Methods of Exegesis
There are 6 methods for exegesis, 4 of which are usually mentioned:
1) Explanation of the Qur’an with the Qur’an itself.
2) Explanation of the Qur’an with the Sunnah.
3) Explanation of the Qur’an with the statements of the Companions RA.
4) Explanation of the Qur’an with the statements of the Tabi’?n.
5) Explanation of the Qur’an with the language.
6) Explanation of the Qur’an based on opinion and deliberation (al-Ra’i wal-Ijtihad).
Explaining the Qur’an with the Qur’an:
This method of exegesis is the most effective, because every speaker knows best what he intended. This does not mean however that everyone who says, ‘This Ayah is an explanation of that Ayah’ is correct. This is the exegete’s own deduction and it may be incorrect (This point shall be discussed further under the 6th method of Tafsir).
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) himself used this method of explaining the Qur’an with the Qur’an. Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, reports:
“When the Ayah {…those who are faithful and do not mix their faith with wrongdoing (zulm)} [Al-An’?m: 82] was sent down, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) explained it with the statement of the Most High: {Indeed Shirk is a most grievous wrongdoing (zulm)}[Luqman: 13]“.
Amongst the Salaf, the Tabi’i, Abd al-Rahman b. Zayd b. Aslam, in particular demonstrates considerable usage of this method of exegesis as can be seen clearly from the narrations reported from him in Tafsir al-Tabari.
Ibn Kathir also utilizes this method extensively in his Tafsir.
Those who have written works based on this method of exegesis include al-Amir Muhammad b. Isma’il al-San’ani. His work is titled:Mafatih al-Ridhwan fi Tafsir al-Dhikr bil-Athar wal-Qur’an.
The most acclaimed contemporary work concerning this method of Tafsir is that of al-Imam Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti (d. 1393 AH) entitled Adwa’ al-Bayan Fi Idah al-Qur’an bil-Qur’an. The author has written a lengthy introduction detailing the different categories of clarifying Qur’an with Qur’an (Bayan al-Qur’an bil-Qur’an).
Categories of Tafsir al-Qur’an bil-Qur’an
There are a number of categories of Tafsir of the Qur’an with the Qur’an. It has already been mentioned that Adwa’ al-Bayan illustrates the usage of this method. The following are some examples of its categories:
1) Providing Detail for what has been left Abridged (Tafsil al-Mujmal)
2) Qualifying the Absolute (Taqyid al-Mutlaq)
3) Specification of the general (Takhsis al-‘Amm)
4) Explaining the implications of one Ayah with another Ayah
5) Explaining one word by another word
6) Explaining a meaning with another meaning
7) Explaining a linguistic form in one Ayah by means of another in another Ayah
You can also find examples of additional categories that Imam al-Shanqiti mentioned in the introduction to his book. Investigating the books devoted to Tafsir al-Qur’an bil-Qur’an would also reveal further categories.
Examples for these categories:
1) Detail of What is Abridged or Ambiguous (Tafsil al-Mujmal)
A mujmal word or expression is one that does not give a precise meaning, and therefore is in need of further clarification.
An example of this is in the verse: {Livestock has been made lawful to you except that which shall be recited to you}[Al-Ma’idah: 1]. The words {…except that which shall be recited to you} is abridged in this context and requires clarification. Allah, Glorified is He, has clarified this in the verse: {Forbidden to you (for food) are: carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, that which has been slaughtered for other than Allah, or on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering, and that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of horns – and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal – unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) – and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on stone altars.} [Al-M?’idah: 3].
2) Qualification of the Absolute (Taqyid al-Mutlaq)
A Mutlaq word is one that is not qualified and which which can apply to any one of a set, without being specified. It has various categories as mentioned in the works of Usul al-Fiqh.
One example of Taqyid al-Mutlaq is the verse: {Indeed those who disbelieve after they believed, then increase in disbelief- their repentance will not be accepted…}[Al Imran: 90].
Some scholars said, ‘This means that they delay repenting until the moment of death, then at that time it is not accepted.’
