The process of Muslim reflection on, and interrogation of, the text of the Qurʾān, known as tafsīr , incorporated a broad range of interests and concerns during classical Islamic times. Working with the tools of narrative, grammar, lexicography, theology, and legal principles, the exegetes aimed both to make the text of the Qurʾān relevant to their contemporary Muslim audiences and to ensure that the full meaning of the text had been extricated. Given the immensity of the literary genre of tafsīr, it is possible here to provide only the broadest of generalizations and to su…