KHUTAB:V: 18. ABDULLAH IBN ‘ABBᾹS (3)

18.  ABDULLAH IBN ‘ABBᾹS (3)

 Ibn ‘Abbās specified his method of tafsīr (interpretation of the Qur’ān) when he said: “There are four aspects of tafsīr: known by the Arabs from their language, known to everyone (no excuse of being ignorant of it), known by scholars, and known by Allah Alone.”  .” (al-Ṭabarī, Jāmi‘ al-Bayān, vol.1, pp. 24-26).

He also narrated that the Prophet s.a.w. said: “The  Qur’ān was revealed in four aspects: ḥalāl (lawful) and ḥarām (prohibited) which should be known by everybody, known by the Arabs, known by scholars, and known by Allah Alone. (Ibid.)

The first aspect is that the Qur’ān contains religious exhortations, spiritual counsels, obligations, and laws which should be learned, practised and taught by Muslims in general, because it is the constitution of the Sharī‘ah.

The second aspect is the Qur’ān is understood by the Arabs themselves, because it was revealed in their language. They were contemporary of the Prophet, they witnessed the revelation, where, when, and the condition where the Qur’ān was revealed.   Here lies the importance of knowing and mastering Arabic rhetoric (balāghah),   the use of figurative language, such as metaphors and similes, etc. Knowing classical Arabic literature and the tradition of the Arabs before Islam would also be helpful in understanding the verses of the Qur’ān. Here also lies the contribution of Ibn ‘Abbās in understanding difficult words in the Qur’ān. One of his books which reached us is his Kitāb Gharīb al-Qur’ān (“The Meanings of Difficult Words in the Qur’ān”).

          The third aspect is what is known by scholars only, verses dealing with the details of issues such as the philosophy of being, and the secrets of life. Many non-Muslim scholars become Muslims when they learn that many verses of the Qur’ān explain something which can only be understood fully in recent times, such as human embryonic development, the origin of the universe, deep seas and internal waves, and the formation of clouds. There are many books written on this subject, such as:

            Dr. Maurice Bucaille “The Bible, The Qur’ān and Science, The Holy Scriptures Examined In The Light Of Modern Knowledge.” It has been translated from French to Arabic, English, Indonesian, Persian, Turkish and German.     

I.A. Ibrahim. A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam. Houston: Darussalam, 1997. It is distributed free in many mosques and Islamic centres.

          The fourth aspect is what is known by Allah Alone, called (mutashābihāt, ambiguous) (except, according to some scholars, if He will He reveals it to His chosen people), such as the meanings of the alphabetical letters in the beginning of some surahs (chapters) of the Qur’ān, such as A-L-M, Ḥ-M.

          Ibn ‘Abbās’s Method of Interpretation is as follows:

1.    Referring to the  Qur’ān itself in finding the explanation of a particular verse, finding any indication whether it is general (‘ām), e.g. including all human beings, or all Muslims, or specific (khāṣṣ) where its application is restricted to certain special circumstance only; whether it is “free” (muṭlaq) from any conditions or circumstances, or “bound” (muqayyad) to special conditions or circumstances; whether the meaning is derived from its literal wording (manṭūq) or from what is understood (mafhūm). For example, the following verse:

قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ فَاعْتَرَفْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا

فَهَلْ إِلَى خُرُوجٍ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ (غافر:11)  

 They will say: “Our Lord! You have made us to die twice,

 and you have given us life twice! Now we confess our sins,

 then is there any way to get out (of the Fire)? (Q. 40:11)

Ibn ‘Abbās gives his commentary of this verse, as follows: “You had been dead before Allah created you, and this is one death. Then He gave you life, and this is one life. Then He makes you die, and you go back to the graves, and this is another death. Then He resurrects you in the Judgment Day, and this is another life. So, we have two deaths (and two lives), as Allah says:

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَاتاً فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ

 ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ (البقرة:28)

 How can you disbelieve in Allah? Seeing that you were dead

 andHe gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again

 will bring you to life and then unto Him you will return (Q. 2:28)

2.    Taking asbāb al-nuzūl (lit. “reasons of revelations”) into consideration. It is investigating the circumstances or particular events which lead to the revelation of particular verses of the Qur’ān. This science of the Qur’ān is extremely important to understand, “reasons” the verses were revealed. It could be in response to an event, or a general situation, or in response to a particular question, and other reasons, either known or unknown to us. Here are some examples:

a.     Ibn ‘Abbās wished to know whom among the Prophet’s wives referred to in the verse   

إِنْ تَتُوبَا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَقَدْ صَغَتْ قُلُوبُكُمَا وَإِنْ تَظَاهَرَا عَلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ مَوْلَاهُ وَجِبْرِيلُ وَصَالِحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ظَهِيرٌ (التحريم:4)

If you two turn in repentance to Allah, (it will be better

 for you), your hearts are indeed so inclined (to oppose

 what the Prophet likes); but if you help one another

 against him, then verily, Allah is his mawlā (Lord, or

Master, or Protector), and Jibril (Gabriel), and the

 righteous among the believers; and  furthermore,

 the angels are his helpers. (Q. 66:4)

