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COPYRIGHT ©2017/1438 | DR. ABDULILAH BIN RABAH LAHMAMI
All rights reserved. No pan of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical;
photocopying, or otherwise without the express permission of the copyright owner.
EMAIL:
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Mu'aadh
Bin Jab
Table ofContents
Preface......................................................................................... 1
Arabic Transliteration System.................................................... ,2
Other Symbols.........................................................................
What is Tafsirt............................................................................ 4
\
Ta'wil as Tafsir........................................................................... 10
Categorization of Tafsir as Mainstream and Non-Mainstream.... 16
The Stages of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (&\J>£)............................ 22
The First Stage of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari: The Way of the Mu tazilites - Ta'til:
Denying the Attributes of Allah 22
The Second Stage of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari: The Way of Ibn Kullab - Tahrif:
Distorting the Meanings of the Attributes of Allah to Mean Other than the
Apparent Meaning (Ta'wil - Esoteric Meaning)... ......22
The Third Stage of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari - The Way of the Scholars of
Mainstream Sunnah 23
Sources of Tafsir....... 25
The 1st source - The Explanation of the Qur' an by the Qur' an... __25
The 2nd Source - The Explanation of the Qur' an by the Sunnah ____28
The 3rd Source - The Explanation of the Qur' an by the Prophet’s Companions.. 36
Examples of Famous Prophet’s Companions and their Tafsir-----------------42
'Abdullah b. Mas'ud ___ _____________________ __42
'Abdullah b. 'Abbas .................................................. ..43
The Ijma' (Consensus) of the Prophet’s Companions in Tafsir. .....47
The Explanation of the Qur'an by the Successors................... IM.......H.S1
The Explanation of the Qur' an Linguistically......................... 53
Asbab al-Nuzul - The Reasons for Revelation-------------------- ___55
Mainstream Authentic Books of Tafsir................................... ,64
Tafsir of Imam al-Tabari (d.AH310)...................................-........ .....65
Tafsir al - Bagh aui (d.AH516)....................................................... 66
Tafsir of al-Qurtubi (d.AH671).................................................... 67
Tq/s/'r of Imam Ibn Kathir (d.AH774)...................—................... ....6.S..
Tafsir of al-Sadi (d.AH1376)...................................................... 69
Tafsirofal-Shanqiti (d.AH1393) - Adwa' al-Bayan....................... 71
Tafsir by Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih Al-'Uthaymin (d.AH1421) _73
Non-Mainstream Books on Tafsir------------------------------------- ....7.5...
Tafsir of al-Zamakhshari (d.AH538)--------------------------------- .....7.5..
Tafsir al-Kabir by Fakhr al-din Muhammad al-Razi (d.AH606)__ 76
Anwar al-Tanzil by al-Baydaw! (d.AH685)________ ________ .....7.8..
Tafsir by Muhammad Abduh (d.AH1323/1905)_____________ 79
FI Zilal al-Qur' an by Sayyid Qutb (d. CE1966)............................. ____81
Tafsirby Brelvi (d.CE192l)__________________________ 84
Tafsir by Al-Suyuti (d.AH911)___________________ _____ 85
Shi'ite Tafsir Books.................................................................... ___87
Tafsirby al-’Ayyashi (d. AH320)________________________ 91
Tafsirby Ayatollah Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi (1973)_________ .....9.5..
Appendix 1--------------- ............10.4
Appendix 2_________ ____105
Bibliography------------ ......... 1..0.6.......
11 Authentic Tafslr
Preface
All praise is due to Allah, I testify that none has the right to be
i
worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is His
slave and last Messenger sent to mankind.
This compilation of translated works of the scholars shows the
importance of adhering to the books of Sunni mainstream tafslr
since they clarify the correct understanding from the Book of
Allah, the Prophetic Sunnah with the consensus of the
companions.
I pray that this small effort is a proof for us, and not against us on
the Day of Judgement and a continuous charity. Insha Allah all
proceeds from this book will go back to Markaz Mu'aadh b. Jabal in
:
Slough, UK. Indeed actions are in accordance with one's intention
and everyone will have what they intend.
Dr. Abdulilah Lahmami
Madinah An-Nabawiyyah
Saudi Arabia
6/6/1438 - 4th March 2017
r
21 Authentic Tafsir
ArabicTransliteration System
Throughout the present work, a modified version of the Library of
Congress transliteration system has been consistently employed
whenever an Arabic expression is quoted. The following table
explains the Arabic transliteration system for Arabic consonants
and vowels:
Arabic Transliteration Arabic Transliteration
i a t
z
v b t
o t t gh
th f
c j j q
C h A k
C kh J 1
d r m
•> dh o n
r h
j
z w
j J
s
a- * y
31 Authentic Tafsir
sh
u-
§
d
Arabic Transliteration Arabic Transliteration
i a -an
u -un
j-
i -in
a aw
y
u ay
&
i
OtherSymbols
May he be honoured and protected
May Allah be pleased with him
May Allah be pleased with them
May Allah have mercy on him
J
4 I Authentic Tafsir
What is Tafsir?
