Sahabbai sun yi tafsirin ayoyin Alkur'ani mai girma ko dai da ijtihadinsu a tafsiri, ko kuma ta hanyar jin hakan daga Manzon Allah ﷺ. Sau da yawa suna bayyana sababin saukar ayar, ko su bayyana wanda aka saukar da ita dangantaka da shi. Wajen bayanin ayar, sukan takaita ga yin karin haske a kan ma'anar harshe da suka fahimta daga ayar, da kalmomi mafi takaituwa, kamar maganarsu: ghayr mutajanif li ithm (ba mai karkata zuwa zunubi ba), wato, ba mai shirin yin zunubi ba (ghayr muta'arrid li ma'siyya). Haka kuma maganarsu game da fadinsa:

The Sahabah made tafsīr for the verses of the Noble Qur’ān either as their own Ijtihād in tafsīr or by hearing it from the Messenger of Allah . Many a time they would explain the cause of revelation for a verse or explain with respect to whom it had been revealed. In explaining a verse they would restrict themselves to elucidating the linguistic meaning which they understood from the verse with the most concise of words like their saying: ghayr mutajanif li ithm (not inclined to sin) i.e, not predisposed to sin (ghayr muta'arrid li ma'siyya). Similarly their statement regarding His  saying:

Mutanen zamanin jahiliyya, idan ɗayansu yana son fita (tafiya), sai ya ɗauki kibiya ya ce: Wannan yana umurce ni da fita. Don haka idan ya fita tafiyarsa zai samu sa'a. Sannan zai ɗauki wata kibiya ya ce: Wannan yana umurce ni da zama, don haka ba zai samu sa'a a tafiyarsa ba. Kibiyar rashin sa'a tana ɗaya daga cikin kibiyoyin biyu. Saboda haka Allah ya hana su wannan al'ada. Misali shi ne abin da aka ruwaito daga Ibn 'Abbas game da faɗinsa:

The people of jahiliyya when one of them wanted to go out (on a journey) he would take an arrow and say: This one orders me to go out. So if he goes out on his journey will meet good luck. And he will take another arrow and say: This one orders me to stay, so he will not be lucky in his journey. The unlucky arrow is one of the two arrows. So Allah  forbade them from this practice. An example would be what has been narrated about Ibn 'Abbas regarding His  saying:

Ya ce: zuwa Makkah. Idan sun ƙara wani abu a kan haka, to zai zama abin da aka riwaito game da sanadin saukar ayar da kuma game da wanda aka saukar da ayar a kansa. An riwaito daga Abu Hurairah game da faɗinSa:

He said: to Makkah. If they added anything to that it would be what has been narrated about the cause of revelation and with regards to whom the verse in question was revealed. It has been narrated about Abu Hurairah regarding His  saying:

cewa ya ce ayah din an saukar da ita game da Manzon Allah ﷺ lokacin da ya yi ƙoƙarin jawo kawunsa Abu Dalib zuwa Musulunci. Sa'an nan suka zo Tabi'un bayan Sahabbai, waɗanda suka ruwaito duk abin da Sahabbai suka ambata ta wannan hanya. Daga cikin Tabi'un akwai waɗanda suka yi bayanin ayoyin Alƙur'ani mai girma ko suka faɗi dalilin saukar ayah, ko dai ta hanyar ijtihadinsu a tafsiri ko kuma ta hanyar jin hakan daga (wasu malamai). Bayan Tabi'un malaman ilimi suka zo suka faɗaɗa tafsiri, suka kawo rahotanni daga Yahudawa da Nasara. Masu tafsiri sun gaji juna daga zamani zuwa zamani da kowane tsara, waɗanda suka yi bayanin Alƙur'ani kuma suka faɗaɗa tafsiri a kowane zamani bisa abin da ya gabata. Masu tafsiri sun fara mai da hankali ga ayoyi don cire hukunce-hukunce daga cikinsu da bayyana mazhabobinsu dangane da zaɓin ra'ayi (ikhtiyar) da ƙaddara (jabr). Sun fara bayyana ayoyi suna tabbatar da ra'ayoyinsu bisa ga karkatarsu a shari'a, ilimin tauhidi ('ilm al-Kalam), balaga, sarf da nahawu da sauransu. Abin da yake bayyana idan aka duba tafsirai ta zamuna daban-daban tun zamanin Sahabbai har zuwa yanzu shi ne cewa tafsirin Alƙur'ani a kowane zamani ya sami tasiri daga motsin ilimi na zamanin, ya nuna hoton da ke nuna ra'ayoyi, ka'idoji da mazhabobin zamanin. Ba kasafai ake samun tafsirai da suka kuɓuta daga tasirin ra'ayoyi, tunani da ƙa'idojin zamanin ba.

