Qur’on — insoniyatga yuborilgan ilohiy vahiyning so‘nggi kitobidir va Alloh uni har qanday buzilish yoki yo‘qolishdan saqlashga va’da bergan. U Qur’onda shunday degan:

The Qur’aan is the last book of divine revelation sent to man, and Allaah has promised to protect it from any distortion or loss. He said in the Qur’aan:

Uning yozma va o‘qilgan shakllari o‘tgan o‘n to‘rt yuz yildan ortiq vaqt davomida hech qanday o‘zgarishsiz saqlanib kelgani oldingi boblarda zikr qilingan. Buni Iso payg‘ambar (a.s.) Injili, Eski Ahdga mansub kitoblar, shuningdek Alloh tomonidan nozil qilingan boshqa har qanday kitob haqida aytib bo‘lmaydi. Ammo Allohning Qur’onni himoya qilishi shu bilan cheklanmadi; U Qur’onning ma’nosini ham saqlab qoldi. Agar Qur’on ma’nosining himoyalanishi amalga oshmaganida, adashgan kishilar Alloh Kitobini ramzlar, topishmoqlar va shifrlarning chalkash to‘plamiga aylantirib, uni turli-tuman talqinlarga ochiq qilib qo‘yishardi va uning asl ma’nosi yo‘qolib ketardi. Alloh Qur’onning ma’nosini uning ichida ayrim umumiy hukmlarni izohlash orqali va qolganining tafsirini O‘z Elchisi Muhammad ibn Abdulloh ﷺga topshirish orqali saqlab qoldi (miloddan avvalgi 570-632 yillar).

Its written and recited forms have been preserved without even the slightest change for over fourteen hundred years, as has been mentioned in previous chapters. This cannot be said about the Gospel of Prophet Jesus (r), nor the books of the Old Testament attributed to earlier prophets, nor any other scripture revealed by Allaah. However, Allaah’s protection of the Qur’aan did not stop there; He also safeguarded the original meaning. If the protection of the Qur’aan’s meaning had not taken place, deviants would have turned the Book of Allaah into a jumble of symbols, riddles and codes open to a multiplicity of interpretations, and its original meaning would have been lost. Allaah preserved the meaning of the Qur’aan by explaining some of its generalities within the Qur’aan itself and by entrusting the tafseer of the remainder to His Messenger, Muhammad ibn Abdillaah (r) (570-632 CE).

Sahobalar (sahobalar) Qur'onni tushunishda avvalo Qur'onning o'zidan, so'ngra Payg'ambar ﷺ ning izohlari va amallaridan, hamda Qur'on tilini o'zlari chuqur bilganlari orqali izlashga o'rgatilgan edilar. Payg'ambar ﷺ vafotidan keyin yangi Islomga kirganlar avvalo Qur'onning o'zi o'zini izohlashiga, so'ngra esa Qur'onni ularga tushuntirib berishi uchun sahobalarga tayanganlar. Sahobalar o'zlarining tobe'inlardan bo'lgan shogirdlariga oyatlar qaysi holatda nozil bo'lganini, Payg'ambar ﷺ ning so'zlari va amallari bergan izohni va nihoyat, ba'zi so'zlarning ma'nolarini bayon qilib berar edilar. Ular ba'zan tanish bo'lmagan yoki Arabiston yarimoroli tashqarisidagi arablarga boshqacha ma'noni anglatadigan so'zlar bo'lardi. Sahobalar davri o'tgach, tobe'inlardan bo'lgan olimlar Qur'onning asl ma'nolarini keyingi avlod musulmonlariga xuddi ular qabul qilganlaridek aniq yetkazish katta mas'uliyatini o'z zimmalariga oldilar. Payg'ambar ﷺ dan keyingi uchinchi avlod tobe'inlardan kelgan tafsir rivoyatlarini to'plash va yozib olish jarayonini boshlagan avlod edi.

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.