Ibn ‘Abbās had a chance to ask ‘Umar about it when they performed hajj (pilgrimage) together, where ‘Umar told him that they were ‘Ᾱ’ishah and Ḥafṣah. It is said that it took him two years to ask ‘Umar, as he was hesitated because of his (‘Umar’s) dignity.

b.      Ibn ‘Abbās learned that verses dealing with the allegation that the Qur’ān was merely the story men of old were revealed in the case of  al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith. He was the main opponent of the authenticity of the Qur’ān as revelation from Allah. Ibn ‘Abbās said that people came to al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith asking him what Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. had said. He answered: “I saw him moving his lips, and what he said was nothing but the tales of the ancient, like what I have related to you of stories of past centuries.” Al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith had many tales and travel stories. He had heard the tales of Persian origin, like the story of Rostam, (the greatest Persian mythological hero, a Persian Hercules), and Prince Esfandyar with whom Rostam engaged in a battle), and al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith in turn related them to his people.

These verses are as follows:

إِذا تُتْلى عَلَيْهِ آياتُنا قالَ أَساطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ ( القلم:15. المطففين:13.)

When Our Verses (of the Qur’ān) are recited to him,

he says: “Tales of the men of old!”

(Q. 68:15; 83:13)

إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (الأنعام:25. الأنفال:31. المؤمنون:83. النمل:86)

“These are nothing but tales of the men of old”.

(Q. 6:25; 8:31; 23:83; 27:68)

قَالُوا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (النحل:24. الفرقان:5)

They say; “Tales of the men of old!” (Q. 16:24; 25:5)

مَا هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (الأحقاف:17)

“This is nothing but the tales of the ancient”(Q.46:17)

يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ ( الأنعام:25))

... the disbelievers say: “These are nothing but

tales of the men of old.” (Q. 6:25)

c.     Sometimes, several reasons where a  particular verse was revealed, such as the following verse:

وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلَامٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ

مَا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ (لقمان:27)

And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the

 sea (were ink wherewith to write), with seven seas

 behind it to add  to its (supply), yet the Words of

Allah would not be exhausted. Verily, Allah is

All-Mighty, All-Wise. (Q.31:27)

-         The Quraysh people in rejecting the Qur’ān which the Prophet s.a.w. was reciting: “Muḥammad’s talking will finish and he will soon go away.” Others said: “Muhammad talked too much!”  Then the above verse was revealed.

-         Ibn ‘Abbās related that when the Prophet s.a.w. arrived at Madinah in his migration to that city, the Jews asked him about the Qur’ānic verse " وَما أُوتِيتُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا" [الاسراء: 85], meaning “… and of knowledge, you (Mankind) have been given only a little” (Q. 17:85), whereas they had been given the Torah containing Allah’s sayings and laws, and according to the Prophet, it explained everything. The Prophet said, that the Torah was “a little among many (قَلِيْلٌ مِنْ كَثِيْر)”, meaning that there were still many things not mentioned in the Torah. Then the above verse was revealed.

The “words of Allah” in the above verse means Allah’s knowledge and the reality of things, as He had known things before He created it.

3.    Ibn ‘Abbās sought commentary of reliable resources, such as the   commentary from the Prophet himself, as well as his family and companions (ṣaḥābah). As mentioned earlier Ibn ‘Abbās was an extensive seeker of knowledge. He learned many hadiths of the Prophet through the sahabah, especially, his own cousin, ‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib dealing with the commentary of the  Qur’ān.  He said: مَا اَخَذْتُ مِنْ تَفْسِيْرِ اْلقُرْآنِ فَعَنْ عَلِىِّ بْنِ اَبِيْ طَالِب “What I have learned about the tafsir (commentary of the  Qur’ān) is from Ali ibn Abi Talib.” When he was asked how he obtained so much knowledge, he said: بِلِسَانٍ سَؤُولٍ وَقَلْبٍ عَقُول “With an inquisitive curious tongue, and with a discerning intelligent heart.”  He kept asking and kept remembering the answers of his questions.

4.    His proficiency in high-ranking Arabic literature. The Qur’ān was revealed in eloquent Arabic language in wording as well as in meaning. Even in using some tribal languages, the words used are the eloquent, and familiar among them. Therefore, whenever we find any difficulty in understanding the meanings of particular words, we should refer to the eloquence of the expressions of the Arabs contemporary to the revelation of the Qur’ān. This is what Ibn ‘Abbās did in this case. He referred to the eloquent and marvellous expression in pre-Islamic poetry and of people at that time. He was endowed with strong memory, that once he heard something important, such as poetry, he memorised it instantly. Although the dialect of the Quraysh tribe was dominant in the Qur’ān, many other dialects are also used, even some non-Arabic words were adopted in the Qur’ān. Due to this difference of tribal languages in the Qur’ān, not all of the ṣaḥābah knew the meanings of the words of the  Qur’ān. Ibn ‘Abbās explained them in this book كِتَابُ غَرِيْبِ الْقُرْآن (“The Meanings of Difficult Words in the Qur’ān”). (CIVIC, 14.06.13(

 Sources/ : المصادر

المكتبة الشاملة

عبد الله بن عباس , كتاب غريب القرآن. حققه و قدم له دكتور أحمد بلوط. القاهرة: مكتبة الزهراء, 1993

Ahmad von Denffer, ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: A.S. Noordeen, 1991

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