A Comparative Study of the Exegetical Principles and Method of Al-Tafsir al-Athari al-Jami and Jami al-Bayan an Tafsir al-Quran

Muhammad Hadi Marefat (1309-1385) and Abu Jafar Muhammad b. Tahrir Tabari (310 A.H. 922 A.D) are the two great exegetes in the history of exegesis. They are under the influence of two theological and ideological schools. A cursory comparison of al-Tafsir al-Athari al -Jami' and Jami' al-Bayan 'an Tafsir al-Quran by al-Tabari as well as the exegetical views of these two scholars about the exegetical principles and methods is necessary because understanding the princip les and methods of an exegete is instrumental in understanding the exegesis. Tafsir al-Athari al-Jami' has been authored with a narrative method characterized by Shia's theological approach. Jami' al-Bayan has been written with the same method but it features the theological approach of Ahle Sunnah. Now the question which comes up is: Given the fact that both of the commentaries have been written with the same approach, do they share the principles and foundations and yield the same result? The writer elaborates on this question and seeks to answer it in detail.