Kayfa Yajibu Alayna an Nufassir al-Quran al-Karim
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Islāmiyyah
Kayfa Yajibu Alayna an Nufassir al-Quran al-Karim ("How We Must Interpret the Holy Quran") is a short treatise on Quranic hermeneutics by the hadith scholar Nasir al-Din al-Albani (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE), outlining the principles and methodology required for interpreting the Quran in accordance with the prophetic Sunnah and the understanding of the early generations.
Origin and Publication
The treatise originated as a set of spoken answers provided by al-Albani to questions posed to him on an audio recording. The recording was subsequently transcribed onto paper and presented to al-Albani, who read through the transcript, made revisions, and added his own handwritten annotations.
The text was published posthumously by al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya in Amman, Jordan. The publisher's foreword is dated 4 Dhu al-Hijjah 1420 AH, and the first edition was issued in 1421 AH (2000–2001 CE) as a single medium-format volume of 41 pages.
Content and Method
The work articulates the rules and foundations that Muslims must adopt to interpret the Quran correctly, emphasizing adherence to the model established by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and followed by the Companions and the Successors (al-Tabi'un).
Al-Albani argues that the primary source for clarifying and elucidating the Quran is the prophetic Sunnah, citing the divine revelation of the Sunnah alongside the Quran and quoting the hadith: ألا إني أوتيت القرآن ومثله معه ("Indeed, I have been given the Quran and something similar to it along with it"). In addition to principles of exegesis, the treatise presents broader methodological maxims regarding adherence to the Sunnah, such as the rule that "whenever a Sunnah is revived, an innovation is extinguished."
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