2a] 'Ulûm al-Qur'ân"7-Tafsir by the Statement of The Companions

2a]
For example, in the shâdh qirâ'a of Ibn Mas'ûd, the verse which told
the believers to "fast three days" (5:89) as an expiation of an
unfulfilled oath was read by him as: "fast three consecutive days."
Due to this shâdh qirâ'a , later scholars differed over whether it was
necessary to fast threeconsecutive days, or whether it sufficed to
fast any three days if one did not fulfil an oath.
To conclude, if the Companions agreed to an interpretation of a verse,
that interpretation must be accepted, since it qualifies as ijmâ' . On
the other hand, if there exist narrations from one Companion
concerning theinterpretation of a verse, and there does not exist any
narrations to the contrary from other Companions, this interpretation
is also accepted, but is not equivalent in strength to the
interpretation given bythe Prophet (saws). If there exist various
narrations from different Companions which are notcontradictory in
nature, then all such interpretations are accepted. If there exist
contrary narrations from different Companions concerning the same
verse,in this case the researcher can choose between the different
interpretations, depending on which interpretation seems to have the
strongest evidence to support it.
Tafsîr by the Statement of the Successors Before moving on to the next
section, a brief note concerning the tafsîr narrations from the
Successors would be useful. Some scholars took the tafsîr of the
Successors to be the next source of tafsîr after the tafsîr of the
Companions. As proof for this stance, they relied on the statements of
certain prominent Successors concerning their knowledge of the Qur'ân.
Qatâdah (d. 110 A.H.) said,
"There is not a single versein the Qur'ân except that I have heard
something concerning it."
Mujâhid (d. 103 A.H.) said,
"I recited the Qur'ân to Ibn'Abbâs three times. In eachrecitation, I
stopped at every verse, asking him concerning its interpretation."
This is why Sufyân ath-Thawree (d. 161 A.H.) said,
"When you hear an interpretation from Mujâhid, this should be
sufficient for you!" [5]
Other scholars, however, rejected this view. They claimed that an
interpretation of a Successor could not have originated from the
Prophet (saws), as could the interpretation of a Companion, since they
never saw the Prophet (saws). Also, they did not witness the
revelation, as did the generation before them, and their
trustworthiness is not guaranteed specifically for every one of their
generation, unlike the Companions (in other words, the
trustworthinessof every single Companions is guaranteed by the Qur'ân,
whereas this is not the case for the Successors, for they have been
praised as a. generation, and not individually).
Therefore, the correct viewin this matter, as Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728
A.H.) said, is that if the Successors give the same interpretation to
a verse, then their interpretation must be accepted, but if they
differed among themselves, then the opinion of one group will have no
authority over theother group, nor over the generations after them. In
such cases, one must resort to the Qur'ân, the Sunnah, the Companions,
and the Arabic language inorder to obtain the correct interpretation.
[6]
Footnotes
1 Reported by al-Bukhârî
2 c£ as-Suyûtî, Tadrîb ar-Râwî, pps. 156-8.
3 az-Zarkashî, v. 2, p. 172.
4 c£ adh-Dhahabî, v. 1, p. 63.

2] 'Ulûm al-Qur'ân"7-Tafsir by the Statement of The Companions

2]
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. :->

How big can the floating objects be on the space?

Let's get the answer by starting with a journey from the moon: a
celestialbody which can be regarded as fairly big:
The Moon...
Mercury...
Mars...
Venus...
Earth... We live here
Neptune
Saturn
Jupiter
The Sun... Our star
Sirius A
Pollux… An Orange Giant
Archturus... A Red Giant
Aldebaran… A Red Giant
Ragil… A Blue Super Giant
Pistol Star… A Blue Hyper Giant
Antares A… A Red Super Giant
Mu Cephei… A Red Supergiant
VY Canis Majoris... A Red HyperGiant: known as the biggest star
The Size Of the Earth is 12,756 km.
This star is 1,975,000,000 km in diameter.
How can you imagine thissize on your mind?
Imagine an airliner which goes with 900 km per hour and flying around
this star.
Just one circuit of an airliner around this star would last exactly
1,100 years.
The size of the star on a picture which shows our galaxy is only as
big as a spot on a piece of paper.
And our galaxy ... would be seen only as big as a spot in the vastness
of theuniverse.
"Assuredly the creation of the heavens and the earth is a greater
(matter) than the creation of men: Yet most men understand not."
(Surah Al-Ghafir, 57)

Seeing the World in a New Light

I walked into Pine Street Inn, a shelter for men and women, holding
Safiya's tiny hand, hardly noticing that my grip continued to tighten
as I walked through the shelter. I had never been in such a placeand
seen such different people -- people who didn't have adequate clothes,
didn't have food, didn't even have a table to put food on, couldn't
own a house. I had always imagined what homeless people lived like,
but on this trip, it finally came into perspective: it was real.
Noticing dozens of eyes on me, I looked straight ahead, afraid to come
intoeye contact with anyone. Isaw men, young and old, sober and drunk,
sprawled across the floor sleeping, or leaning against the walls
shoutingat us, "helloo ladies." Seeing them frightened me along with
the rest of the MAS youth group.
However, as I continued to walk through the shelter with my group and
guide, Scottie, my grip on Safiya's hand began to loosen. Earlier I
was glad to have a child's hand to hold; it made it seem as though I
was protecting her; however, Irealized I was just trying to protect
myself. Finally, my fears calmed.
My stomach felt queasy, not out of fear, but out of depression. My
heart clenched trying its hardestto fight back tears. Unshaven men
looked upon us with deep eyes. Their eyes seemed to tell the stories
of their lives, stories so powerful my eyes could hardly meet theirs.
As I looked around more carefully, I remembered these men and women
were people, people like me. But they weren't like me. They didn't
even havethe basic necessities of life. I started to feel out ofplace
wearing expensive clothing and carrying a nice purse. God's blessing
over me contrasted with the surrounding in which I was. I began to
realize how blessed I am.
I realized how much we all take for granted, forgetting to thank God
for the wonderful things we've been blessed with. Many of us fail to
see the blessings of this life and focus on the negative aspects of
life. Visiting the Pine Street Inn reopened my eyes to reality. I
remembered how many blessings have been bestowed upon me by God.
Things finally startedto come into perspective.
After leaving Pine Street, my outlook on life has changed. One would
say,"how can a person changefrom one trip," but in reality, it is
quite possible.I can hardly put into words what emotions have been
going through me since I left, but my life has been greatly impacted.
Before I say"my life is so hard!" I think back on what I saw at Pine
Street. Alhamdullillah, all praises to God, my life is more than
bearable. The Qur'an repeatedly states, "On no soul do We place a
burden greater than it canbear."
Thinking back on everything I saw, I admireScottie and the others who
work there. Whetherone is volunteering or being paid for working
there, it takes more than just money to get someone to work in a place
like that. It takes a heart. It takes strength. Many times we lack
this sympathy for others and forget about the world around us. Scottie
and those like her deserve a lot of credit for having thedrive to help
others."Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by
day in secretand in public have their reward with their Lord: on them
shall be no fear nor shall they grieve." (The Qur'an 2:274).
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