The need for tafsir to understand the Qur’anic text
الحاجة إلى التفسير لفهم النص القرآني
لقد شاع بين المسلمين تفسير القرآن وتدريسه منذ عهد رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم إلى اليوم ، ولو لا الحاجة إلى التفسير لفهم النص القرآني ، وتيسيره إلى الأذهان لم يشع بين المسلمين أمر التفسير منذ عهد رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم إلى الوقت الحاضر إلى هذه الدرجة.
وقد كان رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم أول من فسر القرآن ، وإلى هذه الحقيقة تشير النصوص التالية :
The need for tafsir to understand the Qur’anic text
The interpretation and teaching of the Qur’an has been widespread among Muslims from the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) until today. If there had not been a need for tafsir to understand the Qur’anic text and make it easier for minds to grasp, the matter of tafsir would not have become so widespread among Muslims from the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) until the present day to this extent.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was the first to interpret the Qur’an, and the following texts point to this reality:
١ ـ سئل رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم عن السبيل في قوله تعالى : (وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً) فقال صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم : «الزاد والراحلة». [١]
٢ ـ وسألت عائشة رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم عن الكسوة الواجبة في كفارة الأيمان في قوله تعالى : (فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعامُ عَشَرَةِ مَساكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ ما تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ) [٢] فقال صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم : «عباءة لكل مسكين». [٣]
1 — The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was asked about the meaning of as-sabeel in the saying of Allah, the Most High:
“And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House — for whoever is able to find thereto a way.” (Āl-‘Imrān 3:97, M. H. Shakir)
He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “It is provision and a means of transport.”【1】
2 — ʿA’ishah asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) about the obligatory clothing in the expiation of oaths in the saying of Allah, the Most High:
“The expiation of it is the feeding of ten poor men out of the middling (food) you feed your own families with, or their clothing.” (al-Mā’idah 5:89, M. H. Shakir)
He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “A cloak for each poor person.”【3】
٣ ـ وسأله رجل من هذيل عن قوله تعالى : (وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعالَمِينَ). [٤]
قال : يا رسول الله ، من تركه فقد كفر؟
فقال صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم : «من تركه لا يخاف عقوبته ، ولا يرجو ثوابه». [٥] وهو بمعنى الإنكار والجحود لهذه الفريضة الإسلامية التي هي من ضروريات الإسلام.
3 — A man from the tribe of Huthayl asked him about the saying of Allah, the Most High:
“And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House — for whoever is able to find thereto a way; and whoever disbelieves, then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, above need of the worlds.” (Āl-‘Imrān 3:97, M. H. Shakir)
He said: “O Messenger of Allah, does whoever abandons it become a disbeliever?”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) replied: “Whoever abandons it without fearing its punishment and without hoping for its reward.”【5】 — meaning denial and rejection of this Islamic obligation, which is among the necessities of Islam.
[١]الإتقان ٤ : ٢٥٠.
[٢]المائدة ٥ : ٨٩.
[٣]الإتقان ٤ : ٢٥٣.
[٤]آل عمران ٣ : ٩٧.
[٥]الإتقان ٤ : ٢٥٠.
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٤ ـ وسئل عن قوله تعالى : (كَما أَنْزَلْنا عَلَى الْمُقْتَسِمِينَ * الَّذِينَ جَعَلُوا الْقُرْآنَ عِضِينَ) [١] ما عضين؟ فقال صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم : «آمنوا ببعض وكفروا ببعض». [٢]
٥ ـ وسئل عن قوله تعالى : (فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللهُ أَنْ يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلامِ) [٣] كيف يشرح صدره؟
فقال صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم : «نور يقذف به ، فينشرح له وينفسح».
قالوا : فهل لذلك من أمارة يعرف بها؟
قال صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم : «الإنابة إلى دار الخلود ، والتجافي عن دار الغرور ، والاستعداد للموت قبل لقاء الموت». [٤]
4 — He was asked about the saying of Allah, the Most High:
“As We revealed (punishment) on those who divided [their scripture], those who made the Qur’an into parts.” (al-Ḥijr 15:90–91, M. H. Shakir)
What does ʿideen mean?
He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “They believed in some of it and disbelieved in some of it.”【2】
5 — He was asked about the saying of Allah, the Most High:
“Therefore (for) whomsoever Allah intends that He would guide him aright, He expands his breast for Islam.” (al-Anʿām 6:125, M. H. Shakir)
How does He expand his breast?
He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “It is a light which is cast into him, so his breast is expanded and opened.”
They said: Is there a sign by which it is known?
He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “Turning toward the abode of eternity, withdrawing from the abode of delusion, and preparing for death before meeting death.”【4】
٦ ـ وروى البخاري عن عدي بن حاتم ، قال : حين نزل قوله تعالى : (كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ) [٥] قال : قلت : يا رسول الله ، ما الخيط الأبيض من الخيط الأسود ، أهما الخيطان؟ فقال صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم : «هو سواد الليل وبياض النهار». [٦]
وقد تضمنت جملة من الموسوعات الحديثية أبوابا خاصة بما ورد عن رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم في تفسير القرآن.
واشتهر نفر من الصحابة بتفسير القرآن ، مثل : عبدالله بن عباس ، وابن مسعود ، وكان الإمام علي بن أبي طالب عليهالسلام إمام المفسرين بعد رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم. وإليه يرجع عبدالله بن عباس في التفسير وجملة واسعة من الصحابة والتابعين لهم بإحسان.
6 — Al-Bukhari narrated from ʿAdi ibn Ḥātim that when the saying of Allah, the Most High, was revealed:
“And eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn.” (al-Baqarah 2:187, M. H. Shakir)
he said: I said: “O Messenger of Allah, what is the white thread from the black thread? Are they (actual) threads?”
He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “It is the darkness of night and the whiteness of day.”【6】
A number of hadith compilations have included dedicated chapters on what was narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in the tafsir of the Qur’an.
A group of companions became well known for interpreting the Qur’an, such as ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbās and Ibn Masʿūd, and Imam ʿAli ibn Abī Ṭālib (peace be upon him) was the leader of the interpreters after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbās and a large number of companions and their righteous followers referred back to him in matters of tafsir.