12. TAFSEER METHODOLOGY
The Quran, God’s final book of revelation to man, represents the primary source of the principles which constitute the way of life known as Islaam. The passages of the Quran contain advice and guidance in the form of laws, parables, stories, and arguments for those who choose to believe in God and the Day of Judgment. Hence, a believer’s success and happiness in this life and the next largely depend on his understanding, internalization, and application of the concepts contained in the Book. However, the depth of comprehension of the Quran’s meanings will vary from individual to individual due to natural differences in intelligence. This variation existed even among the sahaabah (companions of the Prophet, in spite of the Quran’s clarity of expression and its revelation in seven different dialects. Moreover, Allaah, the Most Wise, chose to place generalities in the Quran, some of which He later explained in its other verses, while some he explained only to the Prophet. The Prophet knew and understood the Quran completely because Allaah had chosen him as its vehicle and explained it all to him. Hence, Allaah said in one verse.
“Verily, collecting the Quran (for you) and reciting it (to you) is Our responsibility, so when We read it to you, listen to it. Then it is upon Us to explain it.”1
Therefore, it was the Prophet’s job to explain the Quran to his followers by his actions, as well as his statements. Allaah stated this in the Quran:
“We have revealed the Reminder (Qur’aan) to you (O Muhammad) so that you may explain to people what has been revealed to them.”2
Consequently, the sahaabah all turned to the Prophet whenever possible during his lifetime for the tafseer (explanation, understanding, interpretation) of the Quran. For example, Ibn Mas‘ood related that when the following verse was revealed:
“Those who believe and do not obscure their faith with transgression (thulm), for them there is security, and they are rightly guided,”3
Some of the companions became distressed, because the general linguistic meaning of thulm covers any kind of wrong, major or minor, and none of them were free from error. However, when they approached the Prophet about it, he replied,
“It is not as you all think. It is no more than what Luqmaan said to his son, ‘Verily, shirk (associating partners with God) is the greatest form of thulm.’4”5
Thus the Prophet (r) clarified for them that the broader meaning of thulm was not intended in the first verse; rather it was used to refer to shirk. In this incident, the Prophet explained the Quran by the Quran, demonstrating the first step in the divinely ordained method of understanding and interpretation of the Quran that was established for all generations of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection. After the Prophet’s death, the sahaabah turned to those among themselves who were more gifted in understanding the Quran and who had been able to spend more time with the Prophet for interpretation and explanation of the Quran.
Tafseer and Ta’weel
The words tafseer and ta’weel were considered synonyms by the early generations of Muslims; however, in the centuries following the era of the taabi‘oon and their students (9th and 10th centuries CE/3rd and 4th centuries AH), the term ta’weel took on a new meaning with new and dangerous implications. Consequently, it is necessary for us to look at these terms in their original context, as well as their later usage.
The word tafseer, which comes from the verb fassara, literally means an explanation or an exposition, as in the verse, and wisdom derived. On the other hand, the word ta’weel, which comes from the verb awwala, literally means interpretation. When the word ta’weel is used in the context of a command, it means its execution or implementation, as in the hadeeth reported by ‘Aa’ishah in which she said, “Allah’s Messenger used to implement (yata’awwal) the Quran by saying in rukoo‘ (bowing) and sujood (prostration) [during salah],
‘Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and Praise are You. O Allah, forgive me’.”8
She was referring to the Prophet’s execution of Allaah’s command in the verse,
“Glorify Your Lord and ask His forgiveness, for verily, He is Oft- Forgiving.” 9
When ta’weel is used in reference to news or information, it refers to its occurrence, as in the verse,
“Verily, We have brought them a book of knowledge and explained it in detail as a guide and a mercy for the Believers. Are they only waiting for the occurrence (ta’weelahu) (of what is in the Book)?”10
That is, Allah ridicules those who do not accept revelation by asking them if they are foolishly awaiting the occurrence of the final hour and its signs, the Judgment, Paradise, and the Hellfire, when it will be too late.
