Muqaddimah — Ibn Kathir’s methodology of tafsir

Arabic source (the opening)

الحمد لله الذي افتتح كتابه بالحمد فقال: ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ﴾ … وختم بالنبي الأمي العربي المكي الهادي لأوضح السبل، أرسله إلى جميع خلقه من الإنس والجن

Imam Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) opens his book by praising Allah, who began His Book with praise, as He said: “All praise is due to Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light” (al-An‘am 6:1). He then mentions the greatness of Allah and that He sent the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the final Prophet, to all of humankind and the jinn.

Whoever this Qur’an reaches — whether Arab or non-Arab, black or red — the Qur’an is a warner to him, as the Prophet ﷺ said: «بُعِثْتُ إِلَى الْأَحْمَرِ وَالْأَسْوَدِ» — “I was sent to the red and the black” (meaning all of humankind).

Arabic source (our duty toward the Book)

فذم الله تعالى أهل الكتاب قبلنا بإعراضهم عن كتاب الله الذي أنزله إليهم، وإقبالهم على الدنيا وجمعها، واشتغالهم بغير ما أُمروا به من اتباع كتاب الله. فعلينا أيها المسلمون أن ننتهي عما ذمهم الله تعالى به، وأن نأتمر بما أمرنا به من تعلم كتاب الله المنزل إلينا وتعليمه، وتفهمه وتفهيمه

Ibn Kathir then points out that Allah criticized the People of the Book before us for turning away from the Book He revealed to them, turning instead to the accumulation of worldly things, and busying themselves with other than following Allah’s Book.

So we Muslims have two duties:

1. To desist from that for which Allah criticized them (that is, not to turn away from the Book).
2. To act upon what Allah commanded us: to learn the Book revealed to us, teach it, understand it, and make it understood.

Arabic source (the key question)

فإن قال قائل: فما أحسن طرق التفسير؟ فالجواب: إن أصح الطرق في ذلك أن يُفسَّر القرآن بالقرآن، فما أُجمل في مكان فإنه قد فُسِّر في موضع آخر

If someone asks, “What is the best method of tafsir (of explaining the Qur’an)?” Ibn Kathir answers that the soundest method, in order, is as follows:

Step 1 — Explain the Qur’an by the Qur’an, for what is stated briefly in one place is often expanded in another (an ayah explains an ayah).

Step 2 — If not found in the Qur’an, turn to the Sunnah, for the Sunnah explains and expands upon the Qur’an. Imam al-Shafi‘i said that everything the Prophet ﷺ judged was from his understanding of the Qur’an, and that the Sunnah itself was sent down by revelation (wahy) just like the Qur’an (differing only in that the Sunnah is not recited as an act of worship as the Qur’an is).

Step 3 — If not found in the Sunnah, turn to the sayings of the Companions, for they witnessed the circumstances and contexts surrounding revelation and had complete understanding — especially the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and scholars such as ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud.

Arabic source (the du‘a for Ibn ‘Abbas)

وترجمان القرآن عبد الله بن عباس، وبركة دعاء رسول الله ﷺ له حيث قال: «اللهم فقهه في الدين وعلمه التأويل»

And ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas was given the title “Tarjuman al-Qur’an” (the interpreter of the Qur’an) through the blessing of the Prophet’s ﷺ supplication for him: «اللَّهُمَّ فَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ وَعَلِّمْهُ التَّأْوِيلَ» — “O Allah, give him deep understanding of the religion and teach him interpretation (ta’wil).”

Step 4 — If not found among the Companions, many scholars turned to the sayings of the Successors (Tabi‘in), such as Mujahid ibn Jabr, an expert in tafsir, and others.

Arabic source (the three categories)

ولكن هذه الأحاديث الإسرائيلية تُذكر للاستشهاد لا للاعتقاد، فإنها على ثلاثة أقسام: أحدها ما علمنا صحته مما بأيدينا مما يشهد له بالصدق، فذاك صحيح. والثاني ما علمنا كذبه بما عندنا مما يخالفه. والثالث مسكوت عنه، لا من هذا القبيل ولا من هذا القبيل، فلا نؤمن به ولا نكذبه، وتجوز حكايته، وغالب ذلك مما لا فائدة فيه تعود إلى أمر ديني.

Ibn Kathir lays down an important rule for Israiliyyat (reports originating from Jewish/Christian sources): they are cited only for corroboration (istishhad), not for belief (i‘tiqad), and they fall into three categories:

• Category 1 — Accepted (sahih): that which we know to be true, because evidence from our own Book/Sunnah testifies to its truth → accepted.
• Category 2 — Rejected (false): that which we know to be false, because the evidence we have (Book/Sunnah) contradicts it → rejected, not accepted.
• Category 3 — Left undecided (maskut ‘anhu): that which is neither of the first two — we neither believe it nor deny it; it may be related (for corroboration), but most of it has no religious benefit, so it is not given weight.

Arabic source

فأما تفسير القرآن بمجرد الرأي فحرام… قال رسول الله ﷺ: «من قال في القرآن برأيه أو بما لا يعلم فليتبوأ مقعده من النار».

Ibn Kathir warns clearly that interpreting the Qur’an by “mere opinion,” without knowledge or evidence, is forbidden (haram), as in the hadith: «Whoever speaks about the Qur’an by his own opinion, or by that which he does not know, let him take his seat in the Fire.»

(Translator’s note: scholars discuss the grading of the chain of this particular hadith, but the meaning — “do not speak about the Qur’an without knowledge” — is supported by evidence through several routes.)

The caution of the Salaf

قال أبو بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه: أي أرض تقلني وأي سماء تظلني إذا قلت في كتاب الله ما لا أعلم. وكان سعيد بن المسيب إذا سئل عن تفسير آية من القرآن قال: إنا لا نقول في القرآن شيئا.

Ibn Kathir cites the caution of the Salaf as an example:

• Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said: “What earth would bear me and what sky would shade me if I said about the Book of Allah what I do not know?”
• Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, when asked about the tafsir of an ayah, would say: “We do not say anything about the Qur’an (without knowledge).”
• ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, ‘Ubaydah al-Salmani, and others were likewise cautious about speculating in tafsir.

So where is the dividing line? Ibn Kathir closes the muqaddimah by dividing tafsir into 4 levels (per the words of Ibn ‘Abbas):

1. A level that the Arabs know from their language.
2. A level that no one is excused for not knowing (the clear, basic meanings).
3. A level that only the scholars (‘ulama) understand.
4. A level that none knows but Allah — and whoever claims to know it speaks falsely.