Ulumul Quran - Final Exam

tafseer bil ishaarah

(based on reflection, not science/academics-based) interpretation of the Quran based on both apparent and hidden meanings, is given to those with istiqaamah/piety whom Allah has opened their hearts (gifted)

Proofs of those who allow it

- Ibn Abbas and Umar رضي الله عنهما in Surah Nasr: they were the only ones who understood that it was announcing the passing of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - Abu Bakr during a khutbah when the Prophet said Allah gave His slave a choice, and Abu Bakr immediately understood it was talking about the Prophet

Sayings of the scholars on the permissibility of tafseer birra'y (refuting of the haters)

- Ijtihad is allowed (hadith of whether you're right or wrong you still get rewarded) - 5 proofs by Suyuti, p.112 - Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained what was necessary, rest we can derive from the intellect → لعلهم يتفكرون - Sahabah were hesitant but didn't shy away from speaking up when needed → Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه speaking up about كلالة in surah nisa

4 bare-bone requirements to do tafseer (by Zarkushi and reiterated by Suyuti in Itqan)

- transmitted from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, understanding authenticity - marfoo3 narrations of the sahabah → thus we know that's how they learned tafseer - Strong grasp of Arabic all-inclusive/wide overview and understanding of religion: principles, etc

Know this about Abdullah b Abbas رضي الله عنه

called tarjumaanil Quran and habrul ummah, nephew of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, dua for him, incident: brought by Umar to gathering of elders about ithaa jaa a nasrullaahi wal fath, incident: explain kaanataa ratqan fafataqnaahumaa so ibn umar said go to ibn abbaas who said the fatq is the rain, incident: Teachers: Umar b Al Khattab, Ubay b Kab, Ali b Talib, Zaid b Thabit Some students: Saeed b Jubair, Ataa b Abi Rabaa, Ikrima mawlaa ibn abbas

3 opinions on the difference between tafseer and ta'weel

classics: same meaning متأخّرين: tafseer is birriwaayah and ta'weel is all other types other: ta'weel is explanation of the words, tafseer is explanation of the context

غرائب التفسير and examples

know seven of em, see tibyan summary doc for all of em

ta'weel definition

linguistic: الرجوع

15 sciences the mufassir must MASTER

lughah, nahw, sarf, ishtiqaq/etymology, bayaan/expressions, ma3ani/logicrhetoric, badee3/context, ilmul qiraa'aat, aqeedah, usul ul fiqh, asbabunnuzul, abrogation, fiqh, clarifying hadith, ilmul mawhibah

tafseer definition

making something clear, science of researching and understanding the deeper meaning of the Quran

Know this about Abdullah b Masud

of the first six to become Muslim, older than ibn Abbas, served the Propeht صلى الله عليه وسلم, well-educated and well-mannered, TARBIYAH of the Prohpet صلى الله عليه وسلم, got more narrations than the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Speciality is sababunnuzul and the seven ahruf, if there was someone who knew more than me I'd go on a camel to him.

Extreme tafseer of Shiah + twelver shiah tafasir + sabee'ah + batiniyyah

pushing their own political agendas, many dif sects. Ibn Saba', a Jewish man who accepted Islam during the Ali-Muawiya conflict and gathered a bunch of people to side with Ali against Muawiya also claiming that Ali was meant to be given nubuwwah and that Jibreel عليه السلام made a mistake, Ali رضي الله عنه launched an attack on them after hearing this. Some of these shiah oppose sunnah+jamaa3ah by saying Ali was better than the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the other khulafaa'/sahabah and thus more deserving than all of them. Some go as far as to curse all of the above. *see outline for twelver and sabee'ah interpretations

tafseer bilma'thoor

tafseer done based solely on narrations

Most well-known sahabi mufassirs

the rightly-guided caliphs (first three had short khilaafahs and were older which is why ali has more narrations), ibn masood, ibn abbas, ubayy b kab, zaid b thabit, abu musa al ashari, abdullah b zubair

2 levels of tafseer

ulyaa - authoritative educated level dunyaa - non authoritative reflective عوام level

3 sources of bil ma'thoor

Quran sunnah words of the sahabah, and some tabiis who we know def got it from non-ra'y sources

Sayings of the scholars on the permissibility of tafseer birra'y (fans and their 5 proofs)

1. Allah made tadabbur/ijtihad an act of ibadah ليدّبّروا آياته 2. Allah divides people into scholars and lay people, so the scholars are the one who can do extraction ولو ردّوه إلى الرسول وإلى أولي الأمر منهم 3. If ijtihad isn't allowed, that would deregulate a loooot of rulings 4. The sahabah differed → shows that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم left a framework for them to use → we can use 5. The dua he made for ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه

2 opinions of the scholars on its permissibility:

1. NOT allowed 2. Yes, but... Has to be rooted in reality Has to maintain integrity of the text Has to be studied from scholars Avoid taking it to the foolish ones

Sayings of the scholars on the permissibility of tafseer birra'y (haters 4 proofs)

1. You're speaking on behalf of Allah w/o knowledge وأن تقولوا على الله ما لا تعلمون 2. Preparing seat in Jahannam (hadith mentioned prev) 3. No one other than the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم should do it 4. Even the sahabah and tabiin were hesitant, so who are we to try

Conditions for the acceptance of tafseer ishari

Doesn't contradict outward meaning/style of the Quran Not authoritative Not far-fetched Doesn't contradict law, logic, or reason Cannot be too confusing for universal understanding

Meaning of the hadith that came regarding tafseer ishari

Faryabi narrated from Hasan from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: لكل آية ظهر وبطن (see textbook). Every ayah has a literal and hidden, every harf has a surface-level understanding, and every surface-level حد understanding has a higher level of understanding... Tabarani also has this from ibn Masud.

Reasons for weakness in tafseer birriwaayah p. 94

Sahih and weak narrations could be mixed up Could be filled with israeliyyaat and proven baatil Deviant groups invent and attribute to sahabah, push own agendas Some groups create lies attributed to the sahabah, destroy islam from within

Understanding the hadith of فليتبوّأ مقعده من النار, p.101

Saying something about Quran that isn't know to the sahabah or tabi3een Saying su'm about Quran that isn't true STRONGER Hadith of Jundub: "Hawa" = what suits one's desires, not based in sound sources Ibn atiyyah: a person may look for meaning so he looks into meaning (linguistic, usuli, etc) without looking into what the scholars say about it. In conclusion: You have to have the correct intellectual process, you have to have been built in all those sciences and not speak of your own opinions

Accessibility of tafseer

Tafseer everyone should know (layman reading and reflection) Linguistics: in-depth knowledge of Arabic (Qalam Y1+2) Extrapolating meanings and understanding (post Qalam) Only Allah knows

Examples of corrupt tafsir ishari

When they say firawn refers to hard hearts Anything you rely on anything other than Allah = عصاك in وأن ألق عصاك Suhoor: when you do istighfar

Tafseer birra'y/diraayah

analytical, used w other sciences to extrapolate. Is: ijtihad built on sound principles and sound foundations. Not: desires or whatever comes to a person's mind

3 types of tafseer

بالمأثور/بالرواية بالرأي/بالدراية بالإشارة

Terminologies in the hadith that came regarding tafseer ishari

ظهر vs بطن: words/terms vs interpretations حد: rulings of halal and haram مطلع: promises and threats

Types of tafseer birra'y

محمود Praiseworthy: ALLOWED what is in agreement with the shariah, founded in knowledge of the language, مذموم Blameworthy: NOT ALLOWED done without knowledge, based on desire, misguided ideologies. Example: claiming إمام is the plural of أمهات