As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuhu. Al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbil-ālamīn. Wa-s-salātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā sayyidil-anbiyā'i wa-l-mursalīn.
Wa-alā ālihi wa-sahbihi ajma'īn. Wa-man tabi'ahum bi-ihsālin ilā yawm al-dīn. Amma ba'd.
All thanks and praise are due to Allah subḥānahu wa-ta'ālā. And may His peace and blessings be upon His last and final messenger, His family, His companions, and those who follow them until the end of times. Ramadan Kareem, Ramadan Mubarak, insha'Allah everyone is enjoying their first fast.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept all of your beautiful worship that you have engaged in today. So welcome to our first lesson of Tafsirul Jalanayn. This is a series of classes in which we'll be exploring and studying this amazing, brief, yet comprehensive work of Tafsir throughout the month of Ramadan. with the eventual goal of completing it by the end of summer.
And as we all know, the month of Ramadan has a very unique, a very special connection with the Qur'an. Allah SWT Himself tells us, شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنِ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed. هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ as guidance for all of humanity. وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ And as a clear explanation of guidance and a criterion between what's right and what's wrong.
So there's absolutely nothing better than spending our time engaged in reciting, studying, and understanding the words of Allah. And by doing so, we hope that we are counted among the people of the Prophet. whom he described as خَيْرُكُم مَّن تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَ that the best people among you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it to others اللهم جعلنا منهم We ask Allah to make us all among the best of people Now among all of the various subjects studied within the field of Qur'anic studies Tafseer is the most important Tafseer is the key to unlocking how to understand and implement the Qur'an properly, which is the primary purpose of this branch of knowledge.
The recitation of the Qur'an itself is a great act of reward. It carries a lot of blessings and virtues. Every single letter we recite, we receive amazing amounts of virtues and blessings and rewards from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
However, the actual purpose of the Qur'an is for us to engage with it, to engage with the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with our hearts and our minds, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. To think, ponder, and reflect over its meanings. As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in surah As-Sa'd, كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَامِ that Allah addresses the Prophet and he tells him that this is a blessed book that we have revealed to you O Muhammad.
Why? لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِ So that people can think, ponder and reflect over its verses. So Allah Himself is informing us that one of the primary objectives, one of the primary purposes behind revelation is for us as human beings to engage in this act of التدبر وليتذكر أولو الألبام And so that people of understanding, people of intellect can be reminded that whenever we recite the Qur'an whenever we listen to the Qur'an we are reminded about Allah we are reminded about His existence His oneness, His might, His power, His glory, His magnificence we are reminded about our relationship to Him that He is our Lord and we are His servants. We are reminded about our purpose in life. We are reminded about life after death, reward and punishment, accountability, paradise and hellfire.
We are reminded about our values and principles and morals. That is why learning the tafsir is considered to be an obligation upon every Muslim in varying degrees. Because the only way We can contemplate and reflect over the meanings of the Qur'an. The only way we can start to engage with the Qur'an intellectually and emotionally is through the science and through this discipline of Tafsir. So one way that our teachers would describe Tafsir is they would say that the Qur'an is a treasure chest full of guidance and wisdom.
It's this huge treasure chest that's full of amazing diamonds and rubies and gold and silver. All of this amazing hidden treasure. And the key to unlocking this chest is this discipline, is the study of tafsir.
There's this very famous statement of the scholars of the past. They would say, التفسير بحر لا ساحل له تفسير is an ocean that has no shore. Meaning we can get deeper and deeper and deeper, and we can continue studying the Qur'an for the rest of our lives.
And the more we study, the more we realize and recognize how much we truly don't know, how much we truly don't understand. That is one of the things that happens when you engage with the Qur'an. It creates the sense of humility. And you recognize that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is Al-Aleem. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the All-Knowing.
He is Al-Hakeem, He is the All-Wise. Whereas we as human beings, we are weak, we are limited, our capabilities and abilities are very finite. Now before approaching the study of any discipline, it's part of our scholarly tradition to first discuss a few preliminary remarks regarding that discipline.
These are known as Al-Mabadi Al-Ashara. The 10 starting points or the 10 preliminary remarks. regarding the subject. And the reason why the scholars would mention these 10 things is to give us as students an idea, a really general broad overview of what exactly it is we are going to be studying. So first and foremost, we start with التعريف, the definition.
What exactly does the word تفسير mean? When we are studying the تفسير of the Qur'an, what exactly are we referring to? So linguistically speaking, the word تفسير It is a مصدر, it is a verbal noun. It comes from the verb فَسَّرَ يُفَسِّرُ So the verb فَسَّرَ يُفَسِّرُ, it means to explain, to expound, to make clear, to interpret, to make things clear. So the word تفسير, it literally means the explanation, the clarification, or the interpretation of something.
