On Remembrance (Dhikr) Pt 1 (The Wird – Regular Worship) March 7, 2007
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Dhikr, Fiqh, Hadith, Quran, prayer.add a comment
On Remembrance (Dhikr)
Imam Abdullah Al Haddad said, “You should have a wird[1] of remembering Allah [dhikr], which you must define with either a determined time or number.[2] Under these circumstances there is no harm in using a rosary to keep count.[3]” (The Book of Assistance)
The Explanation:
[1] Wird- is any amount of ibada (worship), which may include gaining knowledge, reciting Quran, dhikr (remembrance of Allah) etc., that one does on regular basis. Wird is commonly translated as “litany.”
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf said, “Wird literally means “place of water,” and this meaning is telling. A watering place is visited regularly, not out of mere fondness but out of necessity. The spiritual aspirant should approach his wird with the same intense thirst and regularity as he would his watering place. As water satisfies the body’s physical demands, so too does the wird bring the soul to a state of contentment and, eventually, delight. The Qur’an is itself a wird, a portion of which should be recited by Muslims daily.”
This wird may also includes salaat (regular established worship-prayers), sunna prayers, reading the Quran, or studying any of the Islamic sciences done for the sake for Allah. (The Prophetic Invocations)
Shaykh al Islam Ibn Hajar Al Haytami said, “The wirds Sufis customarily recite after prayers, according to their degree of spiritual advancement, have an authentic legal basis in the hadith related by Bayhaqi that the prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “To invoke Allah (dhikr) with people after the dawn prayer until sunrise is more beloved to me than this world and all it contains, and to invoke Allah Most High with people after the midafternoon prayer until sunset is more beloved to me than this world and al it contains.”
Because the Sufis’ practice of joining to recite wirds and dhikrs after dawn prayer and at other times has a rigorously authenticated (Sahih) basis in the sunna, namely the above-mentioned hadith, there can be no objection to their doing so.” (Al Fatawa Al Hadithiyya)
[2] Most of the scholars recommend twice a day, once in the morning and one in the evening. This is based on the Quranic verse, “And remember your Lord by your tongue and within yourself, humbly and with fear and without loudness in words in the mornings, and in the afternoons and be not of those who are neglectful.” (7:205)
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf recommends the wird of Imaam Haddad, Hasan Banna, Imaam Nawawi and Ahmad Zarroq. The wird of Shadhili Tariqa which Shaykh Nuh Keller gives is a nice wird as well.
[3] Imam Jalal Al-Din Suyuti said, “Having long heard questions concerning the rosary (subha) as to whether there is a basis for it in the sunna, I have compiled in this section the hadiths and accounts of early Muslims that relate to it.
Ibn Amr said, “ I saw the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) count the times he said, ‘Subhan Allah” on his hand.”
Safiyya said, “the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) entered the room where I sat with four thousand date stones in front of me and He asked, ‘What is this. O daughter of Huyay?’ I said, ‘I am saying “Subhan Allah” with them.” He replied, ‘I’ve said “Subhan Allah” More times than this since you’ve begun,’ and I said, “’Show me how, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Say, “Subhan Allah the number of everything He has created.”’” (Narrated by Tirmidhi who said it is gharib, and both al-Hakim and Suyuti declared it sahih.)
As one scholar has said, “Counting the times one says, “Subhan Allah’ on one’s fingers is superior to doing so on a rosary because of the hadith of Ibn Amr, though it has been said that if the person saying it is safe from istakes on counting, his fingers are better, while if not, then saying it on a rosary is more suitable. Some of the most renowned Muslims have used rosaries, those from whom the religion is taken and who are relied upon such as Abu Hrayra (Allah be well pleased with him), who had a string with two thousand knots in it, and did not use to go to sleep before saying ‘Subhan Allah’ with it twelve thousand times.” ‘Umar Al Maliki said, :I saw my teacher Hasan Al Basri with a rosary in his hand and said, ‘Teacher, with your great eminence and the excellence of your worship, do you still use a rosary?’ and he replied, “Something we have used at the beginning we are wont to leave at the end. I love to remember Allah with my heart, my hand, and my tongue.’” And how should it be otherwise, when the rosary reminds one of Allah Most High and a s person seldom sees one save that he rembers Allah, this being among the greatest of its benefits (Al Hawi li al Fatawi)
When you find an authentic prophetic narration (Hadith Sahih), this is my school (madhab) March 5, 2007
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Fiqh, Hadith, Shafi, Traditional Islam.add a comment
Imam Shafi statement, “When you find a hadith that is Sahih then this is my madhab.”
