Some people say: The best tafsir (exegesis) of the Qur'an is by one of the thinkers, and that no one has been given anything like it. Is this a form of belittling the Salaf?

Question:
The Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, says: Some people say that the best tafsir of the Qur'an is by one of the thinkers, and that no one has been given anything like it. Is this considered belittling the Salaf?

Answer:
Yes, this is like saying every girl is in love with her father. This person is impressed by this man, so let him follow his own path and his own way. But we say the best tafsirs are the tafsirs of the Salaf: the tafsir of Ibn Jarir, who is the Imam of the mufassirun (interpreters), the tafsir of Ibn Kathir, the tafsir of al-Baghawi, and the tafsirs of the Imams of the Salaf. These are the best tafsirs, along with those of the later mufassirun who followed them. As for those who built their tafsir on thought, logic, and dialectics, such as al-Razi, like the tafsir of al-Razi, like the tafsir of al-Nasafi, it is better to be safe from these without a doubt, and better to stay away from them. Yes.