1.4 Njia Ya Tafsiri - Usūl At-tafsīr | Quran Course

1.4 Njia Ya Tafsiri - Usūl At-tafsīr | Quran Course

Maswahaba (masahaba wa Mtume) walifundishwa kutafuta ufahamu wao wa Qur’ani kwanza kutoka katika Qur’ani yenyewe, kisha kutoka katika maelezo na matumizi ya Mtume ﷺ, na kutoka katika ufahamu wao wa karibu wa lugha ya Qur’ani. Baada ya kifo cha Mtume ﷺ, wale waliosilimu hivi karibuni walitegemea kwanza Qur’ani kujieleza yenyewe, kisha wakawategemea masahaba kuwaeleza Qur’ani. Masahaba walikuwa wakiwaeleza wanafunzi wao miongoni mwa Taabi‘uun hali zilizosababisha aya kushuka, tafsiri iliyotolewa na kauli na vitendo vya Mtume ﷺ, na hatimaye walikuwa wakieleza maana za baadhi ya maneno ambayo huenda yalikuwa hayajulikani au ambayo yalikuwa na maana tofauti kwa Waarabu walio nje ya Peninsula ya Arabia. Kwa kupita zama za masahaba, wanazuoni miongoni mwa Taabi‘uun walibeba jukumu zito la kuwafikishia kizazi kijacho cha Waislamu maana halisi za Qur’ani kama walivyoipokea kwa usahihi. Kizazi cha tatu baada ya Mtume ﷺ ndicho kilichoanza mchakato wa kukusanya na kuandika riwaya mbalimbali za tafsiri kutoka kwa Taabi‘uun.

The sahaabah (companions) were taught to seek their understanding of the Qur’aan first from the Qur’aan itself, then from the explanations and applications of the Prophet (r) and from their own intimate understanding of the language of the Qur’aan. After the Prophet’s death, those who entered Islaam as new converts depended first upon the Qur’aan to explain itself, then they depended on the sahaabah to explain the Qur’aan to them. The sahaabah would inform their students among the taabi‘oon of the circumstances in which the verses were revealed, the interpretation given by the Prophet’s statements and his actions, and finally they would explain the meanings of some words which may not have been familiar or which may have had a different meaning to Arabs outside of the Arabian Peninsula. With the passing of the era of the sahaabah, the scholars among the taabi‘oon shouldered the grave respon-sibility of conveying the original meanings of the Qur’aan to the next generation of Muslims exactly as they had received them. It was the third generation after the Prophet (r) which began the process of gathering and recording the various narrations of tafseer from the taabi‘oon.

Mbinu hizi nne zilizotajwa hapo juu zinaangukia chini ya kichwa cha jumla cha tafsiri kwa riwaya, yaani tafsiri inayotegemea simulizi (tafseer bir-riwaayah au tafseer bil-ma’thoor), na kwa hiyo huacha nafasi ndogo sana ya mjadala. Ingawa hatua ya nne mara nyingi inatokana na simulizi kutoka vizazi vya mwanzo, wakati mwingine inaweza kuwa na maoni mengi ya kibinafsi na yenye utata. Kwa mfano, Yusuf Ali anatafsiri neno “burooj” lililotumika katika sura ya 85 kuwa “alama za nyota za zodiac,” wakati Pickthall anatafsiri kuwa “Majumba ya Nyota,” lakini katika utangulizi wake wa sura hiyo anasema kwamba neno hilo “linatumika kwa alama za zodiac.” Kwa mujibu wa tafsiri hizo, Allaah anaapa kwa alama za zodiac. Baadhi ya Waislamu wanaozungumza Kiingereza wameichukulia hili kuwa ni uungaji mkono usio wa moja kwa moja kwa unajimu. Hata hivyo, “burooj” awali ilimaanisha tu “mpangilio wa nyota,” na haikuja kutumika kurejelea takwimu za kuwaziwa za zodiac ambazo Wababiloni na Wagiriki wapagani waliziweka juu yake baadaye. Unajimu umekatazwa na Mtume (r) kwa kauli isiyo na shaka, kwa kuwa unaangukia katika katazo la jumla la kwenda kwa waaguzi. Mtume (ﷺ) amesema,

The four above-mentioned methods come under the general title of tafseer bir-riwaayah or tafseer bil-ma’thoor (tafseer based on narration) and, as such, leave little room for argument. Although the fourth step is oftentimes based on narrations from earlier generations, at other times it can be highly opinionated and controversial. For example, Yusuf Ali translates the word “burooj” used in the 85th soorah as “the Zodiacal signs,” while Pickthall translates it as “Mansions of the Stars,” but says in his introduction to the soorah that it “is applied to the signs of the zodiac.” Thus, according to them, Allaah is making an oath by the zodiacal signs. Some English-speaking Muslims have taken this to be indirect support for astrology. However, “burooj” originally only meant “star con-figuration,” and it was not until later times that it was used to refer to the imaginary figures of the zodiac that pagan Babylonians and Greeks superimposed on them. Astrology has been forbidden by the Prophet (r) in no uncertain terms, as it falls under the general prohibition on visiting fortunetellers. The Prophet (ﷺ) said,

Sūrah al-Mā'idah (5):44

83 Soorah al-Maa’idah (5):44.

84 Ametoa Al-Haakim, juzuu ya 2, ukurasa wa 313. Kauli inayofanana nayo ilipokewa na Ibn Jareer katika Tafsiri yake, juzuu ya 4, ukurasa wa 597, namba 12068. Suala hili ni mojawapo ya mabishano makali ya zama zetu, swali likiwa: Je, kauli ya Ibn ‘Abbaas inawahusu watawala wa zama zetu wanaotawala kwa mchanganyiko wa sheria ya Sharee‘ah na sheria zilizotungwa na binadamu? Msimamo wa wanazuoni wengi unaonekana kuwa: pale mtawala anapoamini kwamba sheria zilizotungwa na binadamu ni bora kuliko Sharee‘ah au zina thamani sawa nayo, au hata kama si bora kama Sharee‘ah lakini anaona ni halali kutawala kwazo, basi huyo ni kaafir aliyetoka katika Uislamu. Ikiwa, hata hivyo, anatumia sheria zilizotungwa na binadamu huku akiamini kwamba anatenda dhambi kwa kufanya hivyo, basi kufuru yake ni kufuru ya matendo, ambayo inamfanya kuwa mwenye dhambi kubwa, lakini haimtoi nje ya jamii ya Uislamu. Angalia at-Tah-theer min Fitnah at-Takfeer cha Shaykh al-Albaanee, ambaye anatoa ushahidi mwingi kutoka kwa kauli za wanazuoni wa salafiyyah wa zamani na wa kisasa kuunga mkono msimamo wake.

84 Collected by al-Haakim, vol. 2, p. 313. A similar statement was collected by Ibn Jareeer in his Tafseer, vol. 4, p. 597, no. 12068. This issue is one of the raging controversies of our time, the question being: Does Ibn ‘Abbaas’s statement apply to rulers in our time, who rule by mixtures of Sharee‘ah law and man-made law? The position of most scholars seems to be that when the ruler believes that man-made laws are better than or as good as the Sharee‘ah, or that even though they aren’t as good as the Sharee‘ah, it is permissible to rule by them, then he is a kaafir who has left Islaam. If, however, he applies man-made laws while believing that he is sinful in doing so, his kufr is kufr of actions, which makes him a major sinner, but doesn’t place him out of the fold of Islaam. See at-Tah-theer min Fitnah at-Takfeer by Shaykh al-Albaanee, who provides copious documentation from the statements of classical and modern salafee scholars to support his position.