Imam Nawawi (rahmatullah alayh) comments,
“This which Imam ash-Shaafi has said does not mean that everyone who sees a sahih Hadith should say “This is the mathhab of ash-Shaafi,” thus practicing on the zaahir (text/external or apparent meaning) of the Haditlh.
This most certainly applies to only such a person who has the rank of ijtihad in the madhhab. It is a condition that he overwhelmingly believes that Imam ash-Shaafi was unaware of this Hadith or he was unaware of its authenticity. And this is possible only after having made a research of all the books of ash-Shaafi and similar other books of the Ashaab of ash-Shaafi, those who take (knowledge) from him and others similar to these (books). This is indeed a difficult condition (to fulfill). Few are there who measure up to this (standard).
What we have explained has been made conditional because Imam ash-Shaafi had abandoned acting on the zaahir (text) of many Ahadith, which he say and knew. However, by him was established proof for criticism in the Hadith or its abrogation or it’s specific circumstance or its interpretation, etc. Hence, he was constrained to leave aside the hadith.”
(Ilaaus Sunan, Vol. 2, page 225)
Imam Nawawi on Dancing February 15, 2007
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Fiqh, Hadith.add a comment
Imam Nawawi says:
“Dancing is not unlawful, unless it is languid, like the movements of the effeminate. And it is permissible to speak and to sing poetry, unless it satirizes someone, is obscene, or alludes to a particular woman” (Minhaj al-talibin wa ‘umdat al-muttaqin. Cairo 1338/1920. Reprint. Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi, n.d., 152).
And proof is as follows:
Shaykh Nuh Keller said,
“As for dancing, Imam Ahmad relates from Anas (Allah be well pleased with him), with a chain of transmission all of whose narrators are those of Bukhari except Hammad ibn Salama, who is one of the narrators of Muslim, that
The Ethiopians danced in front of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace); dancing and saying [in their language], “Muhammad is a righteous servant.” The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “What are they saying?” And they said, “‘Muhammad is a righteous servant’” (Musnad al-Imam Ahmad. 6 vols. Cairo 1313/1895. Reprint. Beirut: Dar Sadir, n.d., 3.152).
Other versions of the hadith clarify that this took place in the mosque in Medina, though in any case, the fact that dancing was done before the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) establishes that it is mubah or “permissible” in the shari‘a, for if it had been otherwise, he would have been obliged to condemn it.”
Ashari and Maturidi School of Islamic Belief February 3, 2007
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Aqidah, Ashari, Maturidi, Traditional Islam.1 comment so far
The Ash’ari and the Maturidi Schools
By Nuh Keller
The tenets of faith of Ahl Al Sunna orthodoxy are given here in the same order as they appear in traditional Ash’ari references such as the Matn al-Sanusiyya and others. For more than a thousand years, such works have been learned at an early age by virtually all Maliki and Shafi’I scholars, by many Hanafis, particularly in the Near East, and by some Hanbalis – all of whom were taught that attainment of this knowledge was personally obligatory upon every Muslim, and who knew it simply as Islam, not Ash’arism.
