Ebüssuûd (d. 982/1574), who is famous for his fatwās
(legal opinions), also has outstanding works in the field of exegesis. Among
them is his commentary titled Maʿāqid al-ṭirāf
fī awwal sūrat al-Fatḥ min
al-Kashshāf. Ebüssuûd wrote the commentary as a review of
Zamakhsharī’s (d. 538/1144) exegesis, al-Kashshāf, focusing on the
“Chapter of Victory” (sūrat al-Fatḥ). This is
more detailed than the relevant section in Ebüssuûd’s own exegesis, Irshād
al-ʿaql al-salīm. The most salient characteristic of the commentary is that
it contains rejections and criticism of Zamakhsharī’s opinions.
Ebüssuûd was appointed as a military judge (kazasker)
of Rumeli in 1537. He accompanied Suleyman the Magnificent on his expedition to
the west (945/1538). He also participated in the campaigns of Moldovia, Buda
and Estergom. He led the first Friday prayer in Buda after its conquest on 2
September 1541. According to sources, particularly Katip Çelebi (d.
1067/1657), he wrote the commentary during the campaign to Northern Hungary
(950/1543).
According to sources, a number of scholarly sessions
took place between Suleyman and Ebüssuûd during the campaign to Northern
Hungary. In these sessions, Ebüssuûd discussed al-Kashshāf with the
sultan, and since they were on a campaign of conquest, they discussed the
“Chapter of Victory” in particular. Along with the sessions, Ebüssuûd wrote his
Maʿāqid explaining the controversy between the Muʿtazila and the Sunnis
on the issue of “human actions” (afʿāl al-ʿibād).
This study contains a close examination of Maʿāqid
and a critical edition of the text. I accessed nine manuscripts of Ebüssuûd’s
commentary. Among these, the copy in the Library of Budayriyya in Jerusalem is
the author’s draft. Since it contains the record of ownership and the date of
writing, I adopted it as my master copy and used ISAM’s principles for critical
editions.
Ebüssuûd belonged to the Ottoman tradition of exegesis
and was closely interested in Zamakhsharī’s ideas. He tried to understand
Zamakhsharī within his own context and evaluate consistencies among his ideas.
He endeavored to explain Zamakhsharī’s interpretation and exegesis on the
“Chapter of Victory” by taking into consideration principally the outputs of
Arabic syntax and logic and more particularly the principles of theology
(al-Kalām) and logic. While doing this, however, he never compromised or
diverged from the Sunni perspective. Major subjects of Maʿāqid al-ṭirāf are the following:
1.
Past tense (khalq al-afʿāl) to distinguish the reality and metaphor:
Both Zamakhsharī and Ebüssuûd understood the verb (fataḥnā) conjugated
in the past tense in the first verse of the “Chapter of Victory” as “a verb
professing prior to the victory that it would occur.” In other words, even if
it was used in the past tense form, it implied future tense. However,
Zamakhsharī’s interpretation of the verb as heralding the victory and his
explanation of it as “yassarnā/we have helped you to become victorious”
raised many issues.
According
to the Sunni perspective, fataḥnā is used in its literal meaning and it
heralded in the victory at Mecca. In fact, the principal and first meaning of
words is their external/literal meaning. They can be taken as metaphors only
when there exists evidence or a necessity to do so. In addition, the
attribution of the verb to God refers to the fact that God realizes the victory
and he creates the actions, which contrasts with Zamakhsharī’s ideas.
In
Zamakhsharī’s opinion, the verb fataḥnā means “yassarnā/we have
helped you to conquer,” which is consistent with the principles of the
Muʿtazila school. To him, the verb fataḥnā is used in its metaphorical
sense rather than its apparent meaning. Further, Zamakhsharī defines the
concept of fatḥ/conquest as “to annex a city forcefully, peacefully or
without any confrontation.” Taking this definition, the conquest becomes a
human action that cannot be attributed to God. Since Zamakhsharī explained the
verse in this manner, he interpreted the verb fataḥnā metaphorically as yassarnā/taysīr
rather than its literal meaning.
