Vitabu vya tafsiri vimegawanywa katika makundi mawili makuu kulingana na msisitizo wa waandishi wao katika maelezo yao. Tafsiri za wale waliojizuia katika maelezo yao kwa kupokea yale yaliyofafanuliwa katika Qur'aan au yaliyosemwa na Mtume ﷺ, masahaba zake, na wanafunzi wao ziliitwa tafsiri bir-riwaayah au tafsiri bil-ma'thoor (tafsiri kwa njia ya upokezi). Waandishi wa tafsiri kama hizo pia waliepuka tafsiri zisizo na msingi na maelezo yasiyo ya lazima, na daima walikubali simulizi sahihi. Hii haimaanishi kwamba tafsiri kama hizo zimekosa kabisa hukumu na maoni ya kibinafsi, kwa sababu tafsiri yoyote, kwa lazima, lazima ionyeshe maoni ya mtu aliyeitunga. Lakini katika kesi hii, maoni ya kibinafsi yalipunguzwa kadiri iwezekanavyo.

The books of tafseer have been divided into two general categories according to the emphasis of their authors in their explanations. The tafseers of those who restricted their expla-nations to transmitting what was explained in the Qur’aan or stated by the Prophet (r), his companions, and their students were referred to as tafseer bir-riwaayah or tafseer bil-ma’thoor (tafseer according to transmission). The authors of such tafseers also avoided unfounded interpretations and unnecessary expla-nations and always accepted authentic narrations. This is not to say that such tafseers are totally free of personal judgment and opinion, for any tafseer, of necessity, must reflect the opinion of the individual who compiles it. But in this case, personal opinion was kept to a minimum.

Kwa upande mwingine, tafsiri ambazo waandishi wake mara nyingi walitegemea maoni yao binafsi katika maelezo, ufafanuzi na hitimisho zilijulikana kama tafsiri bid-diraayah au tafsiri bir-ra’y (tafsiri kwa maoni). Katika baadhi ya aina hizi za tafsiri, maelezo yaliyopokelewa kwa usimulizi kutoka kwa Mtume ﷺ, Maswahaba, na wanafunzi wao (Taabi‘uun) hutajwa kabla ya tafsiri ya kibinafsi, na hitimisho au maoni hayo yanakubaliana na maelezo yaliyopokelewa, kanuni za sarufi, na maana za msamiati, huku katika nyingine kukiwa na kupuuzwa kwa sehemu au hata kabisa kwa maelezo yaliyopokelewa, kanuni za sarufi, na maana za maneno. Tafsiri za aina ya kwanza zinakubalika, ilhali zile zinazotegemea zaidi au kabisa maoni yasiyo na msingi huchukuliwa kuwa ni za kipotofu au karibu na upotofu.

On the other hand, those tafseers in which the authors often relied on their personal opinions for explanations, inter-pretations and deductions were called tafseer bid-diraayah or tafseer bir-ra’y (tafseer according to opinion). In some of these types of tafseers, narrated explanations from the Prophet (r), the sahaabah,and their students (taabi‘oon) are mentioned prior to personal interpretation, and the deductions or opinions are in agreement with narrated explanations, grammatical rules, and lexical meanings, while in others there is a partial or even total disregard for narrated explanations, grammatical rules, and word meanings. Tafseers of the first type are acceptable, while those based mostly or solely on unfounded opinion are considered heretical or bordering on heresy.

Allah na Mtume Wake (r) wamekataza wazi tafsiri zisizo na msingi za Qur’ani. Kwa mfano, ilikatazwa katika aya,

Allaah and His Prophet (r) have expressly forbidden unfounded explanations of the Qur’aan. For example, it was forbidden in the verse,

Mtume ﷺ pia alilaani kutoa maoni yasiyo na elimu katika mambo ya dini, akisema,

The Prophet (r) also condemned expression of uninformed opinion in religious matters, saying,

"Mwenyezi Mungu hataondoa elimu baada ya kukupa kwa kuiondoa (kutoka kwenu). Badala yake, atailondoa kwa kuwachukua (roho za) wanachuoni pamoja na elimu yao, mpaka wabaki watu wajinga tu. Wataulizwa maswali ya kidini, nao watatoa hukumu kwa kutegemea maoni yao wenyewe, wakiwapoteza wengine na wao wenyewe wakipotea."112

“Allaah won’t remove knowledge after giving it to you by removing it (from you). Rather he will remove it from (later generations) by taking (the souls of) the scholars along with their knowledge, until only ignorant people remain. They will be asked for religious verdicts, so they will issue verdicts based on their opinions, leading others astray and going astray themselves.”112

Kwa hiyo, inaweza kusemwa kwa ujumla kwamba riwaya kutoka kwa Nabii (ﷺ), masahaba, na tabi‘in ni bora kuliko zile zinazotegemea maoni. Lakini ikiwa riwaya hizo si sahihi, basi tafsiri za aina hiyo zinaweza kuwa mbaya zaidi kuliko baadhi ya zile zinazotegemea maoni.

Therefore, it could be generally said that narrations from the Prophet (r), the sahaabah, and the taabi‘oon are superior to those based on opinion. But if the narrations are not authentic, such tafseers may then be actually worse than some of those based on opinion.

Maelezo mafupi ya baadhi ya tafsiri (tafsīr) maarufu zaidi na waandishi wake yanafuata.

A brief description of some of the most famous tafseers and their authors follows.