Tafsir al-Uthaymin: al-Kahf
- Author died
- 1421 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn al-Jawzī lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
Tafsir al-Uthaymin: al-Kahf (تفسير العثيمين: الكهف) is an exegesis of Surat al-Kahf by the Saudi scholar Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE), derived from his lectures delivered in Unayzah.
Origin and Composition
The work originated as an intensive educational course held by al-Uthaymin in the month of Rabiʿ al-Awwal 1419 AH at the Grand Mosque in Unayzah. The audio recordings of the lectures were transcribed by Dr. Salih al-Salih, a faculty member at King Saud University (Qassim branch), who then submitted the manuscript to al-Uthaymin for review. Al-Uthaymin revised, edited, and approved the text of the first six lectures, while the final lecture—covering from verse 91 ( كَذَلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْرًا , "Thus. And We had encompassed [all] that he had in knowledge") to the conclusion of the Surah—remained unreviewed by him.
Methodology and Content
The commentary follows a sequential, verse-by-verse approach to Surat al-Kahf. Al-Uthaymin addresses the classification of the Surah, maintaining that it is entirely Meccan, and argues that exceptions suggested by some exegetes (such as verses 1–8, 28, and 107–110 being Medinan) lack supporting evidence, as the baseline principle is that a Meccan surah is entirely Meccan.
In his analytical exposition, al-Uthaymin integrates linguistic, grammatical, and theological analysis:
- Lexical and Conceptual Clarifications: He distinguishes between related terms, such as clarifying that hamd (praise) denotes describing the praiseworthy with perfection out of love and veneration, whereas madh (laudation) does not necessarily require love or veneration.
- Syntactic and Structural Analysis: He examines grammatical dependencies and vocalizations, such as parsing قَيِّمًا ("straight") as a circumstantial accusative (hal) modifying الْكِتَابَ ("the Book"), and highlighting necessary pause points (waqf) in recitation to prevent contradictory implications.
- Theological and Jurisprudential Derivations: He extracts points of creed (aqidah) and moral lessons from the text, noting principles such as the necessity of pairing faith with righteous deeds, which requires both sincere intention (ikhlas) for God and conformity to divine law (mutaba'ah).
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