Chapters on Tafsir

Narrated Ibn 'Umar: that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "There are seven gates of Jahannam: Among them a gate for whoever carries a sword against my Ummah." Or he said: "Against the Ummah of Muhammad."

Narrated Abu Hurairah: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Al-Hamdulillah is Umm Al-Qur'an and Umm Al-Kitab and the seven oft-repeated."

Narrated Ubayy bin Ka'b: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Allah has not revealed the likes of Umm Al-Kitab in the Tawrah, nor the Injil. It is the seven oft-repeated, and (Allah said) 'It is divided between Myself and My slave, and My slave shall have what he asks for.'"

Narrated Anas bin Malik: that regarding Allah's saying: We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do (15:92 & 93). The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "About saying La Ilaha Illallah."

Narrated Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Beware of the believer's intuition, for indeed he sees with Allah's Light." Then he recited: Surely in this are signs for those who see (15:75).

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: "I heard 'Umar bin Al-Khattab saying: 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Four before Zuhr, after the zenith, are reckoned with their like from Salat As-Sahr (meaning the reward is like that of the two Sunan and obligatory Rak'ah of Fajr)." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "There is nothing but that it glorifies Allah at that hour." Then he recited the Ayah: Their shadows shift from right to left, prostrating to Allah while they are humble (16:48).

Narrated Ubayy bin Ka'b: "On the Day of Uhud, sixty-four of the Ansar were killed, and six from the Muhajirin, one of whom was Hamzah, and they mutilated them, so the Ansar said: 'If, (in the future) we are able to kill them on a day like this, we would mutilate from among them as twice as they (mutilate from among us).'" He said: "So on the day of the Conquest of Makkah, Allah revealed: And if you punish them, then punish them with the like of that with which you were afflicted. But if you have patience, then it is better for those who are patient (16:126). So a man said: 'There shall be no Quraish after today.' But the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Leave the people, except for four.'"

Narrated Abu Hurairah: that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "When I was taken on the Night of Isra I met Musa." He described him saying: "He was a man who was" and I think he said: "A thin man, whose hair was as if he was a man from Shanu'ah." He said: "I met 'Eisa" he described him saying: "Of average build, with a red face, as if he had just come out of the Dimas" meaning the bath-house. "And I saw Ibrahim" he said: "I am the one among his offspring that most resembles him" and he said: "I was brought two vessels, one of them containing milk and the other containing wine. I was told: 'Take whichever one of them you wish.' So I took the milk to drink from it. It was said to me: 'You were guided to the Fitrah' or: 'You chose the Fitrah, if you had take the wine your Ummah would have strayed.'"

Narrated Anas: that Al-Buraq was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ) on the Night of Isra, saddled and reined, but he shied from him. So Jibra'il said to him: "is it from Muhammad that you do this? By your Lord! There is no one more honorable to your Lord than him." He said: "Then he started sweating profusely."

Narrated Ibn Buraidah: from his father that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "When we reached Bait Al-Maqdis, Jibra'il pointed with his finger causing a crack in the rock, and he tied Al-Buraq to it."

Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "When the Quraish belied me, I stood in the Hijr, and Allah displayed Bait Al-Maqdis to me, so I informed them of its features as I was looking at it."

Ibn 'Abbas commented on Allah, the Most High, saying: And We made not the vision which We showed but a trial for mankind (17:60). He said: "It is the vision he saw with his eyes, on the night the Prophet (ﷺ) was taken on the journey to Bait Al-Maqdis. And the accursed tree in the Qur'an (17:60). He said: "It is the Zaqqum tree."

Narrated Abu Hurairah: regarding Allah, Most High, saying: "And recite the Qur'an in the early dawn. Verily the recitation of the Qur'an in the early dawn is ever witnessed (17:78)." The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "It is witnessed by the angels of the night and the angels of the day."

Narrated Abu Hurairah: that regarding the saying of Allah, Most High: "The Day when We shall call together all human beings with their (respective) Imam (17:71)" the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "One of you will be called out to be given his record in his right hand, he will be grown in his body to sixty forearm-lengths, his face will be whitened, and a crown of sparkling pearls will be placed upon his head. So he will go to his companions, who can see him from afar, and they will say: 'O Allah! Bring this one to us, and let us be blessed by him.' Until he reaches them, and says to them: 'Receive the good news! For each man among you shall be the likes of this.'" [He (ﷺ) said:] "As for the disbeliever, then his face shall be blackened, he will be grown in his body to sixty forearm-lengths in the image of Adam, he will given a crown, and his companions will see him and say: 'We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of this one. O Allah! Do not bring this one to us.'" He said: "So when he reaches them, they say: 'O Allah! Take him away' so they will be told: 'May Allah cast you away! Indeed for each man among you is the likes of this.'"