The Maturidis mostly followed the Hanafi school of law and predominated in the lands beyond the Oxus in central Asia. Their tenets have not been given a separate treatment because according to Imam Taj al-Din al-Subki, they do not differ from the Ash’aris except on six questions, which excluding merely verbal differences are;
(1) Ash’aris believe that if God willed He could in principle punish the obedient and reward the disobedient, since He is free do anything, however He has promised though revelation to reward the obedient and punish the disobedient; while the Maturidis believe that he must in principles reward the obedient and punish the disobedient, and that His doing the opposite is absurd;
(2) Ash’aris believe that man is responsible to believe in God because of revelation, not merely because he is endowed with human reason, and that he has no responsibility prior to revelation, while Maturidis believe that man is responsible to believe in God even before revelation, by the mere fact of having reason;
(3) Ash’aris believe that divine attributes of agency such as creation, giviging life, giving death, resurrection the dead and so forth, are temporal; while the Maturidis believe they all are manifestations of a single beginnglessly eternal attribute termed “existentiation” (takwin);
(4) Ash’aris believe that God’s own beginninglessly eternal speech may be heard, while the Maturidis believe it may not;
(5) Most Ash’aris believe that in principle God may impose moral obligations that man cannot endure, while Maturidies believe this impossible; though both agree that in practice He never does;
(6) Ash’aris hold two views about the possibility of prophets committing lesser sins that are not sordid: the first being that they are possiblie for them to absentmindedly commit, while the second it that they are not. The Maturidis say this is impossible, and that they are divinely protected from both enormities and lesser sins, a position that Taj al-Subki concurs with (Tabaqat al Shafi’iyya al kubra, 3.386-388)
Whoever reflects on these questions can see they are relatively speculative and minor, and they mainly serve to underscore the broader agreement of the two schools on more central issues. This is why the Imams of Ahl al-Sunna consider both schools together to represent Sunni orthodoxy. As religious historian R.M. Speight of the Harvard Theological Seminary has noted: “as Sunni theology matured after the tenth century, scholars freely appropriated elements of thought from Maturidi and Ash’ari alike. No clear-cut lines of distinction between the Ash’ariyya and the Maturidiyya can be discerned in the later history of Muslim thought” (The Encyclopedia of Religion, 9.286)
Watch Your Tongue January 21, 2007
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Hadith, Tasawwuf/Sufism.4 comments
Watch Your Tongue
Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salaam) said to Muadh Ibn Jabal, “Shall I not tell you of what controls all that?’ I said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah.’ So he took a hold of his tongue, and said: ‘Restrain this!’ (ie hold your tongue) I said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, will we be held accountable for what we say?’ He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu’adh! Is there anything that causes people to be dragged on their faces – or he said – on their noses into Hellfire other than the harvests of their tongues?’” (Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ahmad- Sahih) (1)
My Thoughts:
This hadith is so important because it evolves around the issue of one’s speech. Learning how to properly control one’s speech is very difficult to implement because of how often we speak. The hadith above expresses the importance of learning how to control one’s speech. The number one thing that leads people to hell fire is one’s speech.
Sahl Ibn Sa’ad reported that Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever can guarantee for me (that he will guard) what is between his jaws (tongue) and what is between his legs (private parts), I will guarantee for him Paradise.” (Bukhari)
So what is the sunnah regarding one’s speech? The sunnah of Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salam) regarding speech is based on the following hadith.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him say what is good or remain silent.” (Bukhari)
The default of one’s speech is that one remains silent and one does not speak unless one is sure that his speech will be good. If one is unsure if it will be good or bad than one remains silent. So the sunnah is that one remains silent until one is sure.
Some of the sins related to one’s tongue:
1) ghiba: (Backbiting)
2) namima: (Gossiping)
3) suma (showing off (riya) with speech)
4) iftikhar (boasting to others, making claims)
5) kadhib (lying)
6) khawd fi al-batil (mentioning the useless or immoral)
And Allah knows best.
(1) The Complete Hadith:
Mu’adh Ibn Jabal reported: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Tell me of an act that will take me to Paradise and keep me away from the Hellfire.’ He said:
‘You have asked me about a major matter. But it is easy for he whom Allah, may He be Exalted, makes it easy for. You must worship Allah, associating nothing with him. You must perform the prayers and pay the Zakat. You must fast in Ramadan and perform the Hajj to the House (Ka’bah).’ Then he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘Shall I not show you the gates of goodness? Fasting is a shield; charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire; and (so does) the praying of a man in the depths of the night.’ Then he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited: ‘(Those) who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of what We have bestowed upon them. No soul knows what is kept hidden for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to do.’ [Surah As-Sajdah: 16] Then he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the peak of the matter, its pillar and its uppermost part?’ I said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allaah!’ He said: ‘The peak of the matter is Islam. The pillar is prayer and its uppermost part is Jihad.Shall I not tell you of what controls all that?’ I said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah.’ So he took a hold of his tongue, and said: ‘Restrain this!’ I said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, will we be held accountable for what we say?’ He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu’adh! Is there anything that causes people to be dragged on their faces – or he said – on their noses into Hellfire other than the harvests of their tongues?’” (Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ahmad- Sahih)
Knowledge has its priority December 21, 2006
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Aqidah, Fiqh, Knowledge, Tasawwuf/Sufism, Traditional Islam.10 comments
Knowledge has its priority, the highest being aqidah, then fiqh and then tasawwuf.