Now technically, as a field of knowledge, as a discipline. As a subject related to the Qur'an, it refers to the discipline by which the Qur'an is understood, its meanings are explained, and its rulings and wisdoms are derived. So Tafsir is a particular branch of Islamic studies, within Qur'anic studies, and its main purpose is number one to understand the Qur'an. The meanings of the Qur'an are explained, they are opened up.
so that we as the reader or we as the audience can have a proper and better understanding of them. And it is a science to which the rulings of these verses and oftentimes its wisdoms, guidance, morals, lessons, and reminders are derived. So it is a branch of knowledge in which the meanings of the Qur'an are explained and its injunctions and wisdoms are described openly and clearly. There's a famous commentary on Tafsir al-Jalanayn which is known as Haashiyat al-Sawi. So in his introduction, he defines it as عِلْمٌ بِأُصُولٍ يُعْرَفُ بِهَا مَعَانِي كَنَامٍ لَّا عَلَى حَسَبِ الطَّاقَةِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ It's a branch of knowledge regarding Usul, regarding foundational principles through which the meanings of God's words are understood.
عَلَى حَسَبِ الطَّاقَةِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ Within human capability. وَمَوْضُوعُهُمْ Ask for its subject matter. What is the subject matter of Tafsir? آيَاتُ الْقُرْآنِ مِنْ حَيْثُ فَهْمِ مَعَانِيهَا The verses of the Qur'an in order to understand them. So the subject matter of Tafsir is essentially the divine speech of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
That is what we're studying. That is what we're trying to grasp and understand. That is what we're trying to clarify.
The founder. Al-Waad'i'Who is the founder of Tafseer? He says, Ar-raasikhoona fil-ilm min ahdil nabiyy salallahu alayhi wasallam ila huna alat-tahqiq kama shahidallahu bidhalik It is the Prophet ﷺ and then his companions, and then their students, and then the Arabic language itself.
So one of the responsibilities of the Prophet ﷺ was to clarify, was to explain, The Quran to his community لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّنَ إِلَيْهِمْ To do bayan, to clarify, to explain, to comment on what was revealed to the people. So essentially the foundations, the origin of tafsir is coming directly from the Prophet ﷺ. And the Prophet ﷺ taught the meanings of the Qur'an to his companions, the sahaba radiallahu anhum. And then they taught it to their students, the tabi'un. And then they taught it to their students, the tab'ut tabi'in.
So these would be the origins or the sources of tafsir. in addition to the Arabic language itself. And then that's the next thing they discuss is its source.
Alright, where exactly does this knowledge or this branch of Tafsir come from? So first and foremost, we will discuss this a little bit later on in more detail that there are six primary sources for Tafsir, but really quickly the Qur'an itself. Al-Qur'an yufassiru ba'duhu ba'da That oftentimes the Qur'an explains itself.
That Allah might ask a question, And then he himself will answer it. Sometimes Allah might mention something in a very general way. And later on he will make it specific.
Sometimes he will mention it briefly, and later on he will mention it in detail. So the Qur'an itself. Then the sunnah of the Prophet.
His own words, his own teachings, his own actions, his own approvals. And then the narrations from the companions, as well as the Arabic language. Alright, the ruling.
With respect to us as Muslims, as everyday Muslims, what is the ruling of Tafsir? So the scholars, they mention, الوجوب الكفاء and it's a communal obligation that there should be some members of the community that have a very, very solid, profound, deep understanding of the Qur'an so that they can then teach the community. But it's also an individual obligation to a certain degree.
It is an obligation upon each and every single one of us to at least have a general overview and general understanding of the Qur'an, of this divine book of guidance. So depending upon the individual, depending upon their context and situation of life, the ruling could differ. But at the bare minimum, everyone is required to learn as much that will allow them to understand the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala properly and correctly.
Alright, then it says the rank, النسبة. What is the rank of this branch of knowledge? He says, أنه أفضل العلوم الشرعية وأصلها. It is the most noble.
It is the best of all disciplines. وأصلها. And it's also the foundation of all the other disciplines.
Because oftentimes we get fiqh from the Qur'an, and it is the best thing to study. And the reason why it's the best thing to study is because it is the study of the words of Allah. The benefit, what is the fa'ida? المعرفة بمعاني كنام الله على الوجه الأكمل It is understanding the words of Allah properly. And what is the objective of studying Tafsir?
And this would be the objective of studying anything related to Islam. He says, الفوز بسعادة الدارين To be successful by attaining success and happiness in both worlds. In the life of this world, as well as the life of the world to come. أَمَّا الدُّنْيَا How in this world?
فَبِامْتِثَالِ الْأَوَامِلِ وَاجْتِنَابِ النَّوَاهِ That by understanding the Qur'an, we will be successful in this world because we are going to build a life that is pleasing to Allah by obeying His commandments and staying away from His prohibitions to the best of our ability. وَأَمَّا الْآخِرَةِ فَبِالْجَنَّةِ وَنَعِيمِهَا And ask for the Hereafter, then through the Qur'an and through the blessings of the Qur'an, we will be granted entry into Paradise and enjoy all of its pleasures. So we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for us to attain the benefit and the objective of studying this discipline. Ask for the importance of Tafsir. Tafsir, its importance really can't be overemphasized.
The importance of Tafsir as a tool to properly understand the Qur'an cannot be overemphasized because it is meant to explain and open the power, the beauty, the eloquence of the words of Allah. And the words of Allah are extremely powerful. They are extremely eloquent, extremely beautiful, extremely emotive. They are extremely transformative.
