| In the tenth century, a confluence of two unrelated events shaped the Twelver Shia community in Baghdad: the Occultation of the Twelfth Imam in 939/329 and the takeover of Baghdad in 945 by the Buyid princes, who were largely tolerant towards their Shi'a subjects. Twelver intellectual life flourished during this era, led by the exegetes who are the subject of this dissertation. Chief among them were al-Shaykh al-T&dotbelow;usi and al-Sharif al-Murtad&dotbelow;a, who---along with many of their contemporaries---comprised a "Baghdad school" of Twelver intellectuals. This dissertation analyzes the Qur'anic commentaries (tafsir ) written by this core group of medieval Twelver exegetes, most of whom lived and wrote in Baghdad, although others---such as al-Ayyashi---remained on the margins.;Although they were written in the aftermath of the Occultation of the Twelfth Imam, none of the exegetical works examined here mention the Occultation. In interpretations of the phrase "those in authority among you," as well as in commentaries on who should receive the khums tax meant for Muhammad's descendents, the exegetes name the Imam as both the only true authority and as the rightful recipient of the tax. This discussion of the Imam as a present and living figure stands in stark contrast to the more pragmatic treatment of the Imam's absence in non-exegetical works, in which the same authors give detailed instructions for tax distribution and frankly discuss the legality of working for authorities other than the Imam.;The differences between exegesis and non-exegesis illustrate the unique nature of the tafsir genre. The authors are an elite group within an already elite group of religious scholars, and the knowledge required to read their tafsir strongly implies that they address themselves to their own small community of exegetes. The emphasis in these texts on the continued presence of the Twelfth Imam suggests that medieval exegetes viewed tafsir as a genre that had to have longevity and relevance throughout a timespan that would include the Imam's return. Finally, the exegetes clearly viewed the project of authoring Qur'anic commentaries as a pietistic act, in which they faithfully expressed their religious commitments. |
