Tafsir by the Sunnah and Companion Statements

After the Quran's interpretation of itself, the next most authoritative source for tafsir is the prophetic Sunnah, followed by the statements of the Companions (Sahabah) and their successors (Tabi'un). Ibn Taymiyyah's discussion of these sources is not merely methodological but constitutes an argument for the indispensability of the transmitted tradition in Quranic interpretation — a tradition without which the Quran's meanings would be indefinitely debated rather than reliably transmitted.

The Prophet's function as interpreter of the Quran was explicitly established by the Quran itself. Allah says: 'And We have sent down to you the Reminder that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them' (16:44). This verse assigns the Prophet not the role of passive transmitter but of active explainer. His explanations — preserved in the Sunnah — are therefore part of the divine guidance, not external commentary. When the Prophet explained a verse, his explanation carries authority that cannot be overridden by any subsequent scholar's independent reasoning.

Ibn Taymiyyah provides classic examples of prophetic tafsir. When the verse 'Prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war' (8:60) was revealed, the Prophet explained that 'power' (quwwah) refers to archery — an interpretation that grounds the general command in a specific application the Prophet was uniquely positioned to provide. Similarly, when the verse mentioned 'clouds over them' and 'darkness upon darkness,' the Prophet's explanations of these as referring to the doubts of the disbeliever provided interpretive keys unavailable from the text alone.

The Companions deserve special status as interpreters because they received the Quran directly from the Prophet in a living context. They knew the occasions of revelation, the pre-Islamic background of specific terms, the Prophet's explanations of specific verses, and the whole cultural and historical setting in which the revelation occurred. This knowledge is not available to any later interpreter however learned, which is why the Companions' interpretive statements carry near-prophetic authority in classical scholarship.

Among the Companions, Ibn Abbas — described in the Sunnah as the 'interpreter of the Quran' — is the most quoted exegete. The Prophet made dua for him: 'O Allah, give him deep understanding of the religion and teach him interpretation.' Ibn Abbas's explanations, transmitted through chains of varying strength, form the backbone of nearly every major classical tafsir work. Ibn Taymiyyah discusses the methodology of evaluating chains of narration in Ibn Abbas's tafsir, noting that just as in hadith, the chains must be evaluated for reliability.

The Tabi'un — the generation after the Companions — occupy the third level in this hierarchy. Their interpretations, while not carrying the authority of the Companions, represent the next best access to the early understanding of the revelation. Scholars like Mujahid ibn Jabr, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, and 'Ikrimah studied directly under senior Companions and produced detailed interpretive traditions that became the raw material for the great classical tafsir works of later centuries.