Maswahaba walifanya tafsīr ya aya za Qur’ani Tukufu kwa ijtihadi yao wenyewe katika tafsīr au kwa kuisikia kutoka kwa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ. Mara nyingi walieleza sababu ya kushuka kwa aya, au kueleza aya hiyo ilishushwa kuhusu nani. Katika kufafanua aya, walijizuia kubainisha maana ya kilugha waliyoielewa kutoka katika aya hiyo kwa maneno mafupi kabisa, kama kauli yao: ghayr mutajanif li ithm (si mwenye kuelekea dhambi), yaani, si mwenye kuwa tayari kwa dhambi (ghayr muta'arrid li ma'siyya). Vivyo hivyo kauli yao kuhusu kauli Yake:

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:

Watu wa jahiliyya, mmoja wao alipotaka kutoka kwenda safari, alichukua mshale na kusema: Huu unaniamuru niende nje. Kwa hiyo akitoka katika safari yake atakutana na bahati nzuri. Kisha alichukua mshale mwingine na kusema: Huu unaniamuru nibaki, kwa hiyo hatakuwa na bahati katika safari yake. Mshale wa bahati mbaya ni mmoja kati ya mishale miwili. Hivyo Allah alikataza tabia hii. Mfano wake ni kile kilichosimuliwa kutoka kwa Ibn 'Abbas kuhusu kauli Yake:

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:

Alisema: kuelekea Makkah. Kama wangeongeza chochote juu ya hilo, ingekuwa ni yale yaliyosimuliwa kuhusu sababu ya kuteremka (Asbab al-Nuzul) na kuhusu nani aya husika iliteremshwa. Imesimuliwa kutoka kwa Abu Hurairah kuhusu kauli Yake:

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:

alisema kwamba aya hiyo ilishushwa kuhusu Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alipojaribu kumshawishi mjomba wake Abu Talib asilimu. Kisha wakaja Tabi'un baada ya Masahaba, ambao walipokea kila kitu alichotaja Masahaba kwa njia hii. Miongoni mwa Tabi'un kulikuwa na wale waliofafanua aya za Qur'ani Tukufu au kubainisha sababu ya kushuka kwake, ama kwa ijtihadi yao wenyewe katika tafsiri au kwa kuisikia kutoka kwa wengine. Baada ya Tabi'un wakaja Ulama waliopanua tafsiri na kunukuu simulizi kutoka kwa Mayahudi na Wakristo. Wafasiri waliendelea kufuatana katika kila zama na kizazi, wakiifafanua Qur'ani na kupanua tafsiri katika kila zama juu ya yale yaliyotangulia. Wafasiri walianza kuelekeza umakini wao kwenye aya ili kutoa hukumu kutoka kwake na kueleza madhehebu yao kwa mtazamo wa hiari (ikhtiyar) na kadari (jabr). Wakaanza kufafanua aya zinazothibitisha maoni yao kulingana na mielekeo yao katika sheria, elimu ya kalam ('ilm al-Kalam), balagha, sarf na nahau, n.k. Kinachodhihirika kutokana na kuchunguza tafsiri za zama mbalimbali tangu zama za Masahaba hadi sasa ni kwamba tafsiri ya Qur'ani katika kila zama iliathiriwa na harakati za kielimu za wakati huo; iliwasilisha picha iliyoakisi maoni, nadharia na madhehebu ya wakati huo. Ni nadra kupatikana tafsiri zilizoepuka ushawishi wa maoni, mawazo na kanuni za wakati huo.

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.

