and lofty aspiration in seeking knowledge, it is no surprise that Ibn Jarīr al-Tabarī became the leading authority of his age in Quranic recitation, exegesis, hadith, jurisprudence, history, and language, and that he mastered each of these disciplines with confidence. Hence the importance of producing a critical edition of his commentary that remedies the defects found in previous editions. Those editions contain passages in which portions of the book’s text are missing. Allah enabled us to consult a collection of manuscripts that filled these gaps and repaired these omissions. Among the most valuable is a manuscript preserved in the library of al-Qarawiyyīn University in Fez, copied at the end of the fourth century AH. A photographic reproduction of it is held by the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts. A description of it will come, Allah willing, in the discussion of the manuscripts. This copy supplied numerous additional transmitted reports and remedied a major deficiency in those editions. One example is the commentary on verses 96, 97, and 98 of Surah al-A‘rāf, which was absent from every previous edition of the book.

Given the importance of this commentary, its mastery of most of the religious sciences, its uniqueness in its field, the sublimity of its language, its precedence over all other commentaries, and the abundance of its scholarly material—so much so that it is virtually a compendium of transmitted reports, exegesis, Quranic recitations, hadith, jurisprudence, language, and poetry—it was imperative to summon one’s resolve and direct it toward producing a critical edition of this book, seeking Allah’s aid and hoping for His acceptance, guidance, and facilitation. Allah alone is the One whose pleasure is sought; upon Him is all reliance. He is sufficient for us and the finest Trustee.