Commentaries of the interpreters

Authorship: Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Saleh Al-Humaidi Introduction Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, who revealed His clear Book, guidance and mercy for the believers, and blessings and peace be upon the noblest of prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions all together. To proceed, the best and most exalted of sciences is the science of Tafsir; due to its connection with the Book of Allah, the most excellent and most noble of books absolutely. This noble science has principles, rules, and standards that must be adhered to and observed when discussing it. Also, the interpreters have different orientations and methodologies that should be known, and distinguished between their sound and weak ones. Many contemporary scholars have written about the methodologies of the interpreters. After reviewing and teaching some of these, it became clear to me that there is still a need for new writings that fulfill the purposes of this science, with clarity, ease of presentation, and illustrative examples. Therefore, I wrote this book, seeking help from Allah, and named it: "The Methodologies of the Interpreters." I intended to combine the fundamentals of Tafsir and the methodologies of the interpreters, presenting them in one volume, due to the overlap and commonality between them, and to ease the study for those who wish to study both. However, some esteemed colleagues advised me to separate them, as they have become independent arts in this time. Thus, I dedicated each to a separate book. This book contains five chapters, as follows: Chapter One: Introduction to the methodologies of the interpreters, the importance of knowing them, and the most famous works in this field. It includes four sections: defining the methodologies of the interpreters, the importance and benefits of knowing them, the most important works, and the means of knowing them. Chapter Two: The emergence, history, and stages of Tafsir. It includes an introduction and five sections discussing Tafsir during the time of the Prophet, the era of the Companions, the era of the Tabi‘un, the era of documentation, and the modern era. Chapter Three: Types and methods of Tafsir. It contains two sections: the first on types of Tafsir, and the second on Tafsir methods. Chapter Four: Trends of the interpreters. It includes an introduction and five sections discussing the linguistic trend, the jurisprudential trend, the symbolic trend, the contemporary rational trend, and the scientific trend. Chapter Five: Deviant trends in Tafsir. It contains an introduction and five sections discussing the causes of deviation in Tafsir, the interpretations of the Khawarij, the Shi‘a, the Mu‘tazila, the Sufis, and the modern contemporary Tafsir. This curriculum, with important additions, is comprehensive according to the standards of the National Center for Assessment and Accreditation. I hope that the student of this book, along with its companion (Al-Muhtath fi Usul al-Tafsir), will gain a thorough understanding of Tafsir methodologies, be aware of deviant trends, and be capable of distinguishing between sound and deviant interpretations, especially if studied under a specialized teacher, with attention to practical aspects. In the interest of brevity without neglect, I avoided detailed elaboration on some issues, and I will suffice with brief references in the footnotes, directing the reader to relevant sources from old or contemporary books. For those wishing to expand and detail, they need to acquire and study a collection of books and sources on specific topics or particular trends. I have mentioned many old and contemporary works in the main text and footnotes. I adopted a descriptive approach in this research, committed to the known scientific research procedures: I linked the verses to their chapters, verified hadiths and reports, authenticated sayings from their original sources, clarified ambiguous matters, summarized discussions, and explained issues with clarification, approximation, and examples. I also set general objectives for studying this book, added mind maps to clarify the topics, and concluded each chapter with questions and practical exercises. I exerted effort in collecting, editing, reviewing, and refining the topics of this book. I referred to many sources from earlier and later scholars, and directly quoted from the tafsir of each interpretive trend mentioned. In conclusion, I thank Allah for granting me the completion of this research, and I pray that Allah benefits from it, making it a treasure for me in serving His Noble Book. I also thank the esteemed colleagues who reviewed it before publication and provided corrections after its release. I ask my fellow readers, especially those who teach it, to benefit me with their observations and suggestions for additions and improvements. I ask Allah for success, guidance, sincerity in speech and action, and for help in understanding His Book and acting upon it. Indeed, my Lord is near, responsive. Author: Prof. Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Humaidi Professor in the Department of Qur'an and Sciences at Qassim University 15/3/1440 AH