A Discussion of the Features of Qurtubi’s Al-Jami'u li ‘Ahkami ’l-Qur’an

Abstract

Qur'anic exegesis, otherwise known in Arabic terminology as Tafsir, is an integral intellectual strive necessary for the study and understanding the messages of the Qur'an. The Prophet was the pioneer exegete obliged by the Divine commandment to explain the contents of the Qur'an to the entire mankind. The paper examines the contributions of Qurtubi's work to the exegetical knowledge and its characteristics in the subsequent generations after the demise of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). His work is with particular emphasis on the Tafsiru-l-Ma’thur: explanation of the Qur’an by the Qur'an itself, Hadith of the Prophet (SAW), statements of the companions of the Prophet and their followers after them. His work on Tafsir: Al-Jamiu-li-Ahkamil-Qur’an is a codification of legal verses of the Qur'an. The paper intends to explicate the salient attributes of Qurtubi's work and its relevance to the contemporary exegetical challenges in the Muslim world. This paper therefore adopts illustrative and exegetical approaches to examine the characteristic features of Qurbi's legal exposition in his Tafsir work. Thus, it concludes that Tafsir literature could be incorporated into various academic institutions of learning.