What Is Tafsir Al-Ma’thur?
Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa
Question
What is Tafsir al-Ma’thur, and does it have specific books dedicated to it?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.
Tafsir al-Ma’thur is the interpretation of the Quran through the Quran itself, the Sunna, and the traditions of the Companions and the Successors.
Tafsir al-Ma’thur is the first type of Quranic science to be documented, and the people of hadith and narration were its primary proponents.
Example: Interpreting through the Quran
An example of interpreting the Quran through the Quran is Allah’s saying:
“Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and swine; what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah…” [Quran, 5:3]
This verse explains the phrase “except what is hereby announced to you” from His saying:
“O believers! Honor your obligations. All grazing livestock has been made lawful to you—except what is hereby announced to you.” [Quran, 5:1]
Example: Interpreting through Hadith
An example of interpreting the Quran through the traditions of the Prophet, his Companions, and the Successors can be found in Ibn Kathir’s interpretation of the verse:
“Then go forth with the rest of the pilgrims. And seek Allah’s forgiveness. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Quran, 2:199]
He narrates from ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her), who said: “The Quraysh and those who followed their religion would stand at Muzdalifa, and they were called the Hums, while the rest of the Arabs would stand at ‘Arafat. When Islam came, Allah commanded His Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) to come to Arafat, then stand there and then depart from there. That is the meaning of Allah’s saying: ‘Then go forth with the rest of the pilgrims.’” [Bukhari]
Ibn Kathir also states: “This was similarly said by Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, ‘Ata’, Qatada, Sufyan Thawri, and others, and this was chosen by Ibn Jarir, who claimed consensus on it (Allah have mercy on them all).” [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
Important Books
There are many books dedicated to Tafsir al-Ma’thur, some of the most notable being:
- Jami‘ al-Bayan ‘an Ta’wil Ay al-Quran: This was written by Imam Abu Ja‘far Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, who died in 310 AH. This is one of the best and most comprehensive books of Tafsir al-Ma’thur, with detailed critique and authentication. It includes the chains of narration for all hadiths and traditions and considers different readings and linguistic variations.
- Tafsir al-Quran al-‘Azim: Authored by Imam Abu al-Fida’ Isma‘il Ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi, who died in 774 AH. This book is known for its precision, verification, brevity, and refinement, and it indicates the degrees of authenticity of many reports.
- Al-Durr al-Manthur fi al-Tafsir bi al-Ma’thur: This tafsir was written by Imam Jalal al-Din Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abi Bakr al-Suyuti, who died in 911 AH. It almost exclusively includes hadiths and traditions, which are referenced and attributed to their original sources.
Challenges
It is noteworthy that Tafsir al-Ma’thur faced significant challenges that almost led to a loss of confidence in it, were it not for the efforts of scholars, may Allah be pleased with them.
Imam Shafi‘i said: “No more than about a hundred hadiths are authentically attributed to Ibn ‘Abbas in tafsir.”
These challenges include the infiltration of the narrations of the People of the Book (Israʼiliyyat), the omission of chains of narration that reveal the sources of the issues, and the prevalence of fabricated reports in tafsir. [Zurqani, Manahil al-‘Irfan; Husayn Dhahabi, al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun; Abu Shahba, al-Isra’iliyyat wa al-Mawdu‘at fi Kutub al-Tafsir; ‘Itr, ‘Ulum al-Quran al-Karim; al-Muqaddimat al-Asasiyya fi ‘Ulum al-Quran]
May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.
And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa
Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.
He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.
He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.
Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.