Yuqorida zikr etilgan Payg'ambar (r) va sahobalarining, shuningdek ularga ergashgan dastlabki avlod musulmon olimlarining uslubidan kelib chiqib, sunniy (to'g'ri e'tiqodli) olimlar Qur'oni karimning to'g'ri tafsirini qilish uchun zarur shartlar sifatida quyidagi qadamlarni chiqarganlar:

From the above-mentioned methodology of the Prophet (r) and his companions and that of the early generations of Muslim scholars which followed them, the following steps have been deduced by orthodox scholars as being the necessary conditions for making correct tafseer of the Qur’aan:

Qur’on oyatlarida o‘quvchining e’tiborini jalb qilish uchun savollar berilib, so‘ngra ularga javob berilgan joylar ko‘p uchraydi, bu esa tushunilayotgan tushunchaning ta’sirini kuchaytiradi. Boshqa joylarda esa umumiy bayonotlar beriladi va keyinroq ular izohlanadi, bu bayon usullarini xilma-xil qilish va o‘quvchi hamda tinglovchilarni ko‘proq mulohaza yuritishga undash uchun qilinadi. Qur’onni Qur’on bilan tafsir qilish deb ataladigan bu o‘zini-o‘zi izohlash jarayoni shundan iboratdir. Alloh nima niyat qilganini boshqa izohlovchi oyatlarni nozil qilish orqali aniqlashni ravo ko‘rdi. Masalan, Alloh shunday deb so‘raydi:

There are many places in the Qur’aan where questions are asked in order to catch the mind of the reader and subsequently answered to increase the impact of the concept in question. In other places, general statements are made and then later explained in order to vary the modes of presentation and encourage readers and listeners to reflect more. This self-explanatory process is referred to as tafseer of the Qur’aan by Qur’aan. Allaah chose to clarify what He intended by revealing other explanatory verses. For example, Allaah asks,

U keyingi oyatda Oʻz savoliga Oʻzi javob beradi:

He then answers His question in the next verse:

Alloh Qur'onda ham shunday deydi:

Allaah also states in the Qur’aan:

Ikki oyat keyin U umumiy qoidaning istisnolarini batafsil bayon etadi:

Two verses later He details the exceptions to the general rule:

Yana bir misol, Allohning O'zini tasvirlab aytgan oyatida, U shunday demoqda:

Another example can be seen in the verse in which Allaah describes Himself, saying:

Bu oyat Alloh bu dunyoda ham, oxiratda ham ko'rinmaydi degan ma'noni anglatadi.

This verse implies that Allaah will not be seen in either this world or the next.

Biroq, Alloh keyinchalik oxirat hayotida mo‘minlarni shunday ta’riflaydi:

However, Allaah later describes the believers in the next life as:

va u kofirlar haqida shunday deydi:

and he says about the disbelievers:

Shuning uchun, boshqa joydan tushuntirish yoki talqin izlashdan oldin, Qur'onning o'zi o'zini tushuntirishiga tayanish kerak, chunki Alloh O'zi nimani niyat qilganini eng yaxshi biladi.

Therefore, before seeking an explanation or interpretation elsewhere, the Qur’aan must be relied upon to explain itself, for Allaah knows best what He intended.

Ko‘p hollarda Payg‘ambar (r) Qur’on oyatlarining turli joylariga qo‘shimcha izoh berar edilar. Alloh Qur’onni tushuntirish vazifasini Payg‘ambar ﷺga topshirgan edi. Bu ishonch Qur’onda aniq va ochiq shaklda bayon qilingan,

On many occasions, the Prophet (r) added further clarification to various verses of the Qur’aan. Allaah had entrusted the job of explaining the Qur’aan to the Prophet (r). This trust was expressed in the Qur’aan in no uncertain terms,

Sahobalar bu narsani aniq tushunishgan va Qur'on oyatlarining ma'nosi haqida biror shubha paydo bo'lganda, doimo aniqlik kiritish uchun Payg'ambar ﷺ ga murojaat qilishgan. Darhaqiqat, namoz, zakot, ro'za, haj, meros qonunlari va boshqa ko'plab mayda-chuyda tafsilotlarning aksariyati Payg'ambarning ﷺ so'zlari yoki amaliy namoyishlari va qo'llanishlari (Sunnat) orqali bayon qilingan. Shu sababli, Payg'ambarning ﷺ Qur'on oyatlariga bergan izohlari Sunnat orqali Qur'onning tafsiri deb ataladi. Masalan, Soratul Fotiha surasida Payg'ambar ﷺ "al-maghdoobi 'alayhim" (ularga Allohning g'azabi tushgan kishilar) yahudiylar, "ad-daalleen" (adashganlar) esa nasroniylar ekanini bayon qilgan.74 Bir safar u zot ﷺ quyidagi oyatni o'qidilar:

The sahaabah understood this clearly and always turned to the Prophet (r) for clarification whenever they were in doubt about the meaning of any of the Qur’aanic passages. In fact, most of the fine details of salaah, zakaah, sawm, hajj, inheritance laws, etc. were explained either by the Prophet’s statements or practical demonstrations and applications (the Sunnah). Thus, the Prophet’s explanations of Qur’aanic passages are referred to as the tafseer of the Qur’aan by the Sunnah. For example, in Soorah al-Faatihah, the Prophet (r) explained that “al-maghdoobi ‘alayhim” (those on whom is Allaah’s anger) are the Jews, and “ad-daalleen” (those astray) are the Christians.74 On one occasion he recited the verse:

U'dan keyin dedi,

He then said,

Boshqa rivoyatda u quyidagi oyatni tushuntirgan:

In another narration, he explained that the verse:

U bunga Alloh tomonidan berilgan jannatdagi bir daryoga ishora qildi.78

referred to a river in Paradise which Allaah has given him.78

Sunnat Allohning hidoyatiga asoslangani uchun, u Qur'onni tushuntirish borasidagi Allohning va'dasining ikkinchi qismini ifodalaydi.

Because the Sunnah was based on guidance from Allaah, it represents the second part of God’s promise to explain the Qur’aan:

Ibn ’Abbos aytdiki, “Keyin uni bayon qilish Bizning zimmamizdadir”, degan so‘z, “sening tilingda [ey Muhammad]” degani. 80 Shu sababli, boshqa hech qanday inson sharhi Payg‘ambar ﷺ ning sharhidan ustun qo‘yilishi mumkin emas.

Ibn ’Abbaas explained that the statement, “Then it is for Me to explain it,” means, “upon your tongue [O Muhammad].” 80 Consequently, no other human interpretation can be given precedence over that of the Prophet (ﷺ).

Sahobalar Qur'on yoki Sunnatda biror oyatning tafsirini topa olmaganda, oyatlarning nozil bo'lish sharoitini va Qur'on nozil bo'lgan arab tilining nozik jihatlarini bilishlariga tayanib, o'z fikr-mulohazalarini ishlatardilar. Shu sababli Qur'onning eng buyuk sharhlovchilaridan biri bo'lgan Ibn Kasir o'zining tafsiri muqaddimasida shunday yozgan: "Agar Qur'onda yoki Sunnatda mos tafsirni topa olmasak, sahobalarning fikrlariga murojaat qilamiz. Chunki ular Qur'onning nozil bo'lish sharoitini bilishlari, uni to'liq va aniq tushunishlari hamda solih amallari tufayli uni boshqalardan ko'ra yaxshiroq bilganlar." Sahobalarning bunday izohlari "tafsir bil-osar" (sahobalarning so'zlari orqali tafsir) deb ataladi. Masalan, Ibn Abbosdan quyidagi oyat haqida so'ralganda:

Whenever the sahaabah could not find the tafseer of a passage in the Qur’aan itself or in the Sunnah, they would use their own reasoning based on their knowledge of the contexts of the verses and the intricacies of the Arabic language in which the Qur’aan was revealed. Consequently, one of the greatest commentators of the Qur’aan, Ibn Katheer, wrote in the preface of his tafseer, “If we are unable to find a suitable tafseer in the Qur’aan or in the Sunnah, we go to the opinions of the sahaabah. For verily, they knew the Qur’aan better than anyone else due to their knowledge of the circumstances of its revelation, their complete and accurate understanding of it, and their righteous deeds.” These explanations of the sahaabah are known as tafseer by aathaar (the sayings of the sahaabah). For example, when Ibn ‘Abbaas was questioned about the verse:

U u javob berdi: «Bu yuz va qo‘llarga ishora qiladi». 82 Boshqa bir safar u quyidagi oyatni tilovat qilgandan so‘ng,

he replied, “It refers to the face and hands.” 82 On another occasion, after reciting the verse,

Ibn ‘Abbos dedi: “Bu kufrning real kufrdan kichikroq bir ko‘rinishidir.” 84

Ibn ‘Abbaas said, “It is a form of kufr (disbelief) less than real kufr.” 84

Biroq, Payg‘ambardan (r) va sahobalardan rivoyat qilingan tafsir Qur’oni karimning barcha oyatlarini qamrab olmagan. Payg‘ambar ﷺ faqat sahobalarga noaniq bo‘lgan narsalarnigina izohlagan, ular esa o‘z navbatida faqat tobiinlarga noaniq bo‘lgan narsalarnigina izohlaganlar. Ammo har bir keyingi avlodda tilning o‘zgarishi tufayli yangi-yangi noaniq joylar paydo bo‘lgan. Shu sababli sahobalar davri o‘tganidan keyin tobiinlar qo‘shimcha izohlar berishga majbur bo‘lganlar. Bu izohlar atar yo‘li bilan tafsirning bir qismi hisoblanadi va ular o‘rtasida ittifoq bo‘lgan joyda shaxsiy ra’ylardan ustun qo‘yilishi kerak. Agar ular o‘rtasida ixtilof bo‘lsa, til dalolat qilmasa, ulardan birining fikri boshqalaridan afzal deb hisoblanmaydi.

