Aburaees wrote:fdjohan wrote:
Muslim scholars have laid down certain basic conditions for sound tafsîr. Any tafsîr, which disregards these principles must be viewed with great caution, if not rejected altogether. The most important among these conditions are the following:
The mufassir must:
-Be sound in belief ('aqîda).
-Well-grounded in the knowledge of Arabic and its rules as a language.
-Well-grounded in other sciences that are connected with the study of the Qur'ân (e.g. 'ilm al-riwâya).
-Have the ability for precise comprehension.
-Abstain from the use of mere opinion.
-Begin the tafsîr of the Qur'ân with the Qur'ân.
-Seek guidance from the words and explanations of the Prophet.
-Refer to the reports from the sahâba.
-Consider the reports from the tâbicûn.
-Consult the opinions of other eminent scholars.
The first criteria is answering this question:
-Be sound in belief ('aqîda).
They have to be same aqida.
Salaam fdjohan,
As you have just said,
Muslim Scholars have laid down the conditions for interpreting the Qur'an.
That is the problem for many Christians.
The problem is that it is the Scholars who tell us how to interpret the Qur'an.
Allah doesn't tell us how to interpret the Qur'an, and neither does Muhammad. We're just told not to talk about what we don't know.
The Qur'an says that some verses are clear (i.e. don't need a special interpretation) and some verses are unclear (and we're not supposed to focus on the unclear).
The first condition you gave is that a Mufassirin must have sound 'aqidah, which basically means that you have to be a Muslim. Is there no chance of an unbiased non-Muslim non-Christian scholar being able to interpret it correctly?
Imagine a Christian or a Jew telling you not to interpret the Bible or Tanakh just because (according to us/them) YOU (as a Muslim) don't have a "sound" Christian or Jewish 'aqidah.
Can you see the difficulty?
Ma'asalaama wa Tusbih 'ala al-khair.