Rules of Preference Based on the Qurʾānic Text in al-Nasafī’s Tafsīr Madārik al-Tanzīl

Abstract

The science of tarjīḥ (preference) is regarded as one of the important disciplines that aims to elucidate the rules governing scholarly disagreement in the interpretation of a verse or verses in which evidences appear to conflict. Among these rules is the principle of preference based on the Qurʾānic text, which is examined in this study through al-Nasafī’s tafsīr Madārik al-Tanzīl. This principle is classified into three categories: the first relates to the apparent meaning of the text, the second to generality, and the third to contextual considerations. The study demonstrates that al-Nasafī, in this exegetical work, employed a variety of Qurʾānic text–based preference rules in accordance with the requirements of the verse’s context and interpretation, rather than confining himself to a single rule.