That if we engage with the Qur'an as we are supposed to, we will find that it makes a huge impact on our lives in terms of our hearts, in terms of our behavior, in terms of our speech, in terms of our attitude. So in order to have that effect upon our hearts, the key for that is Tafseen, is studying an explanation of the Qur'an. Imam al-Suyuti, rahimahullah, he captured the importance of Tafseen beautifully when he wrote in his famous book, Al-Itqan Fi Ulum Al-Qur'an, it's one of the most famous works regarding the sciences of the Qur'an or Qur'anic studies. So in it, he writes that Tafseen is the most honorable of all disciplines for three reasons.
The first reason is with respect to its topic. It deals with the speech of Allah, which contains every kind of wisdom and virtue. It contains pronouncements about what has passed, reports of what will happen, and judgments concerning what happens between people.
And this statement is actually taken from a riwayah that is mentioned in the hadith collection of Imam Talmidi rahimahullah. where it's narrated as a statement of the Prophet ﷺ but according to some researchers they say it's most likely a statement of Ali. That the Qur'an, it contains pronouncements about what has passed, reports of what will happen, and judgments concerning what happens between people.
Its wonders never cease. لَا تَنْقَتِعُ عَجَائِبُهُ The wonders of the Qur'an never cease. So the first reason why Tafseer is the most honorable, the most noble of all disciplines is because of the topic, is because of the subject matter, which is the speech of Allah. The second reason is with respect to its goal. Its goal is to lead mankind to the firm handhold of Allah, to the rope of Allah, and to true happiness that never ends.
So the goal is to connect us to Allah. and to allow us to achieve true happiness, which is salvation, which never ends. And the third reason is with respect to the great need for this discipline. Every aspect of this religion and this world in the near or distant future is in need of the disciplines of the shari'ah and knowledge of the religion.
And this knowledge can only be obtained by understanding the Book of Allah. The Book of Allah is our primary source of deen. It is our primary source of connecting to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, tafsir is a very, very important discipline. It's a very important branch of knowledge.
It is a field of study that each and every single one of us should try our best to connect with. Because it connects us to the words of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now, as I mentioned earlier, there are six primary sources of tafsir. That whenever we pick up a book of tafsir, Like the most famous classical works like the Tafseer of Tabari or the Tafseer of Ibn Kathir, the Tafseer of Qurtubi.
All of these famous works that are sometimes referred to as Ummahat al-Tafseer. The most important foundational works of Tafseer. They're volumous works.
Oftentimes, sometimes, you know, we have a copy of Tafseer al-Qurtubi in the library here that's like 25-30 volumes long. Where is all of this information coming from? So there are six primary sources of Tafseer.
The first as I mentioned before is the Quran itself. Al-Quran yufassiru ba'duhu ba'da That the Quran oftentimes explains itself. And we'll come across a very famous example of that when we study Surah Al-Fatiha where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us Ihdina al-sirat al-mustaqeem sirat al-nazeena an'amta alayhim That guide us to the straight path the path of those upon whom you have bestowed your blessings.
So who... Are those people? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala explains to us later on in the Qur'an.
مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالسَّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ So that is one of the most famous examples mentioned of Al-Qur'an يُفَسِّرُ بَعْدُهُ بَعْضًا That the Qur'an oftentimes explains itself. The second source of Tafsir is the Prophet ﷺ. As I mentioned, one of his primary responsibilities was to explain the Qur'an to his community. So he would go out and he would recite the Qur'an, and then he would explain it as well. And that explanation came in several different forms and several different ways.
So the Prophet ﷺ, one of his responsibilities was to clarify, explain, and teach the Qur'an. So a lot of how we explain the Qur'an also comes to us directly from the Prophet ﷺ. The third, Important source of tafsir would be narrations from the companions, from the sahaba radiallahu anhum.
who are described as the best of generations. خَيْرُ الْقُرُونِ قَرْنِي The Prophet says, the best of generations is my generation. So the companions, they were the initial audience of the Qur'an. The Qur'an was revealed in their native tongue, in their language.
And they were present when the Prophet was receiving revelation from Allah. And they understood the background, they understood the context. They understood the nuances of the language and they were the direct students of the Prophet ﷺ. So an essential source of tafsir would be narrations from companions related to explaining certain passages or words or concepts mentioned in the Qur'an. The third would then be the narrations of their students, التابعون Right, the تابعون were the direct students of the companions رضي الله عنهم And there are some famous companions who we have narrations from them that they learn the entire Qur'an directly, cover to cover, word for word from companions of the Prophet ﷺ.
Like some of the students of Ibn Abbas. And Ibn Abbas was considered to be the most knowledgeable companion with respect to the Qur'an because of a dua that the Prophet ﷺ had made for him. The fifth is the language itself, the Arabic language.
By understanding its vocab and customs and words, and how these words are used to convey particular meanings. Are these meanings general? Are they specific?
