In recent years, the Qur’ān has come to the forefront of scholarly investigations in Islamic studies. However, the traditional interpretation of the book, commonly termed tafsīr, remains a vast, virtually untapped field of investigation. Many Muslims tend to ignore the material, seeing it as a storehouse of traditional restraints, and scholars frequently gloss over its importance as a historical record of the Muslim community, not appreciating the depth and breadth of the literature. The essays gathered here expose and explore various aspects of the field of tafsīr, and their potential for scholarly research.

John Wansbrough is famous for his pioneering studies on the “sectarian milieu” out of which Islam emerged. In his view, Islam grew out of different - albeit rather marginal - Jewish and Christian traditions. In the present volume, which is dedicated to Wansbrough’s memory, specialists in Islamic studies and students of the Jewish and early Christian traditions summarise Wansbrough’s achievements in the past thirty years and chart the future of the tradition study of the “sectarian milieu.”