Abdul-Haqq ibn ‘Ateeyah al-Andaloosee (1089-1146 CE/481-540 AH) was a Maalikee scholar and judge in both Spain and Morocco. Ibn ‘Ateeyah’s tafseer contains a summary of accurate narrations found in the earlier tafseers birriwaayah. He also included many examples from classical literature and discussed extensively the grammatical wonders of the Qur’aan. A number of scholars preferred Ibn ‘Ateeyah’s tafseer over that of az-Zamakhsharee’s.113 This tafseerconsists of twenty volumes in manuscript form. It has recently been published in sixteen volumes. 114

Abul-Layth ibn Ibraaheem as-Samarqandee (d. 983 CE/ 372 AH) was a fiqh scholar of the Hanafee school and was nicknamed “Imaam al-Hind.” His tafseer was based on hadeeths and narrations from the sahaabah, the taabi‘oon, and later scholars. However, it does contain some weak narrations, and the chains of narrations for statements from the sahaabah and taabi‘oon were not mentioned, nor were their opinions analyzed. This tafseer consists of four volumes and is in print.115

Aboo Ishaaq, Ahmad ibn Ibraaheem ath-Tha‘labee (d. 1036 CE/427 AH), from Nishapur, was a well-known Quraa’nic reciter of his time. In his tafseer, the chains of narrations from the sahaabah are mentioned but condensed. Grammatical explanations are quite extensive and legal issues are discussed at length. However, Aboo Ishaaq also mentions a vast number of Israa’eeleeyaat (Biblical stories) without any critical analysis of their content whatsoever. Moreover, he also included many weak and fabricated hadeeths in his tafseer due to his weak background in the science of hadeeth. 116

Muhammad Ibn Jareer at-Tabaree (839-923 CE/225-310 AH) was from Tabreez, in what is now western Iran, and was a well-known legalist, hadeeth scholar, and historian. Although originally a Shaafi‘ee scholar, he reached the level of ijtihaad and became independent of the school. His tafseer is the oldest tafseer to reach us intact. It contains narrations which are analyzed in most cases. He mentioned the various recitations and their implications and he included many Biblical tales which were discussed, and the positions of unorthodox schools, such as that of the Mu‘tazilees, were mentioned and refuted. All later tafseers have depended on this tafseer in one way or another.117 One of the more useful of the many printed editions of this massive work is the one containing the comments of Ahmad Shaakir on the isnaads of the many narrations cited by the author. Unfortunately, the authentication effort was cut short by Shakir’s death, having only completed up to verse five of Soorah Maa’idah.118

Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Baghawee (d. 1117 CE/ 510 AH) was an eminent jurist of the Shaafi‘ee school and one of the foremost hadeeth scholars of his time. His tafseer was a condensed version of Tafseer ath-Tha‘labee, in which the majority of weak and fabricated narrations were removed and all the chains of narrators were mentioned. He also removed various heretical concepts mentioned in ath-Tha‘labee’s tafseer, as well as scientific information not directly related to tafseer. Al-Baghawee briefly mentions some of the various recitations and explains grammatical constructions only where it is absolutely necessary. There are a few Israa’eeleeyaat mentioned without critical analysis and some conflicting opinions of early scholars which are also mentioned without evaluation. This tafseer has been printed in a single edition along with Ibn Katheer’s tafseer and Tafseer al-Khaazin and is among the most reliable tafseers based on narration.119

Abul-Fidaa’ Ismaa‘eel ibn Katheer ad-Dimishqee (1300-1373 CE/699-774 AH) was a Shaafi‘ee fiqh scholar and a student of Ibn Taymeeyah. He was also an eminent hadeeth scholar and a historian. His historical work, al-Bidaayah wa anNihaayah, is considered the most authentic Islaamic history book. Tafseer ibn Katheer is also considered the most authentic book of tafseer, and is second only to Tafseer at-Tabaree in popularity among scholars. The book contains an extensive preface covering the methodology of tafseer, and great emphasis has been placed upon the interpretation of Qur’aan by Qur’aan. Ibn Katheer critically analyzes all of his narrations and evaluates the conflicting statements of the sahaabah and the taabi‘oon. He also warns against the dangers of Israa’eeleeyaat and other false information commonly found in tafseers. Legal issues are discussed, and differences of opinion are evaluated.120 An abridged version of this tafseer, from which the inauthentic narrations has been removed, was published in four volumes in the 1980s. 121

Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Makhloof ath-Tha‘labee al-Jazaa’iree (d. 1472 CE/877AH) was a North African Maalikee scholar well known for his piety and knowledge. His tafseer was an abridgement of Ibn ‘Ateeyah’s tafseer, to which he added information from other famous classical tafseers, especially that of atTabaree. The hadeeths mentioned were from all the well-known works, and Israa’eeleeyaat were all evaluated. Ath-Tha‘labee lists some of the variant recitations and discusses some grammatical issues, but for the most part, his tafseer is a condensation and compilation of previous works with very little added from himself.122

Jalaalud-Deen ‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Muhammad as-Suyootee (1445-1505 CE/849-910 AH) was a great Shaafi‘ee fiqh scholar, as well as the foremost hadeeth scholar of his time. At first, he wrote a four volume tafseer called Turjumaan al-Qur’aan, in which he placed over ten thousand hadeeths along with their chains of narration. When he found his students uninterested in learning chains of narration, he condensed the tafseer by deleting the chains and merely mentioned the books from which the hadeeths were taken. This tafseer was renamed ad-Durr al-Manthoor. In spite of his knowledge of the hadeeth sciences, he seems to have been only concerned with gathering the largest possible quantity of hadeeths, without discriminating between the true and the false.123

math-hab. He studied hadeeth sciences extensively and became independent of his math-hab. In his tafseer, ash-Shawkaanee has combined both methods of tafseer (by opinion and by narration). He has condensed the hadeeth chains and has mentioned the books in which each hadeeth may be found, and most opinions are attributed to their sources. Grammatical, legal, and philosophical issues are discussed and the positions of the great commentators are mentioned. This tafseer is printed in five volumes and is widely favored among orthodox scholars. A recent edition has footnotes that extensively document the hadeeths cited by the author.124

This tafseer was compiled by Muhammad ibn Ya‘qoob al-Fayroozaabaadee (d. 1414 CE/817 AH), who was a Shaafi‘ee scholar and author of the famous Arabic dictionary, al-Qaamoos al-Muheet. The vast majority of this tafseer consists of explanatory statements attributed to the great sahaabee and mufassir, Ibn ‘Abbaas. The author mentions the chains of narrators for each section of tafseer. Hence, this tafseer is considered as being among the tafseers birriwaayah. However, chains of narration attributed to Ibn ‘Abbaas vary in their level of authenticity, depending upon the reliability of the narrators themselves.

Chains from Mu‘aawiyah ibn Saalih and Qays ibn Muslim al-Koofee are considered saheeh (highly authentic) and those from Ibn Is-haaq (the historian)

are considered hasan (authentic); while those from Ismaa‘eel ibn ‘AbdurRahmaan as-Suddee al-Kabeer and ‘Abdul Maalik ibn Jurayj are doubtful. Those from ad-Dahhaak ibn Mazaahim al-Hilaalee, ‘Ateeyah al-‘Awfee, Muqaatil ibn Sulaymaan al-Azdee, and Muhammad ibn as-Saa’ib al-Kalabee, who was accused of fabricating hadeeths, are all da‘eef (unacceptable). Nearly all of the so-called “Tafseer of Ibn ‘Abbaas” is based on statements narrated in chains containing Muhammad ibn as-Saa’ib al-Kalabee. Hence, this tafseer is considered unreliable for the most part; and, despite its popularity among the masses, it is totally rejected by Muslim scholars.125