that he said the verse had been revealed concerning the Messenger of Allah  when he tried to win over his uncle Abu Talib to Islam. Then came the Tabi'un after the Sahabah who reported everything the Sahabah mentioned in this manner. From among the Tabi'un there were those who explained the verses of the Noble Qur’ān or stated the cause of revelation, either as their own Ijtihād in tafsīr or by hearing it from (other authorities). After the Tabi'un the 'Ulama came and expanded the tafsīr and quoted reports from the Jews and Christians. The mufassirun succeeded one after another in every age and generation, who explained the Qur’ān and expanded the tafsīr in each age on what had come before. The mufassirun began to give their attention to the verses to deduce rulings from them and explain their schools of thought in terms of freewill (ikhtiyar) and predestination (jabr). And they began to explain verses proving their opinions according to their inclinations in legislation, scholasticism ('ilm al-Kalam), rhetorics (balaagha), declension (sarf) and grammar etc. What is apparent from an examination of the tafaseers through the different ages since the time of the Sahabah until now is that the tafsīr of the Qur’ān in every age was influenced by the scholarly movement of the time, it presented a picture which reflected the views, theories and schools of thought of the time. Seldom were there tafsīrs that were free from the influence of opinions, thoughts and rules of the time.

Duk waɗannan tafsirai ba a tattara su a cikin littattafai tun ranar da malaman tafsiri (mufassirun) suka fara wanzuwa ba, watau tun zamanin Sahabbai. Maimakon haka, sun canja daga wani hali zuwa wani a tsawon zamani. Da farko, tafsiri ya kasance wani ɓangare ne na hadisi kuma ɗaya daga cikin babin sa. Hadisi shi ne babban fage mai faɗi wanda ya ƙunshi dukan ilimomin Musulunci. Don haka mai ruwaito hadisi, kamar yadda zai ruwaito hadisin da ke ɗauke da hukuncin shari'a, haka zalika zai ruwaito hadisin da ke ɗauke da tafsirin wata aya ta Alƙur'ani. Sannan marubuta, a farkon zamanin Abbasawa da kuma ƙarshen zamanin Umayyawa, watau a farkon ƙarni na biyu hijira, suka fara tara dukan hadisan da suka yi kama da juna kuma suka dace da juna a ƙarƙashin wani babi, suka raba su da sauran babuna. Sai ilimomi kamar tafsiri da fiƙhu waɗanda hadisi ya ƙunsa suka rabu da juna. Abin da ya biyo bayan ilimomin shi ne abin da ya biyo bayan hadisi, da Sira, da fiƙhu, da tafsiri. Ta haka ilimin tafsiri ya wanzu, ya zama ilimi mai zaman kansa da ake nazari a kansa. Duk da haka, tafsiri bai kai ga samun tsari mai tsari ba, ta yadda ayoyin Alƙur'ani ba a ambace su cikin tsari irin na cikin mushaf ba, sannan a biyo su da tafsirinsu. Maimakon haka, tafsirai da aka ruwaito sun warwatse a nan da can. Sun kasance tafsirin ayoyi daban-daban, kamar yadda lamarin yake ga hadisi. Wannan hali ya ci gaba har tafsiri ya rabu da hadisi ya fara tsayuwa a matsayin ilimi mai zaman kansa. An rubuta tafsiri ga kowace aya ta Alƙur'ani ko wani ɓangare na aya, ana tsara waɗannan ayoyi bisa tsarin da suke a cikin mushaf. Mutum na farko da ya yi tafsirin Alƙur'ani yana ambaton aya bayan aya yana bayyana su ɗaya bayan ɗaya shi ne al-Farra' (d. 207 H). Ibn al-Nadim ya ruwaito a cikin littafinsa al-Fihrist cewa:

