A comparative study of homiletic commentary in Rawd al-Jinan and Sourabadi’s commentaries

Homiletic commentaries are typically written for preaching, leadership, guidance, and as a result, the spiritual education of the public, and commentators such as Atiq Neishabouri (Sourabadi) and Abul Fattouh Razi are among the commentators who have addressed homiletic commentaries in the verses of the Holy Quran. It is necessary to introduce and characterize these commentaries for further promotion of religious teachings and instructions among the public. This study aims to examine the two homiletic commentaries of Rawd al-Jinan by Abul Fattouh and Sourabadi using a descriptive and analytical perspective and to find their homiletic components and approaches. The findings of the study indicate that the aforementioned commentaries are like other educational preaching commentaries. They are highly attractive and there are plenty of advice and guidelines in them. Poems, stories, folk beliefs, attention to theological and transcendental issues, figures of speech, and contemporary beliefs are among the important common components and approaches used in Rawd al-Jinan and Sourabadi’s commentaries. Concerning the differences, Rawd al-Jinan pays attention to Persian poems, the analysis of the stories of all the prophets, the criticism of Israʼiliyyat and mythology, while Sourabadi’s commentary avoids narrating the life stories and events of some prophets and there is no trace of mythology and Israʼiliyyat except for one or two cases. Moreover, there are many Israʼiliyyat elements in Sourabadi’s commentary compared to Rawd al-Jinan’s commentary.