Having lived and died prior to the use of the word "Sufi" the Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim by Sahl al-Tustari is incorrectly and anachronistically categorized as a "Sufi" tafsir.

The decision of the translator to include an alleged (by ibn Arabi) connection to a supposed "Hermetic" tradition on behalf of Sahl al-Tustari is laughable. According to al-Biruni it was the fake Sabeans of Harran whose literature included the (pagan) literature in the name of Hermes. Al-Tustari does not seem to have known of this literature or Hermes and ibn Arabi lived a long time after Sahl died so it is irresponsible to transmit this gossip, if al-Arabi actually said this about Sahl, it is unsubstantiated rumor, unlikely to be true.

Alhmdulillah for the Sheik of the Aarifeen Sahl ibn Abdullah al-Tustari and his excellent Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim.

I appreciate the effort of the translator but using "gnostic", a Greek loan word that people are familiar with because of the Christian so called "Gnostics" is misleading and unnecessary, Aarifeen means "knowers" literally, English already has an equivalent to Aarifeen, eliminating the need to use a Greek word that is already obviously the source of the English word "know-ledge"; "gnosis" the gno as kno. There is no logical reason to use the tainted Greek word which is most commonly associated with a form of Christian heresy, in translating a Muslim, Arabic commentary on the Qur'an or in any other scenario.

It would be more logical to transliterate the Arabic word rather than a Greek word. al-Aarifeen.

The word Aarifeen is best translated as "those who know" as "knowers" is somewhat clumsy sounding. Perhaps "knowledgeable" and using "gnostic" is a cheap attempt to add an air of mystic spirituality to a word commonly used in Arabic and Muslim literature.

This book is full of poor translations, interpolations such as "higher self" and "lower self" when the only word in the Arabic text is "self" and this seems to be a popular fad among translators of "Sufi" literature and one must wonder, does Arabic not have words meaning "higher" and "lower"? Obviously, yes it does. So if the original author didn't see fit to separate the self or soul into higher and lower "selves" the translator should respect that.

Muslims translating Muslim literature should possess the common sense to not imitate the methods of orientalist types in academia like Alexander Knysh who habitually do this. The excessive footnotes, interpretive translations for simple words like "station (mkan)" a translator will add "spiritual" despite the fact that the author declined to call a station a "spiritual station or مكان الروحي, mkan ar-ruhi." This is annoying.

The consistently documenting of the translators decision to depart from the published Arabic text, is a frequent feature of this series of translations. It is as if to tell the reader that the published Arabic text is often incorrect and "uncritical" compared to the "critical" translation of the translator based on variant readings in the manuscripts used by the translator. The English reader has no real need to know every occasion the text differs from the published Arabic text based on a different manuscript, variant readings can be noted, but it is not necessary. I frequently get the feeling that the translator is less than dependable, as he is always citing a professor "Bowering" who is not a Muslim. When did we start learning our religion from non-believers?

I believe academics place too high of a value on the idea of a "critical edition" which involves the translator using several manuscripts and guessing which word is the correct word at times when manuscripts vary in wording. It would be more logical to use the oldest manuscripts and make a note when later manuscripts have a different word.

The trend of lengthy introductions by the translator should be abandoned. Frankly I don't care about what the translator thinks and biographical information is better sought for in the history books of Islam, original sources. A brief introduction is best.

I would prefer a translation directly from the published Arabic.