Aqidah is to understand Allah, His Messenger and the Unseen. One does this by studying one of the Islamic texts on Aqidah from either the Ashari, Maturidi, and Athari (not Salafi) schools of Aqidah. A recognized Ashari text in Aqidah to study is Jawharat Tawhid by Imam Ibrahim Laqani. A recognized Maturidi text in Aqidah to study is Aqidah Nasafi by Imam Nasafi. A recognized Athari text in Aqidah to study is Aqidah Tahawi by Imam Tahawi.
Aqidah texts you want to avoid, the The Sharh of Imam Tahawi by Ibn Abu Al Izz, any text on Aqidah by Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Uthaymeen, Bin Baz and the likes.
Fiqh is to understand the rulings of the Shariah. One does this by studying one of the Islamic text of fiqh from either the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi or Hanbali schools of fiqh,
Tasawwuf is the science of how to put the rulings of the Shariah into practice with sincerity. One can do this by taking one of the valid tariqas of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah, the Shadhili, Naqshabandis, Qadiris and the likes, or if one is able to find an upright shaykh to teach him how to purify his heart and to do his acts of worship with sincerity.
The vehicles needed to know and understand this properly is to first have a living shaykh teach you these sciences.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Truly, Allah does not remove Sacred Knowedge by taking it out of servants, but rather by taking back the souls of Islamic scholars [in death], until, when He has not left a single scholar, the people take the ignorant as leaders, who are asked for and who give Islamic legal opinion without knowledge, misguided and misguiding” (Al Bukhari- Sahih)
If one is unable to find a living shaykh to teach them, then one can learn these sciences online through website like Sunnipath at www.sunnipath.com or Zam Zam Academy at http://www.zamzamacademy.com/ Zaytuna Institute also has a distance learning program at www.zaytuna.org .
If for some reason one is unable to access these website for whatever reason, then one must find a reliable book to study from, such as the Reliance of the Traveler by Ahmad Al Misri translated by Nuh Keller, and there are other resources available.
And Allah knows best.
Nawawi on making up missed prayers: scholarly consensus November 22, 2006
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Fiqh, prayer.1 comment so far
Nawawi on making up missed prayers: scholarly consensus
In regards to the obligatory of making up Missed prayers
Imam Nawawi stated in his al-Majmu` Sharh al-Muhadhdhab (3.86):
“There is consensus (ijma`) of the scholars whose opinion counts that whoever leaves a prayer intentionally must make it up. Abu Muhammad Ali Ibn Hazm differed with them on this, saying that such an individual cannot ever make them up and it is not at all valid to make them up. Rather, he said, one must do much good works and voluntary prayer in order that one’s scales be heavied on the day of judgement and one must seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent. This position of his, along with being in opposition to scholarly consensus (ijma`), is invalid in terms of the proof…
Among the proofs for the obligation to makeup is… that if makeup prayers are obligatory for the one who left the prayer forgetfully, then doing so for the one who left the prayer deliberately is more obviously incumbent.”
