Unfertige Studien II: Bemerkungen zum Korankommentar des Aṣamm

Abstract Abu Bakr al-Asamm’s (d. 200/816 or 201/817) commentary of the Qur’an is one of the oldest of its genre. It originated in Basra but seems to have become a “book” only when, in the middle of the 3rd century H., it was transferred from Baghdad to Eastern Iran. There it was used by a number of authors, Sunni as well as Shii. The greatest number of quotations is found in Maturidi’s (d. 333/944 ?) Ta’wilat. The article deals with the material found in this source, its tendency as well as its relationship to quotations in later authors up to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1210). The work has not survived, and we can only speculate where and for how long several copies, complete or incomplete survived.