After the Qur'ân and Sunnah, the next important source for
understanding the Qur'ân is the understanding of theCompanions. The
statements of the Companions are taken as afundamental source of
tafsîr for the following reasons:
1) The primary reason is that the Companions are a generation that was
chosen by Allâh to accompany the Prophet (saws), and to pass on the
religion and teachings of Islâm to later generations. Their character
and religious knowledge has been testified by Allâh andthe Prophet
(saws), for Allâh says in the Qur'ân,
Muhammad (saws) is theMessenger of Allâh. And those who are with him
(i.e., the Companions) are severe against the disbelievers and
mercifulamongst themselves. You see them bowing and falling down in
prostration, seeking the Bounty of Allâh and His Pleasure... [48:29]
In more than one verse of the Qur'ân, Allâh mentions the fact that
He is well pleased with them, and they with Him[99:8]
Thus clearly showing the superiority of the Companions over other
generations. The Prophet (saws) said,
"The best of all mankind are my Companions, then those that will
follow them, then those that will follow them." [1]
2) The Companions actually witnessed the revelation of the Qur'ân.
Many of its verses were revealed to cater to problems that had risen
amongst them. As such, they were familiar with the asbâb an-nuzûl,
with the makî and madanî verses, and with the nâsikh and mansûkh, and
did not need to go searching for this knowledge, as later generations
would have todo.
3) The Qur'ân was revealedin the Arabic that the Companions spoke.
Therefore, many words and phrases that later generations had
difficulty understanding were clear to the Companions.
4) The Companions were the most knowledgeable of generations with
regards to pre-Islâmic customs. Therefore, they understood the
references in the Qur'ân to such customs.
There is a difference of opinion whether the interpretation of a
Companion is of definitive authority. In other words, once a Companion
has given an interpretation of a verse, must that interpretation be
accepted,as is the case with the previous two sources of tafsîr?
Al-Hâkim an-Naisapûrî (d. 404 A.H.), the author of al-Mustadrak,
considered any interpretation by a Companion to be equivalent to a
hadîth of the Prophet (saws), for he believed that all such
interpretations must have originated from the Prophet (saws). However,
this opinion is not accepted in its generality, and the majority of
scholars, such as an-Nawawî (d. 676 A.H.), As-Suyûtî (d. 911 A.H.),
andIbn Taymiyyah (d. 728 A.H.), held the view that the interpretation
of a Companion is equivalent to a hadîth of the Prophet (saws) only
when it concerns matters which are not based on personal reasoning (
ijtihâd ), such as reports concerning sabab an-nuzûl, or the knowledge
of the unseen.
This is because such knowledge could not haveoriginated from the
Companions' ijtihâd , and must have come from the Prophet (saws). A
report from a Companion not concerning these topics cannot be taken as
equivalent to a hadîth of the Prophet (saws); rather,it is given a
status below that of a. hadîth . [2] However, this does not diminish
the status of the tafsîr from the Companions. The Companions were the
most knowledgeable of this nation, and as such their personal
reasoning ( ijtihâd ) occupies a status above that of any later
scholar.
Az-Zarkashî summarised this point when he said,
As for the interpretation ofthe Companions, it is investigated into:
if this interpretation was based upon language, then they are the
scholars of the language, and there is no doubt that they should be
given credence to in this interpretation. If this interpretation
relies upon what they saw of asbâb an-nuzûl, or other circumstances
(i.e., of pre-Islâmic customs), then again there is no doubt
concerning this type of interpretation. [3]
After the interpretation of the Qur'ân by itself and by the hadîth of
the Prophet (saws), the Companions relied upon four primary sources to
interpret the Qur'ân: [4]
1) Their knowledge of Arabic language, rhetoric, grammar and pre-Islâmic poetry.
2) Their knowledge of the pre-Islâmic customs of the Arabs.
3) Their knowledge of the habits of the Jews and Christians at the
time of the revelation of the Qur'ân.
4) Their personal reasoningand their keen intellect (which, of course,
was based upon knowledge).
Another integral aspect of the tafsîr of the Companions is the shâdh
and mudraj qira'ât which were discussed earlier. It isnecessary to
take these qira'ât into account when interpreting a verse. As
mentioned earlier, such qira'ât cannot be considered as the Qur'ân,
but may be studied as tafsîr .
One of the interpretations of this type of qira'ât is that they were
added, not as Qur'ân, but for the sake of interpretation by the
Companions. For example. :->
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