Hata hivyo, tafsīr hizi zote hazikuandikwa katika vitabu tangu siku ya kwanza mufassirun walipoanza kuwepo, yaani tangu wakati wa Masahaba. Badala yake, zilibadilika kutoka hali moja hadi nyingine kwa karne nyingi. Mwanzoni, tafsīr ilikuwa sehemu ya hadīth na mojawapo ya sura zake. Hadīth ilikuwa mada pana iliyojumuisha taaluma zote za Kiislamu. Kwa hiyo, mpokezi wa hadīth, kama vile alivyosimulia hadīth yenye hukumu ya kisheria, pia alisimulia hadīth yenye tafsīr ya aya ya Qur’ān. Kisha waandishi, mwanzoni mwa enzi ya Abbasi na mwishoni mwa enzi ya Umayyad, yaani mwanzoni mwa karne ya pili hijria, walianza kukusanya pamoja hadīth zote zinazofanana na zinazohusiana chini ya mada moja, na kuzitenganisha na mada nyingine. Hivyo, taaluma kama tafsīr na fiqh zilizomo katika hadīth zilitenganishwa kutoka kwa nyingine. Kilichotokea katika elimu hizo ndicho kilichotokea kwa hadīth, Sīrah, fiqh na tafsīr. Hivyo, elimu ya tafsīr ilianza kuwepo na ikawa elimu huru iliyosomwa yenyewe. Hata hivyo, tafsīr hazikuwa na mpangilio maalum, kwani aya za Qur’ān hazikutajwa kwa mpangilio kama ulivyo katika mushaf (Qur’ān), kisha zikifuatiwa na tafsīr yake. Badala yake, tafsīr zilizosimuliwa zilitawanyika huku na huko. Zilikuwa tafsīr za aya mbalimbali, kama ilivyokuwa kwa hadīth. Hali hii iliendelea hadi tafsīr ilipotenganishwa na hadīth na kuanza kusimama kama elimu inayojitegemea. Tafsīr iliandikwa kwa kila aya ya Qur’ān au sehemu ya aya, zikipangwa kufuatana na mpangilio wa mushaf. Wa kwanza kuchukua jukumu la kufasiri Qur’ān akinukuu aya baada ya aya na kuzifafanua moja baada ya nyingine alikuwa al-Farra' (d.207 A.H.). Ibn al-Nadim anaripoti katika kitabu chake al-Fihirst kwamba:

Kisha baada yake alikuja Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d.310 A.H.) ambaye aliandika tafsīr yake maarufu. Kabla ya tafsīr ya Ibn Jarir zilikuwepo tafsīr kadhaa zilizojulikana sana, kama tafsīr ya Ibn Jurayj. Hali yake ilikuwa ni hali ya muhaddithīn wa mwanzo waliokusanya kila kilichowafikia bila kutofautisha kati ya riwaya sahihi (Sahih) na zisizo sahihi. Walisema: 'Lengo la Ibn Jurayj halikuwa usahihi; bali aliripoti kila kilichoripotiwa kuhusu kila aya, iwe sahihi (Sahih) au dhaifu (saqim).' Pia miongoni mwa tafsīr hizi ni tafsīr ya al-Suddi (d.127 A.H.) na tafsīr ya Muqatil (d.150 A.H.). 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak alisema kuhusu tafsīr ya Muqatil: Tafsīr yake ni bora kiasi gani, lau tu angekuwa mwaminifu (thiqa).' Miongoni mwao pia ni tafsīr ya Muhammad ibn Ishaq. Yeye alikuwa akinukuu kutoka kwa Mayahudi na Wakristo, na alikuwa akinukuu kauli za Wahb ibn Munabbih, Ka'b al-Ahbar na wengineo, waliosimulia mambo kutoka katika Taurati, Biblia na tafsiri zao. Tafsīr hizi hazijatufikia, ingawa Ibn Jarir al-Tabari amekusanya sehemu kubwa yake na kuiingiza katika kitabu chake. Kisha wakaja wafasiri mmoja baada ya mwingine, wakieleza Qur’ān kwa njia kamili na yenye mpangilio mzuri, katika vitabu vilivyokamilika na vyenye utaratibu.

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.

