In Islam, the word "Tafsir" means commentary on the Qur'an, the science of interpreting the sacred book. Of the many commentaries undertaken throughout history, the most famous is unquestionably al-Tabari's Tafsir, written in the 3rd century of Islam. This edition, here abridged from thirty to five volumes and including the full text of the Qur'an in both Arabic and English, is the first English translation of a work considered second only to the Qur'an itself as a sacred Islamic text.