Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim
- Author died
- 327 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat Nizār Muṣṭafá al-Bāz
Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim, formally titled Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim musnadan 'an Rasul Allah ﷺ wa-l-sahaba wa-l-tabi'in (Exegesis of the Great Qur'an Transmitted with Chains from the Messenger of Allah, the Companions, and the Successors), is a classical narration-based commentary on the Qur'an composed by the hadith scholar Ibn Abi Hatim (240–327 AH / 854–938 CE) .
Purpose and Method
Ibn Abi Hatim compiled the exegesis in response to requests from colleagues for an abridged work focused strictly on transmitted interpretations with the soundest chains of transmission, avoiding redundant variant chains, corroborations, and treatises on the chronological order of surah revelation . The work focuses purely on transmission without personal opinions or editorial preference .
In the introduction to his commentary, Ibn Abi Hatim outlined a strict hierarchical methodology:
- Prophetic reports: When an interpretation is established directly from the Prophet ﷺ, he cites it without recording matching statements from the Companions .
- Reports from the Companions: When an interpretation is found from the Companions and they agree, he records the highest-ranking narration with the soundest chain and names those who concurred without repeating their chains; if the Companions differ, he records each differing position with its chain and lists the agreeing figures without their chains .
- Reports from the Successors: In the absence of reports from the Companions, he applies the same procedure to traditions transmitted from the Successors (Tabi'un) .
His criterion of recording the "soundest" narrations (asahh) denoted the best available report for a given verse rather than asserting unconditional authenticity for every single entry, and the text includes both established and weak narrations .
Sources and Content
The work is considered one of the primary references for narration-based exegesis (tafsir bi-l-ma'thur) and preserved substantial material from early, otherwise lost commentaries, including the exegesis of Sa'id ibn Jubayr (d. 95 AH) transmitted via 'Ata' ibn Dinar (d. 126 AH) and that of Muqatil ibn Hayyan (d. 150 AH) transmitted via Bukayr ibn Ma'ruf . It pays particular attention to traditions transmitted from prominent early exegetes such as Qatadah and Al-Suddi .
Reception and Scholarly Impact
Scholars widely drew upon Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim:
- Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi described it as a large exegesis in multiple volumes, comprising primarily traditions with their chains of transmission, and praised it as "among the finest tafsirs" .
- Ibn Taymiyyah categorized it alongside early works that transmit the pure words of the Companions and Successors without later dogmatic or linguistic deviations .
- Ibn Kathir relied heavily upon it in his Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim, where it functioned as his second largest source for transmitted exegesis .
- Al-Suyuti stated that he summarized Ibn Abi Hatim's exegesis within his own compilation, al-Durr al-Manthur .
- Other scholars who frequently cited it include Al-Baghawi in Ma'alim al-Tanzil, Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani in Fath al-Bari, and Al-Shawkani in Fath al-Qadir .
Preservation and Editions
The full text has not survived in a single complete manuscript . The primary extant manuscript portions cover:
- From Surah Al-Fatihah to the end of Surah Al-Ra'd .
- From Surah Al-Mu'minun to the end of Surah Al-'Ankabut .
The missing sections in modern printed editions, such as the multi-volume version edited by As'ad Muhammad al-Tayyib, were reconstructed by gathering Ibn Abi Hatim's transmitted narrations as quoted in later sources, notably the commentaries of Ibn Kathir and al-Suyuti . Specific portions of the surviving text have also been edited as academic theses, including parts covering Surah Al-Baqarah by Ahmad 'Abd Allah al-Zahrani and Surah Al 'Imran by Hikmat Bashir Yasin .
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