This explanation is supported by the verse: {And there is no repentance for those who are aware of their sins until the moment one of them dies, and only then he says: ‘Indeed now I repent’, nor for those who die as disbelievers.}[An-Nisa': 18]
Thus that which is was absolute in the first Ayah has been qualified in this Ayah.
3) Specification of the General (Takhsis al-’Amm)
‘Amm is a word that applies to many things, and which can be said to include everything to which it is applicable. There are many expressions that give a meaning of generality (‘umum) as detailed in the works of Usul al-Fiqh, and many scholars have stated that anything that is stated in the Qur’an is general in meaning until some evidence is given to specify it.
One example of Takhsis al-’Amm is the verse: {Divorced women must observe the waiting period for three (menstrual) cycles}[Al-Baqarah: 228] This judgment applies in general fashion to all divorced women. However, a specific exception has been given for pregnant women in the following verse: {And for the pregnant women, their waiting period is until they give birth}[At-Talaq:4]
Thus, the generality in the first verse has been specified in the second verse.
4) Explanation of the implications (mafhum) of one Ayah with another Ayah
The mafhum of a verse is the meaning that can be inferred, although it has not been stated. An example of Tafsir of the mafhum of an Ayah is found in the verse: {Nay! Surely they will be veiled that day from seeing their Lord}[Al-Mutaffifin: 15]. The Salaf, as has been reported from them, deduced from this verse that the believers will see Allah in the Hereafter . For example, al-Shafi’i states: “This is proof that the friends of Allah will see their Lord on the Day of Resurrection”. This inference is further supported by the verse: {Faces on that day shall be radiant * Looking at their Lord} [Al-Qiy?mah: 22-23] amongst other verses that prove Allah can be seen in the Afterlife.
(5) Explanation of One Word by Another Word
A) Explanation of Unusual or Rare Words (Gharib al-Qur’an):
This occurs when a rare word of obscure meaning is used in one context, and then a more recognized term is used in another place. An example of this is in the verse, {And We rained down upon them stones of Sijjil.}[Al-Hijr:78], while in another verse, He said: {We sent upon them stones of clay.} [Al-Dhariyat:33]
Both verses concern the people of Lut, peace be upon him, making it clear that Sijjil is clay.
B) Explaining what is intended by a word in a particular context:
An example of this is found in the verse: {Have not those who disbelieve seen that the heavens and the earth were solid, then We split them?} [Al-Anbiya’: 30] It has been explained with the verse: {And by the heaven which returns (with rain) and by the earth which splits (with the growth of plants )}[At-Tariq: 11-12], and the verse: {Thus let man consider his food; We pour forth water in abundance, then We split open the earth in clefts} [Abasa: 24-26].
(6) Explaining a meaning with another meaning
An example of this is the verse: {That day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger shall wish to be made level with the earth} [ An-Nisa’: 42] It has been explained in light of this verse: {And the disbeliever will say: ‘If only I were dust!’}[An-Nab?’: 40].
7) Explaining a linguistic form in one Ayah by means of another in another Ayah
An example of this is in the verse: {Enter the gate prostrating and say, “Hittah”} [Al-Baqarah: 58], meaning: our entrance is hittah (i.e. so that our sins be forgiven). It is similar to the verse : {And when a community from them said: “Why do you exhort a people Allah will destroy or punish with a severe punishment”, they said: “An excuse before your Lord”}[Al-A'raf: 164], meaning: We have exhorted them so that our exhortation may be an excuse before your Lord.
In both verses similar sentence structure has been used.
Another example can be found in the verse: {Owner of the Day of Judgment* It is You we worship and You we ask for help} [Al-Fatihah: 4-5], and the verse: {Until when you have boarded the ships and they sail with them with a fair wind} [Yunus: 22]. Both of these verses contain iltifat, or shift in person. The shift from third person to second person in{You we worship} is like the shift from second person to third person in: {…they sail with them}.
This type of shift in person, known as iltifat, is common in the Arabic language and in the Qur’an. It is common for commentators to mention such examples to clarify to the reader the usage of such a literary device in the Qur’an.