You said that tafsir is done by the Qur'an, then by the Sunnah, then by the statements of the Companions. Is it sufficient to rely on a tafsir like Ibn Kathir's, for example, in order to memorize it?

The student: You said that the tafsir of the Qur'an is by the Qur'an, then by the Sunnah, then by the statements of the Companions. But if a person wants to trace every verse by looking at the statements of the Companions and the Sunnah, his time would be wasted. Is it enough to take a tafsir book from one of the well-known scholars of knowledge in order to memorize it?

The Shaykh : This would be taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), meaning that if I hold onto Ibn Kathir's tafsir or that of another scholar, that is taqlid. But I want the tafsir of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning). As for one who finds nothing but carrion, he eats the carrion out of dire necessity. For this reason, Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "We should know that taqlid is like eating carrion. If you are compelled to it, then follow, otherwise exercise ijtihad. Lower yourself into the well as people have lowered themselves; lower yourself in place of them." The truth is that taqlid is not permissible except in cases of dire necessity and inability. Otherwise, whoever is able to take rulings or beliefs from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger should do so, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) says: This requires an answer. And were it not for the saying of Allah the Exalted: we would say that it is obligatory for every person to exercise ijtihad and to take the ruling from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. But praise be to Allah, Allah has made it easy for us Otherwise, we would say that everyone must take from the Book and the Sunnah, because we will be questioned about the Qur'an and the Sunnah.