Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem,

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim,

PROJECTS
ONLINE TAFSIR

� Islamica Magazine, Issue 11, 2004

One of the most ambitious and comprehensive works in Islamic scholarship is nearing completion. What might surprise most people, though, is the fact that the project is an on-line internet service

The website Altafsir.com - a project initiated by the Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman - is already up and running and is probably the only place where scholars and researchers will have a virtual library of the Qur�anic sciences literally at their fingertips. At a time when most publishers and online servers provide a limited selection of Qur�an commentaries and translations, the sheer scope of the website is staggering. It offers tafsir texts from all seven of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence. In addition, the user will find works relating to various philosophical, linguistic, mystical and theological approaches to tafsir. Additional books to be found at the site include hadith collections relevant to the study of Qur�an interpretation and the audio-visual presentation of all known tajwid readings. Users will have access to an interactive environment where they can study and compare the variant reading styles of Qur�an recitation and their related rulings, in addition to practical, �hands on� tutorials.

Many of the texts are either appearing for the first time in published form, or in definitively edited editions that include introductions by leading scholars of their respective schools. All of the texts have been carefully reviewed and revised and include diacritical markings. To insure consistency of scholarship and content, the Institute has enlisted the aid of many of today�s leading Qur�an scholars such as Sheikh al-Azhar Sayyid Muhammad Tantawi, Ayatollah Tashkiri and the Mufti of Oman, among others.

Nor is it the mere breadth and diversity of material that makes the website revolutionary. From the information technology point of view, the user interface allows users to search for specific words, verses and cross references. Perhaps more importantly, the site is equipped with built in security measures to prevent the tampering with and altering of material.

The �completion� of the site, which is already fully operational, involves adding Qur�an translations in more than twenty languages and the completion of major tafsir translations into English such as the addition of translated classical texts of tafsir such as Suyuti�s Jalalayn, Ibn �Abbas, Baydawi, Ibn �Arabi, Baqli and Wahidi - all undertaken by leading Western translators. To English speakers, the source should prove invaluable since there are currently no complete tafsir translations from classical Arabic in their own language.

One final surprise for English speakers will be the appearance of the long awaited Qur�an translation by the respected British scholar, Martin Lings. Dr. Lings, whose status as an English speaking scholar and translator was assured long ago by his masterly biography of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is finishing what many feel will be the definitive English version of what Muhammad Pickthall described as �that inimitable symphony� in his preface to his own Qur�an translation.

The first word of revelation was �Read�� With a resource like Altafsir.com, and the subsequent release of materials in CD and book form, the opportunity to do just that has never been greater.

http://www.altafsir.com/Index.asp

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As Salamu Alaikum  

Jazakallahu Khairan  for telling us about it.

Had a quick look and it looks very promising.