Narrated Abu Hurairah: regarding Allah's saying: "It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praised station (17:79)" that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about it and he said: "It is the intercession."

Narrated Ibn Mas'ud: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered Makkah during the year of the Conquest, and there were three hundred and sixty Nusb (Altars to sacrifice to idols) around the Ka'bah. So the Prophet (ﷺ) started hitting them with a stick he had in his hand" - or perhaps he said: "With a piece of wood, and he was saying: The truth has come and falsehood has vanished. Surely falsehood is ever bound to vanish (17:81). The truth has come and falsehood can neither originate anything nor resurrect (anything) (34:49)."

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: "The Prophet (ﷺ) was in Makkah, then Hijrah was ordered, so the following was revealed to him: Say: 'My Lord! Let my entry be good, and likewise my exit be good. And grant me from You a helping authority (17:80).'"

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: "The Quraish said to the Jews: 'Give us something that we can ask this man about.' So he said: 'Ask him about the Ruh.' So they asked him about the Ruh. So Allah Most High, revealed: They ask you concerning the Ruh. Say: The Ruh is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you have been given only a little (17:85). They replied: 'We have been given immense knowledge, we were given the Tawrah, and whoever has been given the Tawrah, then he has indeed been given a wealth of knowledge.' So the following was revealed: Say: 'If the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord, surely the sea would be exhausted (before the Words of my Lord would be finished.) (18:109)'"

Narrated 'Abdullah: "I took a walk with the Prophet (ﷺ) on a farm in Al-Madinah, and when he reclined upon a palm-leaf stalk, a group of Jews were passing by. Some of them said, 'We should question him.' Others said: 'Do not question him for he might tell you something that you do not like.' They said to him: 'O Abul-Qasim, narrated to us about the Ruh.' The Prophet (ﷺ) stood for some time, he raised his head toward the heavens, and I recognized revelation was coming to him, until the revelation ceased. Then he (ﷺ) said: "The Ruh is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you have been given only a little (17:85).'"

Narrated Abu Hurairah: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "People will be gathered in three classes on the Day of Resurrection: A class walking, a class riding, and a class upon their faces." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah! How will they walk upon their faces?" He said: "Indeed the One Who made them walk upon their feet, is able to make them walk upon their faces. Verily they will try to protect their faces from every bump and thorn."

Narrated Bahz bin Hakim: from his father, from his grandfather [who said:] "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Indeed you shall be gathered walking, riding, and being dragged upon your faces.'"

Narrated Safwan bin 'Assal Al-Muradi: "A Jew said to his companion: 'Accompany us to this Prophet.' So his companion said: 'Do not say: "Prophet," for if he hears you calling him a Prophet then he will be happy.' So they went to the Prophet (ﷺ) to question him about Allah, the Most High, saying: And indeed we gave Musa nine clear signs (17:101). So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to them: 'Do not associate anything with Allah, nor commit unlawful intercourse, nor take a life which Allah has made prohibited, except for what is required (in the law), nor steal, nor practice magic, nor hasten to damage the reputation of an innocent person in front of a ruler, so that he will be killed, nor consume Riba, nor falsely accuse the chaste woman, nor turn to flee on the day of the march (i.e. flee from war).' - Shu'bah was in doubt - 'and for you Jews particularly, to not violate the Sabbath.'" He said: "So they kissed his hands and his feet and they said: 'We bear witness that you are a Prophet.' So he said: 'Then what prevents you from accepting Islam?' They said: 'Because Dawud supplicated to his Lord, that his offspring never be devoid of Prophets, and we feared that if we follow you then the Jews will kill us.'"

Narrated Sa'eed bin Jubair: from Ibn 'Abbas, regarding: 'And offer your Salat neither aloud nor in a low voice (17:110)." He said: "It was revealed in Makkah. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would raise his voice with the Qur'an, the idolaters would insult him, the One Who revealed it, and the one who came with it. So Allah revealed: And offer your Salat neither aloud so that they would not insult the Qur'an and the One who revealed it, and the one who came with it, nor in a low voice (too low) such that you can let your Companions hear it, and learn it from you."

