Pdf Tafsir

[Charise Zelnick]

Principallya tafsir deals with the issues of linguistics, jurisprudence, and theology. In terms of perspective and approach, tafsir can be broadly divided into two main categories, namely tafsir bi-al-ma'thur (lit. received tafsir), which is transmitted from the early days of Islam through the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions, and tafsir bi-al-ra'y (lit. tafsir by opinion), which is arrived through personal reflection or independent rational thinking.[2]

There are different characteristics and traditions for each of the tafsirs representing respective schools and doctrines, such as Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, and Sufism. There are also general distinctions between classic tafsirs compiled by authoritative figures of Muslim scholarship during the formative ages of Islam, and modern tafsir which seeks to address a wider audience, including the common people.[2]

The word tafsīr is derived from the three-letter Arabic verbal root of ف-س-ر F-S-R (fassara, 'interpreted'). In its literal meaning, the word refers to interpreting, explaining, expounding, or disclosing.[3] In Islamic contexts, it is defined as understanding and uncovering God's will which has been conveyed by the Quranic text, by means of the Arabic language and one's own knowledge.[4]

The first examples of tafsir can be traced back to Muhammad. According to Islamic belief, as the Quran was revealed to him, he recited the verses to his companions, usually explaining their meanings to teach them, as it was one of Muhammad's responsibilities.[5] Elements of Muhammad's explanations including clarifying verses whose intents are not understood, the indication of names, places, times etc. which have not been mentioned in the verse, restriction of meanings which have been given as absolute and reconciliation of expressions which seem contradictory.[6] Although scholars including ibn Taymiyyah claim that Muhammad has commented on the whole of the Quran, others including Ghazali cite the limited amount of narratives (hadith), thus indicating that he has commented only on a portion of the Quran.[2]

After the death of Muhammad, his companions (sahabah) undertook the task of interpretation, thus starting a new age in tafsir. Most of the sahabah, including Abu Bakr, refrained from commenting based on their personal views, and only narrated comments by Muhammad. Others including ibn Abbas used their own knowledge from the Arabic language to interpret the Quran. At this stage, tafsir was selective and concise regarding its coverage, and only certain words, phrases and verses were explained.[2] The Quran was still not fully interpreted, and commentaries were not separated from the hadith collection nor written separately, mainly due to other occupations such as the collection of the Quran.

By the time of the next generations ensuing the sahabah, scholars in the age of the successors (tabi'in) started using a wide range of sources for tafsir. The whole of the Quran is interpreted, and narrations are separated from tafsir into separate books and literature. Grammatical explanations and historical data are preserved within these books; personal opinions are recorded, whether accepted or rejected. During this time, a whole range of schools of tafsir came into existence in different scholastic centers, including Mecca, Medina and Iraq. Iraqi schools of tafsir came to be known for an approach relied on personal judgment aside from the transmitted reports, and Jewish apocryphal reports were also widely employed.[2] Notable compilers on this age including Sufyan al-Thawri.[2]

Until this age, tafsir had been transmitted orally and had not been collected independently in a book, rather, they had been gathered by muhaddithun (lit. scholars of hadith) in their hadith books, under the topic of tafsir, along with other narrations of Muhammad.[7] This indicates that tafsir, in its formative age, used to be a special domain within hadith. Widening of the scope of tafsir and emergence of mufassirun in the age of the successors lead to the development of an independent discipline of tafsir.[2]

An author of tafsir is a mufassir (Arabic: مُفسّر; plural: Arabic: مفسّرون, romanized: mufassirūn). According to Sunni Islamic scholar Al-Suyuti, mufassirs are required to master 15 fields from different disciplines such as linguistics, rhetoric, theology and jurisprudence before one can authoritatively interpret the Quran.[2][8] The foremost discipline that constitutes the basis of tafsir learning is Arabic language. Arabic in this context specifically means Classical Arabic. One of the earliest Islamic scholars Mujahid ibn Jabr said, "It is not permissible for one who holds faith in Allah and the Day of Judgment to speak on the Qur'an without learning classical Arabic." Especially relevant expertise is how one learns the meaning of each word. In this respect, it should be known that classical Arabic must be mastered in its entirety because one word may have various meanings; a person may only know two or three of them whereas the meaning of that word in the Qur'an may be altogether different. Other fields related to Arabic language includes Philology of Arabic. It is important because any change in the diacritical marks affects the meaning, and understanding the diacritical marks depends on the science of Arabic philology. Morphology of Arabic language is also important because changes in the configuration of verb and noun forms change the meaning. Ibn Faris said, "A person who misses out on Arabic morphology has missed out on a lot." Lastly, Al-Ishtiqaaq is the science of etymology which explains the reciprocal relation and radical composition between the root and derived word. It should be learned because sometimes one word derives from two root words, the meaning of each root word being different. For example, a word masih derives from the root word massah (مَسَّة) which means "to feel something and to touch something with a wet hand," but also derives from the root word masaahat which means "to measure."[8]

Another relevant discipline is the science of interpreting the Arabic sentence. Ilm al-Ma'ani is the science by which one figures the syntax through the meaning of a sentence. Ilm al-Bayaan is the science by which one learns the similes, metaphors, metonymies, zuhoor (evident meanings) and khafa (hidden meanings) of the Arabic language. Ilm al-Badi' is the science by which one learns to interpret sentences in which the beauty and eloquence of the spoken and written word are considered hidden. The above-mentioned three sciences are categorized as Ilm-ul-Balagha (science of rhetoric). It is one of the most principal sciences to a mufassir as it is deemed by Muslims that there are literal and non-literal meanings of the Quran, and one is able to reveal the miraculous nature of the Quran through these three sciences.[2] A field from Quranic teaching is called Ilm al-Qira'at. This is a system of dialecticism of the different readings of the Quran. This science is important because one qira'at (way of reading) of the Quran may differ in meaning from another, and one learns to favor one reading over another based on the difference in the meanings.[8]

General sciences of Islamic theology and Islamic study are also imperative. Ilm al-Aqa'id and Ilm al-Kalam are comprehensive sciences in Islamic theology and philosophy. They are important because upon these understandings, one may understand issues such as invalidity of attributing the literal meaning of some ayah to God. In this case, one will be required to interpret the ayah as in 'the hand of Allah is over their hand'. Other key issues required to be addressed through comprehension of theology and philosophy includes that of free will and determinism, or the infallibility of the prophets.[2] Comprehension of Fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence, is important because one cannot gain an overview of any issue until he has understood its particulars. Usul al-Fiqh, principles of Islamic jurisprudence, is also required so one understands the methodology of legal derivation and interpretation.[8]

Other distinctive systems linked with tafsir study including Asbaab al-Nuzul, which is the field by which one learns the circumstances in which an ayah is revealed. It is important because the meaning of the ayah is more clearly understood once the circumstances in which it was revealed are known. Sometimes, the meaning of an ayah is wholly dependent on its historical background. Another is Ilm-ul-Naskh, which is knowledge of the abrogated ayah. In general, due to the Quran made up of revelations that revealed to Muhammad in the course of more than twenty years, certain verses are considered meant to be temporary and subsequently repealed by the following ones. Ilm-ul-Naskh is a science of identifying the abrogations, and it is important because abrogated rulings must be separated from the applied rulings.[2] Ilm al-Hadith is knowledge of the hadith which explain mujmal (general) ayah, and Ilm al-Ladunni (علم اللدّني) is the endowed knowledge which is considered granted by God to his closest servants. This is for example a knowledge obtained directly from Allah through inspiration. They are the servants indicated in the hadith: "Allah will grant one who acts upon whatever he knows from a knowledge he never knew."[8]

Tafsir bi'l-ma'thur, or commonly known as Tafsir bi'r-riwāyah, is the method of commenting on the Quran using traditional sources. Tafsir bi'r-riwāyah connotes tafsir using another portion of the Quran, or sayings of Muhammad, or saying of his companions.[9] This classical tafsir method is agreed upon by all scholars, and is the most used method throughout history, partly because other methods have been criticized. Criticism of non-riwaya method is mostly based on two grounds; for one, Muhammad has condemned those who interpret the Quran from their own point of view,[10] and for two, most companions of Muhammad have refrained from presenting their own ideas.[11] Some important examples of tafsir bi'r-riwāyah are Jāmiʿ al-Bayān by al-Tabari and Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem by ibn Kathir. The sources used for tafsir bi'r-riwāyah can be ordered by the rank of authority, as the Quran, hadiths, the reports by the sahabah and tabi'iun, classical Arabic literature, and Isra'iliyat.

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