Hata hivyo, yeyote atakayechunguza tafsiri atakuta kwamba wafasiri (mufassirun) waliikaribia tafsiri kutoka mitazamo mbalimbali. Baadhi yao walivutiwa kuangalia mitindo na maana za Kitabu na kila kilichomo ndani yake kwa upande wa aina za balagha, ili kujua aina za juu na za kipekee za usemi ikilinganishwa na aina nyingine za usemi. Kwa hiyo upande wa balagha ulitawala katika tafsiri zao. Mmoja wa watu hao ni Muhammad ibn al-Zamakhshari katika tafsiri yake iitwayo al-Kashaf. Walikuwepo pia wale waliochunguza misingi ya imani, kupambana na wadanganyifu na kujadiliana na wale waliopingana (na Uislamu) kama Fakhr al-Din al-Razi katika tafsiri yake maarufu: al-Tafsir al-Kabir. Na baadhi yao walisoma kanuni za Sharia na walivutiwa kuzitoa kutoka katika aya. Basi wakaelekeza shauku yao kwenye aya za hukmu, kama Abu Bakr al-Razi, anayejulikana kwa jina la al-Jassas, katika tafsiri yake maarufu Ahkam al-Qur'an. Walikuwepo wale waliofuatilia hadithi na kuongeza kwenye hadithi za Qur'an kutoka vitabu vya historia na israiliyyat (Yahudi-simulizi), wakaanza kukusanya kila walichosikia, iwe kidogo au kingi, bila kuhakiki yale yaliyopingana na Sharia, yasiyokubaliana na akili, au yaliyopingana na aya za Qur'an zenye maana isiyo na shaka. Mmoja wa watu kama hao ni 'Ala' al-Din 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi, Sufi anayejulikana kwa jina la al-Khazin, aliyefanya hivyo katika tafsiri yake Bab al-Ta'wil fi Ma'ani al-Tanzil. Pia walikuwepo wale waliojishughulisha na kuunga mkono madhehebu yao na kueleza aya kulingana na kile kinachounga mkono kundi lao, kama tafsiri al-Bayan ya Shaykh al-Tibrisi na tafsiri al-Tibyan ya Shaykh al-Tusi. Wote wawili waliunga mkono maoni ya Shi'a na madhehebu yao kuhusu imani ('aqa'id) na hukmu. Na walikuwepo wale waliojishughulisha tu na tafsiri ili kueleza aya na hukumu za Qur'an bila kujali mtazamo wowote. Hao ni wafasiri ambao tafsiri zao zinachukuliwa kuwa kiini cha vitabu vya tafsiri. Pia wanachukuliwa kuwa maimamu wa tafsiri na mada nyinginezo. Mfano ni tafsiri ya Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, tafsiri ya Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad al-Qurtubi, na tafsiri ya al-Nasafi na wengineo. Kuhusu tafsiri zilizoandikwa katika zama hizi na karibu na mwisho wa kipindi cha kudorora, kama tafsiri ya Muhammad 'Abduh, tafsiri ya Tantawi Jawhari na tafsiri ya Ahmad Mustafa al-Muraghi na wengineo, hazichukuliwi kuwa sehemu ya fasihi ya tafsiri, wala hakuna imani inayowekwa ndani yake. Hii ni kwa sababu kuna hatari kwa dini ya Allah katika ufafanuzi wa aya nyingi, kama tafsiri ya Muhammad Rasheed Ridha ya aya:

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:

Aliwaruhusu Waislamu wa India kufuata sheria za Kiingereza na kutii maamuzi ya majaji wa Kiingereza. Shaykh Muhammad Rasheed Ridha alitaja katika juzuu ya sita ya Tafsīr ya Qur'ani Tukufu inayojulikana sana kama al-Manar, katika tafsiri ya sura al-Mā'idah, alipofafanua kauli Yake:

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:

Katika kurasa 406-409 aliulizwa:

In pages 406-409 he was asked:

Kisha akasema:

Then he said:

Vivyo hivyo, tafsiri ya Tantawi Jawhari, ambapo alitaja kwamba kuna sayansi na taaluma za kisasa katika Qur'ani, na akaijaza tafsiri yake kwa picha za ndege na wanyama ili kuonyesha kwamba Qur'ani ilieleza mambo kama hayo. Pia tafsiri ya Mustafa Zayd, ambamo alifasiri na kukataa kuwepo kwa Malaika na Mashetani. Kwa tafsiri yake hiyo, alitenda kufuru na kujitoa nje ya Uislamu. Tafsiri hizi na zinazofanana nazo hazichukuliwi na Waislamu kuwa vitabu vya tafsiri, wala maelezo yao hayapewi uzito wowote.

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