The Necessity and Importance of Tafseer
Imam Jalaaluddeen Suyooti – may Allah be pleased with him – states, “The time in which the Quran was revealed in the Arabic language it was the era of the experts of Arabic literature who could figure out its apparent interpretations and then derive the rulings from it but they also had to ponder over their inner meanings and finer details which used to be solved only after consulting the Holy Prophet – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him. When the verse:
اَلَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَ لَمْ یَلْبِسُوۡۤا اِیۡمٰنَہُمۡ بِظُلْمٍ
Those who have believed and mixed not any injustice with their faith.
(Al-An’aam 6, Verse 82)
The Sahaba asked Allah’s Messenger – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, his household and all his companions – “Who amongst us is such; without having done any injustice to himself?” The Holy Prophet – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him – replied, “Injustice, at this occasion, is interpreted as ‘polytheism’.” and provided the following verse as a proof of this:
اِنَّ الشِّرْکَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِیۡمٌ ﴿۱۳﴾
‘Undoubtedly, the association with Allah is a tremendous wrong’.
(Luqman 31, Verse 13)
Similarly, when the Holy Prophet – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him – stated, “مَنْ نُوْقِشَ الْحِسَابَ عُذِبَ Whoso is held accountable in his accountability will be captured in punishments”, Hazrat ‘Ayeshah – may Allah be pleased with her – then wanted to find out from the Holy Messenger – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him – concerning the following verses:
فَسَوْفَ یُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا یَّسِیۡرًا ۙ﴿۸﴾
He will soon have an easy reckoning.
وَّ یَنۡقَلِبُ اِلٰۤی اَہۡلِہٖ مَسْرُوۡرًا ؕ﴿۹﴾
And he will return to his household joyfully.
(Al-Inshiqaaq 84, Verse 8, 9)
“This is just about the time when the deeds will be presented (i.e. there is no collision in the meaning that He mentioned in the Hadeeth)” He replied.
We are even more in need of those fortunes which they needed but we are rather more needy than anyone else, for we cannot even grasp the essence, evaluations and the inner meanings of the language without having to learn them.
(Al-Itqaan Fi ‘Uloom Al-Quran of Imam Suyooti, Vol. 2, p. 546-547)
Grasping the meaning of Quran is a great form of worship and bliss, therefore one needs to grasp the meaning of the Quran from reliable Tafseers along with its recitation.
Hazrat Iyaas Ibn Mu’awiyah – may Allah be pleased with him – states, “The example of those, who recite the Quran and are not aware of its meaning, is of a people by whom the letter of the king reached at night and they did not have a lamp to read it as to what is written, and the example of the one who recites the Quran, knowing its Tafseer, is of a nation by whom the postman brought the letter at night along with the lamp and they read the letter in the light of the lamp and knew what the letter contained.”
(Tafseer Qurtubi Vol. 1, p. 41)
May Allah enable and grant all the Muslims the divine guide to understand the Quran. Ameen!
The Grades of Quran’s Tafseer:
They are further categorized into five categories:
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِالْقُرْاٰنِ (Interpretation of Quran through Quran), for the Quran also explains itself.
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِالْحَدِیّثِ (Interpretation of Quran through Hadeeth), for no one understood Quran as much as the Prophet – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him – did.
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِاٰثَارِ الصَّحَابَۃِ (Interpretation of Quran through the sayings of the Sahaba)
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِاٰثَارِ التَّابِعِیْنَ (Interpretation of Quran through the sayings of the Tabe’een)
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِاللُّغَۃِ الْعَرَبِیَّۃِ (Interpretation of Quran through the Arabic language)
Imam Jalaaluddeen Suyooti – may Allah be pleased with him – states, “The time in which the Quran was revealed in the Arabic language it was the era of the experts of Arabic literature who could figure out its apparent interpretations and then derive the rulings from it but they also had to ponder over their inner meanings and finer details which used to be solved only after consulting the Holy Prophet – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him. When the verse:
اَلَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَ لَمْ یَلْبِسُوۡۤا اِیۡمٰنَہُمۡ بِظُلْمٍ
Those who have believed and mixed not any injustice with their faith.
(Al-An’aam 6, Verse 82)
The Sahaba asked Allah’s Messenger – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, his household and all his companions – “Who amongst us is such; without having done any injustice to himself?” The Holy Prophet – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him – replied, “Injustice, at this occasion, is interpreted as ‘polytheism’.” and provided the following verse as a proof of this:
اِنَّ الشِّرْکَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِیۡمٌ ﴿۱۳﴾
‘Undoubtedly, the association with Allah is a tremendous wrong’.
(Luqman 31, Verse 13)
Similarly, when the Holy Prophet – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him – stated, “مَنْ نُوْقِشَ الْحِسَابَ عُذِبَ Whoso is held accountable in his accountability will be captured in punishments”, Hazrat ‘Ayeshah – may Allah be pleased with her – then wanted to find out from the Holy Messenger – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him – concerning the following verses:
فَسَوْفَ یُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا یَّسِیۡرًا ۙ﴿۸﴾
He will soon have an easy reckoning.
وَّ یَنۡقَلِبُ اِلٰۤی اَہۡلِہٖ مَسْرُوۡرًا ؕ﴿۹﴾
And he will return to his household joyfully.
(Al-Inshiqaaq 84, Verse 8, 9)
“This is just about the time when the deeds will be presented (i.e. there is no collision in the meaning that He mentioned in the Hadeeth)” He replied.
We are even more in need of those fortunes which they needed but we are rather more needy than anyone else, for we cannot even grasp the essence, evaluations and the inner meanings of the language without having to learn them.
(Al-Itqaan Fi ‘Uloom Al-Quran of Imam Suyooti, Vol. 2, p. 546-547)
Grasping the meaning of Quran is a great form of worship and bliss, therefore one needs to grasp the meaning of the Quran from reliable Tafseers along with its recitation.
Hazrat Iyaas Ibn Mu’awiyah – may Allah be pleased with him – states, “The example of those, who recite the Quran and are not aware of its meaning, is of a people by whom the letter of the king reached at night and they did not have a lamp to read it as to what is written, and the example of the one who recites the Quran, knowing its Tafseer, is of a nation by whom the postman brought the letter at night along with the lamp and they read the letter in the light of the lamp and knew what the letter contained.”
(Tafseer Qurtubi Vol. 1, p. 41)
May Allah enable and grant all the Muslims the divine guide to understand the Quran. Ameen!
The Grades of Quran’s Tafseer:
They are further categorized into five categories:
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِالْقُرْاٰنِ (Interpretation of Quran through Quran), for the Quran also explains itself.
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِالْحَدِیّثِ (Interpretation of Quran through Hadeeth), for no one understood Quran as much as the Prophet – may Allah send blessings and peace upon him – did.
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِاٰثَارِ الصَّحَابَۃِ (Interpretation of Quran through the sayings of the Sahaba)
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِاٰثَارِ التَّابِعِیْنَ (Interpretation of Quran through the sayings of the Tabe’een)
تَفْسِیْرُ الْقُرْاٰنِ بِاللُّغَۃِ الْعَرَبِیَّۃِ (Interpretation of Quran through the Arabic language)
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