Mahasin al-Tawil (The Beauties of Interpretation) by Muhammad Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (d. 1914 CE) is a 17-volume tafsir from Damascus representing the Islamic modernist and Salafi reformist scholarly current of the early 20th century. Its objective is to synthesize the best of the classical tafsir tradition with contemporary relevance, presenting a rational, accessible, and reform-oriented reading of the Quran suited to the modern Muslim reader confronting the challenges of the colonial era. Qasimi draws broadly from classical tafsir works while engaging with the intellectual concerns of his time, influenced by both the modernist thought of Muhammad Abduh and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and the classical Athari and Salafi tradition. He is broadly Athari-Salafi in orientation, and his madhhab is broadly Hanbali with modernist and non-taqlidi tendencies. The work is well-regarded in reformist Salafi and broadly Sunni scholarly circles, particularly in the Arab world. More...