İstinsah Faaliyetinin Tefsir Literatürünün Değerlendirmesine Katkıları
Contributions of the Practice of Istinsāk to the Evaluation of Tafsīr Literature

Summary/Abstract: The word “istinsākh” which means reproducing a manuscript, is one of the essential practices providing continuity, circulation and production of texts in Islamic scholarly tradition. The person performing this practice is called “mustansikh”. The notes in which the mustansikh indicates, at the end of the text, that the copying process is completed are called an “istinsākh record”. These records present significant data in terms of history in general and tafsir literature in particular. However, scholarship on tafsīr literature has largely centered on exegetes, tafsīr works, and their contents and methods. Furthermore, mustansikh providing istinsākh for tafsir texts, were viewed as subsidiary element and the data that istinsākh records offer for tafsīr literature has been largely neglected. This study aims to demonstrate the data obtainable regarding tafsīr literature through istinsākh records, proceeding from the aforementioned gap. To achieve this aim, a qualitative research method has been used, and historical documentation and comparative textual analysis design have been applied. As a result of these examinations, themes repeated in istinsākh records have been noted and typology of mustansikh has been created based on these. According to this typology, students, mudarris-type scholars, and professional mustansikhs attached importance to the practices of examining (muṭālaʿa), collating (muqābala), and correcting (taṣḥīḥ) the text. This reveals that expert mustansikhs integrate tafsir texts into circulation after checking them. In this respect, mustansikhs emerge as actors rendering social history visible behind reproducing tafsir works, enabling circulation of manuscript copies and ensuring continuity.

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