The Shaykh’s (may Allah preserve him) opinion on the book *Zad al-Masir* by Ibn al-Jawzi
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The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner asks: What is Your Eminence’s opinion on the following tafsir books: *Zad al-Masir* by Ibn al-Jawzi?
The Shaykh:
This is good. *Zad al-Masir* is a summary of the tafsirs. He says he summarized it so that it could be memorized, and it is ten volumes. If you have the desire, he summarized it for you so you can memorize it—ten volumes. He brought the bare opinions in the verse: it was said so, it was said so, it was said so, so that you would grasp the opinions of the mufassirun.
The questioner:
He says: We obtained *Fath al-Qadir* by al-Shawkani for you.
The Shaykh:
It is good in general, but he sometimes quotes false opinions from the Mu’tazilah and others regarding the names and attributes—ta’wil (figurative interpretation)—and does not comment on them, may Allah have mercy on him. So this is an error without doubt. Yes, the one who reads it thinks that al-Shawkani holds this opinion. The error came from the fact that he did not comment on them. Yes.
The questioner:
He says: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh:
He quoted them and did not comment on them, so one thinks that this is his opinion. Yes.
The questioner:
*Tafsir al-Jalalayn*.
The Shaykh:
*Al-Jalalayn* is among the tafsirs of the Asha’irah regarding the names and attributes, but in general it is good. It was a prescribed text in the scientific institutes in the time of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim. We read it and memorized the prescribed portion from it, and it is a good book. But regarding the names and attributes, it is on the madhhab (school of jurisprudence) of the Asha’irah. Yes.
The questioner:
He says: May Allah reward you. *Safwat al-Tafasir* by al-Sabuni.
The Shaykh:
This is a compilation, this is a compilation. I call it *Hafwat al-Tafasir* (The Errors of the Tafsirs). It is not *Safwat al-Tafasir* (The Best of the Tafsirs), it is not the best of the best, but it is murky, containing ugly opinions. Yes.
The questioner:
*Fath al-Bayan* by Sadiq Hasan Khan.
The Shaykh:
There is nothing wrong with it in general. Yes. *Safwat al-Ayah*?
The questioner:
*Fath al-Bayan*.
The Shaykh:
*Fath al-Bayan* by Sadiq, Sadiq Hasan Khan al-Qanuji. Likewise, he compiles; he is close to al-Shawkani, he is close to al-Shawkani. In fact, he was influenced by al-Shawkani because they were contemporaries, so he was influenced by al-Shawkani’s works. Yes.
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner asks: What is Your Eminence’s opinion on the following tafsir books: *Zad al-Masir* by Ibn al-Jawzi?
The Shaykh:
This is good. *Zad al-Masir* is a summary of the tafsirs. He says he summarized it so that it could be memorized, and it is ten volumes. If you have the desire, he summarized it for you so you can memorize it—ten volumes. He brought the bare opinions in the verse: it was said so, it was said so, it was said so, so that you would grasp the opinions of the mufassirun.
The questioner:
He says: We obtained *Fath al-Qadir* by al-Shawkani for you.
The Shaykh:
It is good in general, but he sometimes quotes false opinions from the Mu’tazilah and others regarding the names and attributes—ta’wil (figurative interpretation)—and does not comment on them, may Allah have mercy on him. So this is an error without doubt. Yes, the one who reads it thinks that al-Shawkani holds this opinion. The error came from the fact that he did not comment on them. Yes.
The questioner:
He says: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh:
He quoted them and did not comment on them, so one thinks that this is his opinion. Yes.
The questioner:
*Tafsir al-Jalalayn*.
The Shaykh:
*Al-Jalalayn* is among the tafsirs of the Asha’irah regarding the names and attributes, but in general it is good. It was a prescribed text in the scientific institutes in the time of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim. We read it and memorized the prescribed portion from it, and it is a good book. But regarding the names and attributes, it is on the madhhab (school of jurisprudence) of the Asha’irah. Yes.
The questioner:
He says: May Allah reward you. *Safwat al-Tafasir* by al-Sabuni.
The Shaykh:
This is a compilation, this is a compilation. I call it *Hafwat al-Tafasir* (The Errors of the Tafsirs). It is not *Safwat al-Tafasir* (The Best of the Tafsirs), it is not the best of the best, but it is murky, containing ugly opinions. Yes.
The questioner:
*Fath al-Bayan* by Sadiq Hasan Khan.
The Shaykh:
There is nothing wrong with it in general. Yes. *Safwat al-Ayah*?
The questioner:
*Fath al-Bayan*.
The Shaykh:
*Fath al-Bayan* by Sadiq, Sadiq Hasan Khan al-Qanuji. Likewise, he compiles; he is close to al-Shawkani, he is close to al-Shawkani. In fact, he was influenced by al-Shawkani because they were contemporaries, so he was influenced by al-Shawkani’s works. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [475- 4717] رأي الشيخ حفظه الله في كتاب زاد المسير لابن الجوزي - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.