However, when the word ta’weel is used in reference to recorded speech, it refers to its explanation or interpretation, as in the verse:
“It is He who revealed the Book to you. In it are clear verses which are the essence of the Book and others which are obscure. As for those whose hearts are twisted, they follow what is obscure seeking to sow discord and searching for its interpretation (ta’weelahu).”11
Hence, the early scholars of tafseer used the words ta fseer and taweel interchangeably. For example, Ibn Jareer at-Tabaree, in his tafseer, commonly introduced each section with the phrase, “The opinion concerning the ta’weel (explanation) of the statement of the Exalted.”
In later centuries, when deviant and heretical explanations abounded, the term ta’weel was used by the scholars of that time to justify them and give them an air of legitimacy. They defined ta’weel as the shifting of an expression from its obvious meaning to one of its likely meanings due to its context;13 that is, the interpretation of a passage by other than its obvious meaning for whatever reason a scholar considered relevant. For example, scholars of this period under Mu‘tazilee (Rationalist) influence explained away the word ‘hand’ in the following verse, which refers to an oath taken by the sahaabah:
“Allaah’s hand is above their hands.”14
They interpreted it as being Allaah’s help and support for the simple reason that, as they put it, Allaah could not possibly have a hand. This ‘ta’weel’ was based on the false premise that the attribution of a hand to Allah automatically implied conceptualizing Him in human form. However, in the same way that referring to Allah as a living being (al-Hayy) does not in any way make Him humanlike, because His life is in no way like our life, referring to Allaah’s hand as a real hand does not make Him humanlike, for his hand is in no way like our hands. It should be noted that the affirmation by Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jamaa‘ah that Allaah has a real hand does not mean that they understand His hand to be a body part.
The Quran is the last book of divine revelation sent to man, and Allah has promised to protect it from any distortion or loss. He said in the Quran:
“Verily, We have revealed the Reminder (Quran) and verily We will preserve it.”15
Its written and recited forms have been preserved without even the slightest change for over fourteen hundred years, as has been mentioned in previous chapters. This cannot be said about the Gospel of Prophet Jesus, nor the books of the Old Testament attributed to earlier prophets, nor any other scripture revealed by Allah. However, Allaah’s protection of the Qur’aan did not stop there; He also safeguarded the original meaning. If the protection of the Quran’s meaning had not taken place, deviants would have turned the Book of Allaah into a jumble of symbols, riddles and codes open to a multiplicity of interpretations, and its original meaning would have been lost. Allaah preserved the meaning of the Qur’aan by explaining some of its generalities within the Qur’aan itself and by entrusting the tafseer of the remainder to His Messenger, Muhammad ibn Abdillaah (570-632 CE).
The sahaabah (companions) were taught to seek their understanding of the Quran first from the Quran itself, then from the explanations and applications of the Prophet and from their own intimate understanding of the language of the Quran. After the Prophet’s death, those who entered Islaam as new converts depended first upon the Quran to explain itself, then they depended on the sahaabah to explain the Quran to them. The sahaabah would inform their students among the taabi‘oon of the circumstances in which the verses were revealed, the interpretation given by the Prophet’s statements and his actions, and finally they would explain the meanings of some words which may not have been familiar or which may have had a different meaning to Arabs outside of the Arabian peninsula. With the passing of the era of the sahaabah, the scholars among the taabi‘oon shouldered the grave responsibility of conveying the original meanings of the Quran to the next generation of Muslims exactly as they had received them. It was the third generation which began the process of gathering and recording the various narrations of tafseer from the taabi‘oon.
From the above-mentioned methodology of the Prophet and his companions and that of the early generations of Muslim scholars which followed them, the following steps have been deduced by orthodox scholars as being the necessary conditions for making correct tafseer of the Qur’aan:
1. Tafseer of Qur’aan by Qur’aan
There are many places in the Quran where questions are asked in order to catch the mind of the reader and subsequently answered to increase the impact of the concept in question. In other places, general statements are made and then later explained in order to vary the modes of presentation and encourage readers and listeners to reflect more. This self-explanatory process is referred to as tafseer of the Quran by the Quran. Allaah chose to clarify what He intended by revealing other explanatory verses. For example, Allah asks,
“By at-Taariq (the Knocker or Night Approacher) and what will make you understand what at-Taariq is?”
