Tradition of Tafsir (Qur’ānic Exegesis) in the Indian Subcontinent

Abdul Kader Choughley, an erudite South African scholar, specialising in South Asian Muslim contribution to Islamic studies, in his classic study, Tradition of Tafsir (Qur’ānic Exegesis) in the Indian Subcontinent, offers an insightful appraisal of Urdu tafsir traditions, by closely examining the contributions of almost all major schools of tafsir in the field. Truly encyclopaedic in its scope, Choughley’s study covers both classical and modern approaches to the tafsir traditions such as Shah Waliullahi school, Deobandi, Barelwi, Ahl-e-Hadith, Nadwatul `Ulama, Islāhi, Jamā`at-i-Islami and Aligarh traditions. The work also examines the Shi`ah contribution to Qur’ānic studies and the approaches of twentieth and twenty first century scholars like Abdul Majid Daryabadi, Abul Kalam Azad, Wahiduddin Khan, etc. in the tafsir genre. In addition to these, the study, in its first chapter, offers an informative and analytical reflection on the discipline of tafsir and various other topics related to the Qur’ānic studies. All these features make the study indispensable for anyone interested in the evolution and nature of tafsir tradition among the major section of the Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent. Over the past decade or so, Choughley has contributed substantially to the revival of South Asian Muslim scholarship, with several valuable studies focusing on Islamic contemporary thought. Some of the noted works of Choughley are Islamic Resurgence: Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi and His Contemporaries (2011), Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi: Life and Legacy (Rome, 2024), and the edited version of Nadwi’s two classics: Rise and Fall of Muslims and Its Impact on the World and Towards Salvaging Humanity (Rome, 2024). One of his latest work, How to Study the Qurʾān: Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi’s Approach (Rome, 2024), is an expanded version of his lecture delivered at the K.A. Nizami Centre for Qur’ānic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University.An upcoming work of the Tawasul series is the translation of Nadwi’s multivolume autobiography in Urdu titled Kārwān-i-Zindagi (Caravan of My Life).