However, the tafseer transmitted from the Prophet (r) and the sahaabah did not cover all of the verses of the Qur’aan. The Prophet (r) explained only what was unclear to the sahaabah, and they, in turn, only explained what was unclear to the taabi‘oon. But with each succeeding generation, more areas became unclear due to the evolution of the language. Hence, the taabi‘oon had to make further explanations after the passing of the sahaabah’s era. These explanations are considered a part of tafseer by aathaar and should be given precedence over personal opinions where there is unanimity among them. Where they differed, none of their opinions is given preference over the others unless it is supported by the language.

Tobe'iyn davrida ko'plab nasroniy va yahudiylar musulmon bo'lishdi.

During the era of the taabi‘oon, many Christians and Jews became Muslim.

Natijada, ba'zi tobi'inlar Qur'on tafsirida yahudiy va nasroniy manbalaridan rivoyat qilingan hikoyalarni keltirdilar. Bunday rivoyatlar isroiliyot deb nom oldi. Keyingi avlodlarda tafsir kitoblari shunday rivoyatlar bilan to'ldi, ularning ko'pchiligini hech qanday ishonchli manbaga borib taqab bo'lmas edi.

As a result, some of the taabi‘oon narrated tales from Jewish and Christian sources in their explanations of the Qur’aan. Such narrations became known as Israa’eeleeyaat. In later generations, the books of tafseer became filled with such narrations, many of which could not be traced to any reliable source.

Vaqt o‘tishi bilan so‘zlar yangi ma’nolar kasb etdi, eski ma’nolari unutildi, tilga chet so‘zlar kirib keldi va lug‘at boyligining katta qismi iste’moldan chiqdi. Bu tabiiy jarayon Qur’oni karimdagi ba’zi so‘zlarni lug‘aviy va grammatik ma’nolariga ko‘ra izohlashni taqozo etdi.

With the passage of time, words took on new meanings and old meanings became lost, foreign words entered into the language, and vast sections of vocabulary fell into disuse. This natural process necessitated the explanation of some of the Qur’aanic words according to their literal and grammatical meanings.

Shu sababli, bu davrda Qur'on arabchasi lug'ati va filologiyasiga xos maxsus lug'atlar paydo bo'ldi. Ba'zi so'zlar bir necha ma'noga ega bo'lgan hollarda bu qadam fikrlar ixtilofiga olib keldi, uni faqat Sunnatdan dalil topish orqali hal qilish mumkin edi. Masalan, "lams" so'zi lug'aviy ma'noda "tegish" degan ma'noni anglatadi, lekin majoziy ma'noda jinsiy aloqani bildiradi.

Consequently, this period witnessed the appearance of dictionaries written specifically to deal with Qur’aanic Arabic vocabulary and philology. In cases where words had more than one meaning, this step created differences of opinion which could only be solved by finding some support in the Sunnah. For example, “lams” literally means to touch, but figuratively it means sexual intercourse.

Shunga ko'ra, keyingi olimlar quyidagi oyat borasida ikki asosiy fikrda bo'lishgan:

Thus, the later scholars were of two basic opinions concerning the following verse,

Imomlar ash-Shofi‘iy va Molik bu so‘z qo‘l bilan tegishni anglatadi, deb hisoblaganlar, garchi har bir imom unga ma’lum shartlar qo‘shgan bo‘lsa ham. Boshqa tomondan, Imom Abu Hanifa bu so‘z jinsiy aloqani anglatadi, deb hukm qilgan. Biroq Payg‘ambar ﷺning xotinlari u zotning namozdan oldin ularni o‘pganini rivoyat qilganlar, bu esa ushbu oyatda tegishning nazarda tutilmaganini ko‘rsatadi.86

Imaams ash-Shaafi‘ee and Maalik held that it meant the touch of the hand, though each imaam added certain stipulations to it. On the other hand, Imaam Aboo Haneefah ruled that it meant sexual intercourse. However, the Prophet’s wives reported that he kissed them before performing salaah, which indicated that touching was not intended by this verse.86