He then answers His question in the next verse:
“It is the piercing star (Venus).”16
Allah also states in the Quran:
“O you who believe…beasts which are herded have been made halaal for you except what will be recited to you.”17
Two verses later he elaborates the exceptions to the general rule:
“Animals that died without being slaughtered, blood, pork, animals sacrificed for other than Allah, animals strangled to death, killed by a blow or by falling from a height, killed by goring, or partially eaten by wild animals are forbidden to you.”18
Another example can be seen in the verse in which Allaah describes Himself, saying:
“Sight cannot encompass Him.”19
This verse implies that Allah will not be seen in either this world or the
next. However, Allaah later describes the believers in the next life as:
“Gazing at their Lord,”20
and he says about the disbelievers:
“Verily, they will be veiled from their Lord on that day.”21
Therefore, before seeking an explanation or interpretation elsewhere, the Quran must be relied upon to explain itself, for Allah knows best what He intended.
2. Tafseer of Quran by the Sunnah
On many occasions, the Prophet added further clarification to various verses of the Quran. Allaah had entrusted the job of explaining the Quran to the Prophet. This trust was expressed in the Quran in no uncertain terms,
“We have revealed the Reminder (Qur’aan) to you (O Muhammad) so that you may explain to the people what has been revealed to them.”22
“We have only revealed the Book to you (O Muhammad) in order that you clarify for them the things about which they differ.”23
The sahaabah understood this clearly and always turned to the Prophet for clarification whenever they were in doubt about the meaning of any of the Quranic passages. In fact, most of the fine details of salaah, zakaah, sawm, hajj, inheritance laws, etc. were explained either by the Prophet’s statements or practical demonstrations and applications (the Sunnah). Thus, the Prophet’s explanations of Quranic passages are referred to as the tafseer of the Quran by the Sunnah. For example, in Soorah al-Faatihah, the Prophet (r) explained that “al-maghdoobi ‘alayhim” (those on whom is Allaah’s anger) are the Jews, and “ad-daalleen” (those astray) are the Christians. Verse: On one occasion he recited the
“Prepare for them whatever force you are able to.”25
He then said,
“Verily force is shooting.” He repeated it three times. In another narration, he explained that the verse:
“Verily, We have given you al-Kawthar,”27
referred to a river in Paradise which Allah has given him.
Because the Sunnah was based on guidance from Allah, it represents the second part of God’s promise to explain the Quran:
“Then, verily, it is for Us to explain it.”29
Ibn ’Abbaas explained that the statement, “Then it is for Us to explain it,” means, “upon your tongue [O Muhammad].” Consequently, no other human interpretation can be given precedence over that of the Prophet.
3. Tafseer of Quran by Aathaar
Whenever the sahaabah could not find the tafseer of a passage in the Quran itself or in the Sunnah, they would use their own reasoning based on their knowledge of the contexts of the verses and the intricacies of the Arabic language in which the Quran was revealed. Consequently, one of the greatest commentators of the Quran, Ibn Katheer, wrote in the preface of his tafseer, “If we are unable to find a suitable tafseer in the Quran or in the Sunnah, we go to the opinions of the sahaabah. For verily, they knew the Quran better than anyone else due to their knowledge of the circumstances of its revelation, their complete and accurate understanding of it, and their righteous deeds.” These explanations of the sahaabah are known as tafseer by aathaar (the sayings of the sahabah). For example, when Ibn ‘Abbaas was questioned about the verse:
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity and to only reveal from their adornment that which (normally) appears,”31
he replied, “It refers to the face and hands.” On another occasion, after reciting the verse,
“And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, is a kaafir (disbeliever).”33
Ibn ‘Abbaas said, “It is a form of kufr (disbelief) less than real kufr.”34
However, the tafseer transmitted from the Prophet and the sahaabah did not cover all of the verses of the Quran. The Prophet explained only what was unclear to the sahaabah, and they, in turn, only explained what was unclear to the taabi‘oon. But with each succeeding generation, more areas became unclear due to the evolution of the language. Hence, the taabi‘oon had to make further explanations after the passing of the sahaabah’s era. These explanations are considered a part of tafseer by aathaar and should be given precedence over personal opinions where there is unanimity among them. Where they differed, none of their opinions is given preference over the others unless it is supported by the language.
