Tafseer Usool at-Tafseer

(
ÇÍÍÈ tbrã Ïÿ»s3ø9$# ãNèd y7Í´¯»s9'ré'sù ª!$# tAt“Rr& !$yJÎ/ Oä3øts† óO©9 `tBur )
“And whoever does not judge by what Allaah has revealed, is a kaafir
(disbeliever).” 83
Ibn ‘Abbaas said, “It is a form of kufr (disbelief) less than real kufr.” 84
However, the tafseer transmitted from the Prophet (r) and the sahaabah did
not cover all of the verses of the Qur’aan. The Prophet (r) explained only what
was unclear to the sahaabah, and they, in turn, only explained what was unclear
to the taabi‘oon. But with each succeeding generation, more areas became unclear
due to the evolution of the language. Hence, the taabi‘oon had to make further
explanations after the passing of the sahaabah’s era. These explanations are
considered a part of tafseer by aathaar and should be given precedence over
personal opinions where there is unanimity among them. Where they differed,
none of their opinions is given preference over the others unless it is supported by
the language.
During the era of the taabi‘oon, many Christians and Jews became Muslim.
As a result, some of the taabi‘oon narrated tales from Jewish and Christian
sources in their explanations of the Qur’aan. Such narrations became known as
Israa’eeleeyaat. In later generations, the books of tafseer became filled with such
narrations, many of which could not be traced to any reliable source.
4. Tafseer of Qur’aan by Language
With the passage of time, words took on new meanings and old meanings
became lost, foreign words entered into the language, and vast sections of
83 Soorah al-Maa’idah (5):44.
84 Collected by al-Haakim, vol. 2, p. 313. A similar statement was collected by Ibn Jareeer in his
Tafseer, vol. 4, p. 597, no. 12068. This issue is one of the raging controversies of our time, the
question being: Does Ibn ‘Abbaas’s statement apply to rulers in our time, who rule by mixtures of
Sharee‘ah law and man-made law? The position of most scholars seems to be that when the ruler
believes that man-made laws are better than or as good as the Sharee‘ah, or that even though they
aren’t as good as the Sharee‘ah, it is permissible to rule by them, then he is a kaafir who has left
Islaam. If, however, he applies man-made laws while believing that he is sinful in doing so, his
kufr is kufr of actions, which makes him a major sinner, but doesn’t place him out of the fold of
Islaam. See at-Tah-theer min Fitnah at-Takfeer by Shaykh al-Albaanee, who provides copious
documentation from the statements of classical and modern salafee scholars to support his
position.