Narrated Sa'eed bin Jubair: from Ibn 'Abbas regarding Allah's saying: "And offer your Salat neither aloud nor in a low voice but follow a way between." He said: "It was revealed when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was hiding himself in Makkah, and when he led his Companions in Salat, he would raise his voice with the Qur'an. So when the idolaters heard it they would insult the Qur'an, the One Who revealed it, and the one who came with it. So Allah, Most High, said to His Prophet: 'And offer your Salat neither aloud' that is: Your recitation, so that the idolaters would not hear it and insult the Qur'an. 'Nor in a low voice (too low)' for your Companions, 'but follow a way between.'"

Narrated Zirr bin Hubaish: "I said to Hudhaifah bin Al-Yaman: 'Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) perform Salat in Bait Al-Maqdis?' He said: 'No.' I said: 'But he did.' He said: 'You say that, O bald one! Based upon what do you say that?' I said: 'Based upon the Qur'an, (the Judge) between you and I is the Qur'an.' So Hudhaifah said: 'Whoever argues using the Qur'an, then he has indeed succeeded.'" (One of the narrators) Sufyan said: "He means: 'He has indeed proven'" - and perhaps he (Sufyan) said: "He triumphed." He (Zirr) said: "Glorified is He Who took His slave for a journey by night from Al-Masjid Al-Haram to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (17:1).' He (Hudhaifah) said: 'Do you see (this proves that) he (ﷺ) performed Salat in it?' I said: 'No.' He said: 'If he had performed Salat in it, then it would have been required upon you that you perform Salat in it, just as it is required that you perform Salat in Al-Masjid Al-Haram.' Hudhaifah said: 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was brought a beast with a long back - stretching out like this - one stride of it, is as far as his vision. So, the two of them remained upon the back of Al-Buraq until they saw Paradise and the Fire, and all of what has been prepared for the Hereafter, then they returned back to where they began.' He said: 'They say that he was fettered, but for what? Because he might flee? The Knower of the unseen and the witness subdued him.'"

Narrated Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "I am the chief of the children of Adam on the Day of Judgement and I am not boasting, and in my hand is the banner of praise and I am not boasting, and there has been no Prophet since Adam or other than him, except that he is under my banner. And I am the first for whom the earth will split open, and I am not boasting." He said: "The people will be frightened by three frights. So they will come to Adam saying: 'You are our father Adam, so intercede for us with your Lord.' So he says: 'I committed a sin for which I was expelled to the earth, so go to Nuh.' So they will come to Nuh and he will say: 'I supplicated against the people of the earth, so they were destroyed. So go to Ibrahim.' So they will go to Ibrahim, and he says: 'I lied three times.'" Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "He did not lie except defending Allah's religion." "So go to Musa.' So they will come to Musa, and he will say: 'I took a life. So go to 'Eisa. So they go to 'Eisa and he says: 'I was worshiped besides Allah. So go to Muhammad (ﷺ).'" He said: "So they will come to me, and I will go to them." (One of the narrators) Ibn Ju'dan said: "Anas said: 'It is as if I am looking at the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he is saying: "So I will take hold of a ring of a gate of Paradise to rattle it, and it will be said: 'Who is there?' It will be said: 'Muhammad.' They will open it for me, and welcome me saying, 'Welcome.' I will fall prostrate and Allah will inspire me with statements of gratitude and praise and it will be said to me: 'Raise your head, ask and you shall be given, intercede, and your intercession shall be accepted, speak, and your saying shall be heard.' And that is Al-Maqam Al-Mahmud about which Allah said: It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaman-Mahmud (17:79)." Sufyan said: "None of it is from Anas except this sentence: 'I will take hold of a ring of a gate of Paradise to rattle it.'"

