Imam al-Suyuti stressed that to qualify as a Mufassir, one must master 15 branches of knowledge...

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A Brief Guide Towards Understanding the Quran
‫ﻗﺎل‬n:ٔ‫آ‬َ‫ْﻄ‬‫ﺧ‬�‫آ‬ ْ‫ﺪ‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ َ‫ﺎب‬ َ‫ﺻ‬�‫آ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ِ‫ﻳ‬�‫آ‬َ‫ﺮ‬ِ� ِ‫ن‬ٓ‫آ‬ْ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ﻘ‬‫اﻟ‬ ِ‫ﰲ‬ َ‫ل‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻗ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻣ‬
, then even if he reaches theopinionr from his ownī“Whoever renders tafs
correct meaning, he will still be considered to have erred.”
‫ﻋﺒﺎس‬ ‫�ﻦ‬‫ا‬ ‫ﻋﻦ‬ ‫اﻟﱰﻣﺬي‬ ٍ‫ﺔ‬َ‫ﻳ‬‫ا‬َ‫و‬ِ‫ر‬ ِ‫ﰲ‬َ‫و‬c�ٓ‫آ‬ ‫رﺳﻮل‬ ‫ن‬ٔ‫آ‬n‫ﻗﺎل‬:
ِ‫ﺎر‬�‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬ َ‫ﻦ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ ُ‫ﻩ‬َ‫ﺪ‬َ‫ﻌ‬ْ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ﻣ‬ �‫آ‬�‫ﻮ‬َ‫ب‬َ‫ت‬َ‫ﻴ‬ْ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ ٍ ْ‫ﲅ‬ِ� ِ ْ‫َﲑ‬‫ﻐ‬ِ‫ﺑ‬ ِ‫ن‬ٓ‫آ‬ْ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ﻘ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ِ‫ﰲ‬ َ‫ل‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻗ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻣ‬
n without knowledge, then let him make theā“Whoever interprets the Qur’
i]z[Tirmid”Fire of hell his abode.
Statements of the Mujtahid Imams
Imam Malik was asked, “Can knowledge be taken from a man who
has not [to his credit any] seeking [of knowledge] nor sitting [with
scholars]?” He said, “No.” [Reported by al-Suyuti in Isaf al-Mubatta']
Imam al-Shafi`i said, “Whoever takes knowledge from books loses
the regulations.” (man akhazda al-`ilma min al-kutubi dhayya`a al-
aHkaama). [Reported by al-Nawawi in the introduction to al-Majmu`]
‘Abdullah, the son of Imam Ahmad, said, “al-Mansur asked my father
to discuss [something] with Ibnu Abi Du’ad, but he turned his face
away, saying, ‘How can I discuss with someone whom I have not seen
at the door of a single scholar?!’” [Reported by Qadi `Iyad in al-Ilma‘]
A Classification of the Exegetes
4 Caliphs, ‘Abd Allah b. Mas‘ud, ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas, Ubayy b. Ka’b, Zaid
b. Thabit, Abu Musa al-Ash ‘ari and ‘Abd Allah b. Zubayr.
Much has been transmitted from `Ali, for as Ma‘mar reports, from Wahb
b. ‘Abd Allah that Abu al-Tufail said: “I was present when ‘Ali said in a
sermon,
“By God, ask me, for I am certainly able to answer all your questions. Ask
me about the Book of God for I am most knowledgeable about every
single verse therein. I know when it was revealed, at night or during the
day, and where, on the mountains or the plains”.
Another report is from Abu Bakr b. ‘Ayyash from Nusair b. Sulaiman al-
A‘mash from his father, who heard ‘Ali say:

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“I know full well the time and the circumstances around which every single
verse was revealed. My Lord has indeed, granted me an intelligent mind,
and an inquiring tongue.”
As for Ibnu Mas‘ud, more has been narrated from him than from ‘Ali. Thus
Ibnu Jarir and others quote him as saying,
“By Him, besides Whom there is no other deity, I have full knowledge of
every verse, and the time and the circumstances of its revelation. If I learnt
of a place, accessible to me, where someone more knowledgeable than I
lived, I would certainly seek him out.”
As for Ibnu ‘Abbas, he is the interpreter of the Quran, par excellence, for
whom the Prophetn himself had invoked the following prayer:
“God! grant him understanding of the religion and teach him the
interpretation of the Quran!” He also prayed thus: “O God! Grant him
wisdom!”, and: “O God! teach him wisdom!”
Bukhari reports through Sa‘id b. Jubair from Ibnu ‘Abbas who said: “ ‘Umar
was in the habit of including me in the company of the seniors of Badr and
that displeased one into uttering: ‘Why do you include this person among
us; we have sons his age!’
‘Umar replied: “he is of the calibre of those who taught you.”And one day
he invited them and me, I believe, to prove this to them. He said, ‘What is
your opinion with regard to the verse:
ُ ْ‫َﴫ‬‫ﻧ‬ َ‫ﺎء‬َ� ‫ا‬َ‫ذ‬
�
‫ا‬ُ‫ﺢ‬ْ‫ت‬َ‫ﻔ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬��‫ﻠ‬‫ل‬‫ا‬
Some said: “We're being instructed to praise God and seek His absolution
when He assists us and grants us victory.' Others however, remained
silent, and said nothing.
He then turned to me and said: Is this what you say as well? O Ibnu
‘Abbas?’ I said , ‘No’. He then said: “What do you say?” I said: ‘It portends
to the Prophetn his own death. He then said: the verse: ‘When God’s
help arrives, and with it, victory is a sign of your impending death. And
therefore, praise your Lord and seek His forgiveness; He is indeed most
forgiving.’ ‘Umar then said: “I know it only as you have explained.”

