The tafsīr of al-Qurṭubī is perhaps one of the most compendious of them all and is certainly among the most famous. As its title, al-Jāmi' li Aḥkām al-Qur'ān - The General Judgments of the Qur'an, suggests, its main focus is on the rulings and judgments to be found in the Qur'ān. However, in the course of doing that, al-Qurṭubī examines all the relevant sciences necessary, such as the ḥadīth pertaining to the āyahs, events in the sīrah, what the Companions, their Followers and other noted people of knowledge said about the āyahs, essential aspects of Arabic etymology, syntax and usage, copiously illustrated by examples, and much more.


In this volume, comprising the bulk of Sūrat an-Nisā' - from āyats 23 - 176, there are many matters to do with the rights of women, marriage and divorce, marital relations and disputes and their resolution, and the laws of inheritance, but also jihad, a key āyah on governance, hypocrisy and īmān, and about 'Īsā the son of Maryam, peace be upon him, and the People of the Book.