Exertion (Ijtihad) in Narrative Exegesis of Noor al-Thaqalayn

Noor al-Thaqalayn exegesis written by Abdul Ali Howayzi, Shiite jurist and hadith narrator in the late 11th century or early 12th century is considered as narrative. It contains more than 30000 narrations. Howayzi considers them as interpretive narrations related to the verses of Quran, so in a glance, the exegesis is a narrative commentary. However, being known as narrative, this study shows that it is not devoid of exertion (ijtihad), although the commentator avoided straight comments in explaining verses. Classifying, choosing and arranging narrations are based upon an intellectual effort and a purposeful approach. In this article, we interpret this intellectual effort as ijtihad and show that Howayzi's ijtihad is based on his epistemological and non epistemological factors.