The holy Quran is the book of Allah, SWT, revealed to the prophet Mohammed in the Arabic language. However, for knowing its meaning, you’ve to understand its Tafseer
Of course, being familiar with the Arabic language can help to some degree, but deepening your understanding of the holy book requires you to study tafsir. Otherwise, you’ll read the verses without knowing what it means.
In this article, we’ll walk you through this science and show you How to learn the Tafseer of the quran and the various methods applied by muslim scholars for it. keep reading.
The Tafseer is a detailed explanation of the meanings of the Quran, the sacred book of Islam. It is written by scholars who have studied the Quran in-depth and its goal is to navigate the meaning of Quranic verses and their interpretation. Thus, it is an important resource for Muslims who’re eager to understand the Quran and learn its teachings.
There are many definitions for Tafseer
Imam Al-Suyuti defined it as a science dealing with aspects of Quranic verses of the Quran, including the reasons for their revelation, their order, and whether it’s revealed in Mecca or Al Madinah, besides most important issues such as Muḥkam and Mutashābih, the Nasikh and Mansukh in the Quran, and the commands and prohibitions.
Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati defined it as a science interested in the pronunciation and connotation of Quranic vocabulary as well as its rules, word omposition, and meaning..which includes the science of grammar, AI’rab, al bayan, and rhetoric.
There are also many definitions, and most of them refer to the same meaning
There are many objectives to learn Tafseer, here we just highlight only three of them.
God Almighty has put together in his book all the rules and guidelines that regulate the Muslims’ life, and prophet Mohammed urges us to stick to the commands in this book because it’s guidance from Allah.
Therefore, learning Quran Tafsir helps us correctly apply the teaching of Islam because it allows us to understand the Islamic rules and their purpose in organizing our lives, such as knowing how to perform Islamic rituals and all the jurisprudence such as divorce, marriage, trade, and fighting.
No doubt that faith based on knowledge and comprehension is more firm than that’s based on the blind following.
The Noble Qur’an is the first source of legislation and shows the pillars of faith, including believing in God Almighty, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and the Decree (it’s good and evil.)
Tafsir has a great role in fixing those concepts into Muslims’ hearts by showing the meaning of those pillars as well as clarifying the evidence Allah showed in the quranic verses that confirm his ultimate oneness, so Muslims’ faith grows more solid.
Read also: How to Recite Quran Beautifully: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques
Quran has been revealed during consecutive periods that go in alignment with the events of prophet Mohammed – may God’s prayers and peace be upon him – and many of the surahs were revealed as a reflection or prophecy for those events. For example, the conquests of Badr and Hanin were mentioned in the Quran in surah Al Anfal and Al Tawbah.
And As you see! It won’t possible for us to know the reasons for the prophet’s conquests or trace the biography of the Messenger of God without the interpretation of the Qur’an, and thus the Tafsir science assists in knowing the events of the Prophet’s biography and understanding the causes and amplifications that surround their occurrence.
The Holy Qur’an recounted many stories of the previous nations and their destiny when they insisted on infidelity, and we couldn’t know that history without the efforts of interpreters of the Quran who weaved together the stories of the prophets by collecting all the places where those stories mentioned in Quran and organizing them according to their chronology..
There are many types of tafsir that vary in their methodology, and here we highlight some of the methods, including the quran and sunnah.
Here, the person tries to interpret Quran, given what previous people thought about it. and he looks at the sources such as the sayings of the prophet’s companions and followers.
The reason why this type of Tafseer is reliable is that Many interpreters think the interpretation of companions is authentic due to their great stature in Islam. they accompanied the prophet Mohammed and were close to him and witnessed the events mentioned in the holy book. Besides, their Arabic language was pure and original.
Here, the interpreter attempts to decipher the meaning of the Quran by linking similar verses together. Sometimes, the same story or event is mentioned in the holy book concisely in place and lengthy in another place
for example
O, believers! Honor your obligations. All grazing livestock has been made lawful to you—except what is hereby announced to you (Al-Maidah, 1)
What’s announced for you is mentioned in another verse: Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and swine; what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah; what is killed by strangling, beating, a fall, or by being gored to death; what is partly eaten by a predator unless you slaughter it; and what is sacrificed on altars ( (Al-Maidah, 3)
In this way, the Quran is interpreted by looking at the sayings of the prophet Muhammad, for example, the verse usury ( الربا in Arabic) is found in the Quran and explained in one of the hadith of the messenger of Allah
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Gold is to be paid for by gold, silver by silver, wheat by wheat, barley by barley, dates by dates, and salt by salt, like for like, payment being made on the spot. If anyone gives more or asks more he has dealt in usury. The receiver and the giver are equally guilty.”
It means that the Qur’anic verses be interpreted and clarified by using reasoning and looking at the evidence, and deduction, without opposing the Evidence cited from holy references
One of Tafseer’s books that follows this methodology is Al Kashaf by Zamakhshari and tafsir ibn Haiyan
And this kind of Tafseer requires specific attributes that should be found in the interpreter such as a great command of Arabic, knowledge of Quran sciences such as Qira’art, the Nasikh, and Mansukh, and being objective without tendencies or prejudices.
The importance of this type of Tasfeer comes down to the fact that the Quran has been revealed in Arabic and in the tongue of Mecca’s people. As allah said in surah Zukhraf, ayat 3:
“Certainly, We have made it a Quran in Arabic so perhaps you will understand”
So, Quran can’t be interpreted or its meanings can be clarified without understanding the language of the Arb nation to whom the Quran is revealed.
For example: (ثُمَّ استَوى عَلَى العَرشِ) .. استوى here doesn’t mean cooked (the literal translation in English) but rose (this rehtrioical meaning).
Read also: How to Complete the Quran in 10 Days: A Reading Plan for Ramadan
If you want to learn the tafsir Quran online, those Quran tafsir books allow you for general understanding of the interpretation of the quran
that book is written by a group of scholars of the King Fahd Complex, according to the same method our predecessors followed, meaning the verses were interpreted based on the hadiths of the messenger and the thoughts of the righteous companions.
This book is favored by millions over the world as a great Tafsir reference due to its simple and concise style and its detailed explanation of the quran by showing the meaning of each verse and its sharia purpose, besides explaining the difficult and odd words
This book is considered one of the best books of simplified interpretation in recent times. It consists of four sections. Al-Sa’di followed an objective and analytical method for his explanation of the Quran, and his style was so simple and clear, without length or abbreviation.
Also, he follows the approach of the righteous predecessors, the Sunnah, and the Companions, by explaining the meaning and purpose of the verses and the reasons for their revelation, without mentioning unverified stories. And his writing implies a great interest in rehetiocal and linguistic aspects, and Akeeda matters.
You can also look at Tafsir ibnu katsir, and Al Tafsir Al Wajiz, since they are at the top resources recommended for people looking for Tafsir of the quran
There are many aspects and opinions about Quran Tafseer science. Some people believe that it is very important science, while others believe that it is not necessary to study in order to understand the Quran.
However, there are some things that everyone seems to agree on. For example, everyone agrees that Tafseer can help people understand the Quran better and also help people learn about the different interpretations of the Quran.
Tafseer is a science interested in the interpretation of the Quran by looking at many aspects, including the reason for surah’s revelation, and the meaning of the words in the Arabic language, and depends on many resources such as the sunnah and thoughts of the great companions.
For getting a deeper understanding of the tafsir of the Quran You can seek out Quran tutors, or join teaching Quran Tafseer courses or classes. In this article, you’ve known many types of Quran tafsir, such as Tafseer by sunnah or the Quran itself, Besides, some great books, we hope, will help you to learn Tafseer online
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