Tafseer Usool at-Tafseer

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(
CE/791-864 AH). The former was discussed previously, so we will only concern
ourselves with the latter. His name was Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Mahallee
and his birthplace was Egypt. He became a great scholar of the Shaafi‘ee mathhab
and refused the post of the chief judge, preferring to teach fiqh in the local
schools and engage in trade. He wrote a number of simple and concise books in
various fields which became very popular. He began his tafseer starting with
Soorah al-Kahf (18) and ending with Soorah an-Naas (114). He then did the
tafseer of the first soorah, al-Faatihah; however, he died before completing the
rest. As-Suyootee then began from Soorah al-Baqarah (2) and ended with Soorah
al-Israa’ (17), which is a little less than one half of the Qur’aan. He followed al-
Mahallee’s format. The basic meanings of the verses are explained and the most
probable opinions are mentioned. Grammatical explanations are only relied on
where absolutely necessary. Some reference is also made to the more famous
recitations. There are very few areas where the two authors differed. One of them
concerns the rooh (soul), which al-Mahallee explains in Soorah Saad (38) as a
subtle body or substance that brings man to life when it is blown into him. As-
Suyootee agrees with him in his own tafseer of Soorah al-Hijr (15), but in his
tafseer of verse 85 of Soorah al-Israa’:
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“And they ask you about the rooh. Say: ‘The rooh is by my Lord’s
command,’ for you have been only given a little amount of
knowledge,” 136
as-Suyootee contradicts al-Mahallee. He wrote that this verse clearly indicates
that the reality of the rooh is the exclusive knowledge of Allaah; hence, it would
be better not to try to define it. In spite of this tafseer’s brevity (one volume), it is
without a doubt a very valuable work and it is among the most popular tafseers.
136 Soorah al-Israa’ (17):85.