The DEEN in BYTES Series | TAFSEER101 Uloom ul-Quran – part 2:

Success and happiness of a Mu’min in this life and the next depend largely on his understanding, internalization, and application of the concepts contained in the Qur’an. 

However, the depth of comprehension of the Qur’an’s meanings varies for each person due to natural differences in intelligence. This variation existed even among the Sahaabah, in spite of the Qur’an’s clarity of expression and revelation in seven different ‘dialects’.

Moreover, Allaah the Most Wise, chose to place generalities in the Qur’an, some of which He later explained in other verses, while some he explained only to the Prophet (saw).

إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآنَهُ فَإِذَا قَرَأْنَاهُ فَاتَّبِعْ قُرْآنَهُ ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ

“Indeed, upon Us is its collection and its recitation. So when We have recited it, then follow its recitation. Then upon Us is its clarification.” (Al-Qiyaamah 75:17-19)

Therefore, it was the Prophet’s job to explain the Qur’an to his followers by his actions, and his statements. And Allah said;

وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

“And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.” (An-Nahl 16:44)

Consequently, the Sahaabah turned to Rasulullah (saw) whenever possible during his lifetime for the tafseer (explanation, understanding, interpretation) of the Qur’an.

In some incidents, the Prophet (saw) explained the Qur’an by the Qur’aan, demonstrating the first step in the method of understanding and interpretation of the Qur’an. After his death, the Sahaabah turned to those among themselves who were more gifted in understanding the Qur’an and who had been able to spend more time with the Prophet (saw) for interpretation and explanation.

Among the most noted are: The four Righteous Caliphs, Saiyidatina Aa’ishah, Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ood, Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbaas, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, Zayd ibn Thaabit, Aboo Moosaa al-Ash‘aree, Abdullaah ibn az-Zubayr, Anas ibn Maalik, Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar, Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullaah, and ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas.

Within twenty-five years after Rasulullah’s death, the Sahaabah carried Islaam to all corners of the world, toppling the empires of Persia and Byzantine. Wherever Muslim armies stopped, some Sahaabah would settle and began teaching the recitation and interpretation of the Qur’an. Knowledge of tafseer spread throughout the Muslim world, and centers of Qur’anic learning sprung up everywhere.

Among the people who gathered around the sahaabah were outstanding individuals who remained as students and absorbed their knowledge. These are known as Taabi‘oon. Each sahaabee carried with him a portion of knowledge, some overlapped with others and some did not. Consequently, some students traveled to other Islamic centers to study under other Sahaabah, while others stayed with their teachers until their deaths.

(to be continued – main ref: Bilal Philips, Usool At-Tafseer, 1997)