Tafsir kitoblari mualliflarining sharhlardagi urg'usiga ko'ra ikki umumiy turkumga bo'lingan. Qur'ondagi yoki Payg'ambar (r), uning sahobalari va shogirdlari tomonidan bayon etilganlarni naql qilish bilan cheklangan muallif tafsirlari "tafsir bir-riwoya" yoki "tafsir bil-ma'sur" (naqlga asoslangan tafsir) deb atalgan. Bunday tafsirlarning mualliflari asossiz talqinlar va keraksiz izohlardan ham o'zini tiyib, doimo sahih rivoyatlarni qabul qilganlar. Ammo bu, albatta, bunday tafsirlar to'liq shaxsiy fikr va mulohazadan xoli, degani emas, chunki har qanday tafsir zarurat yuzasidan uni tuzgan shaxsning qarashini aks ettirishi shart. Lekin bunday hollarda shaxsiy fikr eng kam darajada saqlangan.

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.