In
fact, Zamakhshari took fataḥnā in its metaphorical sense (majāz
al-mursal) (dhikr al-musabbab irādat al-sabab) to mean to
facilitate/taysīr. The factor that led Zamakhsharī to this metaphorical
interpretation was the issue of khalq al-afʿāl, because according to
him, human beings create “by themselves the actions that are within their
potential.” In Sunni thought, however, God creates all actions.
2.
Past tense (fiʿl al-māḍī)
as semantics: In Quranic style, verbs conjugated in the past tense are
sometimes used to suggest future tense. The goal of this is to convince the
reader that the action will certainly happen. According to Ebüssuûd, the
subject of the sentence should be God in order to have the verb fataḥnā
imply God’s loftiness. If Zamakhsharī wants to argue that the verb fataḥnā
conjugated in the past tense refers to God’s loftiness, he should show that the
subject of the sentence is also God, because someone’s utterance of an action
without doing so does not show God’s greatness.
3.
The problem of causality of the conquest (al-ʿilliyyah): The
cause-result relations of the conquest of Mecca is also among the subjects of
the commentary. What was the cause (al-ʿillah) of conquest? In other
words, the question of how the conquest of Mecca became the cause
of forgiveness was a central issue.
4.
Ebüssuûd’s Alternative System of Thought in respect to Zamakhsharī: According
to Ebüssuûd, Zamakhsharī’s arguments are based on far-fetched interpretations
and assumptions. If one explains the verse according to Sunni thought, s/he
will understand the meaning clearly, because the subject of the verse is
conquest/victory. Victory is a human act. But since God creates the action of
conquest, associating the verb of conquer to a pronoun related to God is quite
appropriate. Therefore, the phrase “innā fataḥnā”
means “we did conquer.” In this respect, the conquest becomes the cause of “the
completion of blessing and following guidance and glorious victory.” As for the
conquest being a lofty blessing, it claims the bestowal of great blessings,
clarification of Islam’s principles, exalting the symbols of religion and
removing the symbols of the pre-Islamic world.
Ottoman exegesis Maʿāqid al-ṭirāf fī awwal sūrat al-Fatḥ min al-Kashshāf Zamakhsharī Kashshāf commentary tradition
Bu çalışma Osmanlı ulemâsından Ebüssuûd
Efendi’nin Zemahşerî’nin Fetih sûresinin ilk âyetleri hakkındaki görüşleri
üzerine kaleme aldığı risâlenin tahkikli neşrinden oluşmaktadır. Risâle, Ebüssuûd’un
el-Keşşâf tefsirinin farklı sûreleri üzerine yazdığı ve pek çoğu yazma
olarak bulunan hâşiyelerinden biridir. Ebüssuûd, Kanûnî Sultan Süleyman ile
birlikte çıktığı Avrupa/Macaristan seferi sırasında risâleyi kaleme almıştır (950/1543). Sefer uzun sürmüş, Estergon ve Belgrad
kalelerinin ele geçirilmesi sırasında padişah ile aralarında bir ders halkası
kurulmuştur. Bu halkada Zemahşerî’nin el-Keşşâf adlı tefsirini mütalaa
etmişler ve bir fetih seferinde bulunmalarından dolayı Fetih sûresini esas
almışlardır. Ebüssuûd, Zemahşerî’nin insanların kendi fiillerini yarattıkları
temeline dayanan ve Mekke’nin fethi hadisesinin bir insan eylemi olarak Hz.
Peygamber tarafından gerçekleştirildiği şeklindeki görüşlerini tahlil etmiştir.
Fiillerin yaratılması, illet, Kur’ân-ı Kerim’de mâzi fiillerin gelecek zaman
anlamında kullanılması, hakikat-mecaz dengesi, tevil yöntemleri gibi konuların
ele alındığı hâşiye, Zemahşerî’nin düşünce kodlarına bağlı kalarak bütüncül bir
yorum sağlama imkânlarını sorgulaması bakımından dikkat çekmektedir.
Tefsir Ebüssuûd Efendi Maâkıdü’t-tırâf fî evveli sûreti’l-Feth mine’l-Keşşâf Zemahşerî Keşşâf Osmanlı tefsir çalışmaları
Primary Language | Arabic |
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Subjects | Religious Studies |
Journal Section | Makaleler |
Authors | |
Publication Date | July 10, 2019 |
Published in Issue | Year 2019 Issue: 42 |