Imām al-Suyuṭī (r.h) was born in the year 849 A.H (1445 CE).[i] By the age of seven, he had memorized the entire Quran, and within the next few years, he memorised many foundational books of knowledge. He dedicated his time to seeking knowledge, and by the age of 16, he had already written his first two books.[ii] At the age of 21, after studying under a large number of scholars and travelling to various cities, Imam al-Suyūṭī (r.h) began teaching. He taught some of his own works along with other books such as al-Imām al-Nawawī’s al-Minhāj and the Sharḥ of Ibn ‘Aqīl on the Alfīyyah of Ibn Mālik.
The next year, in 871 A.H around the age of 21, he began issuing Fatāwā. And in the year 872 A.H, he began carrying out sessions dedicated to the imlā` of aḥādīth.[iii] Al-Suyūṭī (r.h.) dedicated his time to these positions until, due to certain conflicts, he chose to leave these positions and stay alone.[iv]
Throughout his life, He wrote hundreds of works, many of which are widely used today. Many of these works are related to the Qur`ān and, from amongst those, some of them are books of tafsīr. The following are some details regarding a few books of tafsīr that al-Suyūṭī has worked on:
Al-Durr al-manthūr fi al-Tafsīr al-Ma`thūr
Al-Durr al-Manthūr is an encyclopaedia of narrations related to the verses of the Qur’ān. Imam Al-Suyuṭī brings multiple narrations related to the verses being expounded upon. He brings narrations from the Prophetﷺ , the companions, and the tābi’ūn. In this work, he has referred to approximately 400 sources, and many amongst them are lost to us today.[v]
Furthermore, al-Suyūṭī does not bring the chains of the narrations in this tafsīr, rather, he simply mentions the source and the first name in the chain along with the narration itself. This was done because this tafsīr is partially a summarized version of a different tafsīr written by al-Suyūṭī himself called “Tarjumān al-Qur`ān”.[vi]
Tarjumān al-Qur`ān.
Imām al-Suyūṭī has indicated towards this tafsīr in various other works of his. It can be understood from his own writings that this is a special tafsīr wherein he mentions over 10,000 narrations of the Prophet ﷺ and the companions (r.a) with their chains. It was written and completed in 4 or 5 volumes. The tafsīr covers most of the verses of the Qur’ān, and it does not mention anything from the ta’biūn or those after them. Whilst writing this tafsīr, Imam al-Suyūṭī saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream granting him glad tidings. Imām al-Suyūṭī himself was pleased with this great work of his, so much so that he considered it to be amongst those books he wrote which are one of a kind.[vii]
This book would be an incredible compilation of narrations related to the Quran. Although as far as we know, neither has this book been published, nor has a manuscript of it been found or identified.[viii]
Majma’ al-Baḥrain wa Maṭla’ al-Badrain
Imam al-Suyūṭī’s al-Itqān is a phenomenal work in the field of ‘Ulūm al-Qur`ān. Al-Suyūṭī mentions that he is writing al-Itqān as an introduction to a detailed tafsīr titled “Majma’ al-Baḥrain wa Maṭla’ al-Badrain”. He mentions that this tafsīr addresses various topics, and it will be such a book that if a person uses it, he would not need any other book. The way this tafsīr is described by Imām al-Suyūṭī (r.h) shows how remarkable this work would be.
Nevertheless, Imam al-Suyūṭī (r.h) never finished the book. He only started and wrote a very small portion of it. He then gave up this project. Al-Suyūṭī mentions that he only wrote until the ayah اهدنا الصراط المستقيم, and that he also wrote the tafsīr of Sūrat al-Kawthar.[ix]
Mafātīḥ al-Ghaib
Imām al-Suyūṭī mentions that Mafātīḥ al-Ghaib is a large Musnad Tafsīr where he wrote from sūrat al-A’lā (Surah 87) until the end of the Quran. [x]
Tafsīr al-Jalālain
This Tafsīr is commonly referred to as Jalālain (dual version of the word ‘Jalāl’) because two scholars worked on this book i.e. Imām Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī (d.864 h), and his student Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī. Imām al-Suyūṭī refers to this work as a “Takmilah”, and it seems that he himself did not give it the title “Tafsīr al-Jalālain”. Although, it was referred to as Tafsīr al-Jalālain by those who lived in his time.[xi]
‘Allāmah al-Maḥallī began writing his tafsīr from Sūrat al-Kahf and worked his way to the end of the Quran. Thereafter, he wrote the tafsīr of Surat al-Fātiḥah and a small portion of Sūrat al-Baqarah and then passed away. Six years later, Imām al-Suyūṭī worked to complete the tafsīr from Sūrat al-Baqarah until Sūrat al-Kahf. Al-Suyūṭī completed the first draft of this work in less than 40 days, and at the time of writing this work, he was almost 22 years old. Within the next 4 months, he completed the final draft. [xii]
(Note: A manuscript said to be Mahalli’s portion of the tafsīr mentions that he did the tafsīr in a different order. See footnote [xiii]
Tafsīr al-Jalālain and al-Durr al-Manthūr are both widely used and studied all over the world. Scholars and common people alike benefit from these works. Nevertheless, We can only imagine how amazing it would be if al-Suyūṭī had finished Majma’ al-Baḥrain, or how great it would be to find and benefit from a book like Tarjumān al-Qur`ān. But until then, we can continue to benefit from the large number of works written by Imam al-Suyūṭī Raḥimahullahu Ta’ālā.
Mufti Abbas Piparawala
Sha’bān 1444 h. / March 2023
Source: Islamic Gateway
https://islamclass.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/ulum-al-hadith-curriculum/