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Imam al-Suyuti stressed that to qualify as a Mufassir,
one must master 15 branches of knowledge:
1. ‘ilm al-lughah (philology of language)
2. ‘ilm al-nahw (syntax - a branch of Arabic grammar)
3. ‘ilm al-sarf (etymology)
4. Knowledge of ishtiqaq (word derivatives)
5. ‘ilm al-ma‘ani (knowledge of semantics)
6. ‘ilm al-bayan (knowledge of figures of speech)
7. ‘ilm al-badi‘ (knowledge of rhetoric)
Thus, seven of the disciplines or branches of knowledge
one must necessarily master concerns the intricate
branches of the classical Arabic language.
8. ‘ilm al-qira‘ah (recitation of the Quran)
9. ‘ilm al-’aqaa’id (knowledge of the fundamentals of
Faith). The Sifat [qualities] of Almighty Allah should be
interpreted, so as to negate the possibility of establishing a
physical form to the being of Allah.
�‫اﻟﺮ‬ْ‫ﺮ‬َ‫ﻌ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ َ‫ﲆ‬َ� ُ‫ﻦ‬ٰ‫ـ‬َ ْ‫ﲪ‬ٰ‫ى‬َ‫ﻮ‬َ‫ﺘ‬ ْ�‫ﺳ‬‫ا‬ ِ‫ش‬
….the Merciful established Himself over the Throne…
(Ta Ha 20:5)
that’ah attributed Himself with the IstawaAll“said,MalikImam
befits Him. It is invalid to say how; and how does not apply to Him.”
characteristics are descriptions of the created. Only the-The how
and occupying a place.created can be described with sitting, settling
, among them are to subjugate, tohas 15 meaningsistawaThe word
oriented meanings-preserve, and to maintain. It also implies physically
It is blasphemy to applysuch as to sit, to settle and to stabilize.
.meanings of the creations such as to sitto physicalhaAllto

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are meanings that comply withsubjugateandpreserveThe words
explained theushayriyyQ-Al.the religion and the Arabic language
yah as, to preserve, subdue and maintain.Ain this'aistawmeaning of
yahAsits on the Throne as this belieshaAllbe believed thatIt cannot
“Do not liken Allah to any of Hiswhich means,lhNa-ratuluSof74
“And the slaves will bemeans,48yahA,miharat IbruScreation.”
.”resurrected to face the judgment of Allah, the One, the Subduer
h created the Throne as an indication of His Powera“Allsaid,m AliyaIm
-AlrsuManuAb(Related byand not to take it as a place for himself.”
)diyyaBaghd
The primary position of the ‘Asha‘airah is tafwid as was the position of
the salaf. The position of ta’wil is a secondary position which is zhanni
(speculative) and is not asserted to be the actual meaning, the intent of
ta’wil is only to deter the simple mind from the deviancy of the
anthropomorphists.
As for interpreting istiwa as istawla’ (dominated by His omnipotence)
then it has a basis in the Arabic language which is attested to by
the mufassireen and the linguists and even an imam of the salaf,
a major grammarian and expert of the Arabic language who was
considered to be of sound and good belief, the Mufassir, Imam Al-
Zajjaj (241H-311H).
In his book Jawharat Al-Tawhid, the Maliki scholar Burhan al-Din
Ibrahim al-Laqqani al-Misri Azhari (d. 1041 H) said, “
‫ﺍﻟﺗﺷﺑﻳﻬﺎ‬ ‫ﺃﻭﻫﻡ‬ ‫ﻧﺹ‬ ‫ﻭﻛﻝ‬ * ‫ﺗﻧﺯﻳﻬﺎ‬ ‫ﻭﺭﻡ‬ ‫ﻓﻭﺽ‬ ‫ﺃﻭ‬ ‫ﺍﻭﻟﻪ‬
Any text that leads one to imagine the similitude of Allah to His
created beings (gives the illusion of anthropomorphism),
should be treated either through ta’wil (interpret) or tafwid
(leave to Allah) and exalt Allah the Almighty above His
creation.”

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10. al-nasikh wa al-mansukh (knowledge of commandments that have
subsequently been abrogated or changed)
11. ‘ilm al-fiqh (knowledge of the Islamic Jurisprudence)
12. usul al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence)
13. ‘ilm al-hadith – (knowledge of the hadith which happen to be a
commentary on certain verses of the Quran)
14. ‘ilm al-mawhibah (the divine given ability to interpret/ talent or the
gifted understanding, bestowed by Allah upon His selected and pious
slaves)
15. asbab al-nuzul (the particular circumstance which became the cause
of the Quranic revelation)
Example: It is reported that ‘Uthman b. Maz’un and`Amr b. Ma`dikarib
would cite the verse:
ِّٰ‫اﻟﺼ‬ ‫ا‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻠ‬ِ َ‫ﲻ‬َ‫و‬ ‫ا‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ن‬َ‫ﻣ‬ٓ‫آ‬ َ‫�ﻦ‬ِ ��‫ا‬ َ‫ﲆ‬َ� َ‫ﺲ‬ْ‫ي‬َ‫ﻟ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬‫ـ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﳰ‬ِ‫ﻓ‬ ٌ‫ﺎح‬َ‫ن‬ُ‫ﺟ‬ ِ‫ﺎت‬َ�‫ا‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻤ‬ِ‫ﻌ‬َ‫ﻃ‬
There shall be no sin (imputed) unto those who who have attained
to faith and do righteous deeds for what they may have eaten (in the
past).
in their claim that wine is permissible using the verse as a proof.
But if they had known the revelatory context of the verse they
would not have said that when wine was declared unlawful
people asked: What of those who died in the path of God but
drank wine which is impure, as well.? In response, this verse
was revealed. (Ahmad, Nasāi)