The Best Books of Tafsir and Encouraging Reflection on the Qur'an and Extracting Its Meanings, Then Looking into Books of Tafsir
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The Shaykh : Because the mufassirun (may Allah have mercy on them) are of various kinds and scattered, one must consult books of tafsir by authors who are trustworthy in their knowledge and integrity, such as: Tafsir Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him), Tafsir Ibn Sa'di, the tafsir of the owner of this chair, Abu Bakr al-Jaza'iri, and others whose knowledge and integrity are trusted.
Then there is something else I advise students of knowledge, in particular, to do: that a person should reflect on the words of Allah himself first. If some meaning arises for him, let him then refer to books of tafsir so that he does not go astray. I said this so that he may practice for himself knowing what? The meanings of the Book of Allah. He should not be a mere follower who only reads and memorizes, but he must understand. Therefore, I especially encourage students of knowledge to reflect on the meaning of the verse first, and then, if he has a meaning, to refer to the words of the scholars so that he does not go astray. For a person may go astray; he may understand the verse other than its meaning, especially one who has no practice and follow-up regarding the meanings of the Qur'an.
For this reason, I chose to begin these sessions by explaining what our imam recited in the prayer, in the prayer that is recited in this gathering. I wanted to speak about the first surah, al-Sama' and al-Tariq, but some of the brothers told me that we had spoken about it previously, and in that case, we are content with what has passed; we are content with what has passed.
Then there is something else I advise students of knowledge, in particular, to do: that a person should reflect on the words of Allah himself first. If some meaning arises for him, let him then refer to books of tafsir so that he does not go astray. I said this so that he may practice for himself knowing what? The meanings of the Book of Allah. He should not be a mere follower who only reads and memorizes, but he must understand. Therefore, I especially encourage students of knowledge to reflect on the meaning of the verse first, and then, if he has a meaning, to refer to the words of the scholars so that he does not go astray. For a person may go astray; he may understand the verse other than its meaning, especially one who has no practice and follow-up regarding the meanings of the Qur'an.
For this reason, I chose to begin these sessions by explaining what our imam recited in the prayer, in the prayer that is recited in this gathering. I wanted to speak about the first surah, al-Sama' and al-Tariq, but some of the brothers told me that we had spoken about it previously, and in that case, we are content with what has passed; we are content with what has passed.