10.1 Tafsīr (Ufafanuzi wa Qur'ani) - Utu wa Kiislamu | Quran Course

10.1 Tafsīr (Ufafanuzi wa Qur'ani) - Utu wa Kiislamu | Quran Course

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10.1 Tafsīr (Ufafanuzi wa Qur'ani)

10.1 Tafsīr (qur’ānic Exegesis)

by Sheikh Taqīuddīn An-Nabahānī3 min readViewed 114 times

Neno tafsīr ni la wazni taf'eel linalotokana na neno al-fasr, ambalo maana yake ni kufafanua (bayan). Unasema: "Nimefasiri jambo hilo" (bila kutamka tashdīd), 'afsuruhu fasran', na "Nimelifafanua" (kwa tashdīd): 'ufassiruhu tafsīran' pale unapolifafanua. Tofauti kati ya tafsīr na ta'weel ni kwamba tafsīr ni ufafanuzi wa kile kinachokusudiwa kwa maneno, na ta'weel ni ufafanuzi wa kile kinachokusudiwa kwa maana. Neno tafsīr hutumiwa linapohusu ufafanuzi wa aya za Qur'ani. Qur'ani imeteremshwa kwa lugha ya Kiarabu, kwa hiyo misemo yake ni ya Kiarabu, ikiwemo misemo iliyotokea katika lugha nyingine kama istabraq (hariri nzito). Neno hilo limefanywa kuwa la Kiarabu kwa mujibu wa kanuni za lugha ya Kiarabu, na likawa sehemu ya misemo ya Kiarabu. Mtindo wa Qur'ani ni ule unaojulikana wa Waarabu katika usemi wao. Alisema:

The word tafsīr is the form taf'eel from the word al-fasr which means to explain (bayan). You say I explained the thing (without pronouncing the tashdeed), 'afsuruhu fasran', and I explained it (with the tashdeed); 'ufassiruhu tafsīran' when you explained it. The difference between tafsīr and ta'weel is that tafsīr is the explanation of what is intended by the wording and ta'weel is the explanation of what is intended by the meaning. The word tafsīr is chosen when applying to the explanation of the verses of the Qur’ān. The Qur’ān has been revealed in the Arabic language so its expressions are Arabic, including the expressions which are of a foreign origin like istabraq (brocade). It is has been Arabized according to the principles of Arabic and it became part of the Arabic expressions. The style of the Qur’ān is the well-known way of Arabs in their speech. He  said:

Waarabu walikuwa wakiisoma, wakifahamu nguvu ya ufasaha wake na kuelewa maana zake. Lakini si Waarabu wote wangeweza kuufikia Qur'ani kwa kiwango cha kuielewa kwa ujumla na kwa undani kwa kuisikiliza tu, kwa sababu kushushwa kwa Qur'ani kwa lugha ya Waarabu hakumaanishi kwamba Waarabu wote wataelewa maneno yake na misemo yake. Kwa kuwa si kila kitabu kilichoandikwa katika lugha fulani kinaweza kueleweka na watu wa lugha hiyo. Kuelewa kitabu hakuhitaji lugha peke yake, bali pia kiwango cha akili katika kufahamu na kuelewa kinacholingana na kiwango na utukufu wa kitabu hicho. Hali halisi ya Waarabu wakati Qur'ani ilipokuwa ikishushwa ni kwamba si wote walioweza kuelewa Qur'ani kwa ujumla na kwa undani. Badala yake, walitofautiana katika uelewa wao kulingana na kiwango chao cha kiakili. Kwa sababu hiyo, uwezo wa Maswahaba katika kufafanua na kuelewa Qur'ani ulitofautiana kutokana na tofauti ya uelewa wao wa lugha ya Kiarabu na pia kutokana na tofauti ya akili na ufahamu wao. Misemo ya Qur'ani yenyewe na maana zake hazikueleweka na Waarabu wote. Anas ibn Malik amesimulia kwamba mtu mmoja alimuuliza 'Umar ibn al-Khattab kuhusu kauli yake (SWT):