Yuqorida zikr qilingan to‘rt usul umumiy jihatdan tafsir bir-riwaayah yoki tafsir bil-ma’thoor (rivoyatga asoslangan tafsir) deb ataladi va, shu sababli, bahsga deyarli joy qoldirmaydi. Garchi to‘rtinchi bosqich ko‘pincha avvalgi avlodlardan kelgan rivoyatlarga asoslansa-da, ba’zan u juda shaxsiy fikrga tayanishi va bahsli bo‘lishi mumkin. Masalan, Yusuf Ali 85-surada ishlatilgan “burooj” so‘zini “Zodiak belgilari” deb tarjima qilgan, Pikthol esa uni “Yulduzlar qasri” deb tarjima qilgan, ammo surага kirish qismida u “zodiak belgilariga nisbatan qo‘llanadi” deb yozgan. Shunga ko‘ra, ularning fikricha, Alloh zodiak belgilari bilan qasam ichmoqda. Ba’zi ingliz tilida so‘zlashuvchi musulmonlar buni astrologiyaga bilvosita dalil deb qabul qilgan. Biroq, “burooj” dastlab faqat “yulduzlar joylashuvi” ma’nosini bildirgan va keyinroq, Bobil va Yunon butparastlari ularga qo‘shib qo‘ygan xayoliy zodiak shakllarini anglatish uchun ishlatila boshlangan. Astrologiya Payg‘ambar (ﷺ) tomonidan aniq va ochiq ravishda man etilgan, chunki u folbinlarga borishni umumiy taqiqlash doirasiga kiradi. Payg‘ambar (ﷺ) shunday degan:

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,

Ilmiy va mantiqiy asoslangan, birinchi to'rt bosqichni chuqur o'rganishdan kelib chiqqan fikrlar, agar ular ushbu bosqichlarning hech biriga zid bo'lmasa, to'g'ri hisoblanadi. Shuningdek, Qur'onning ochiq ma'nosini mavjud vaziyatlarga qo'llash va ularning o'xshashligiga asoslangan xulosalar chiqarish ham ruxsat etiladi, agar bunday talqinlar ishonchli klassik sharhlarga zid kelmasa. Ammo falsafiy, ilmiy yoki mazhabiy g'oyalarga asoslangan erkin talqin qat'iyan man etiladi. Payg'ambar ﷺ shunday deganlar, deb rivoyat qilinadi:

Opinions based on a careful study of the first four steps can be considered valid as long as they do not contradict any of those steps. Likewise, the application of obvious meanings of the Qur’aan to existing situations and the formation of conclusions based on their similarities are also allowed, as long as such interpretations do not clash with authentic classical explanations. But, free interpretation based on philosophical, scientific, or sectarian ideas is totally forbidden. The Prophet (r) was reported to have said,

Yuqoridagi hadisdan ko‘rinadiki, Payg‘ambar (r) o‘z sahobalarini va keyingi avlod musulmonlarini Qur’onni taxmin va asossiz fikrlarga tayangan holda tafsir qilishdan qat’iy ogohlantirgan. Sababi shundaki, Qur’on Islomning asosi bo‘lib, u pok va o‘zgartirilmagan holda saqlanishi shart edi. Agar har kim Qur’onni o‘z xohishicha talqin qilishga erkin qo‘yilganda, uning qadr-qimmati butunlay yo‘qolgan bo‘lar edi va Islomning o‘zi ham poydevoridan zaiflashgan bo‘lar edi. Shunday ekan, qabul qilinadigan yagona tafsir quyidagi tartibga amal qiladigan tafsirdir: Qur’onning Qur’on bilan tafsiri, so‘ngra Sunnat bilan tafsiri, so‘ngra sahobalarning so‘zlari bilan tafsiri, so‘ngra til bilan tafsiri, va nihoyat, avvalgi to‘rt usulga asoslangan va ularning hech biriga zid bo‘lmagan ra’y bilan tafsiri.

We can see from the above-mentioned hadeeth that the Prophet (r) sternly warned his companions and later generations of Muslims about interpretations of the Qur’aan based on speculation and unsubstantiated opinions. The reason is that the Qur’aan is the foundation of Islaam and, as such, it had to remain pure and untampered with. If free rein was given to any and everyone to interpret the Qur’aan as they wished, its value would be totally destroyed, and Islaam itself would be undermined from its base. Thus, the only acceptable tafseer is that which adheres to the following sequence: tafseer of Qur’aan by the Qur’aan, then by the Sunnah, then by the sayings of the sahaabah, then by language, and finally by opinion, as long as it is based on the preceding four methods and does not contradict any of them.