During the era of the taabi‘oon, many Christians and Jews became Muslim. As a result, some of the taabi‘oon narrated tales from Jewish and Christian sources in their explanations of the Quran. Such narrations became known as Israa’eeleeyaat. In later generations, the books of tafseer became filled with such narrations, many of which could not be traced to any reliable source.
4. Tafseer of Qur’aan by Language
With the passage of time, words took on new meanings and old meanings became lost, foreign words entered into the language, and vast sections of vocabulary fell into disuse. This natural process necessitated the explanation of some of the Quranic words according to their literal and grammatical meanings. Consequently, this period witnessed the appearance of dictionaries written specifically to deal with Quranic Arabic vocabulary and philology. In cases where words had more than one meaning, this step created differences of opinion which could only be solved by finding some support in the Sunnah. For example, “lams” literally means to touch, but figuratively it means sexual intercourse. Thus, the later scholars were of two basic opinions concerning the following verse,
“…or you (laamastum) women and cannot find water, then make tayammum (ritual purification with dust).”35
Imaams ash-Shaafi‘ee and Maalik held that it meant the touch of the hand, though each imaam added certain stipulations to it. On the other hand, Imaam Aboo Haneefah ruled that it meant sexual intercourse. However, the Prophet’s wives reported that he kissed them before performing salaah, which indicated that touching was not intended by this verse.
These four methods come under the general title of tafseer bir-riwaayah or tafseer bil-ma’thoor (tafseer based on narration) and, as such, leave little room for argument. Although the fourth step is oftentimes based on narrations from earlier generations, at other times it can be highly opinionated and controversial. For example, Yusuf Ali openly translates the word “burooj” used in the 85th soorah as “the Zodiacal signs,” while Pickthall translates it as “Mansions of the Stars,” but says in his introduction to the soorah that it “is applied to the signs of the zodiac.” Thus, according to them, Allaah is making an oath by the zodiacal signs. Some English-speaking Muslims have taken this to be indirect support for astrology. However, “burooj” originally only meant “star configuration,” and it was not until later times that it was used to refer to the imaginary figures of the zodiac, which pagan Babylonians and Greeks superimposed on them. Astrology has been forbidden by the Prophet in no uncertain terms, as it falls under the general prohibition on visiting fortune tellers. The Prophet said,
“Whoever…visits a fortuneteller [and believes in what he says]37 has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad.”38
5. Tafseer of Qur’aan by Opinion
Opinions based on a careful study of the first four steps can be considered valid as long as they do not contradict any of those steps. Likewise, the application of obvious meanings of the Quran to existing situations and the formation of conclusions based on their similarities are also allowed, as long as such interpretations do not clash with authentic classical explanations. But, free interpretation based on philosophical, scientific, or sectarian ideas is totally forbidden. The Prophet was reported to have said,
“Opinion based argument about the Quran is kufr.” He repeated it three times, then said, “ What you know of it, act upon; and what you are ignorant of, refer it to one who knows.”39
We can see from the above-mentioned hadeeth that the Prophet sternly warned his companions and later generations of Muslims about interpretations of the Quran based on speculation and unsubstantiated opinions. The reason is that the Quran is the foundation of Islaam and, as such, it had to remain pure and untampered with. If free rein was given to any and everyone to interpret the Quran as they wished, its value would be totally destroyed, and Islaam itself would be undermined from its base. Thus, the only acceptable tafseer is that which adheres to the following sequence: tafseer of Quran by the Quran, then by the Sunnah, then by the sayings of the sahaabah, then by language, and finally by opinion, as long as it is based on the preceding four methods and does not contradict any of them.
