TEMRÎZ VE CEZM ARASINDA: ZEMAHŞERÎ’NİN KEŞŞÂF’TA İSRÂİLİYYÂT RİVAYETLERİNİ AKTARIM ÜSLUBU
BETWEEN TEMRIZ AND CEZM: ZEMAHŞERÎ’S STYLE OF TRANSMITTING ISRAILIYYAH NARRATIVES IN THE Keşşâf

Summary/Abstract: In the classical period of Qur’anic exegesis, Isrāʾīliyyāt constituted an important body of transmitted material, particularly in the interpretation of Qur’anic narratives concerning earlier prophets and peoples. However, the presence of such reports in a tafsīr does not necessarily indicate that the exegete accepted them as authentic. In this respect, the al-Kashshāf of al-Zamakhsharī presents a significant case for examining the relationship between the transmission of Isrāʾīliyyāt and the exegete’s attitude toward their epistemic status. Rather than focusing solely on which Isrāʾīliyyāt reports al-Zamakhsharī transmits, this study investigates the extent to which his assessment of their reliability can be inferred from the transmission formulas (ṣiyagh al-naql) he employs. Particular attention is given to tamrīḍ formulas such as qīla (“it was said”), ruwiya (“it was narrated”), and yuqālu (“it is said”), as contrasted with more direct and assertive forms of transmission. The study argues that these formulas should not be treated as mechanical indicators of authenticity or weakness. Rather, they function primarily as markers of the epistemic distance that al-Zamakhsharī establishes between himself and the transmitted material. A tamrīḍ formula does not necessarily signify outright rejection; instead, it may indicate caution, non-commitment, or the presentation of a report as one among several transmitted opinions. Similarly, a direct attribution to a particular authority does not, by itself, prove al-Zamakhshar’īs acceptance of the content of the report. Accordingly, the study maintains that al-Zamakhshar’īs attitude toward Isrāʾīliyyāt can be properly understood only by considering the transmission formulas together with the immediate textual context, his subsequent linguistic and rational evaluations, and the alternative interpretations he offers. The distinction between tamrīḍ and assertive transmission therefore provides an important hermeneutical key for identifying the degrees of epistemic distance in the al-Kashshāf. The study concludes that al-Zamakhshar’īs treatment of Isrāʾīliyyāt reflects neither an uncritical acceptance nor an absolute rejection of transmitted reports, but rather a selective and context-sensitive approach in which the manner of transmission is itself significant for understanding the status assigned to a given report.

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