al-Tafsir wa al-Tawil fi al-Quran
- Author died
- 1443 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Nafaes
al-Tafsir wa al-Tawil fi al-Quran (Exegesis and Interpretation in the Quran) is a thematic Quranic study by the Jordanian scholar Salah al-Khalidi (d. 1443 AH / 2022 CE), dedicated to analyzing the concepts of tafsīr (exegesis) and taʾwīl (interpretation) across linguistic, Quranic, and Hadith usages .
Background and Purpose
The work was composed as the inaugural volume of a planned book series devoted to thematic Quranic exegesis (al-tafsīr al-mawḍūʿī), specifically focusing on Quranic terminology by dedicating individual volumes to one or two specific Quranic terms . Al-Khalidi chose al-tafsīr and al-taʾwīl as his initial subject because the enterprise of Quranic commentary itself constitutes a form of interpretation, and because historical and theological disputes had long surrounded the definition, types, and boundaries of taʾwīl—particularly in relation to divine attributes and the understanding of clear (muḥkam) versus ambiguous (mutashābih) verses in Surat Al 'Imran . The author completed the manuscript in Suwaylih on 25 Jumada al-Ula 1415 AH (3 November 1994 CE) .
Structure and Contents
The book is structured into four chapters :
- Linguistic and Technical Definitions: Examines the roots and technical usages of tafsīr and taʾwīl, citing authorities of language and Quranic sciences such as Ahmad ibn Faris and al-Raghib al-Isfahani .
- Quranic Usage: Traces the occurrence of both terms across the text of the Quran. It addresses the sole occurrence of the word tafsīr in Surat al-Furqan (verse 33), and investigates the nominal form taʾwīl, which appears across seven chapters: Surat Yusuf, Surat al-Kahf, Surat al-A'raf, Surat Yunus, Surat al-Isra', Surat al-Nisa', and Surat Al 'Imran, providing extended analysis of the verse addressing muḥkam, mutashābih, and blameworthy interpretation in Surat Al 'Imran .
- Usage in Hadith and Companions' Reports: Compiles traditions from the Prophet Muhammad and early Companions illustrating two principal facets of taʾwīl: practical implementation or outcome (taʾwīl ʿamalī), and cognitive understanding, deduction, and exegesis (taʾwīl ʿilmī) .
- Distinction Between Exegesis and Interpretation: Reviews classical and modern scholarly opinions on the distinction between tafsīr and taʾwīl, highlighting discussions by al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Abu al-Baqa' al-Kaffawi, and Ahmad Hasan Farhat . Al-Khalidi posits that a reflective reader passes through two successive stages: tafsīr, which entails grasping the explicit meaning through authentic transmitted narrations, contextual causes of revelation, variant readings, and lexicography; followed by taʾwīl, which involves extracting deeper meanings, subtle nuances, and derived insights . The chapter concludes with Ibn Jarir al-Tabari's conceptualization of taʾwīl and his tripartite division of Quranic verses regarding their interpretation .
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