Are these meanings, you know, shared meanings and common meanings? And how language is used and the different nuances of the language, and the different styles of speaking and eloquence on all these things. That is an essential source of understanding the Qur'an as well. And that is why it is impossible to have a proper understanding of the Qur'an Without having a deep knowledge of the Arabic language. That is why I think it's from Imam Malik, he would say that, that, you know, if I find out somebody is speaking about the Qur'an without Arabic, then something's going to happen to that person.
We cannot speak with any type of authority whatsoever about the Qur'an without having an understanding of the language itself. Because Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la Himself chose Arabic to be the language of the Qur'an. And the sixth and final source of tafsir is usually mentioned as personal interpretation. Ar-ra'yu. Now this source of tafsir is not an open license for people to interpret the Qur'an according to their own flawed understandings or according to their own flawed worldviews.
It is not allowed, it is not permissible for a person to read their worldview into the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. or to read the words of Allah through their own ideologies and philosophies. Rather we should approach the Qur'an with a blank slate, as students eager to learn, eager to understand, with an open mind, with an open heart, with humility. Alright, so this is not an open license for people to interpret the Qur'an how they want. That interpretation that they're coming up, any of their own understanding or perhaps the lessons they derive, or their own tadabbur, it has to be informed.
through tafsir. So there are severe severe warnings against those who interpret the Qur'an without proper knowledge. The Prophet ﷺ said, whoever says anything about the Qur'an with his own personal opinion, then they should prepare their seat in the fire of hell. Very severe stern language from the Prophet ﷺ. In another narration the Prophet ﷺ said, Whoever says anything regarding the Qur'an with their own personal opinion and their right, they're still mistaken because they spoke without knowledge.
They spoke without proper understanding. Now, who exactly is qualified to engage in tafsir? Which individual has the particular qualifications to engage in this exercise of explaining tafsir?
And first and foremost, we should recognize that this is really something like important. It's a huge responsibility. Because you are attempting to explain the words of Allah. You are explaining the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So when doing so, a person should be very cautious.
They should be very careful. And they should have the correct and proper qualifications to do so. Imam Suyuti rahimullah again. In his book, Al-Itqan Fi Ulum Al-Qur'an, he mentions 15 different disciplines.
15 different disciplines a person must master in order to be qualified to interpret the Qur'an. Imagine 15 different disciplines that a person has to not only know but master in order for them to be qualified to interpret and comment and do tafsir of the Qur'an. So the first is knowledge of the Arabic language and its vocabulary.
Knowing and understanding the language of Arabic, its words and how those words are used and what meanings they convey and the different connotations of words and the nuances in styles of speech. The second is knowledge of Arabic grammar, النحو, syntax. How are words put together to convey meanings?
How are sentences structured? How are thoughts and ideas conveyed? The third is صرف, knowledge of Arabic morphology. All right, knowledge of Arabic morphology, the conjugation of verbs and different verb forms and patterns.
Knowledge, number four, knowledge of Arabic words and word structure, اشتقاق. You know, this word, what are its root letters? Where is it derived from? What word pattern is this on?
Is it the active participle? Is it the passive participle? Is it an adjective?
And all that fun stuff. Number five, knowledge of Arabic rhetoric. عِلْمُ الْمَعَانِ Right, number six, عِلْمُ الْبَيَانِ Eloquence or the rhetorical art of the Arabs.
Dealing particularly with metaphorical language. عِلْمُ الْبَدِيعِ Manners of oratory. dealing with figures of speech and art of beautiful style. So these first seven disciplines that are highlighted by Imam Suyuti rahimahullah, they are all related to the Arabic language. So for those of you who are my students in the seminary and you're tuning in, then this should give you an idea of how important it is to study the Arabic language properly and correctly.
That if you ever want to really engage with the Qur'an, And if you want to start engaging with books of Tafsir, you have to have to develop the tools. And the primary tools are the Arabic language. So I know studying Sarf and Nahru, you know, grammar and morphology can seem very tedious.
Sometimes it can seem very laborious. Sometimes it can seem very boring. But you always have to keep the goal, the objective in mind.
That these are tools that will help us understand the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala properly. They will help us and give us access to this amazing rich tradition of tafsir that we have. Alright, number 8 is knowledge of qira'at. The different modes, the different styles of recitation and pronunciation of the words. For example, in Surah Al-Fatiha, most of us recite Malik is the owner, right?
Master. But there's another qira'ah, another recitation, Malik, king, sovereign. So these slight variations, these slight differentiations in qira'at, in modes of recitation and pronunciation of particular words. Number nine, knowledge of the principles of fiqh.
Usul al-fiqh. Because a very important subject matter of the Qur'an is legal rulings. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned several ahkam in the Qur'an related to acts of worship like praying, fasting, zakah, and hajj, related to marriage and divorce. Buying and selling. In order to understand these injunctions properly and correctly, a person needs a set of tools, an interpretive framework.
And that interpretive framework and those tools comes from أصول الفقه right, studying the principles of jurisprudence. Number 10, the knowledge of fiqh itself. You know, if a person really doesn't have an understanding of how fiqh works, then they may not understand some passage of the Qur'an properly. And we will see this when we come across the verses of Talaq, the verses of divorce mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah. That if a person doesn't have a background in understanding of how fiqh works and how the rulings work, they might end up being confused.
