Q: I went to visit a family member. They had some notes lying around. They told me they were going to do a tafseer class. I read over the notes and found some very strange explanation of the Quraan.
When I looked in the tafeer, I noticed the notes were from Ma'ariful Quraan but they had added their own interpretation trying to say a Surah is promoting Dunya.
Will a person who twists the tafseer to suit him be a kafir or what will his status be?
A: The tafseer of the Quraan Majeed should be studied and learnt under rightly guided Ulama who are well conversant in the science of tafseer as well as the other related sciences of deen which are required to understand the meaning of the Quraan Majeed and the tafseer of the Quraan Majeed.
Studying the tafseer under people who are not qualified is not permissible, and this leads to confusion and adulteration coming about in deen.
Thus, we advise that the Quraan Majeed and the tafseer of the Quraan Majeed should not be treated like any other worldly science, but rather it should be afforded the greatest honour, respect and sanctity that it deserves, as this is the divine book of Allah Ta'ala which contains the divine constitution of Allah Ta'ala.
It should be borne in mind that Allah Ta'ala granted this ummah the Quraan Majeed through revealing it upon Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), and Allah Ta'ala commanded Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) to explain to the ummah the Quraan Majeed (the meaning, the tafseer, the laws of the Quraan Majeed, etc.).
Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) taught and explained the Quraan Majeed to the Sahaabah, and the Sahaabah taught and explained the Quraan Majeed to the Taab'ieen, and this chain then continued throughout the centuries until the Quraan Majeed reached us today.
Therefore, in order for the Quraan Majeed to be preserved in its pure and pristine form, it cannot be interpreted by every person according to how he feels, but rather it will have to be learnt and understood in the way it was passed down to the ummah throughout the centuries.
It is mentioned in the hadith that among the signs of Qiyaamah is that people will refer to the Quraan Majeed directly without having the proper understanding and knowledge that is required to understand the Quraan Majeed, thereby creating confusion in deen.
Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “I particularly fear three shortcomings in my Ummah. Firstly, due to the abundance of material wealth and possessions, jealousy for one another will spread among them. Secondly, they will begin to freely discuss the Quraan Majeed (without referring to the Ulama and the learned), whereas many meanings in the Quraan Majeed are such that they cannot be understood by anyone except Allah Ta’ala. (In regard to such verses), the well-versed scholars of the Book say: “We fully believe in it, and that it has come from Allah Ta’ala.” (Thus how much more careful should the common people be.) Thirdly, the religious scholars will be neglected and ignored and people will not see the need to refer to them. (i.e. people will adopt the approach of self-study in Deen and refer to the Quraan Majeed and Hadith directly).” (At-Targheeb Wat-Tarheeb 1/152)
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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