The Categories of Qur'anic Exegesis
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : For this reason, it is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: And this is what is derived from the Arabic language. والثاني انتبه للثاني : تفسير لا يعذر أحد بجهالته يجب على كل واحد أن يعرفه وذلك ما يتعلق بأحكام العبادات لابد أن تعرف ما معنى قوله تعالى : أقيموا الصلاة ما معنى قوله : آتوا الزكاة ما معنى قوله تعالى : إنما الصدقات للفقراء من هم الفقراء مثلا لا يعذر أحد يجهالته وتفسير يعرفه الراسخون في العلم دون عامة الناس ودون طلبة العلم المبتدئين لا يعرفه إلا الراسخون في العلم وذلك كالآيات المتشابهات كما قال تعالى : منه آيات محكمات هن أم الكتاب وأخر متشابهات فأما الذين في قلوبهم زيغ فيتبعون ما تشابه منه ابتغاء الفتنة وابتغاء تأويله وما يعلم تأويله إلا الله والراسخون في العلم بقي القسم الرابع قال : وتفسير لا يعلمه إلا الله فمن ادعى علمه فهو كاذب مثل علم الساعة الله عز وجل ذكر أن الساعة تقوم ويوم تقوم الساعة يومئذ يخسر المبطلون هل أحد يمكنه أن يعرف متى تقوم الساعة ؟ أجيبوا لا هذا لا يعلمه إلا الله فصار تفسير القرآن على أربعة أوجه كما يروى ذلك عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما . The second—pay attention to the second—is an interpretation for which no one is excused for being ignorant of it; it is obligatory for everyone to know it. This is what concerns the rulings of worship. You must know the meaning of the statement of the Exalted: "Establish prayer," the meaning of: "Give zakah," and the meaning of the statement of the Exalted: "Zakah is only for the poor." Who are the poor, for example? No one is excused for being ignorant of this. And there is an interpretation known by those firmly grounded in knowledge, but not by the general public or by beginner students of knowledge; it is known only by those firmly grounded in knowledge. This is like the ambiguous verses, as the Exalted said: "There are clear verses, which are the foundation of the Book, and others are ambiguous. But as for those in whose hearts is perversity, they follow that which is ambiguous therein, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation. And no one knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly grounded in knowledge." The fourth category remains: he said, "And an interpretation that no one knows except Allah." So whoever claims to know it is a liar, such as the knowledge of the Hour. Allah the Mighty and Majestic mentioned that the Hour will come, and on the Day the Hour comes, the falsifiers will lose. Can anyone know when the Hour will come? Answer: No. This is known only by Allah. So the interpretation of the Qur'an is of four types, as that is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him).