They might end up being a little bit lost in how the process of divorce actually works. Number 11, the knowledge of Asbab Al-Nuzul, causes or reasons behind revelation. What is the background?
What is the context? What is the story of particular verses and passages? You know, sometimes the Prophet ﷺ would be asked a question and in response to that question, Allah ﷻ would send down revelation. Sometimes something might have happened, an incident might have taken place, and in response, revelation would come down. Number 12, the knowledge of ناسخ and منسوخ, abrogation.
Which verses are doing نسخ? Which verses are abrogating? And which verses are منسوخ? Which verses are abrogated?
Number 13, knowledge of hadith. Because hadith... is what gives us an understanding of the Qur'an. It is impossible to understand the Qur'an properly without the sunnah of the Prophet. Number 14, knowledge of ulum ul-Qur'an.
Knowledge of Qur'anic studies, the history of revelation, the modes of revelation, the subject matter of the Qur'an, which verses are Makki, which verses are Madani, what are these Qira'at, what are the seven letters. and all of the things related to ulum ul-Qur'an and last but not least 15 is divine endowment meaning Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives individuals special unique abilities and he opens their heart and he opens their minds perhaps because of their connection to him because of their closeness and nearness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so based on this criteria mentioned by Imam al-Suyuti rahimahullah tafsir is not a simple affair It requires a great level of expertise, skills and knowledge. It requires an individual to invest a lot of time and energy in studying various subjects and disciplines.
So commenting on the Qur'an is a specialized art that should only be done by those who have the requisite qualifications to do so. And I, according to these qualifications, am no way near qualified to do tafsir. Not even close. And I'm not saying that out of some false sense of humility.
I'm just being straight up and real. Whatever I do when it comes to the Qur'an is, I am reading these classical works of Tafsir, and I am trying my best to explain it, how I learned it from my teachers, and then adding comments to clarify anything, and that's what we're going to be doing in this class. In this class, I am not doing Tafsir.
We are going to be reading through Tafsir al-Janalain. We will be reading through Tafsir al-Janalain. Now, These qualifications shouldn't scare people away from studying the Qur'an. That is a completely different endeavor. Studying the Qur'an and connecting with the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is open to every single individual.
And that is something that all of us should be spending time, effort, and energy doing. But our study of the Qur'an should be through proper tafsirs, right, proper works of tafasir. All right.
So those were all just some preliminary remarks regarding Tafsir itself. And for those who are interested in learning more about at least Ulum al-Quran, here at IOK we published a small booklet. It's not very long, it's a short read. And I would recommend everyone purchase it. It will give them a good solid background in Quranic studies.
A very good overview of what Quranic studies actually is. Alright, now to the book itself. So in today's lesson, I simply want to go through an introduction of the work.
So basically a brief biography of both authors, as well as explaining their methodology, then also their sources of tafsir, and then kind of explain the structure of our class together. How our class is, or what our class is going to look like on a daily basis. So Tafsir al-Jananeen, since its publication, has been considered an important first text in the study of Tafsir by teachers and students of the Qur'an across the Muslim world.
And this is literally since the time of its first publication. Because of its brevity, because of its conciseness, yet comprehensiveness, this has considered to be one of the most important initial books a student reads and studies in Tafsir. It is one of the most popular books of Tafsir across the Muslim world, and it's relatively short. It's just one volume. And oftentimes, you know, the current editions that we have, it's printed on the margins of the Mus'haf.
So it's a very short, concise, and brief explanation of the Qur'an. But despite its brevity, it's very comprehensive. I mean, it is full of tawa'id. It is full of benefits. It is full of knowledge, which shows the expertise, and it shows the level of knowledge of both authors.
So the title, Al-Jalanayn. Right, the two Jalal's. The literal meaning of Jalaalain is the two Jalal's.
It comes from the fact that it is a product of two individuals. A teacher and his student who both had the name Jalaluddin. So the work, it was started by Jalaluddin Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Mahalli.
So the individual who started this amazing work. His name is Jalaluddin Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ahmed Al Mahalli Rahimahullah And it was completed by his student, the polymath, the exhaustive author, Jalaluddin As-Suyuti, rahimahullah. Jalaluddin Al-Mahalli, the initial author of this work, he was born in the year 791 Hijri. Alright, 791 Hijri. So late 8th century, which corresponds to the year 1389. In an area known as Al-Mahallat Al-Kubra in Egypt.
and he passed away in the year 864 which corresponds to 1459 Al-Mahalli, he started with Surah Al-Kahf when he started authoring this beautiful work he started off with Surah Al-Kahf and then he continued and he reached all the way until Surah Al-Nas and then he went back to Al-Fatiha and he completed Al-Fatiha and then he started Surah Al-Baqarah Perhaps he completed maybe 20 some odd verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, and then he passed away. So Jalaluddin Al-Mahalli, rahimahullah, he passed away before he could complete this work. And because he was still in the middle of authoring it, he himself didn't write an introduction or a conclusion. You know, oftentimes when people author works, they will write the introduction after they're done with it.
