MÂTÜRÎDÎ’NİN TE’VÎLÂTÜ’L-KUR’ÂN ADLI ESERİNDE KIRAATLERE YAKLAŞIMININ İNCELENMESİ

The purpose of this study is to determine how Maturidi (d. 333/944), who is one of the early mufassirs and one of the sectarian imams of the Ahl al-Sunnah school and has published important works in kalam, fiqh, and taf- sir, approached and used the systems of qiraat in his work titled Ta’wilat al-Qur’an. He developed his own method of narrating many systems of qiraat with reference to authentic and exceptional hadiths. He particularly mentioned the systems of qiraat related to the context of qiraat-tafsir nexus that might affect the meaning, and revealed that certain different recitations contributed to the interpretation of verses differently. In addition, he made use of different perspe- ctives of qiraat in supporting a certain meaning of a verse. First, he explained the inten- ded meaning of verses, and then he supported such in- terpretation with perspectives of qiraat. Largely benefitting from the systems of qiraat that the Companions used, he pointed out that such systems of qiraat related to the Com- panions functioned as an important reference for tafsir. In conclusion, the concept of qiraat in Maturidi’s tafsir, his way of dealing with the systems of qiraat, how he used them in tafsir and ta’wil activities in terms of fiqh and sects were determined, and his method was analyzed comparatively with other reference works on tafsir.