Daga nan sai ga Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d.310 A.H.) wanda ya rubuta tafsīrinsa mashahuri. Kafin tafsīrin Ibn Jarir ya yi shahara, akwai tafsīrai da dama, kamar tafsīrin Ibn Jurayj. Halinsa irin na malaman hadīsi na farko ne wadanda suka tattara duk abin da ya riske su ba tare da bambance tsakanin ingantattun (Sahih) da raunanan rahotanni ba. An ce: 'Manufar Ibn Jurayj ba ingancin rahoto ba ce; a maimakon haka, ya ruwaito duk abin da aka ruwaito game da kowace aya, ko ingantacce (Sahih) ne ko raunanne (saqim).' Haka nan daga cikin wadannan tafsīrai akwai tafsīrin al-Suddi (d.127 A.H.) da tafsīrin Muqatil (d.150 A.H.). 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak ya ce game da tafsīrin Muqatil: Ina ga tafsīrinsa yana da kyau, da ma ace shi amintacce ne (thiqa).' Daga cikinsu kuma akwai tafsīrin Muhammad ibn Ishaq. Yana ruwaito daga Yahudawa da Nasara, kuma yana nakalto maganganun Wahb ibn Munabbih, Ka'b al-Ahbar da wasu, wadanda suka ruwaito abubuwa daga Attaura, Injila da sharhinsu. Wadannan tafsīrai ba su isa gare mu ba, duk da cewa Ibn Jarir al-Tabari ya tattara yawancinsu ya saka a cikin littafinsa. Daga nan sai mufassirai suka zo a jere, suna bayyana Alkur'ani cikin cikakke kuma tsararriyar hanya, a cikin littattafai da suka cika kuma suna da tsari.

Then, after him came Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d.310 A.H.) who wrote his famous tafsīr. A number of tafsīrs before the tafsīr of Ibn Jarir became well known such as the tafsīr of Ibn Jurayj. His situation was the situation of the first muhaddithin who compiled everything that reached them without differentiating between the correct (Sahih) and incorrect reports. They said 'that Ibn Jurayj's aim was not authenticity; rather he reported everything that was reported about every ayah whether it was correct (Sahih) or weak (saqim).' Also from these tafsīrs is the tafsīr of al-Suddi (d.127 A.H.) and the tafsīr of Muqatil (d.150 A.H.). 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak said about the tafsīr of Muqatil: How excellent is his tafsīr, if only he were reliable (thiqa).' Amongst them is also the tafsīr of Muhammad ibn Ishaq. He used to transmit from the Jews and Christians and he used to quote sayings of Wahb ibn Munabbih, Ka'b al-Ahbar and others, who reported thing from the Torah, Bible and their commentaries. These tafsīrs have not reached us, although Ibn Jarir al-Tabari has collected most of it and included it in his book. Then came mufassirun one after another explaining the Qur’ān in an complete and well-ordered manner in books that were complete and systematic.