Or they'll write the introduction somewhere along the process. So Imam Jalaluddin Al-Mahalli, rahimahullah, He passed away before completing the work, so he himself doesn't have an introduction, nor is there a conclusion. After he passed away, his student, عبد الرحمن السيوتي, completed the work, literally in the matter of a few months.
So he started from البقرة, and he finished all the way to the end of الإسراء. So جلال الدين السيوتي رحمه الله, essentially completed the work of his teacher. He picked up from where his teacher left off, but instead of...
picking up from you know like 20 some odd verses of Al-Baqarah he started from the beginning and he completed all the way until Surah Al-Isra and Imam Al-Suyuti rahimallah wrote a little bit of a you know a very short introduction before beginning Al-Baqarah and he writes a very brief conclusion after finishing Surah Al-Isra Imam Al-Suyuti rahimallah himself mentions that he completed the work in 40 days he completed this work in 40 days from Baqarah all the way until Al-Isra in 40 days. He started working on the completion on Wednesday at the beginning of Ramadan in the year 870. And we're, you know, a munasiba, we're also starting reading this work, mashallah, on the first of Ramadan. And he completed it on Monday the 10th of Shawwal in the year 870, right?
And he was in his early 20s. So for our students of knowledge out there, this should be great motivation. Even at a young age, you have the ability and capacity to do a lot of great work with hard work, with dedication, sincerity, and the duas and blessings from your teachers.
You can do a lot of great work, but it should always again be under mentorship, under guidance. Don't be a maverick, don't be a lone star, don't go out on your own. So again, I mentioned he wrote an introduction before Al-Baqarah and a conclusion after Al-Isra.
Now, Imam As-Suyuti's full name is Abu Al-Fadl. Abdul Rahman ibn Kamal ad-Din As-Suyuti He was born in the year 849, which is 1445 in Egypt, in a small town named As-Suyut. And he passed away in the year 911-1505 in the city of Al-Qahira.
And when I was in Egypt in 2005 or 2006 with Sheikh Ahmed Billu, Imam Suhaib actually took us to visit his grave. So we had the opportunity to visit. the grave of Imam As-Suyuti, rahimahullah.
And this was at the beginning of my own journey of studying, at the beginning of my pursuit of knowledge, which is ongoing and continuous. And little did I know that this individual whose grave we visited, that I would benefit from him so much. From his book of Itqan Fi Ulum Al-Quran, and his work of Tafsir, and he's written hundreds of other works. He's written a work in almost every single discipline you can think of. His father was a qadi, his father was a judge.
He passed away when his son was relatively young. And he memorized the Qur'an at the age of 8 and then went on to study all of the Islamic sciences. And interestingly, when we read the history of some of the great figures and some of the great scholars of Islam, we always find that their journey of knowledge began with the Qur'an. And oftentimes they would memorize it when they were still young. That's not, you know, it's a general trend.
It's not like an absolute trend. Now when authoring this work, it seems like both Jalans relied upon the following works. What were the resources they were using?
When Jalaluddin Al-Mahalli and Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti were writing this beautiful work, what were the resources they were using? What were some of the tafasir they were looking at? So we find, and this work has been done by some scholars, they say that it seems like they were taking from the Tafsir Al-Kabir or Al-Tafsir Al-Saghir by Al-Imam Muwaffaq al-Din. Ahmed ibn Yusuf al-Kawashi For simplicity it's known as Tafsir al-Kawashi So it seems like a lot of what they wrote Was taken from Tafsir al-Kawashi Who passed away in the year 860 And then after that Tafsir al-Baydawi Very very famous classical work of Tafsir It's also considered to be amongst Ummahat al-Tafsir So it seems like they took a lot from al-Baydawi as well The third Tafsir ibn Kathir They took from Tafsir ibn Kathir as well.
Ibn Kathir, he passed away in 774. They took from Al-Wajiz by Al-Wahidi and Al-Bahrul Muhit as well. So these would be some of the primary sources that they adopted or they took or they summarized from. Because these works are very voluminous, very large works of Tafsir, exhaustive.
And the Tafsir of Jalalayn, brief, concise, to the point, simple. So in order to come up with that conciseness and brevity, took a lot of skill, took a lot of expertise. And that means they had a very good understanding of the Qur'an, which was taken from these sources.
So a good field of study for those advanced students and for students that are really interested in tafsir would be to kind of pull and find out what they took from which book. Like if we're reading the tafsir of Surah Al-Fatiha, kind of compare and contrast what they wrote to what we find in Baydawi or to what we find in Tafseer al-Kawashi or what we find in Al-Bahr al-Muhit That would be a very interesting project Alright, now their methodology What was their methodology in writing this Tafseer? So Imam al-Suyuti rahimahullah himself, he writes He himself in his brief introduction He writes what his methodology is in completing the work of his teacher He says, مِن ذِكْرِ مَا يُفْحَمُ بِهِ كَنَامُ اللَّهِ So that's number one, right?
The first thing they're focusing on is just clarifying and explaining the speech of Allah by providing literally definitions or translations, providing synonyms. You know, in the English language, we define things using different words. Sometimes we'll explain things using synonyms.
