The First Complete Tafsir Study in the Malay World: An Analysis on Tarjumān al-Mustafīd in the Context of Surah al-Balad

Abstract

In the classical period, tafsir studies in the Malay world are limited and few. As a result of the tajdid and ijtihad movements that started in the region in the 20th century, the science of tafsir was in great demand. In the previous period, sciences such as nahiv, fiqh, and kalam played more effective and decisive roles. Tarjuman al-Mustafid, written by Sinkilî (d. 1105/1693) in the 17th century, is very important in terms of being a turning point in the tafsir literature of the Malay-Indonesian world. Likewise, Tarjuman al-Mustafid has succeeded in attracting the attention of many researchers in terms of being the first complete tafsir study in Malay-Indonesian and being the only tafsir book written in its field in the Malay world for nearly three centuries. However, the first complete tafsir text that can be compared with the tafsir studies done in Indonesian and Malay in the modern period is undoubtedly Tarjuman al-Mustafid. In the present study, Abdurrauf Singkili’s life was briefly introduced and then his study, Tarjuman al-Mustafid, was examined in terms of language, style, method, content, and sources. Thus, a tafsir book, which was written in the Malay-Indo world about four centuries ago, has been studied through concrete examples in the context of surah al-Balad.