Prophetic Commentary on the Qur'an (Tafseer of the Prophet (pbuh))

Musaddad related to us: Yahya related to us, from Shu‘ba, who said: Khubayb ibn Abd al-Rahman related to me, from Hafs ibn ‘Asim, from Abu Sa‘id ibn al-Mu‘alla, who said:

I was praying in the mosque when the Messenger of Allah called me, but I did not answer him. I said, “Messenger of Allah, I was praying.” He said, “Did Allah not say, ‘Respond to Allah and the Messenger when he calls you’?” Then he said to me, “Before you leave the mosque, I will teach you a surah that is the greatest surah in the Quran.” Then he took me by the hand. When he was about to leave, I said to him, “Did you not say, ‘I will teach you a surah that is the greatest surah in the Quran’?” He said, “‘Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds’—it is the seven oft-repeated verses and the mighty Quran that I have been given.”

Abdullah ibn Yusuf related to us: Malik informed us, from Sumayy, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah said, “When the imam recites, ‘Not those who have incurred wrath, nor those who have gone astray,’ say, ‘Amen.’ Whoever’s utterance coincides with the utterance of the angels will have his past sins forgiven.”

Muslim ibn Ibrahim related to us: Hisham related to us: Qatada related to us, from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet. Khalifa also said to me: Yazid ibn Zuray‘ related to us: Sa‘id related to us, from Qatada, from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet, who said:

“On the Day of Resurrection, the believers will gather and say, ‘If only we could seek intercession with our Lord.’ They will go to Adam and say, ‘You are the father of humanity. Allah created you with His hand, made His angels prostrate to you, and taught you the names of all things. Intercede for us with your Lord so that He may relieve us of our place here.’ He will say, ‘I am not fit for this,’ and mention his sin, feeling ashamed. ‘Go to Noah, for he was the first messenger Allah sent to the people of the earth.’

“They will go to him, and he will say, ‘I am not fit for this,’ and mention his asking his Lord about something of which he had no knowledge, feeling ashamed. He will say, ‘Go to the Close Friend of the Most Merciful.’ They will go to him, and he will say, ‘I am not fit for this. Go to Moses, a servant to whom Allah spoke and to whom He gave the Torah.’ They will go to him, and he will say, ‘I am not fit for this,’ and mention his killing a person without having killed anyone, feeling ashamed before his Lord. He will say, ‘Go to Jesus, Allah’s servant and messenger, His word and a spirit from Him.’

“They will go to him, and he will say, ‘I am not fit for this. Go to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, a servant whose past and future sins Allah has forgiven.’ They will come to me. I will go and seek permission to approach my Lord, and permission will be granted to me. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in prostration. He will leave me in that state for as long as Allah wills. Then it will be said, ‘Raise your head; ask and you will be given; speak and you will be heard; intercede and your intercession will be accepted.’ I will raise my head and praise Him with words of praise that He will teach me. Then I will intercede, and He will set a limit for me; I will admit them to Paradise. Then I will return to Him, and when I see my Lord [he described it in the same way], I will intercede again. He will set a limit for me, and I will admit them to Paradise. Then I will return a third time, then a fourth time, and say, ‘None will remain in the Fire except those whom the Quran has held back and for whom eternal punishment has become binding.’”

Abu Abdullah said, “‘Those whom the Quran has held back’ means Allah’s words, ‘abiding therein forever.’”

‘Uthman ibn Abi Shayba related to me: Jarir related to us, from Mansur, from Abu Wa’il, from ‘Amr ibn Shurahbil, from Abdullah, who said:

I asked the Prophet, “Which sin is greatest in Allah’s sight?” He replied, “That you set up a rival to Allah, though He created you.” I said, “That is indeed grave.” I asked, “Then which?” He said, “That you kill your child for fear that he will eat with you.” I asked, “Then which?” He said, “That you commit adultery with your neighbor’s wife.”

