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Tuesday, 24 Safar 1431 AH
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Knowledge > Qur'ān > Tafsīr
'Ulūm al-Qur'ān #3 - The History of TafsīrA. The Time of The Prophet (SAWS)It is no surprise to discover that the science of tafsīr started during the lifetime of the Prophet (saws) himself, In fact, one of the primary roles of the Prophet (saws), as shall be expounded on later, was to interpret the Qūran. Allāh says,
The science of tafsīr during the Prophet's (saws) life was a relatively easy matter. This was so for a number of factors. Firstly, the Companions were witnessing the revelation of the Qūran, and the circumstances during which it was revealed. They were aware of the reason behind the revelation of a verse (asbāb an-nuzūl), and as such did not need to search for this knowledge as later interpreters would have to.
B. The Period of The CompanionsAfter the death of the Prophet (saws), the science of tafsīr took on a more systematic approach. Thus it can be considered that the first true mufassirs were actually the Companions. The sources that the Companions used for tafīr were the Qūran, the statements of the Prophet (saws), the principles of Arabic grammar and rhetoric, their own personal reasoning(ijtihād), and pagan and Judaeo-Christian customs that were prevalent at the time of the revelation of the Qūran. These sources will be discussed in greater detail in the following section.There were many among the Companions who were well known for their knowledge of the interpretation of the Qūran. As-Suyūtī wrote, "There are ten who were famous for their knowledge of tafīr among the Companions: the four Khulafā ar-Rāshidūn [3] 'Abdullāh ibn Mas'ūd, 'Abdullāh ibn 'Abbās, Ubay ibn Ka'ab, Zayd ibn Thābit, Aboo Mūsā al-Ash'arī and'Abdullāh ibn Zubayr. As for the Khulafā 'Alī ibn Abī Tālib has the most narrations amongst them; as for the other three, there reports are very rare to find, since they died relatively earlier..."[4] In other words, the tafsīr narrations of Abī Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthmān are not as common due to the fact that they were not compiled because of their relatively early deaths. Also, during their time, there was no great need to interpret much of the Qur'ān, as the Companions were many and wide-spread. During later times, however, such as during the Caliphate of 'Alī, the need to interpret the Qur'ān was much greater than before. There were others besides these ten Companions who were well known for their knowledge of tafsīr, such as Anas ibn Mālik, Abū Hurayrah, Jābir ibn 'Abdillāh and'Aa'ishah, except that they were not in the same category as the ten whom as-Suyūtī mentioned. The most knowledgeable Companion with regards to the interpretation of the Qur'ān is considered to be Ibn 'Abbās. 'Abdullāh ibn 'Umar said, "Ibn 'Abbās is the most knowledgeable of this ummah concerning the revelation given to Muhammad (saws)."[5] This is due to the fact that the Prophet (saws) himself prayed for Ibn 'Abbās, for he (saws) said, "O Allāh! Give him the knowledge of the Book, and of Wisdom!"and in another narration, "O Allāh! Give him the knowledge of the religion, and interpretation."[6] He used to accompany the Prophet (saws) during his youth, as he was his (saws) cousin. Also, his aunt Maymūnah was a wife of the Prophet (saws) Ibn 'Abbās was held in great esteem by the Companions, despite his age (he was only thirteen when the Prophet (saws) passed away). 'Umar used to let Ibn 'Abbās enter into the meetings of the older Companions, so some of them complained, "Why is it that you let him enter, even though we have sons the same age as him (whom you do not allow to enter)?" 'Umar answered, "Since he is amongst the most knowledgeable of you!" So he called them one day, to prove to them this statement, and he asked them, "What do you think of the verse, When the help of Allāh comes, and the Conquest [110:1] ? Some of them did not reply, while others said, "We have been commanded to thank Allāh and ask for His forgiveness whenever we are helped and aided to victory."'Umar asked Ibn 'Abbās, "And do you think the same also, O Ibn 'Abbās?"He answered, "No!" 'Umar asked, "Then what do you say." He replied, "This is an indication to the Prophet (saws) from Allāh that his life is about to end. The verse means, When the help of Allāh comes, and the Conquest then this is a sign of your approaching death, therefore, Glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask for Forgiveness, for verily He is ever accepting repentance! [110:3] 'Umar said, "I don't know any other meaning to this except what you have said!"