Deviant Tafseers
In order to clarify the potential danger and corruption inherent in tafseer by unsubstantiated opinion, the following examples of deviant tafseers have been collected from various movements, sects, and philosophical schools from the distant past to the present. From the tenth century CE (4th century AH), some Soofees have interpreted “Pharaoh” to mean the heart in Allaah’s command to Prophet Moosaa:
“Go to Pharaoh, for verily he has transgressed,”40
as it is the heart which oppresses every man, causing him to transgress. Others interpreted Allaah’s command to Prophet Moosaa:
“Throw down your staff,”41
as a command to throw aside the material world and only depend on Allah. These spiritualistic tafseers are indicative of the Soofee movement’s overemphasis of the spiritual over the material.
In the Mu‘tazilee (Rationalist) tafseers of the ‘Abbaasid era, revelation was interpreted according to human logic. Hence, the word “heart” in the following verse was given a new meaning:
“And (remember) when Ibraaheem said, ‘My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead.’ [Allaah] replied, ‘Do you not believe?’ Ibraaheem said, ‘Yes, but (I am asking You) in order that my heart may be at rest.”42
It was claimed that Ibraaheem had a friend whom he referred to as his “heart” and, thus, the true meaning of the verse was, “Yes, but I am asking You in order that my friend may be at ease.” This interpretation was considered necessary to explain away the doubt which Ibraaheem felt in his heart, as it seemed inconsistent with prophethood, according to the Rationalists.
The Shee‘ah tafseers of the late ‘Abbaasid era, under the influence of their inordinate obsession with the Prophet’s descendants, interpreted the verse:
“He has let the two seas flow freely and they meet,”44
as a reference to ‘Alee, the Prophet’s son-in-law, and Faatimah, the Prophet’s daughter; and in a following verse:
“Out of them come pearls and coral,”45
They found a reference to the Prophet’s grandsons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn. The Qaadiyanee sect, which appeared in India during the latter part of the nineteenth century, claimed that in the verse,
“Muhammad is not the father of any of you, but he is Allaah’s messenger and the seal (khaatam) of the Prophets,”47
khaatam does not mean seal, as most translate it, but ring. Thus, they claimed that just as the ring beautifies the finger, the Prophet Muhammad was the beautification of prophethood. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that Prophet Muhammad was the most superior of the prophets but not the last. They also
assert that even if the word khaatam were taken to mean “seal,” it would be like the seal placed on an envelope sealing its contents, but not limiting them. These interpretations were made to validate the claim of their founder, Ghulam Ahmad, to prophethood. They also distorted the following verse in reference to Prophet ‘Eesaa:
“They did not crucify him nor did they kill him, but it was made to seem so to them….But Allaah raised him up to Himself.”49
They claimed that “raised him up” meant a figurative raising, as used in the verse:
“And We raised your esteem for you.”50
This interpretation was necessary in order for them to prove their doctrine that ‘Eesaa died a natural death on earth after marrying and having children and being buried in Kashmir, and that Ghulam Ahmad was the promised messiah whose return was prophesied.
Even more recently in America, Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Elijah sect and claimant to Prophethood (d. 1975), interpreted the verse,
“On that day when the trumpet is blown, We will assemble the criminals blue-eyed,”52
as proof that the inhabitants of the fire will all be white people. This interpretation was used to support the Elijah doctrine that Allah, God, was a black man, that all black people were gods and that all white people were devils. Although the word zurq literally means blue, it was used to refer to the clouding of the cornea due to certain eye diseases which gives the eye a bluish-grey tinge. Hence, a more accurate translation would have been “bleary-eyed.” According to Elijah, since the white man resembles the black man, he was referred to as “mankind” in the Quran, that is, a kind of man!54 Therefore, in the verse:
“O mankind, verily, We have created you from a male and a female,”55
“We” was interpreted by Elijah to refer to the black men/gods who supposedly created the white race (mankind) These few examples of tafseers based solely on sectarian opinions clearly show the incoherence and deception that result from the disregard for the correct method of tafseer. The Quran becomes a voice for each sect’s deviant and heretical claims. The Quran is manipulated mercilessly, as there are no logical boundaries nor coherent rules by which the founders of these sects abide; hence, the same verse may have a multiplicity of meanings for them. Whatever interpretation promotes their ideas becomes correct. For them, the Quran is no longer a book of guidance, but a book containing the hidden secrets of their sect, which only their leaders and the specially initiated can unlock.
By Bilal Philips
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