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This is a study of Jalal al-Din al-Suyut[dotbelow]i's al-Durr al-manthur fi-l-tafsir bi-l-ma'thur (The scattered pearls of tradition-based exegesis), hereinafter al-Durr . In the present study, the distinctiveness of al-Durr becomes evident in comparison with the tafsirs of al-T[dotbelow]abari (d. 310/923) and Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373). Al-Suyut[dotbelow]i surpassed these exegetes by relying entirely on h adith (tradition). Al-Suyut[dotbelow]i rarely offers a comment of his own. Thus, in terms of its formal features, al-Durr is the culmination of tradition-based exegesis (tafsir bi-l-ma'thur). This study also shows that al-Suyut[dotbelow]i intended in al-Durr to subtly challenge the tradition- based hermeneutics of Ibn Taymiyah (d. 728/1328). According to Ibn Taymiyah, the true, unified, interpretation of the Qur'an must be sought in the Qur'an itself, in the traditions of Muh[dotbelow]ammad, and in the exegeses of the earliest Muslims. Moreover, Ibn Taymiyah strongly denounced opinion-based exegesis ( tafsir bi-l-ra'y ). By means of the traditions in al-Durr , al-Suyut[dotbelow]i supports several of his views in contradistinction to those of Ibn Taymiyah. Al-Suyut[dotbelow]i's traditions support the following views. First, opinion-based exegesis is a valid supplement to tradition-based exegesis. Second, the early Muslim community was not quite unified. Third, the earliest Qur'anic exegetes did not offer a unified exegesis of the Qur'an. Fourth, Qur'anic exegesis is necessarily polyvalent since Muslims accept a number of readings of the Qur'an, and variant readings give rise to various interpretations. Al-Suyut[dotbelow]i collected his traditions from a wide variety of sources some of which are now lost. Two major exegetes, al-Shawkani (d. 1250/1834) and al-Alusi (d. 1270/1854), copied some of these traditions from al-Durr into their Qur'an commentaries. In this way, al-Suyut[dotbelow]i has succeeded in shedding new light on rare, neglected, and previously scattered traditions.
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