Quran Tafseer and Translation| Updated Guide
The first question is raised in our mind every time when hearing about Quran Tafseer. And, is What is the Tafseer of the Quran? after reading this blog you get answers about Quran translation and Tafseer.
The word Tafseer comes from the root word faster which means to display or uncover something. Now, when one is going to uncover or display something, which was previously somewhat covered or hard to understand, then it will be like clarifying or ‘putting forward’ that thing. So this leads to explaining what the thing is actually based on. In the Quran, the word Tafseer is used as a next-level explanation for this word.
Allah (SWT) says
Translation: ” For any parable they bring, I will bring you the truth and a better explanation (Tafseer)”
So here the term ‘tafseerun’ means to explain. To the extent of Ulum al-Quran, this term is defined as a branch of knowledge by which the Quran is comprehended, its meanings expounded, and its laws and points of wisdom derived.
Now, this is the basic definition of Tafseer. But there are a few questions one c think of, for example:
Why is Tafseer important and even required, when we have the translation?
Where does the Tafseer come from? What is the history behind it?
How to learn Tafseer?
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Why is Quran Tafseer Important?
There are a number of reasons why it is so important for knowledgeable people (Ulama) to provide us with the Tafseer of the Quran. This is important for all Muslims whether they be English-speaking or Arabic-speaking. Everyone needs to understand the Quran and without understanding and pondering upon the meanings of it, it is impossible to understand all of it.
The Arabic-speaking people might think that they do not need any explanation of the Quran, but they will be in grave error because this is not the case. Firstly, the language of the Quran is a special Arabic that was spoken at the time of revelation. This language is no longer spoken that way.
Also, some specific Arabic words can have multiple meanings, so if one does not research the meaning and scenario behind a certain word and the time of the revelation of that particular verse, then it might be wrongly interpreted.
Although the major part of the Quran is very much clear and self-explanatory and needs not to be explained, but yet there are other parts that might lead to some major confusion if the person does not know, who the verse refers to and at what time period did this take place? This is known as the term Azbaab un-Nuzul. To know all of this implies that one must seek knowledge of the Quran from the proper sources of Tafseer.
Who Can Write Quran Tafseer?
A Tafseer cannot be written by someone without the mere knowledge of the deen. One cannot pick up Allah’s book and start to interpret its meanings unless he understands it. The Quran is what is said by Allah alone and if someone misinterprets the Quran then they are basically attributing something to Allah’s speech which Allah (SWT) never said. This is indeed a big and grave sin, for Allah (SWT) has stated in the Quran”
Translation: “Who can be more wicked than one who invents a lie against Allah?..” (6:93),
Translation: “And yet among men are such as dispute about Allah without knowledge and flow every Satan obstinate in rebellion”(22:3), and
Translation: “While they have no knowledge thereof. They follow but a conjecture and verily conjecture avails nothing against Truth.” (53:28)
So, you see, there is a clear WARNING by Allah, again and again, not to talk about Allah without sheer knowledge.
When Quran Tafseer was Actually Needed | The History of Tafseer
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the most knowledgeable and living example of the Quran. There is no second opinion on that. The hadith of lady Ayesha (ra) states that “He (SAW) was a living Quran”. This means that at the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), He used to teach the Quran to others by simply acting upon it word-to-word and live the life according to the Quran and then others would observe Him and do the same.
This leads to the discussion that when the Tafseer of Quran was actually needed? After the Prophet (PBUH) passed away, when the sahabah moved around the world to teach Muslims about Islam and Quran, they started to do Tafseer of the Quran to make the people understand the religion better.
The sahabah though did not have any differences in the interpretations of the meanings of the Quran. Surely they had different methods of describing Tafseer, some chose different examples over others, others used some different words to define the same thing, but these things never disputed the real meaning of any Quranic verse or surah.
The sahabah used to follow a certain methodology for the Tafseer and they passed the same methodology to the next generation and this is how different Tafseer of the Quran are built.
The Sahabas used to follow the basic methodologies which can be categorized into three categories:
First Method: they used to try to understand the Quran in light of other verses of the Quran
Second Method: they used to understand the Quran in the light of the Prophetic traditions that they had preserved with them carefully
Third Method: they used to understand the Quran in the light of the Arabic language.
The main concept to understand is that they feared saying anything about the Quran with their own opinion because they knew very well what a grave sin it would be upon them. As Abu Bakr (ra) said when asked a question about a verse from the Quran, “What earth would carry me and what sky would shade me if I should speak about the Quran with my opinion or by something I do not know”. And Umar (ra) is known to have said, “Beware of using your opinions in religious matters”.
So, as of now, we have mentioned a little bit of compact detail about Tafseer of the Quran. Although it is a very vast topic to be covered in a single article the conclusion we get from the above-mentioned detail is that we should learn the Quran Tafseer along with the Quran Translation in English or whatever is your regional language. It is important to understand the message of the Quran in the proper context. May Allah SWT help us all to get a complete understanding of the Quran. Ask from Online Madrasa Teacher Now?