The Science of Tafseer

The literal meaning of tafseer in the Arabic language is to unlock or to explain, interpret or comment. Technically, the science of tafseer is a branch of knowledge in which the meanings of the Quran are explained and its injunctions and wisdoms are described clearly. Addressing the Prophet, the Glorious Qur’an says:

We revealed the Qur’an to you so that you explain to the people what has been sent down to them (16:44).

The Noble Qur’an also says:

Surely, Allah did a great favor to Muslims when He sent a Messenger to them from among them who would recite His verses before them and purify them and teach them the Book and the Wisdom (3:164).

Keeping this in view, it should be noted that the Prophet did not only teach the words of the Quran, but he also explained these in details. This is why, on some occasions, the revered Companions had to devote years together in learning a single Surah.

Until such time that the Prophet graced the mortal world with his presence, seeking the explanation of any verse was not much of a problem. When the Companions faced any difficulty, they would turn to him and get a satisfying answer. But, later on after him, it became necessary that the tafseer of Qur’an be preserved as a permanent branch of knowledge so that, along with the words of the noble Qur’an, its correct meaning as well strands were protected and conserved for the Muslim Ummah, and heretics and deviationists could find no room for distortion of its meanings. So, with the grace and tawfeeq of Allah Almighty, this Ummah accomplished this wonderful mission with such efficiency that today we can say without any doubt or fear of rejection that not only are the words of this last Book of Allah protected but also stands protected that correct tafseer and explanation which has reached us through the Prophet and his Companions who were ever-prepared to sacrifice their lives for him.

In what ways did the Muslim Ummah protect and preserve the ‘ilm? What extreme hardships they faced in this pursuit? How many stages did this struggle have to go through? All this has a long and fascinating history which cannot be taken up in the present context. The intention here is to state briefly as to what the sources of Qur’anic exegesis are and how these sources have been utilized in explaining the noble Qur’an by all those countless books on ‘Ilm al-Tafseer available in every language. These sources are six in number:

1. The Glorious Qur’an:

The first source of the knowledge of tafseer is the Holy Qur’an itself. Accordingly, it happens very often that a certain point which is brief and requires explanation is invariably clarified by some other verse of the Qur’an itself. For instance, there appears that sentence of prayer in the Surah al-Fatihah:

‘Guide us in the straight path – the path of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace…’

Now it is not clear here as to who are those whom Allah Almighty has blessed. But, in another verse, they have been identified very clearly where it is said:

So, these are the people whom Allah Almighty has blessed, being the prophets, their true followers, the martyrs (in the way of Allah) and the righteous. (4:69)

Therefore, when respected commentators explain some verse, they first check to see if a tafseer of this verse is already there elsewhere in the noble Qur’an itself. If it is there, they elect to go by it as their first choice.

2. The Hadeeth:

3. The Reports from the Sahabah:

4. The Reports from the Tabi’in or Successors:

5. The Arabic Language:

6. Deliberation and Deduction:

Fallacies about Tafseer

Hopefully, details given above have made it clear that the tafseer (exegesis or interpretation) of the noble Qur’an is an extremely delicate and difficult undertaking for which getting to know the Arabic language alone is not enough. In fact, it is necessary to have expertise in all related branches of knowledge. Therefore, scholars say that a mufassir or commentator of the Qur’an must have vast and deep knowledge of the syntax, etymology, rhetoric, and literature of the Arabic language, as well as, that of prophetic Traditions, principles governing jurisprudence and exegesis, doctrinal articles of belief and scholastics. The reason is that one cannot arrive at correct conclusions while explaining the Qur’an unless there is that adequacy in these fields of knowledge.

It is regrettable that a dangerous epidemic has overtaken Muslims lately whereby many people have started taking the sole reading ability of Arabic sufficient for the tafseer (interpretation) of the Qur’an. As a result, anyone who gets to read ordinary Arabic starts passing out opinions in the domain of Qur’anic exegesis. Rather, it has been noticed on occasions that people having just passable familiarity with the Arabic language, and who have yet to master their Arabic to perfection, take it upon themselves to engage in explaining the Qur’an following their whims, even going to the limit of finding faults with classical commentators. Bad come to worse, there are some subtle tyrants who would, by simply reading the translation, imagine that they have become scholars of the Qur’an, not even feeling shy of criticizing commentators of great stature.

Some people say that the Qur’an has itself stated that:: ‘And surely We have made the Qur’an easy for the sake of good counsel.’ And since the noble Qur’an is a simple book, its explanation hardly needs much of a support from any art or science. But this argument is terribly fallacious, which is, in itself, based on lack of intellect and plenty of superficiality. The fact is that the verses of the Qur’an are of two kinds. Firstly, there are the verses that offer general good counsel, relate lesson-oriented events and introduce subjects dealing with taking of warning and acting on sound advice. Examples of this are the mortality of the world, the accounts of Paradise and Hell, the discourses likely to create the fear of God and the concern for the Hereafter, and other very simple realities of life. Verses of this kind are undoubtedly easy and anyone who knows the Arabic language can benefit from their good counsel by understanding them.

It is in relation to teachings of this kind that, in the verse cited above, it was said that ‘We have made them easy’. Hence, the word (for the sake of good counsel) in the verse itself is pointing out towards this meaning.

Contrary to this, the other kind consists of verses which include injunctions, laws, articles of faith and intellectual subjects, Understanding verses of this kind as they should be rightfully understood and deducing and formulating injunctions and rulings from them cannot be done by just any person unless one has the insight and permeating reach into the Islamic areas of knowledge.

They used to say:

We have learned the Qur’an, knowledge and action all in one. (al-ltqan 2/176)

Whoever says anything about the Qur’an without knowledge, he should make his abode in Hell. (Abu Dawud, as in al-ltqan, 2/179)

The Prophet has also said:

Whoever talks about the Qur’an on the basis of his opinion, whims and even if says something true in it, still he made a mistake. (Abu Daw’ud, Nasa’i)

May Allah guide and protect us from Hellfire.