[7] The narrations of Ibn 'Abbās, along with those of'Abdullāh ibn Mas'ūd, 'Alī ibn Abī Tālib, and Ubay ibn Ka'ab, are the most numerous narrations from Companions that are to be found in tafsīr literature. Each one of them established centres of learning during their lifetimes, and left many students among the Successors after their deaths. The Companions did not leave narrations concerning every single verse in the Qur'ān. This is because the people of their time understood much of what the Qur'ān discussed, and only where the possibility for misinterpretation or ignorance existed did the Companions give their own interpretation of the relevant verse. Such interpretation typically consisted of explaining a verse in clearer words, or explaining a particular phrase or word with pre-Islamic poetry. Another characteristic of this time is the relatively trivial differences in tafsīr as compared to later generations. C. The Period of The SuccessorsAfter the generation of the Companions, the students of the Companions took over the responsibility of explaining the Qur'ān. The Successors used the same sources to interpret the Qur'ān that the Companions did, except that they added to the list of sources the interpretations of the Companions. They understood that an interpretation given by the Companions of the Prophet (saws) could not be compared to an interpretation of any person after them. Therefore, the sources for interpreting the Qur'ān during this generation were: the Qur'ān, the statements of the Prophet (saws) that the Companions had informed them of, the Companions' personal reasoning (ijtihād) of the verse, the Arabic language, their own personal reasoning (ijtihād), and Judaeo-Christian tradition.After the death of the Prophet (saws), the Companions spread out to different Muslim cities in order to teach people the religion of Islām. Each one taught many Successors, most of whom became scholars in their own right in due time. Historically, three primary learning centres were established in the Muslim empire: Makkah, Madīnah and Kūfah. Each of these areas became leading centres of knowledge during the period of the Successors, including the knowledge of tafsīr. In Makkah, where Ibn 'Abbās had taught, his primary students became the scholars of this area. In particular, Sa'īd ibn Jubayr (d. 95 A.H.), Mujāhid ibn Jabr (d. 104 A.H.), 'Ikrimah (d. 104 A.H.), Tāwūs (d. 106 A.H.), and 'Atā ibn Rabāh (d. 114 A.H.) became leading authorities in this field, and their names are still to be found in many works of tafsīr. In Madīnah, the influence of 'Ubay ibn Ka'ab was the strongest in the arena of tafsīr, and his students Abū al-'Aaliyah (d. 90 A.H.), Muhammad ibn Ka'ab al-Quradī (d. 118 A.H.) and Zayd ibn Aslam (d. 136 A.H.) emerged as the scholars of tafsīr in Madīnah during this period. In Kūfah, 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ūd left behind his great legacy to 'Alqamah ibn Qays (d. 61 A.H.), Masrūq (d. 63 A.H.), and al-Aswad ibn Yazīd (d. 74 A.H.). Other Successors from Kūfah who were famous for their knowledge of' tafsīr were: 'Aamir ash-Sha'bī (d. 109 A.H.), al-Hasan al-Basrī (d. 110 A.H.) and Qatādah as-Sadūsī (d. 117A.H.) During this period, greater emphasis was placed on Judaeo-Christian tradition (known as Isrā īliyāt), and because of this, many of these narrations entered into Islāmic literature. Most of the people who narrated these traditions were Jews and Christians who had embraced Islām, such as 'Abdullāh ibn Salaam (he was a Companion, d. 43 A.H.), Ka'ab al-Ahbār (he embraced Islām after the death of the Prophet (saws) and did not see him; he died 32 A.H.), Wahb ibn Munnabih (d. 110 A.H.), and 'Abdul Mālik ibn Jurayj (d. 150 A.H.). Much of the Judaeo-Christian traditions prevalent in tafsīr literature can be traced back to these scholars. Also during this time, the differences in interpreting the Qur'ān were much greater than during the time of the Companions. Another characteristic of this period is the increase of forged narrations attributed to the Prophet (saws). This was due to the political and religious strife that was rampant throughout the Muslim territories at that time. Lastly, the quantity of verses for which narrations exist from the Successors is greater than that for the Companions, since more verses needed explanation than during the time of the Companions. Footnotes1 Reported by al-Bukhārī2 Ibn Taymiyyah, p. 12. 3 A term that means 'The rightly-guided caliphs', used to denote the first four caliphs, Abū Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmān and 'Alī. 4 as-Suyūtī, v. 2, p. 239. 5 adh-Dhahabī, v. 1, p. 72 (the reference to adh-Dhahabī, whenever it appears in this chapter, refers to Dr. ad-Adh-Dhahabī's Tafsīr wa al-Mufasirūn, unless otherwise specified). 6 Reported by al-Bukhārī. 7 Reported by al-Bukhārī. |
   
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