Abu Nu‘aym related to us: Sufyan related to us, from Abd al-Malik, from ‘Amr ibn Hurayth, from Sa‘id ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah said, “Truffles are of the manna, and their liquid is a remedy for the eye.”

Muhammad related to me: Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi related to us, from Ibn al-Mubarak, from Ma‘mar, from Hammam ibn Munabbih, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet, who said:

“The Children of Israel were told, ‘Enter the gate prostrating, and say, “Atonement.”’ But they entered crawling on their backsides and changed the words, saying, ‘A grain in a hair.’”

Abdullah ibn Munir related to us: He heard Abdullah ibn Bakr: Humayd related to us, from Anas, who said:

When Abdullah ibn Salam heard that the Messenger of Allah had arrived, he was in an orchard gathering fruit. He came to the Prophet and said, “I will ask you about three things that only a prophet knows: What is the first sign of the Hour? What is the first food the people of Paradise will eat? What makes a child resemble his father or his mother?” He replied, “Gabriel has just informed me of them.” Abdullah ibn Salam said, “He is the enemy of the Jews among the angels.” The Prophet recited this verse: “Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel, then indeed he brought it down upon your heart.” He continued, “As for the first sign of the Hour, it is a fire that will drive people from the east to the west. The first food the people of Paradise will eat is the extra lobe of a whale’s liver. As for the child’s resemblance, when the man’s fluid precedes the woman’s fluid, the child resembles the father; and when the woman’s fluid precedes the man’s, the child resembles the mother.”

Abdullah ibn Salam said, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah. Messenger of Allah, the Jews are a people who will vilify me; if they learn that I have become Muslim before you ask them about me, they will slander me.” The Jews came, and the Prophet asked them, “What standing does Abdullah ibn Salam have among you?” They replied, “He is the best of us and the son of the best of us; our chief and the son of our chief.” He asked, “What would you say if Abdullah ibn Salam became Muslim?” They said, “May Allah protect him from that.” Then Abdullah came out and said, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” They said, “He is the worst of us and the son of the worst of us,” and spoke ill of him. Abdullah said, “Messenger of Allah, this is what I feared.”

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali related to us: Yahya related to us: Sufyan related to us, from Habib, from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, who said that ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“Ubayy is the best reciter among us, and Ali is the most judicious among us. Yet we leave aside some of what Ubayy says, because Ubayy says, ‘I will not abandon anything I heard from the Messenger of Allah,’ while Allah Most High has said, ‘Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten...’”

Abu al-Yaman related to us: Shu‘ayb informed us, from Abdullah ibn Abi Husayn: Nafi‘ ibn Jubayr related to us, from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Prophet, who said:

“Allah said: ‘The son of Adam denied Me, though he had no right to do so, and insulted Me, though he had no right to do so. His denial of Me is his claim that I cannot restore him as he was. His insult to Me is his saying that I have a child. Exalted am I above taking a wife or a child.’”

Musaddad related to us, from Yahya ibn Sa‘id, from Humayd, from Anas, who said that ‘Umar said:

“My view coincided with my Lord’s in three matters—or, my Lord’s with mine. I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, if only you took the Station of Abraham as a place of prayer.’ I also said, ‘Messenger of Allah, both righteous and immoral people enter your rooms; if only you ordered the Mothers of the Believers to observe the veil.’ Then Allah revealed the verse of the veil. And when I heard that the Prophet was reproaching some of his wives, I went in to them and said, ‘Either you stop, or Allah will give His Messenger wives better than you.’ I went to one of his wives, and she said, ‘Umar, is there not enough in the Messenger of Allah to admonish his wives, that you must admonish them too?’ Then Allah revealed, ‘It may be that if he divorces you, his Lord will give him in exchange wives better than you, who submit to Allah...’” [Quran 66:5]

Ibn Abi Maryam said: Yahya ibn Ayyub informed us: Humayd related to me: I heard Anas, from ‘Umar.