The Arabs used to recite it, comprehend the strength of its eloquence and understand its meanings. But not all of the Qur’ān can be approached by all Arabs who would understand it generally and specifically just by merely listening to it because by revealing the Qur’ān in the language of the Arabs does not mean that all Arabs will understand its words and phrases. Since not every book written in a certain language can be understood by the people of that language. The understanding of a book does not require language only but also a level of intellect in understanding and comprehension which agrees with the level and elevation of the book. The reality of the Arabs when the Qur’ān was being revealed was that not all of them were able to understand the Qur’ān generally and specifically. Rather, they used to differ in their understanding according to their intellectual elevation. Because of that reason the Sahabah's ability to explain and understand the Qur’ān was at variance due to the disparity of their understanding of the Arabic language and also due to the disparity in their intelligence and comprehension. The Qur’ānic expressions themselves and their meanings were not all understood by all Arabs. Anas ibn Malik narrated that a man asked 'Umar ibn al-Khattab about His  saying:

Na aya nyingine zinazofanana nazo, zinazoashiria maana zinazojulikana sana, kuna aya nyingine ambazo kuzielewa kunahitaji ujuzi wa sababu za kuteremka kwake.

And other such verses which point to well known meanings, there are other verses whose understanding requires knowledge of the causes of revelation.

Kuna aya katika Qur'ani ambazo ni muhkam (wazi) na zina maana iliyo dhahiri. Hizo ni aya hasa za Makka zinazohusu misingi ya dini kwa upande wa 'aqidah, na aya zinazohusu misingi ya sheria, ambazo ni aya za Madina, hasa zile zinazohusiana na miamala (mu'amalat), adhabu ('uqubat) na ushahidi (bayyinat). Pia kuna aya za mutashabihat (zenye utata) katika Qur'ani, ambazo maana yake ni yenye utata kwa watu wengi, hasa aya zinazoweza kuwa na maana kadhaa, au zinazolazimu kuacha maana ya dhahiri na kuchukua maana nyingine kwa sababu ya kupingana na 'aqidah ambayo inapaswa kuwa huru na mambo ya kufananisha Mungu na viumbe.

There are verses in the Qur’ān which are muhkam (explicit) and clear in meaning. They are the verses especially the Makkan verses which pertain to the fundamentals of the deen in terms of the ‘aqīdah and the verses which pertain to the fundamentals of the rules which are the Madinan verses, especially those related to transactions (mu'amalat), punishments ('uqubat) and testimonies (bayyinat). There are mutashabihat (ambiguous) verses as well in the Qur’ān which are ambiguous in meaning for many people, especially the verses that are open to a number of meanings or necessitates leaving the apparent meaning for another meaning because of the contradiction with the creed which should be free of anthropomorphic elements.

Ingawa Masahaba walikuwa wenye uwezo mkubwa zaidi wa kuelewa Qur'ani kwa sababu walikuwa na ujuzi mkubwa zaidi wa lugha ya Kiarabu na kwa sababu walishuhudia mazingira na matukio yaliyozunguka ufunuo wa Qur'ani, bado walitofautiana katika kuelewa kwao na katika uwezo wao wa kufafanua (tafsīr) Qur'ani, kutokana na tofauti katika kiwango cha ufahamu wao wa lugha ya Kiarabu na kutokana na tofauti katika ukaribu wao kwa Mtume ﷺ. Wafasiri maarufu zaidi miongoni mwa Masahaba walikuwa 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas, 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud na Ubay ibn Ka'b; hawa wanne ndio waliokusanya kiasi kikubwa zaidi cha maudhui ya tafsiri na kuyapeleka katika miji mbalimbali ya Waislamu. Kilichowawezesha kuwa na ujuzi wa kina wa tafsiri ni uelewa wao mkubwa wa lugha ya Kiarabu, ufahamu wao wa mtindo wake wa balagha na namna zake za usemi, kuchanganyika kwao na Mtume ﷺ na ukaribu wao kwake, jambo lililowawezesha kujua matukio ambayo aya za Qur'ani ziliteremshwa kwayo, pamoja na akili yao na werevu wao, uwezo uliowawezesha kuunganisha maana kwa namna iliyo bora zaidi na kufikia matokeo sahihi. Ndiyo maana hawakusita kufanya Ijtihād katika kuelewa Qur'ani kulingana na kile akili ilichokihitaji. Bali walifanya Ijtihād katika tafsiri na kuzungumza juu yake kwa mujibu wa maoni yao (ijtihādi zao), na walitoa maamuzi kulingana na kile walichokifikia kwa ufahamu na Ijtihād yao. Kwa hiyo, tafsiri za watu hao zinachukuliwa kuwa miongoni mwa aina za juu kabisa za tafsiri. Lakini wengi wamewazulia uongo, na maneno yameingizwa katika tafsiri zao ambayo hawakuyasema, ndiyo maana utakuta uzushi mwingi katika tafsiri zao. Kilichothibitishwa na wapokezi waaminifu ndicho chenye nguvu zaidi miongoni mwa tafsiri. Kuhusu kila kingine katika riwaya zilizozushwa, si halali kuzikubali, kwa kuwa haijathibitishwa kwamba wao ndio waliozisema. Hata hivyo, tahadhari ya kuchukua tafsiri zilizozuliwa za hizo nne haimaanishi kwamba ni tahadhari dhidi ya kuzisoma tafsiri zao. Badala yake, ni tahadhari dhidi ya kuzichukua na kuzitendea kazi, kwa kuzingatia kwamba hizi ni riwaya zilizozuliwa. Kuhusu kuzisoma na kubainisha ufahamu sahihi kwa kutumia lugha, Shari‘ah na akili pamoja na yale yaliyotajwa ndani yake, hili lina manufaa, kwa sababu katika riwaya hizi zilizozuliwa kuna maelezo ya thamani katika kuelewa, ingawa minyororo yao ya wapokezi ni dhaifu kwa upande wa kuzihusisha na Maswahaba.

