Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Tawil (The Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation) by Nasir al-Din al-Baydawi (d. 685 AH / 1286 CE) is among the most studied and commented-upon tafsir works in the Islamic scholarly tradition. Its objective is to synthesize the best of Arabic linguistic and rhetorical analysis with sound Ashari theology, drawing heavily on al-Zamakhshari's al-Kashshaf for linguistic excellence while systematically correcting its Mutazilite theological positions. The manhaj is synthetic and densely analytical, combining linguistic, rhetorical, transmitted, and theological commentary in a concise but richly layered format. Baydawi was an Ashari theologian and Shafii jurist, and his work represents the classical Sunni scholarly response to the problem of Zamakhshari: how to appropriate his unparalleled linguistic insights without accepting his deviant theology. The work generated hundreds of hawashi (marginal commentaries) and supercommentaries, and became a standard pedagogical text in Ottoman, South Asian, and broader Sunni seminaries for centuries. More...