So oftentimes what they're doing is they're clarifying the words of the Quran using particular synonyms. وَالْاِعْتِمَادِ عَنَا أَرْجَحِ الْأَقْوَالِ And relying upon the most preferred statements. One thing we'll come across is sometimes in explaining certain words or certain verses, there may have been اختلاف amongst the great مُفَسِّرُون of the past. So which statement of theirs should be given preference? Which statement of theirs is given precedence?
He says that we would rely on what is أرجح. What is the most preferred adopted position according? to their understanding.
So that's number two. Number three, إِعْرَابْ مَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ That they would explain the grammatical structure of what's needed. So part of understanding the Qur'an is understanding the grammar of the Qur'an. And why are words and why are sentences structured in a particular way?
So he takes time or they take time to explain that sometimes. وَتَنْبِهِ عَلَى الْقِرَاءَاتِ الْمُخْتَلِفَ عَلَى وَجْهٍ لَطِيفٍ وَتَعْبِيرٍ وَجِيزٍ وَتَرْكِ التَّطْوِيلِ So and they would also identify or highlight some of the different Qira'at some of the different ways of recitation like Malik as opposed to Malik and we're going to come across in Surah Al-Baqarah where he says أَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِهُمْ So أَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ is read in different ways So the both both Jalal's would highlight the different Qira'at إِنَا عَلَىٰ وَجْهٍ لَطِيفٍ In a very brief وَتَعْبِيرٍ وَجِيسٍ concise manner وَتَرْكِ التَّطْوِيلِ didn't want to be too long-winded. بِذِكْرِ أَقْوَالْ غَيْبْ مَرْضِيَةً You know, by mentioning different opinions that aren't really accepted. وَأَعَارِيبْ مَحَلُّهَا كُتُبُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ And mentioning long I'rab, you know, long grammatical explanations, whose proper place is the books of Arabic language, not a book of Tafsir.
Alright, so that was his methodology, and that was the methodology of his teacher as well. And one thing you'll notice is that the style of both is very similar. The Imam Suyuti did an excellent job of following in the footsteps of his teacher, Al-Mahalli. and trying to follow the same style in terms of brevity and conciseness.
Now, just to highlight what they actually focus on in the tafsir, they focus on giving transmitted explanations and quoting ahadith about Qur'anic verses. So oftentimes we'll find that Imam al-Suyuti and Imam al-Mahalli, they will quote certain ahadith that clarify the Qur'an itself. Or if they don't quote it, they'll mention just a portion of it. Number two.
Providing Arabic synonyms for difficult Quranic words. Three, elaborating on legal explanations of verses according mostly to the Shafi'i school of thought because both of them were Shafi'i. Jalaluddin As-Suyuti and Jalaluddin Al-Mahalli were both Shafi'i. So when you come across ayatul ahkam, when we come across those verses that are related to legal rulings, we will find them explaining it according to the Shafi'i school of thought.
Putting into context, perspective and mutual definition of verses from the Qur'an, they provide Asbab al-Nuzul, which is something very beautiful. Often times they will give you the context, they will give you the background of the verse, again in a very brief and concise manner. Number six, it indicates which verses are abrogated and which verses abrogate.
So they also do a very good job of this. They highlight which verse is Nasikh and which verse is Mansukh. Number seven, it notes the seven or 10 different Qira'at of the Quran.
Number eight, it discusses the grammar of the Quran according to the Arabic language and it explains some of the grammatical forms that are found in the Quran. And number nine, oftentimes they quote or they build their explanation off of Isra'iliyat, Judeo-Christian narratives. And there's a whole discussion regarding the usage of those when it comes to the Quran and when it comes to interpreting the Quran. And there have been several treaties and several pages written on this.
And the khulasa is that it is permissible to use them with certain constraints, with certain stipulations and certain restrictions. Alright, so its primary goal, it seems like the primary goal of Tafsir al-Jalanayn is only to clarify the immediate sense of the Qur'anic text. And that is the benefit and that is the main benefit we will derive from this class inshaAllah. It will clarify for us the immediate meanings of the Qur'an.
So that when we recite Qur'an in prayer, when we recite Qur'an outside of prayer, we have a very solid understanding of what we're reciting. We have a solid understanding of the meanings of the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So their objectives seem to be facilitating reading and understanding the Qur'an in a simple way.
Alright, since it's... Since its production and since its publication, there have been several commentaries written on Tafsir al-Jalalayn as well. There's a famous haashiyah, a famous gloss by Al-Mulla Ali Qari, rahimahullah, who passed away in the year 1010. A very famous faqih, who was a Hanafi, a very famous muhadith, he has commentaries on hadith as well. It's called Haashiyat al-Jamalayn ala al-Jalalayn.
Right, Haashiyat al-Jamalayn. Alaljalalain It's been published, it's available There's another one of Hashiya of Shaykh Sulaiman ibn Umar Al Ujaili which is known as Al Jamal It's called Al Futuhat Al Ilahiyya B'tawdeeh Tafseel Aljalalain Liddaqaik Al Khafiyya Then there's Hashiya Al Sawi by Ahmed ibn Muhammad Al Sawi This copy that I have right here Hashiya Al Sawi It's very beneficial, it helps clarify and explain the text. Now again, Tafsir al-Jalanayn, one single volume. The Hashiyat al-Asawi is like four volumes long.