Even though the Sahabah were the most competent in understanding the Qur’ān because they were the most knowledgeable in the Arabic language and because they witnessed the circumstances and events around which the Qur’ān was revealed. However, they differed in their understanding and they differed in their ability to explain (tafsīr) the Qur’ān due to the disparity in the level of their familiarity with the Arabic language and due to the disparity in their closeness to the Messenger . The most famous Mufassirun from the Sahabah were 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas, 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud and Ubay ibn Ka'b, they are the four who nurtured the most amount of exegetical material to the different Muslim cities. What enabled them to have such a deep knowledge of tafsīr was their strong understanding of the Arabic language, their grasp of its rhetorical form and styles, their mixing with the Prophet  and being close to him which enabled them to know the events for which verses of the Qur’ān were revealed and their faculty of intellect and intelligence, a faculty which enabled them to link meanings together in the best manner and come out with correct results. That is why they did not refrain from making Ijtihād in understanding the Qur’ān according to what the mind demanded. Rather, they made Ijtihād in tafsīr and spoke about it within their own opinions (Ijtihāds) and they made decisions based on what they had arrived at by their understanding and Ijtihād. Therefore, the tafsīrs of those people are considered as one of the highest forms of tafsīr. But many have lied about them and sayings have been interpolated in their tafsīr which they did not say, that is why you will find many fabrications in their tafsīr. What has been authenticated by trustworthy narrators is the strongest of tafsīrs. As for everything else from the fabricated reports it is not permitted to take them since it has not been proven that they said them. However, the caution of taking fabricated tafsīrs of those four does not mean it is a caution for reading their tafsīrs. Rather, it is a caution against taking them and practising them given the consideration that these are fabrications. As for reading them and determining a correct understanding by the language, Sharī’ah and intellect with what has been mentioned in them, this is useful because there are valuable explanations (tafsīrs) in these fabricated reports in terms of understanding even though their chains of transmission are weak in terms of their ascription to the Sahabah.

