Tafsir, Interpretation, Exegesis and Hermeneutics

 My Dear Readers,

السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. (May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you)

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

 

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ نَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلاَ مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلاَ هَادِيَ لَهُ

وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

(See end note in the first post)

(See Note below)

Tafsir

The science of exegesis or tafsir of the Qur'an is exhaustive and with much contribution of great scholars over the centuries. As a student, sometimes it is daunting to decide where to start.  Many of the scholars of tafsir, even to this day, advise this or that tafsir depending on the level of the learner, and their motivations. But there is a general consensus as to the different approaches of tafsir, and the greatest works in the respective approaches. Often scholars in different countries lead with a quote like this:

 وَعُمْدَتُنَا فِيمَا نَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ كُتُبِ الْأَئِمَّةِ:

١ - تَفْسِيرُ "ابْنِ جَرِيرٍ الطَّبَرِيِّ"  الَّذِي يَمْتَازُ بِالتَّفَاسِيرِ النَّقْلِيَّةِ السَّلَفِيَّةِ، وَبِأُسْلُوبِهِ التَّرَسُّلِيِّ الْبَلِيغِ فِي بَيَانِ مَعْنَى الْآيَاتِ الْقُرْآنِيَّةِ، وَبِتَرْجِيحَاتِهِ لِأَوْلَى الْأَقْوَالِ عِنْدَهُ بِالصَّوَابِ.

٢ - وَتَفْسِيرُ "الْكَشَّافِ"  الَّذِي يَمْتَازُ بِذَوْقِهِ الْبَيَانِيِّ فِي الْأُسْلُوبِ الْقُرْآنِيِّ، وَتَطْبِيقِهِ فُنُونَ الْبَلَاغَةِ عَلَى آيَاتِ الْكِتَابِ، وَالتَّنْظِيرِ لَهَا بِكَلَامِ الْعَرَبِ، وَاسْتِعْمَالِهَا فِي أَفَانِينِ الْكَلَامِ.

٣ - وَتَفْسِيرُ "أَبِي حَيَّانَ الْأَنْدَلُسِيِّ"  الَّذِي يَمْتَازُ بِتَحْقِيقَاتِهِ النَّحْوِيَّةِ وَاللُّغَوِيَّةِ، وَتَوْجِيهِهِ لِلْقِرَاءَاتِ.

٤ - وَتَفْسِيرُ "الرَّازِيِّ"  الَّذِي يَمْتَازُ بِبُحُوثِهِ فِي الْعُلُومِ الْكَوْنِيَّةِ، مِمَّا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِالْجَمَادِ وَالنَّبَاتِ وَالْحَيَوَانِ وَالْإِنْسَانِ، وَفِي الْعُلُومِ الْكَلَامِيَّةِ، وَمَقَالَاتِ الْفِرَقِ، وَالْمُنَاظَرَةِ وَالْحِجَاجِ فِي ذَلِكَ.

إِلَى غَيْرِ هَذَا مِمَّا لَا بُدَّ لَنَا مِنْ مُرَاجَعَتِهِ مِنْ كُتُبِ التَّفْسِيرِ وَالْحَدِيثِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ، وَغَيْرِهَا مِمَّا يَقْتَضِيهِ الْمَقَامُ.

 

 Our principal references—among the works of the leading authorities to which we turn—are:

1. The Tafsīr of Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī , distinguished by its tradition-based (report-driven) exegesis rooted in the understandings of the early Muslim generations (the salaf), by its lucid, unforced eloquence in clarifying the meanings of Qur’anic verses, and by its author’s careful preference for the view he judges closest to what is correct.
2. The Tafsīr al-Kashshāf , distinguished by its keen rhetorical sensitivity to the Qur’anic style, by its application of the disciplines of Arabic eloquence to the verses of the Book, by its illustrating those meanings through parallels from the speech of the Arabs, and by showing how such expressions are employed across the various modes and registers of discourse.
3. The Tafsīr of Abū Ḥayyān al-Andalusī , distinguished by its rigorous grammatical and linguistic investigations, and by its principled analysis and justification of the Qur’anic variant readings (qirāʾāt).
4. The Tafsīr of al-Rāzī , distinguished by its wide-ranging inquiries into the natural (cosmic) sciences—touching on inanimate matter, plants, animals, and the human being—as well as into dialectical theology (kalām), the doctrines of the various sects, and the debates and argumentative methods connected to all of that.

Alongside these, there are other works we must consult as needed—books of tafsīr, ḥadīth, legal rulings, and whatever else the context requires.

The above quote is from the Algerian Maliki reformist scholar Abdel-Hamid ibn Badis (عبد الحميد بن باديس), from his book on Tafsir, but this exact same approach, or similar approach is found in most of the schools in the Muslim world. 

Of course there are other approaches, which are invaluable and I personally find quite useful , such as Tadabbur-i-Qur'an by Farahi and Islahi, which uses the Nazm al Qur'an approach, and so many others.

Why these books got treated as “enough to cover tafsīr”

These four books map onto major “pillars” of tafsīr:
1) al‑Ṭabarī (d. 310H) — the backbone of tafsīr bi’l‑maʾthūr/bi'l riwayah
Collects early interpretive reports, often with isnāds, and practices tarjīḥ (weighing views).
For many later Sunnī exegetes, this is the “archive” of early tafsīr.

2) al‑Zamakhsharī’s al‑Kashshāf (d. 538H) — the powerhouse of Arabic rhetoric (balāghah)
Famous for unpacking iʿjāz-style rhetorical features, syntactic choices, and eloquence.
Many Sunnī scholars used it heavily while also warning about its Muʿtazilī theology.

3) Fakhr al‑Dīn al‑Rāzī’s Mafātīḥ al‑Ghayb (d. 606H) — the encyclopedia of kalām and rational inquiry inside tafsīr
Expansive theological argumentation, philosophical discussions, sectarian debates, and “big questions” that later tafsīr literature often engages.

4) Abū Ḥayyān’s al‑Baḥr al‑Muḥīṭ (d. 745H) — precision in naḥw, lughah, and qirāʾāt
Often treated as the “grammar anchor” among the big classical tafāsīr.

Put simply: narrations + language/rhetoric + theology/rational debate (+ grammar/qirāʾāt) covers a huge portion of what students experience as “the tafsīr tradition.” 

In this blog, we will try to write a bit about each of them إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ 

وَٱللَّهُ أَعۡلَم

 Wa Allahu 'Alam (And Allah is the All-Knowing)

Note:

This post starts with the well known opening lines of at least one of Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ  sermon. Al-Nisaa’i (May Allah have mercy on him) reported in his Sunan al-Nisaa’i: Kitaab al-Jumu’ah (Click Here) that ‘Abd-Allah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us the Khutbah Haajah .