ʿUrwa, Abū Mijlaz, and the Search for Early Tafsīr Traditions

In this episode of the Real Talk Podcast 🎙️, hosts Terron and Roxanna sit down with Dr. Andreas Görke 🏛️ (University of Edinburgh) for a look into one of the most fundamental questions in Qur’anic Studies 📜: how early tafsīr began, what survives of it, and how we can date it.

Drawing on two of his major studies:
📘 "Remnants of an Old Tafsīr Tradition? The Exegetical Accounts of ʿUrwa b. al-Zubayr” (2016) https://www.academia.edu/30404531/_Re...
📗 “Criteria for Dating Early Tafsīr Traditions: The Exegetical Traditions and Variant Readings of Abū Mijlaz” (2020) https://www.academia.edu/52320012/_Cr...

Dr. Görke walks us through the methodological challenges 🔍 of reconstructing the earliest layers of Qur’anic interpretation, the limitations of relying on major authorities like Ibn ʿAbbās, and why figures such as ʿUrwa b. al-Zubayr and Abū Mijlaz may offer clearer windows into the formative period of tafsīr.

📚 Topics Discussed:
📖 The three major scholarly positions on the origins of tafsīr
🧩 Why early tafsīr is so difficult to date
🪶 How to identify authentic early exegetical material
🕋 The role of isnād analysis in tafsīr studies
🔠 Variant readings and what they tell us about early Qur’anic transmission
⚖️ Comparing the exegetical profiles of ʿUrwa and Abū Mijlaz

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🎧 Real Talk Podcast
Hosted by Terron Poole & Roxanna Irani
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