Siraj-ul-Absar (English) - Khalifatullah Mehdi (AHS)

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is the kalam [speech] of Allah Most High. Most of the commentators [of Quran] have
explained this verse without going into the details of the relevant points. Hence, if
somebody explains the Quranic Verses in the following manner – ‘yaaa-arzub-la-‘ii
maaa-‘aki’ [‘O earth! Swallow up thy water]; ‘wa yaa-samaaa-‘u ‘aqli-ii [O sky! Cease
pouring’]; that is hold back your water and stop raining; ‘wa giizal-maa-‘u [and the
flood abated]; wa quzi-yal-‘amru [and the destruction of the community of Nuh AS was
completed]; wasta-wat ‘alal Juu-diyyi [and the ark settled down on the Judi] – then,
which prohibited matter can he be accused of?’ 34
Then I will explain the difference between the tavil-e-masmu’ [the permissible
interpretation] and the tafsir-e-mamnu’ [the prohibited exegesis], Insha-Allah.”
Five kinds of Tafsir-bir-Rai
He [Muttaqi] says: This Hadis has been narrated with credits and authority by Abu Daud,
Tirmizi and Nasai 35 . There is another Hadis on this matter which says that ‘The person who
explains the Quran without the [necessary] knowledge should search for his place in the
Hell.’ This Hadis has been reported in Abu Daud as narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas. And Sheikh
Jalaluddin Suyuti RH has said in ‘Al-Itqan fi Uloom-il-Quran’, copying from the writing of
Ibn-e-Naqib that there are five sayings about Tafsir-bir-Rai [exegesis on the basis of one’s
opinion]: (1) writing the tafsir without the knowledge of those uloom [fields or branches of
knowledge] which should be known for writing the tafsir [exegesis]. 36 (2) The writing of
Tafsir of the mutashabihat [allegorical Quranic Verses] the meaning of which is known only
to Allah Most High. (3) The writing of the tafsir that proves the fasid mazhab [corrupt
religion] to be correct in a manner that places the depraved religion as the core and subjugates
the tafsir to it; and making the tafsir to conform to such perverted religion in whichever way
possible, even if such a way is weak. (4) To say, without a valid argument, that certainly the
purport of Allah is this. (5) To write the tafsir with lenient interpretation and under the
influence of one’s carnal desires. All these kinds [of tafsir] are found in this group [of
Mahdavis].
We say: The Sheikh’s saying that all these kinds of tafsir are found in this group [of
Mahdavis] is a slander against us [Mahdavis], because none of these five kinds of
tafsir is found among us. And we will refute the allegations about every kind of the
above mentioned tafsirs. We have already answered the allegation about the first
kind under the saying of the Sheikh “Then among their evils is their writing the
commentaries [exegesis] on the basis of their opinions." 37 We would not repeat it.
Tafsir of Allegorical Quranic Verses
The answer to the second kind [about the allegorical Quranic Verses] is as follows:
We do not do the tafsir of the allegorical Quranic Verses. Neither do we do the tafsir
34 Judi is the name of the mountain on which the ark finally settled.
35 Abu Daud as-Sijistani, Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmizi and Ahmad bin Shu’ayb an-Nasai are the three of the
eight Imams of Prophetical Traditions of the ninth Century AD.
36 Writing of Tafsir without the knowledge of these branches of knowledge is not allowed or permitted.
37 Refer Page 30