Narrated Sa'eed bin Jubair: "I said to Ibn 'Abbas: 'Nawf Al-Bikali claims that Musa, of Banu Isra'il is not the companion of Al-Khidr. He said: 'The enemy of Allah has lied. I heard Ubayy bin Ka'b saying: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say 'Musa stood to deliver a Khutbah to the children of Isra'il. He was asked: "Who is the most knowledgeable among the people?" He said: "I am the most knowledgeable." So Allah admonished him, since he did not refer the knowledge back to Him. Allah revealed to him: "A slave, among My slaves at the junction of the two seas, is more knowledgeable than you." So Musa said: "O Lord! How can I meet him?" He said to him: "Carry a fish in a basket, wherever you lose the fish, then he is there." So he set off, and his boy set off with him - and he was Yusha' bin Nun. Musa put a fish in a basket, he and the boy set off walking, until when they reached a rock, Musa and his boy fell asleep. The fish was flopping around in the basket, falling into the sea.' He said: 'Allah held back the flow of water until it was like a tunnel, and the fish could glide. Musa and his boy were amazed. They set off the remainder of the day and the night, and Musa's companion forgot to inform him (of the escape of the fish). When Musa arose in the morning, he said to his boy: Bring us our morning meal; truly we have suffered much fatigue in this, our journey (18:62).' He said: 'He had not gotten tired until he passed the place which Allah had ordered him to go. He said: Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the rock? I indeed forgot the fish, none but Shaitan made me forget to remember it. It took its course into the sea in a strange way (18:63). Musa said: That is what we have been seeking. So they went back, retracing their tracks (18:64). He said: 'So they began retracing their tracks.'" Sufyan (one of the narrators) said: "People claim that there is a spring of life at that rock, no dying person has its water poured over him, but he becomes alive, and the fish came in contact with some of it, so when the water dropped on it he became alive." "He [the Prophet (ﷺ)] said: 'They retraced their tracks until they arrived at the rock to see a man covered in a garment. Musa greeted him, and he replied: Is there such a greeting in your land? He said: I am Musa. He said: Musa of the children of Isra'il? He said: Yes. He said: O Musa! Indeed you have some knowledge from Allah, which Allah taught you, which I have not been taught, and I have some knowledge from Allah, which Allah taught me, which you have not been taught.' So Musa said: May I follow you so that you may teach me something of the knowledge which you have been taught? (18:66) He said: Verily, you will not be able to have patience with me! And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not? He said: If Allah wills, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you at all (18:67-69). Al-Khadir said to him: Then if you follow me, ask me not about anything until I myself mention it to you (18:70). Musa said: Yes. So Musa and Al-Khadir set off walking along the shore of the sea. A boat was passing by them, and they spoke to them (the crew) asking them to let them get on board. They recognized Al-Khadir so they let the two of them ride without charge. Al-Khadir took one of the planks (in the boat) and removed it, so Musa said to him: These people gave us a ride free of charge, yet you sabotaged their boat so that its people will drown. Indeed you have done a dreadful thing (18:71). He said: Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me? (18:72). He said call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair (18:73). Then they exited the boat, and while they were walking upon the shore, they saw a boy playing with two other boys. So Al-Khadir took him by his head, pulling it off with his hands, and he killed him. So Musa said to him: Have you killed an innocent person who killed no one! Verily you have done a horrendous thing (18:74). He said: Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me? (18:75) - he (the narrator) said: - "This was more severe than the first one" - He said: If I ask you about anything after this, you have received an excuse from me. So they both proceeded until they came to the inhabitants of a town. They asked them for food but they refused to entertain them. There they found a wall on the verge of falling down (18:76 & 77). He (the narrator) said: - meaning leaning over - 'So Al-Khadir took his hand like this, so he set it up straight (18:77) so Musa said to him: We arrived at these people, they did not treat us as guests nor feed us. If you wished, surely you could have taken wages for it! He said: "This is the parting between you and I. I will tell you the interpretation of (those) things over which you were not able to be patient (18:77 & 78).'" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'May Allah have mercy upon Musa! We wish that he would have had patience, so that we could have more knowledge about that two of them.' He said: 'So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'The first time Musa had forgotten.' He said: 'And a sparrow came, until it perched on the edge of a boat, and pecked at the sea. So Al-Khadir said to him: My knowledge and your knowledge do not diminish anything from the knowledge of Allah, but like what this sparrow diminishes of the sea.' Sa'eed bin Jubair said: "and he would" - meaning Ibn 'Abbas - "recite: 'And there was before them a king who would take every useful boat by force (18:79).' And he would recite: 'As for the boy, he was a disbeliever (18:80).'"

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: that Ubayy bin Ka'b narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "The boy that Al-Khidr killed was destined to be a disbeliever the day he was created.'"