The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (163 page)

(1075–1144 (AH 467–538)).
Muslim grammarian and
Qur’
n
commentator. He was born in the Khw
rizm province of N. Persia, where, apart from a period of study in
Mecca
, he spent most of his life. His commentary on the Qur’
n,
al-Kashsh
f ‘an
aq
’iq Ghaw
mid al-Tanz
l
(The Unveiler of the Truths of the Sciences of Revelation), takes each verse, phrase by phrase, and gives an interpretation which goes back to the theological rationality of the
Mu‘tazilites
. At the same time, al-Zamakhsh
r
's linguistic interests allowed him to make many points about the rhetorical and literary beauty of the Qur’
n, and this endeared the commentary to subsequent generations.