The term tafsir is derived from fassara which means ‘to clarify’, ‘to
uncover’, ‘to show’, To explain in detail’.1 It is also said that tafsir
stems from asfara meaning ‘to uncover’, ‘to show*. The Arabs say:
This refers to the sun gradually being uncovered as it rises. A
journey is also called safar because it uncovers the character of a
person. (FairuzAbadI 1995:1/78-79). Therefore, fassara means ‘to
explain* and safar of which the verbal form is asfara means ‘to
shine* or ‘to uncover*.2
In Islamic terms, tafsir refers to uncovering the meaning of the
Qur'an. As Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (£&>£) said, “Tafsir is
to have encompassing knowledge [of the Qur' an]**3 The word tafsir
is also found in the following verse:
diii/fc ^
‘‘And they do not come to you with an argument except that We
bring you the truth and the best explanation.’*4
This shows that tafsir refers to that which is explained and when
used for the Qur' an it means its explanation. The use of tafsir helps
elucidate the meaning of the Qur'an and derive legal rulings.
Primarily, it is concerned with the authentic narrations free from
deviation and errors.
1 Cited in al-’Attar (1990) Edited version of al-Jawhari’s al-Slhflh.-
2 Ibn Manzur (1997:6/278) in Lisan al- *Arab.
3 Ibn Taymiyyah (2001:17/370) in Majmu 'al-Fatdwa.
4 Surah Al-Furqan: 33
51 Authentic Tafsir
Masruq, one of the famous students of the Prophet’s Companion
'Abdullah b. Mas'ud, said: “Be warned when dealing with tafsir
because it is to narrate what Allah says, the Most High.”5 The
correct meaning is derived from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah
of the Messenger found in the books of mainstream tafsir. The
Messenger said: “I have left amongst you two things, if
you hold fast to them you will never stray: the Book of Allah
(Qur'an), and my Sunnah.”6
This follows the command of Allah when differences occur:
> ius &\3 61 jiOJV &
“And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the
Messenger, if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day. That
is the best [way] and best in result.”7
The importance of going back to the understanding of the
Companions is illustrated in the following verses:
\y^ oily pii. k? £ H
"And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has
become clear to him and follows a path other than the way of
the believers [the Companions], We will give him what he has
taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.”8
!
ijjciil jJL> 4j U jLo \jiiT jli
f
s Cited from Ibn Taymiyyah (2001:13/374) in Majmu *al-Fat&wd (2001:13/374).
6 Reported in Al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim (1990:2/310) and explained to be authentic
by al-Alb&nl M. (2000). See al-Sahihah (1761).
7 Surah An-Nisa’:59
8 Surah An-NisS’: 115
A
61 Authentic Tafsir
“So if they believe in the same as you [Companions - plural]
believe in, then they have been [rightly] guided.”9
Mainstream tafsir scholars who are from the Sunni background
interpret the text using principles clarified by Prophet Muhammad
on how to understand the Qur' an. They rely heavily on
the Prophetic narrations as well as narrations from the Prophet’s
Companions and their Successors. With regard to the verses
concerning the belief in Allah, the mainstream Sunni tafsir
compilations clarify the apparent meaning of the Names and
Attributes of Allah.
Non-mainstream tafsir refers to those exegetes whose main focus
is the esoteric underlying meaning (al-ma’na al-bdtin) and the
allegorical meaning (al-ma'nd al-majazi). Hence, they perform
their own ta'wil (opinion based interpretation), which means to
change the apparent meaning of a verse without clear proof from
the Qur' an and the Sunnah or from the Prophet’s Companions. To
elaborate further, this means that there are theological and
methodological differences between Sunni mainstream and non-
mainstrean tafsir in interpreting the Qur' an.
Among the most famous scholars of mainstream tafsir are Imam
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d.AH310), Imam al-Baghaw! (d.AH516), Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.AH728), Imam Ibn Kathlr (d.AH774),
Shaykh §iddlq Hasan Khan (d.AH1307/1890), Shaykh 'Abdul-
Rahman al-Sa'd! (d.AH1376) and more recently Shaykh al-Shanqiti
(d.AH1393) and Shaykh al-’Uthaymin (d.AH1422) These
tafsir compilations assert the apparent Names and Attributes of
Allah such as Face, Hands, Eyes and Rising above the Throne
without likening Allah to creation. Examples of other tafsir
compilations quoted by translators of the Qur'an that have
9 Surah Al-Baqarah: 137