Imam Nawawi is referring here to the hadith related by Anas that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Whoever forgets a prayer must perform it when they remember it…” [Bukhari (597), and Muslim (684)]
Imaam Nawawi says, “This hadith contains evidence that the obligatory prayer which has been missed must be made up, regardless if one left it due to a valid excuse, such as sleep or forgetfulness or due to no valid excuse. the hadith mentions only the excuse of forgetfulness due to it being said after the occurrence of a specific even but (is to be applied generally.) If it is necessary for one who has a valid excuse to make up the prayer, it is even more so required for the one who has no valid excuse. Therefore, the hadith is informing us of this by means of using the lesser thing to alert to the greater thing.” (Sharh Muslim- Nawawi)
Shaykh Nuh Ali Salman said, the words of the Prophet :saa: “A debt to Allah has better right to be fulfilled,”
a hadith related by Bukhari and Muslim. “The hadith’s context is that of making up another person’s hajj, the Prophet (SAW) likened the missed worship to a debt, similar hadiths existing about fasting, proving that acts of worship when missed, regardless of the reason, become a debt that must be repaid just as other debts are. and with even better right. We say “regardless of the reason” because the Prophet (SAW) did not ask the questioner about the reason for its having been missed. And if this is established in relation to making up the worship of another, it hold with still a better right for making up one’s own missed acts of worship.”
Imaam Qurtabi said, “The Jurist of the four schools of thought are agreed it is obligatory to make up missed obligatory prayers, regardless of whether one left them due to a valid reason, such as sleep or forgetfulness, or out of negligence and laziness.”
To understand why it is Wajib To make up your missed Salaat, you need to understand the conditions of Tawba.(repentance)
What are the conditions of tawba(repentance) to be accepted?
I know of four condition, of which I don’t think there is a difference of opinion on.
1. That he must stop the sin.
2. Have a sense of remorse.
3. Be determined never to repeat again.
4. And he must correct the wrong act if he is able.
I have not read any different opinion concerning the condition of repentance.
The condition that is very important to the issue of making up the salaat, is the forth (4th) condition.
You have to correct the wrong that you have committed if possible.
For example, if you steal $1000 from somebody, it is not sufficient that one just say, Allah forgive me, but he has to ask Allah forgiveness, feel remorse about it, never repeat it, and return the money.
Even if he has bills to pay. Out of taqwa.
And this is how we should understand our salaat.
In terms of salaat.
If a person misses his salaat, he must:
1. Stop missing his salaat.
2. He must feel remorse.
3. Be determined never to miss another salaat.
4. And make up what he missed, as he violated his obligation to Allah.
The words of the Prophet :saa: “A debt to Allah has better right to be fulfilled,”
a hadith related by Bukhari and Muslim.
And these are the condition of Repentance.
Ali (May Allah be pleased with him), heard an Arab nomad say: “O Allah, I beg Your Forgiveness and I repent to You.” Ali said, “O you there, slickness of the tongue in repentance is the repentance of liars! The Arab nomad then asked, “And what is repentance?” Ali (May Allah be Pleased with him) replied, “It includes six things:
1. Remorse for sins committed in the past.
2. Renewed performance of obligatory religious duties (faraid).
3. Providing compensation for acts of criminal injustice.
4. Seeking pardon from the adversaries.
5. Resolving never to repeat the offence.
6. Dissolving your lower self in worshipful obedience to Allah, just as you caused it to grow in sinful obedience, just as you let it taste the sweetness of sinful acts of disobedience, until it comes to enjoy the sweetness and flavours of worshipful obedience.”
Point 2 and 3
2. Renewed performance of obligatory religious duties (faraid).
3. Providing compensation for acts of criminal injustice. is correcting the wrong you commited. Thus proving that it is Wajib to make up the Salaat as part of your tawba.
Ali said, “O you there, slickness of the tongue in repentance is the repentance of liars!
Shaykh Ahmad Fathu’llah Jami said, “According to the authors of Sharh Al Maqasid: “If the offense was a violation of the right of Allah(exalted is He), and His Alone, remorse is sufficient, as in the cases like fleeing from military advance, and failing to enjoin what is right and proper(ma’ruf). In certain matters, there may be an additional requirement, like submitting oneself to the legal penalty (hadd) for drinking alcoholic liquor, paying what is outstanding from the alms-due (zakat), and making up for the missed performance of the ritual prayer (salaat).”
Those who choose to follow Ibn Hazm’s position.
