ulum-al-quran

The Iraq Group
There were also many mufassirun among the tabi’un in Iraq. Their principal teacher was Ibn Mas'ud. Their main centres
were Basra and Kufa. The best known among them are: Al-Hasan al-Basri (d.121/738), Masruq b. al-'Ajda' (d.63/682)
and Ibrahlm al-Nakha'i. (d.95/713).
Summary
Nothing can excel the tafsir of the Qur'an by the Qur'an. This is followed by sound reports about the Prophet's
explanation of the revelation.
Whatever is sound and genuine in the explanation of the Qur'an by the sahaba and the tabi’un may not be rejected, but
the following principles are to be observed:
Sound reports must be distinguished from unsound ones, for many views have been falsely attributed to some
sahaba and tabi’un (especially to Ibn 'Abbas and Mujahid, the most renowned ones among them), which cannot
be traced back to them when the isnad is investigated. Those reports must of course be rejected.
Material from the ahl-al-kitab, in particular the Jewish traditions (isra’iliyat) [For details, see below, p. 133.] must
be sorted out and evaluated.
Material which crept in due to theological, philosophical, political and other considerations, must be sorted out
and evaluated (such as e.g. some Shi'a attributions to 'Ali, or 'Abbasid attributions to Ibn 'Abbas, etc.).
False material purposely introduced by the enemies of Islam must be distinguished from sound material.
Tafsir bi'l-ra'y
The second kind of tafsir, after tafsir bi'l-riwaya, is the so-called tafsir bi'l-ra'y. It is not based directly on transmission of
knowledge by the predecessors, but on the use of reason and ijtihad.
Tafsir bi’l-ra'y does not mean 'interpretation by mere opinion', but deriving an opinion through ijtihad based on sound
sources. While the former has been condemned already in the hadith, the latter is recommendable, when used in its
proper place as sound ijtihad, and was also approved by the Prophet, e.g. when he sent Mu’adh bin Jabal to Yemen.
[Mishkat al-masabih, op.cit., II, p.794: (Arabic), Vol. 2, No. 3737.]
Tafsir bi'l-ra'y on the other hand has been declared haram on the basis of the following hadith:
'From Ibn ‘Abbas: Allah's messenger said: "He who says (something) concerning the Qur'an without
knowledge, he has taken his seat of fire" ‘. [Ibn Taimiya, p.105, from Tirmidhi, who says it is hasan
sahlh.]
However this hadith has been explained in two ways:
That no one should say of the Qur'an what is not from the sahaba or tabi’un.
That no one should say of the Qur'an what he knows to be otherwise. [Sabuni.tibyan,p.174.]
The obvious meaning of the hadith is that one should not say something about the Qur'an without having the proper
knowledge, the sources of which have already been explained. [The Qur'an explained by the Qur'an, by the Prophet, by
the Companions. By the tabi’un. by sound ijtihad.