Translations of Tafsirs by Musa Izniki and the Authenticity of the Tafsir Attributed to Sururi

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 Musa Izniki (d. 838/1434-35 [?]) translated Ali b. Muhammad al-Khazin's (d. 741/1341) work called as Lubab al-ta'wil fi me'an al-Tanzil. Similarly, it is claimed that the 16th-century Ottoman scholar and court poet Muslihuddin Mustafa Sururi (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 Musa al-Izniki translated and named Tafsir al-Lubab is actually an abridged version of Bahr al-haka'ik wa al-meani, a tafsir by Najm al-Din Daya (d. 654/1256), not Khazin's Lubab al-ta'wil. It has also been determined that the work known today as Ta'wilat al-Najmiyya is not the original tafsir written by Daye. Daye 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. Izniki translated this abridged version and named it Tafsir al-Lubab. The tafsir attributed to Sururi has been found not to have been authored by him. Comparisons have revealed that this work is a tafsir translation of Abu al-Lays Samarqandi's (d. 373/983) work named as Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim or Tafsir Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi, known today as Bahr al-Ulum. This translation is attributed in some sources and library records simultaneously to Ahmad Dai (d. after 824/1421), Ibn 'Arabshah (d. 854/1450), and Izniki. 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 Izniki, who named this second translation Anfas al-Jawahir. There has been confusion in the academic world regarding this name, with some researchers mistakenly believing it was the name given to Khazin's translation. However, early manuscripts clearly show that this name was given to the translation of Samarqandi's tafsir. Abridged copies of Anfas al-Jawahir have been found in our libraries, but it has not been possible to determine who performed this abridgment.