Textual Criticism of Multiple Tafsir al-Jalālayn Manuscripts in Sumatra: A Philological Study of QS. al-Qāri‘ah Variants

Abstract

This study analyzes three Qur’anic exegesis manuscripts representing the multiple-manuscript tradition of Tafsir al-Jalālayn in Sumatra: the Siak Sultanate Manuscript, the Haji Nurdin Ismail Collection Manuscript, and the Rumah Gadang Tanduk Ampek Manuscript. It focuses on their codicological characteristics and the textual variants found in the commentary on QS. al-Qāri‘ah. The research employs a qualitative library-based approach using philology, codicology, collation, and textual criticism. Primary data consist of digital images and catalogue descriptions of the manuscripts, while secondary data are drawn from studies of philology, codicology, and Tafsir al-Jalālayn. The findings demonstrate a textual relationship among the three witnesses while revealing differences in vocalization, graphic letter forms, corrective deletions, paleographic ambiguity, and several possibly corrupt passages. These variants do not substantially alter the principal meaning of the commentary; rather, they reflect the dynamics of manually copying Arabic texts within local manuscript cultures. The study therefore confirms the significance of Indonesian tafsir manuscripts for reconstructing the transmission of Islamic scholarship, scribal practices, and the reception of Tafsir al-Jalālayn among Muslim communities in Sumatra.