Isma‘il related to us, saying: Malik related to me, from Ibn Shihab, from Salim ibn Abdullah, that Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr informed Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet, that the Messenger of Allah said, “Do you not see that your people built the Kaaba and left it short of the foundations laid by Abraham?” I said, “Messenger of Allah, will you not restore it to the foundations laid by Abraham?” He said, “Were it not that your people have only recently left disbelief...”

Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said, “If Aisha heard this from the Messenger of Allah, I think the Messenger of Allah would not have refrained from touching the two corners adjacent to the Hijr, except that the House was not completed upon the foundations laid by Abraham.”

Muhammad ibn Bashshar related to us: ‘Uthman ibn ‘Umar related to us: ‘Ali ibn al-Mubarak informed us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

The People of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah said, “Do not affirm the People of the Book, nor deny them; rather say, ‘We believe in Allah and what has been revealed...’”

Abu Nu‘aym related to us: He heard Zuhayr, from Abu Ishaq, from al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah prayed toward Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months. He liked for his direction of prayer to be toward the House [the Kaaba]. He prayed the afternoon prayer—or performed it—and some people prayed with him. One of them left and passed by people in the mosque while they were bowing. He said, “I swear by Allah, I prayed with the Prophet facing Mecca.” So they turned as they were, toward the House. Some men had died while the direction of prayer was still toward Jerusalem, before it was changed toward the House, and we did not know what to say about them. Then Allah revealed, “Allah would never let your faith go to waste. Indeed, Allah is Most Kind and Most Merciful to the people.”

Yusuf ibn Rashid related to us: Jarir and Abu Usama related to us—the wording is Jarir’s—from al-A‘mash, from Abu Salih. Abu Usama said: Abu Salih related to us, from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, who said that the Messenger of Allah said:

“Noah will be called on the Day of Resurrection and will say, ‘At your service, my Lord.’ He will say, ‘Did you convey the message?’ Noah will reply, ‘Yes.’ Then his community will be asked, ‘Did he convey the message to you?’ They will say, ‘No warner came to us.’ He will say, ‘Who will testify for you?’ Noah will reply, ‘Muhammad and his community.’ Then you will testify that he did convey the message.”

This is the meaning of His words, “And the Messenger will be a witness over you,” and of His statement, “Thus We have made you a justly balanced community so that you may be witnesses over humanity and the Messenger may be a witness over you.” The word wasat means just.

Musaddad related to us: Yahya related to us, from Sufyan, from Abdullah ibn Dinar, from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), who said:

While the people were praying the dawn prayer in the mosque of Quba, someone came and said, “A revelation has come down to the Prophet commanding him to face the Kaaba, so face it.” They turned toward the Kaaba.

‘Ali ibn Abdullah related to us: Mu‘tamir related to us, from his father, from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, “No one remains among those who prayed facing both qiblas except me.”

Khalid ibn Makhlad related to us: Sulayman related to us: Abdullah ibn Dinar related to me, from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), who said:

While the people were praying the dawn prayer in Quba, a man came to them and said, “A revelation was sent down to the Messenger of Allah last night, and he was commanded to face the Kaaba. So face it.” The people had been facing Syria, and they turned their faces toward the Kaaba.

Yahya ibn Qaza‘a related to us: Malik related to us, from Abdullah ibn Dinar, from Ibn ‘Umar, who said:

While the people were in Quba praying the dawn prayer, someone came to them and said, “A revelation was sent down to the Prophet last night, and he has been commanded to face the Kaaba. So face it.” They had been facing Syria, and they turned toward the Kaaba.

Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna related to us: Yahya related to us, from Sufyan: Abu Ishaq related to me, who said: I heard al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) say, “We prayed with the Prophet facing Jerusalem for sixteen—or seventeen—months. Then he was turned toward the direction of prayer.”

Musa ibn Isma‘il related to us: Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Muslim related to us: Abdullah ibn Dinar related to us, saying: I heard Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) say:

While the people were praying the dawn prayer in Quba, a man came to them and said, “A revelation was sent down last night, and he was commanded to face the Kaaba, so face it.” They turned around as they were and faced the Kaaba; the people had been facing Syria.