“First edition” showcases rare Qur’an exegesis manuscript

In its fourth episode, First Edition features a rare manuscript of Qur’an exegesis, written 836 years ago and titled “Asrar Al Tanzil wa Anwar Al Ta’wil” (The Secrets of Revelation and the Lights of Interpretation), authored by Muhammad bin Omar bin Al Hassan Al Razi. The book is among the final works of Fakhr Al Razi, who died before completing it. In it, he compiled the latest findings of his theological research, particularly in the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an.

Saeed Al Maadawi, General Supervisor of the House of Manuscripts, noted that this copy is the oldest known version of the book. It was transcribed four years after the author’s death, in 610 AH. The manuscript is arranged into four sections: the first on the science of Osool (fundamentals), the second on the science of Forooa (branches), the third on ethics, and the fourth on supplications and invocations.

Al Maadawi explained that the manuscript comprises 292 folios. It is written in Naskh script and begins with a record of ownership and endowment in the name of Abu Bakr bin Muawiyah Al Aymaki. It is bound in decorated brown leather, and its margins contain annotations and corrections.