Selections from the Comprehensive Exposition of the Interpretation of the Verses of the Qur'an

Tabari's Comprehensive Exposition of the Interpretation of the Verses of the Qur'an, also known as Tabari's Tafsir, is one of the great monuments of classical Arabic and Islamic scholarship which, over a millennium, has been a fundamental reference work for scholars engaged in the tradition of Qur'anic exegesis. This two-volume translation focuses on thirty selected verses and Suras, or Chapters, associated with special merits and blessings and also includes Tabari's own introduction to the Comprehensive Exposition.

Scott Lucas is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona. Tabari (224-310 AH; 839-923 AD) was a prominent and influential Persian scholar, historian and exegete of the Qur'an from Tabaristan, modern in Iran, who composed all his works in Arabic. His most influential and best known works are his Qur'anic commentary known as Tafsir al-Tabari. He is best known for his expertise in tafsir, fiqh, and history, but he has been described as an impressively prolific polymath. He wrote on such subjects as poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics, and medicine.