Research Study on the Methodology and Characteristics of Dr. Syed Sher Ali Shah’s (Introductory) Preface to Tafsir

Abstract

In the subcontinent, the students are usually taught a useful academic case (Aloom Al Qura`an) before the course of interpretation and translation of the Holy Quran. This preliminary study serves as a comprehensive foundation that enables the learners to understand the basic sciences, structure, and context of the Quranic revelation in a more systematic manner. Discussions related to the interpretation (Tafseeri) of the Holy Quran, such as its Shari definition, main subjects, purpose, levels of tafsir, and other related branches of Quranic sciences have been taken place by the prominent scholars and researchers of this field since centuries.Late Dr. Sher Ali Shah of Akora Khatak, District Nowsera (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Pakistan, was among these learned jurists and distinguished scholars of the current century, whose contributions towards this sacred field shall always be remembered with deep respect and gratitude by students and teachers alike.In this paper, sincere efforts have been made to extract, describe, and highlight the fourteen significant characteristics from his famous published Tafseer, which has been compiled and preserved under the title of Muqaddema and Aloom Al Qura`an by his two great scholars, Maulana Faiz ur Rahman and Dr. Saeed ul Haq respectively, to serve as a lasting academic tribute to his intellectual legacy and Quranic scholarship.