Duk wanda ya duba tafsirai zai ga cewa malamai masu tafsiri sun bi hanyoyi daban-daban wajen yin tafsirin. Wasu sun mayar da hankali kan duba salo da ma'anonin Littafi da abin da ya ƙunsa ta fuskar nau'o'in balaga (balaagha), don sanin mafi girma da fitattun salon magana idan aka kwatanta da sauran nau'in magana. Saboda haka ɓangaren balaga ne ya yi galaba a tafsirinsu. Ɗaya daga cikin irin waɗannan shi ne Muhammad ibn al-Zamakhshari a tafsirinsa mai suna al-Kashshaf. Akwai kuma waɗanda suka duba tushen akida, suka yi yaƙi da masu ƙarya da kuma muhawara da waɗanda suka saɓa (Musulunci), kamar Fakhr al-Din al-Razi a shahararren tafsirinsa: al-Tafsir al-Kabir. Wasu daga cikinsu kuwa sun yi nazarin hukunce-hukuncen Shari'ah, suna sha'awar fitar da su daga ayoyi. Don haka sun karkatar da sha'awarsu zuwa ayoyin ahkam, kamar Abu Bakr al-Razi wanda aka fi sani da al-Jassas a shahararren tafsirinsa Ahkam al-Qur'an. Akwai kuma waɗanda suka bi labarai, suka ƙara wa labaran Alƙur'ani daga littattafan tarihi da Isra'iliyyat (labaran Yahudawa), suka fara tara duk abin da suka ji, ko kaɗan ne ko mai yawa, ba tare da bincika abubuwan da suka saɓa wa Shari'ah ba, ko ba su yarda da hankali ba, ko suka saɓa wa ayoyin Alƙur'ani waɗanda ma'anarsu ba ta da shakka. Ɗaya daga cikin irin waɗannan shi ne 'Ala' al-Din 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi, sufi wanda aka fi sani da al-Khazin, wanda ya yi haka a tafsirinsa Bab al-ta'wil fi ma'ani al-tanzil. Akwai kuma waɗanda suka damu da goyon bayan mazhabarsu, suna bayyana ayoyi bisa ga abin da ke goyon bayan ƙungiyarsu, kamar tafsirin al-Bayan na Shaikh al-Tibrisi da tafsirin al-Tibyan na Shaikh al-Tusi. Dukansu sun goyi bayan ra'ayoyin Shi'a da mazhabarsu game da akida ('aqa'id) da ahkam. Akwai kuma waɗanda suka mayar da hankali kawai ga tafsiri don bayyana ayoyi da hukunce-hukuncen Alƙur'ani, ba tare da wata manufa ta musamman ba. Su ne masu tafsiri waɗanda tafsirinsu ake ɗaukar sa a matsayin tushen littattafan tafsiri. Kuma ana ɗaukar su a matsayin malaman tafsiri da sauran fannoni. Kamar tafsirin Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, tafsirin Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad al-Qurtubi, da tafsirin al-Nasafi da sauransu. Amma tafsirorin da aka rubuta a wannan zamani da kuma kusa da ƙarshen zamanin koma-baya, kamar tafsirin Muhammad 'Abduh, tafsirin Tantawi Jawhari da tafsirin Ahmad Mustafa al-Muraghi da sauransu, ba a ɗaukar su a matsayin ɓangare na adabin tafsiri, kuma babu amana da ake sanyawa a cikinsu. Wannan saboda akwai haɗari ga addinin Allah a bayanin ayoyi da yawa, kamar tafsirin Muhammad Rasheed Ridha na ayar:

However, anyone who inspects the tafaseer will find that the mufassirun approached the tafsīr from various perspectives. Some were interested in looking at the styles and meanings of the Book and whatever it included in terms of the forms of rhetorics (balaagha) to know the highest and distinguished forms of speech as compared to other types of speech. So the rhetorical aspect prevailed in their tafsīrs. One of those people is Muhammad ibn al-Zamakhshari in his tafsīr entitled al-Kashaf. There were those who looked into the foundations of belief, the fighting of pretenders and debating those who disagreed (with Islam) like Fakhr al-Din al-Razi in his famous tafsīr: al-Tafsīr al-Kabir. And some of them studied the Sharī’ah rules and were interested in deducing them from the verses. So they channelled their interest towards the verses of ahkām like Abu Bakr al-Razi commonly known as al-Jassas in his well known tafsīr Ahkām al-Qur’ān. There were those who went after stories and added to the Qur’ānic stories from the books of history and israiliyyat (Judaica) and began to collect everything they heard however meagre or abundant without revising the things that contradicted the Sharī’ah, did not agree with the mind or contradicted Qur’ānic ayāt which are definite in meaning. One such person is 'Ala' al-Din 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi, the sufi otherwise known as al-Khazin who did this in his tafsīr Bab al ta'weel fi ma'ani al-tanzeel. And there were those that concerned themselves with supporting their mazhab (school) and explaining the verses in accordance with whatever supports their faction like the tafsīr al-Bayan of al-Shaykh al-Tibrisi and the tafsīr al-Tibyan of al-Shaykh al-Tusi. Both of them supported the views of the Shi'a and their mazhab regarding belief ('aqaid) and ahkām. And there were those that were only concerned with the tafsīr in order to explain the verses and rulings of the Qur’ān regardless of any perspective. They are the mufassirun whose tafsīrs are considered the essence of the books of tafsīr. And they are considered the imams of tafsīr and other topics. Like the tafsīr of Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, the tafsīr of Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad al-Qurtubi, and the tafsīr of al-Nasafi and others. As for the tafsīrs written in this age and towards the end of the period of decline like the tafsīr of Muhammad 'Abduh, the tafsīr of Tantawi Jawhari and the tafsīr of Ahmad Mustafa al-Muraghi and others, they are not considered part of the tafsīr literature and nor is there any trust put in them. This is because there is a risk in the deen of Allah in the explanation of many verses like Muhammad Rasheed Ridha’s tafsīr of the verse:

Ya ba Musulmin Indiya izinin karɓar dokokin Ingila da miƙa wuya ga hukuncin alƙalan Ingila. Shaikh Muhammad Rasheed Ridha ya ambata a juzu'i na shida na Tafsirin Alkur'ani Mai Girma wanda aka fi sani da al-Manar, a cikin tafsirin suratul Ma'ida, lokacin da ya yi bayanin faɗinSa:

He permitted the Muslims of India to adopt English laws and submit to the rulings of English judges. Shaykh Muhammad Rasheed Ridha mentioned in volume six of the Tafsīr of the Noble Qur’ān widely known as al-Manar in the tafsīr of sura al- Mā’idah when he explained His  saying:

A cikin shafuffuka na 406-409, an tambaye shi:

In pages 406-409 he was asked:

Sai ya ce:

Then he said:

Haka kuma tafsirin Tantawi Jawhari yake, inda ya ambata cewa akwai ilimomi da fannoni na zamani a cikin Alkur'ani, kuma ya cika tafsirinsa da hotunan tsuntsaye da dabbobi don nuna cewa Alkur'ani ya bayyana irin wadannan abubuwa. Haka kuma tafsirin Mustafa Zayd, wanda a cikinsa ya fassara tare da kin amincewa da kasancewar mala'iku da shaidanu. Don haka ya aikata kafirci ta hanyar tafsirinsa, ya kuma fita daga Musulunci. Irin wadannan tafsirai da makamantansu ba a dauke su a matsayin littattafan tafsiri a wajen Musulmai, kuma ba a ba bayaninsu wani muhimmanci.

Much similar is the tafsīr of Tantawi Jawhari where he mentioned that there are modern sciences and disciplines in the Qur’ān and he filled his tafsīr with pictures of birds and animals to demonstrate that the Qur’ān did explain such things. And the tafsīr of Mustafa Zayd in which he interpreted and rejected the existence of angels and Shayateen. So he committed kufr by his tafsīr and took himself outside of Islam. These tafsīrs and their likes are not considered books of tafsīr by the Muslims and nor are their explanations given any consideration