Interpreting the Qur'an with the Bible (Tafsir al-Qur'an bi-l-Kitab): Reading the Arabic Bible in the Tafsirs of Ibn BarraGan and al-Biqa'i

In Interpreting the Qur'an with the Bible, R. Michael McCoy III brings together two lesser known yet accomplished commentators on the Qur'an and the Bible: the mu'tabir Abu al-Hakam ‘Abd al-Salam b. al-Isbili (d. 536/1141), referred to as Ibn BarraGan, and qari’ al-qurra’ Ibrahim b. ‘Umar b. Hasan al-Biqa'i (d. 885/1480). In this comparative study, comprised of manuscript analysis and theological exegesis, a robust hermeneutic emerges that shows how Ibn BarraGan’s method of nazm al-qur'an and al-Biqa'i’s theory of 'ilm munasabat al-qur'an motivates their reading and interpretation of the Arabic Bible. The similarities in their quranic hermeneutics and approach to the biblical text are astounding as each author crossed established boundaries and pushed the acceptable limits of handling the Bible in their day.