Tafsir Al-Tustari (Great Commentaries of the Holy Qur'an) Paperback – April 13, 2011

From the Preface:"The Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'azim (Commentary on the Great Qur'an) of Sahl b. 'Abd Allah al-Tustari (d. 238 A.H./896 C.E.) is remarkable in having been compiled much earlier than this, byTustari's immediate disciples and within one generation of his death, and in having been preserved as a commentary on the Qur'an through an authenticated chain of transmission, until itwas first written down by a scribe in the mid-sixth A.H./twelfth C.E. century. Thus it may claim to be the earliest extant Sufi Qur'an commentary ascribed to a single author. What ismore, Tustari's disciples integrated within this exegetical corpus a large number of apposite sayings of their master as well as accounts of events in his life. This makes it possibleto situate the interpretations within the compass of Tustari's thought, and to gain a greater understanding of the profound connection between his mystical doctrines and his exegesis ofthe Qur'an."The Introduction is very informative and divided into six sections as follows:I. Sahl al-Tustari's Spiritual Formation and his TeachersII. Tustari as Spiritual Master, and his DisciplesIII. Tustari's WorksIV. The Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'azimV. Tustari's Approach to Qur'anic InterpretationVI. Mystical Teachings(which is divided into six sub-sections):A. The Qur'an and the ProphetB. The Muhammadan LightC. TheologyD. The Spiritual Destiny of Human Beings: Cosmology and EschatologyE. Spiritual PsychologyF. The Spiritual PathVII. ConclusionI would recommend that the reader/student carefully read Sections IV and V and very carefully study Section VI, especially those less familiar with mystic teachings and mysticism in general.The translation is in clear and readable modern English which should make it somewhat easy to follow. As this is the "first English translation" of this important work in Qur'anic exegesis,it is not possible to compare with other versions. It is hoped that other scholars will take up the task of providing new and fresh translations.The only draw back for me is that the annotations provided are not as extensive as I would prefer, but those that are provided are still of great value for studying this text.I am truly looking forward to studying Tafsir al-Tustari and welcome its place among the great commentaries of the Qur'an currently in translation.

Tustari was born in Iran in 203 H / 818 CE and lived a mere eighty years. From childhood he was a natural mystic and ascetic and figured largely in the development of Sufism; indeed, figures such as al-Ghazali and ufn-Arabi depend upon his commentaries to the al-Qur’an and Hadith. This particular book was made at the behest of the Jordanian royal family. It is scholarship and translation of a classical text of the very first order. If you're at al interested in the development of Sufism, this book is a must.

This tafsir is good for those who want to have an idea of the esoteric meaning of the verses of the Holy Quran.

The content is wonderful - Sahl al-Tustari is revered and rightly so. This edition is terrible! It mashes together all the text without any formatting so that the page notes (for example) are interleaved with the text with no break or styling. It's a mess.