Baada ya Maswahaba walikuja Tabi'un. Baadhi yao walipata umaarufu kwa kupokea hadithi kutoka kwa Maswahaba, kutoka kwa wale wanne waliotajwa hapo juu, na kutoka kwa wengine. Miongoni mwa Tabi'un maarufu zaidi ni Mujahid, 'Ata ibn Abi Rabah, 'Ikrama aliyekuwa mtumwa aliyeachiwa huru wa Ibn 'Abbas, na Sa'id ibn Jubayr. Wanazuoni wametofautiana kuhusu kiwango cha kuaminika kwa Wafasiri hao miongoni mwa Tabi'un. Mujahid ndiye anayeaminika zaidi ingawa alikuwa na hadithi chache kuliko wengine, na baadhi ya maimamu na wanahadithi kama Shafi'i na Bukhari wanategemea tafsiri yake. Hata hivyo, baadhi yao walibainisha kwamba Mujahid alikuwa akiwauliza Watu wa Kitabu. Kwa sababu hiyo, kauli zake zilipaswa kuchunguzwa kwa makini kabla ya kuzikubali, ingawa wote walikubaliana juu ya uaminifu wake. 'Ata na Sa'id wote walikuwa waaminifu na wakweli, na hakuna aliyewahi kuhoji uaminifu wao. Kuhusu 'Ikrama, wanazuoni wengi wanamwamini na kumsadiki. Bukhari amepokea kutoka kwake, lakini wengine wanamwona kuwa alichukua hatari katika tafsiri kwa kudhani kwamba anajua kila kitu kuhusu Qur'ani. Hilo lilitokana na kiasi kikubwa cha tafsiri ya Qur'ani alichosimulia kutoka kwa Maswahaba. Miongoni mwa wale wanne, 'Ikrama ndiye aliyepokea zaidi kutoka kwa Ibn 'Abbas. Kuna walioeleza hadithi kutoka kwa Maswahaba wengine, kama Masruq ibn al-Ajda', mwanafunzi wa 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, aliyepokea tafsiri kutoka kwake. Miongoni mwa Tabi'un, Qatada ibn Da'ama As-Sadusi Al-Akma pia alijulikana sana kwa tafsiri. Alikuwa na ujuzi mkubwa wa lugha ya Kiarabu, alibobea katika ushairi wa Kiarabu, historia ya Waarabu na nasaba zao. Baada ya kumalizika kwa zama za Tabi'un, wanazuoni walianza kuandika vitabu vya tafsiri kwa kufuata mbinu maalum, nayo ni kutaja aya kisha kunukuu yale yaliyopokewa kutoka katika tafsiri za Maswahaba na Tabi'un pamoja na mnyororo wao wa wapokezi. Miongoni mwa waliojulikana kwa mbinu hii ni Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, 'Abd al-Razzaq na wengineo. Ingawa tafsiri za watu hawa hazijatufikia kikamilifu, bali yaliyotufikia ni kauli zilizopatikana katika baadhi ya vitabu vya tafsiri, kama tafsiri ya al-Tabari. Kisha baada yao alikuja al-Farra', kisha akaja al-Tabari. Kisha wanazuoni wa tafsiri waliendelea kuja mmoja baada ya mwingine katika kila zama hadi wakati wetu.

After the Sahabah came the Tibi'un. Some of them became famous for transmitting from the Sahabah, from the four mentioned above and from others. The most famous from those Tabi'un are Mujahid, 'Ata ibn Abi Rabah, 'Ikrama freedman of Ibn 'Abbas and Sa'id ibn Jubayr. The 'Ulama have differed on the degree of trust put on those Mufassirun from the Tabi'un, so Mujahid is the most reliable even though he had the fewest narrations and some imams and muhaddithun like Shafi'i and Bukhari rely on his tafsīr. However, some of them observed that Mujahid used to ask the People of the Book. So from this perspective they would give his sayings thorough consideration before taking them though they agreed on his honesty. Both 'Ata and Sa'id were trustworthy and honest and no one has questioned their honesty. As for 'Ikrama, most scholars trust him and believe him. And Bukhari transmits from him but others view him as taking risks in tafsīr thinking that he knows everything about the Qur’ān. And that was due to the huge amount of Qur’ānic tafsīr he has narrated from the Sahabah. From the four, 'Ikrama was the one who transmitted mostly from Ibn 'Abbas. There are those who used to narrate from rest of the Sahabah like Masruq ibn al-Ajda', the student of 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, he used to narrate tafsīr from him. From the Tabi'un, Qatada ibn Da'ama Assudoos AlAkma also became well known for tafsīr. He had an extensive knowledge of the Arabic language and was well versed in Arabic poetry, the era of the Arabs and their genealogy. After the end of the era of the Tabi'un, the 'Ulama began to compile books of tafsīr following a specific method, which is to mention the verse and then quote what has been reported from the tafsīrs of the Sahabah and the Tabi'un along with their chains. Some of them who were famous for this method were Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, 'Abd al-Razzaq and others.Though the tafsīrs of these people have not reached us in their entirety rather what has reached us are statements found in some of the books of tafsīr like the tafsīr of al-Tabari. Then after them came al-Farra' and then came al Tabari. Then scholars of tafsīr came one after another in every age until our time.