- In The Logic of al-Fanari: A Study and Annotated Translation of al-Fanari’s Commentary on the Isaghuji (Lockwood Press), former PIL Fellow Aaron Spevack (Brandeis University) “delves into the 15th-century logic text by Shams al-Din al-Fanari (d. 1431), a foundational work in the Ottoman seminary tradition. Rather than offering a standard annotated translation alone, Spevack also provides an in-depth analysis of each chapter, enriched with references to multiple super-commentaries and practical examples. Drawing from years of study under scholars trained in the Ottoman tradition along with personal research, he highlights the text’s significance in the Islamic logic tradition and its philosophical depth.”
- In The Form and Function of Legal Qurʾān Commentaries (Brill), Scott C. Lucas (University of Arizona) offers “the first Western-language study of a legal Qurʾān commentary and the first examination of a Zaydī tafsīr. It proposes an original framework for classifying legal passages of the Qurʾān based on Sayyid Muḥammad b. al-Hādī’s (d. 720/1320) Qurʾān commentary, The Garden and the Pool. It shows that the legal Qurʾān commentary format can serve both as a teaching tool and as a platform for a Muslim jurist to demonstrate his legal expertise. This book includes a critical edition of Muḥammad b. al-Hādī’s interpretation of the Sūra of Light based on a manuscript written by the author himself.”