Many have chosen to follow Ibn Hazm position mostly because they feel it is the easier position. Many misunderstand Ibn Hazm position, to mean that one doesn’t have to fulfill the conditions of tawba which states, “And he must correct the wrong act if he is able.” And understand this to mean that because the Fard Salat is outside of its time, it is impossible to fulfill this condition of tawba. However, Ibn Hazm realizes that this condition of tawba must be met, this is why Imam Nawawi said, “Rather, he said, one must do much good works and voluntary prayer in order that one’s scales be heavied on the day of judgement and one must seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent.” So in reality you are required to do more voluntary prayers and more other good works to competes with the obligatory prayer that you missed. Ibn Hazm says in his al Muhalla, “There is a certain amount of good in the obligatory prayer and a certain amount in the voluntary (prayer), so the cumulative amount of good when many voluntary prayers are performed must equal or be more than the amount of obligatory prayer.” Which means one has to do the amount of voluntary prayers that equal to or more than an obligatory prayer.
It is easier to follow the dominant and sounder position
So practically speaking it is easier to follow the dominant position of the four madhabs which requires you only to make up the missed prayers as oppose to trying to fulfill that condition of tawba by doing voluntary prayers that equal up to an obligatory prayer.
And Allah knows best.
Muslim For A Month September 23, 2006
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Education.3 comments
Very Interesting. A Social Studies Teacher, Rebecca Watts decides to become a Muslim for a Month to better understand Islam and her students. She has received alot of support from the Muslim community and I think it is a wonder. You can read Her blog below.
Tafsir: Recommended Commentaries of the Quran February 28, 2007
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Quran, Traditional Islam.Tags: commentaries of quran, commentary of quran, koran, meaning of quran, Tafsir
1 comment so far
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani was asked,
What one Arabic tafsir would you recommend that a person read at least once in a life time? What four Arabic Tafsirs would you recommend for a student of knowledge to have? And could you list them in order of priority. And if there is one or two more that you would please list.
And he replied:
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
(1) I asked a number of leading Damascene scholars–including Shaykh Abd al-Halim Abu Sha`r and Shaykh Abd al-Rahman Kharsa–regarding a tafsir they’d recommend a seeker of knowledge to read cover to cover. They all recommended Imam Sawi’s Hashiya `ala al-Jalalayn, a supercommentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn in 5 volumes.
This is summarized from Imam Jamal’s supercommentary on the same work, Hashiyat al-Jamal `ala al-Jalalayn. This work is twice the size, but also highly recommended–many scholars, including Shaykh Nuh Keller and Shaykh Adib Kallas, consider it an indespensible reference.
(2) Imam Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri mentions in his work on the principles of tafsir that there are four Qur’anic exegeses (tafasir, tafsir) that a serious researcher simply needs:
(a) In tafsir by transmission (tafsir bi’l ma’thur), Tafsir Ibn Kathir.
(b) In tafsir focussing on legal and religious deduction (tafsir ahkam al-Qur’an), Tafsir al-Qurtubi.
(c) In tafsir with focus on rational and theological discourse (tafsir fi’l ma`qulat wa’l kalam), al-Tafsir al-Kabir of Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi.
(d) In interpretatrive and linguistic tafsir, Tafsir Abi’l Su`ud of Shaykh al-Islam Abu Su`ud al-Imadi, arguably the greatest scholar of the Ottoman Khilafa;
(e) As an encyclopedic tafsir that excels in all the above, and also contains deep spiritual allusions throughout, Tafsir Ruh al-Ma`ani of Imam Alusi, a great 19th Century jurist, theologian, and master of Qur’anic exegesis from Baghdad (Iraq). There are all reference works, however.
In the first steps of one’s path of knowledge, one would benefit by studying shorter works first (and referring to some of the above consistently, as one’s language and understanding of the Sacred sciences deepens).
These short works would include:
(a) Safwat al-Tafasir by Shaykh Sabuni. This is a three-volume contemporary tafsir based on the major classical tafsir works, and is highly recommended by traditional ulema.
(b) Tafsir al-Nasafi of Hafidh al-Din al-Nasafi. Also in three volumes.
(c) The abovementioned Hashiyat al-Sawi `ala al-Jalalayn.
(d) The Tafsir of Ibn Juzayy of al-Andalus. And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam, Faraz Rabbani