Alright, now in terms of the structure of what we're going to be doing. What are we going to be doing throughout the month of Ramadan? What is my goal? What are my objectives in this class? So inshaAllah the purpose of our class is to go through the entire text of Tafsir al-Jalanayn.
Starting from Al-Fatiha. ending with Surah An-Nas. And the purpose for doing so is that we as students have a solid basis and foundation in Tafsir. So we will have read an entire Tafsir together from beginning to end, from Al-Fatiha to An-Nas, which is in itself is a beautiful accomplishment. And in doing so, we will also get a Khatmah of the Qur'an.
In doing so, we will also achieve one full recitation of the Qur'an as well. So the goal... is to complete the text, perhaps, I'm hoping, insha'Allah, by the end of August. by the end of August.
So we're starting in the blessed month of Ramadan. Hopefully we get the barakah of that as well. We're starting the work of tafsir in the month of the Qur'an for the sake of barakah. So we'll start through Ramadan and we'll reach wherever we reach.
And then I will continue. This is a commitment that I'm making that I will continue with this daily after Ramadan as well. And we will try our best to complete the work together as a class, as a community, by the end of summer, hopefully by the end of August. So...
So in our daily sessions, the way that I'm going to structure the class is that most copies of Jalalayn, most editions, again they are written on the margins of the Mus'haf. They're written on the margins of the Mus'haf. So you'll have one page of the Mus'haf and all around it you'll have the Tafsir. So the way that I'm going to structure the class is that page that we're on, I will have one of our beloved students, Imam Anas, he's going to recite the page. of Qur'an, then I will have another one of our students, Shaykh Mudathir, inshallah read the Ibarah, the text, right?
One paragraph at a time. And then I will come in and I will translate the paragraph and comment on it. I'll translate and comment.
And my purpose of translating and commenting is just to explain the book itself, to explain the book, Tafsirul Jalanin, so we have a proper, solid understanding of the work. I will try my best to not... go off on tangents. And you know, as I said, تفسير بحر لا ساحر له It is an ocean that has no shore.
And people can continue talking and talking and talking and not stopping when it comes to verses of the Qur'an. So I will try my best to limit any extraneous commentary and I will focus on the meanings of what we find in تفسير الجلالين And hopefully, the goal perhaps in every session is to get through four to five pages of the Mus'haf daily. maybe three so three four or five pages of the mushaf on a daily basis with respect to the edition that i am going to be using in the class then there are several editions available in the market and i encourage everyone to have a physical copy so that at home you can follow along with us and when we're reading i'll actually have it displayed on the screen so everyone can follow along when we're reading as well and the edition that i'm going to be using is is called, I believe it's called Al-Muyassar.
It's an edition that was edited by Dr. Fakhruddin Qabawa. Let me pull it up exactly. If you're able to get your hands on this copy, then I would encourage you to do so and use that. It is an excellent edition. It's an excellent work by this particular scholar.
In terms of editing the work and making sure that all the the words are correct and using the proper manuscripts Manuscripts so I would suggest using that let me pull it up for some reason. This is not opening up Yes, it's called Tafseer al-Jalalayn al-Muyassar Right Tafseer al-Jalalayn al-Muyassar. It's an edition of Jalalayn that was edited and prepared by Dr. Fakhruddin Qabawa So I would suggest for everyone to try their best to get that edition.
If not, he has a larger version of it. You can see that this, mashaAllah, is quite a large book. I think it weighs almost 10 pounds.
It is called Al-Mufassan Fi Tafseer Al-Quran Al-Kareem Al-Mashhoor Bi Tafseer Al-Jalanayn It's by the same author. It's Fakhruddin Qabawa But this is his longer work, his longer edition. where he has more exhaustive and extensive footnotes. This is actually available locally in Jurier Bookstore. So if you want a physical copy of this, you can go to Jurier Bookstore and get it.
Another local bookstore that would have editions of Jalanin would be Al-Bala. So I would encourage everyone, inshallah, to follow along, have an edition of the book. The work has been translated. It has been translated to English, but I personally am not a big fan.
of translations because too much is lost in translation and oftentimes translations don't flow but if you want the translation you can find it on Amazon and on Kindle and it was translated by Aisha, I believe it's pronounced Buley And there's another person that translated along with her. Let me just find out and go to the cover It has both of their names on it Umm, let's see. Yeah, Aisha Beauty.
I mean, if you look for it on Amazon, you will find it. I have the Kindle version of it, but again, I'm not a big fan of translations. But if that's what you like to use, go ahead and use it, inshaAllah.
So, that brings us to the end of our first lesson. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept this effort of ours, to bless it. And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give me the tawfiq to complete it as well. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless all of you. May He accept your fast.
And I will see everyone tomorrow at 5 p.m. And we will start with Surah Al-Fatiha. وصل اللهم على نبينا مولانا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم جزاكم الله خيرا والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته