Justice Mahaz authors Quran tafseer with easy interpretation

Supreme Court Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir has authored and published today a summarized Quran tafseer with easy Dhivehi interpretation.

The book entitled "Keerithi Quran ge khulaasaa tafseeru" (Summarized Tafseer of the Holy Quran) was released on October 17, Tuesday, coinciding on the Hijri calendar date in which Maldives embraced the Islamic religion.

The book is the first volume of a series of tafseer books Justice Mahaz has begun to author. The judge shared on his blog that the 444-page book is the first out of six volumes he will be penning.

In his blog, Justice Mahaz said he began writing the Dhivehi language tafseer of the Holy Quran in 2015. He was motivated by the feedback and complaints received from religious scholars and other interested persons after his brother Nihaz released the 'Quran MV' mobile app featuring the Islamic sacred text with interpretations.

"Comments from readers provided insight about the oddities in the interpretations, after which I had the idea to revise the Dhivehi interpretation of the Holy Quran and release the corrected edition, and with that the idea for a wholly new Dhivehi interpretation of the sacred book," Mahaz wrote in his blog.

He wrote that it was insufficient to provide a literal translation of the Holy Quran, which was when he realized the importance of including summary interpretations of the Surah verses in Quran.

Mahaz said he referred to notable works including the tafseer books published by the Saudi government; "Al-tafseerul Muyassir" and "Al-Mukhtasar fi tafseeril Quran-il-Kareem" as well as "Tafseer-e-Kathir" and "Tafseer-e-Qurutubi".

The Supreme Court Justice further noted that his tafseer differs from previous works since the summary interpretation of each Quranic verse will be written beneath the verse (ayat).

"I focused on using the contemporary Dhivehi language instead of opting for old writing styles. With an exemption of a few instances, I have used Dhivehi alphabet for the majority of the interpretations. Most of the Arabic words have been latinized using equivalent Dhivehi letters, which is reflective of prioritizing the usage of the tafseer via digital technology as well as the Dhivehi language," Mahaz explained.

The book is now available to purchase from Novelty Bookshop outlets in Male' City and Hulhumale'.