Sufi Master and Qur'an Scholar: Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri and the Lata'if al-isharat: Dr.Martin Nguyen

 Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Sufi-Master-Quran-Scholar-al-Qushayr/dp/0197265138

This book is the first extensive examination of the medieval Qur'an commentary known as the Lata'if al-isharat and the first critical biography of its author, the famous spiritual master Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri. Written in 5th/11th century Nishapur, an intellectual and cultural crossroads of the Muslim world, the Lata'if al-isharat has endured down through the centuries as an important work of Sufi exegesis. A mystical vision of reality is taught through its line-by-line treatment of the Qur'an as its author was writing as both a Sufi teacher and scholar. This study fully investigates al-Qushayri's life and historical horizon and carefully analyses the structure and method of the commentary. The primary aim of the book is to draw greater attention to the other traditions of exegesis that inform the Sufi approach of the Lata'if al-isharat, an understudied feature of many Sufi commentaries in general. In the case of this commentary, scholarly and pedagogical concerns for language, prophetic sayings, law and theology are interwoven into al-Qushayri's overarching mystical exegesis. Other important aspects of the author's intellectual identity and education clearly influenced the formation of al-Qushayri's Sufi worldview and as a consequence his interpretation of God's word. By delineating these other traditions of exegesis mentioned in al-Qushayri's biography and embedded in his Lata'if al-isharat, we can better appreciate how he and his commentary were part of a wider Sunni historical heritage in addition to the developing Sufi tradition.
Review:
"The detailed analyses and the vast cumulative data presented in Nguyen's work have produced a fresh, original, thorough and well-articulated book. It has the potential to become one of the main textbooks in the study of Sufism as well as, more generally, in the fields of hermeneutics and medieval Muslim culture." --Sara Sviri, Department of Arabic and Department of Comparative Religions, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
"This excellent book is the first in-depth study in English of one of the monuments of Sufi Qur'an commentary, the Lata'if al-isharat of Abu'l-Qasim al-Qushayr?. Clearly written and well-annotated throughout, this timely study brings to light some important and hitherto unexplored aspects of the celebrated Sufi theologian Nishapur." --Annabel Keeler, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge
About the Author:
Dr. Martin Nguyen is Assistant Professor of Islamic Religious Traditions at Fairfield University, CT.

Website: Dr.Martin Nguyen, Scholar. Professor. Bibliophile. Theologian.

https://drmartinnguyen.com/

PDF:Laṭāʾif al-Ishārāt: Subtle Allusions:Sūras 1–4 -Abū l-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī -Translated by Kristin Zahra Sands - Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought

https://rissc.jo/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Abul-Qasim-al-Qushayris-Lataif-al-Isharat-ebook.pdf

Book Review:Sufi Master and Qur'an Scholar: Ab ul-Qasim al-Qushayri and the Lata'if al-isharat: Dr.Martin Nguyen by Francesco Chiabotti Teaching and Research Temporary Attaché, The Institute for Research and Studies on the Arab and Muslim World (IREMAM) Aix-Marseille Université de Provence, France

https://distantreader.org/stacks/journals/ajiss/ajiss-962.pdf

PDF:Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr: An Investigation of al-Qushayrī’s Major Qur’an Commentary: Martin Nguyen Fairfield University USA

https://islamicana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/martin-nguyen-al-tafsir-al-kabir-jss.pdf

Abstract: The mystic and scholar of Nishapur, Abū l-Qāsim al-Qushayrī, is widely acclaimed for his important treatise on the Sufiji Path, al-Risāla, and his Sufiji commentary of the Qur’an, Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt. However, a commentary composed during his early career has been largely overlooked despite its wide attestation in the biographical literature. Called al-Tafsīr al-kabīr or “the Major Commentary,” this work may only survive in manuscript form. At the center of the present study are two manuscripts from Leiden and Istanbul that appear to partially preserve Qushayrī’s earliest work of Qur’anic exegesis. By examining the various authorities cited in the text and cross-referencing relevant works, this study works to date the commentary of each text, to identify their respective commentarial influences and authorities, and to draw possible conclusions concerning how the manuscripts relate to one another and ultimately to Qushayrī, the alleged author.