??n?”, a tafsir by Najm al-D?n D?ya (d. 654/1256), not Kh?zin’s “Lub?b al-ta’w?l”. It has also been determined that the work known today as “Ta’wilat al-Najmiyya” is not the original tafsir written by D?ye. D?ye wrote a detailed tafsir combining exoteric and esoteric interpretations, and his disciple Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Sawji abridged this work by removing the exoteric interpretations, leaving only the esoteric. Iznik? translated this abridged version and named it “Tafs?r al-Lub?b”. The tafsir attributed to Sur?r? has been found not to have been authored by him. Comparisons have revealed that this work is a tafsir translation of Ab? al-Lays Samarqand?’s (d. 373/983) work named as “Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Kar?m” or “Tafsir Ab? al-Layth al-Samarqand?”, known today as “Bahr al-Ulum”. This translation is attributed in some sources and library records simultaneously to Ahmad D?? (d. after 824/1421), Ibn ?Arabshah (d. 854/1450), and Iznik?. When comparing copies attributed to different people, it is apparent that they are all the same work. Examination of certain ancient copies and manuscript records indicates that this translation was also done by Iznik?, who named this second translation “Anfas al-Jaw?hir”. There has been confusion in the academic world regarding this name, with some researchers mistakenly believing it was the name given to Kh?zin’s translation. However, early manuscripts clearly show that this name was given to the translation of Samarqand?’s tafsir. Abridged copies of “Anfas al-Jaw?hir” have been found in our libraries, but it has not been possible to determine who performed this abridgment. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.