Quran Interpretation – Tafsir Juz’ Amma

تفسير القرءان الكريم – جزء عم

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
PREFACE
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, Who honored the nation of Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, with the Glorious Qur’an and protected it from perversion. We humbly ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, whom Allah sent to call the people and the jinn to the Correct Path.  We ask Allah to raise the rank of the kind Al [1] and Companions of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and to protect his nation from what he fears for them.

The Science of Tafsir (^Ilm at-Tafsir), which is the knowledge of the interpretation of the Qur’an, is an honorable knowledge with which one is enabled to comprehend the precious meanings of the Glorious Qur’an.  The Science of Tafsir leads to the proper deduction of the religious judgments contained in the Qur’an and to the benefit of taking lessons from the stories narrated therein.  Moreover, this science explains the reasons behind the revelation of its verses (ayahs), addresses subjects such as whether the verses were revealed in Makkah (Makkiyyan) or in al-Madinah (Madiniyyan), whether they have one clear meaning (muhkam) or have more than one meaning and require a proper deduction of an appropriate meaning (mutashabih), abrogating (nasikh) or abrogated (mansukh), specific (khas) or general (^am), and whether they contain a threat of castigation (wa^id) or a promise of reward (wa^d), and many other benefits.

The honor of the Science of Tafsir is grand and the reward of spreading it is magnificent. We have attempted to translate into the English language the interpretation of the Thirtieth (30th) part of the Qur’an (Juz’ ^Amma) and the Opening Chapter (Surah al-Fatihah).  We relied in our endeavor on precious books of interpretation in the Arabic language. One of which is Al-Bahr Al-Muhit, authored by Ibn Hayyan Al-Andalusiyy. Another text is one of the most competent and reliable interpretation that was compiled by the Research Division of the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects and is entitled “AD-DURR AL-MASUN FI TAFSIR JUZ’ ^AMMA YATASA’LUN.”

We named this book ” The Jeweled Interpretation of the Thirtieth Part of the Glorious Qur’an (Juz’ ^Amma) and Surah al-Fatihah.”

We ask Allah to make our endeavor sincere and acceptable, of widespread benefit, and a reason for our expeditious passage over Assirat [2]and salvation in the Hereafter.

INTRODUCTION
It is Islamically unlawful to translate the ayahs of the Qur’an word for word into other languages.  Allah said:  {وَكَذَلِكَ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ قُرْءَانًا عَرَبِيًّا} (Surah Taha, 113).  This ayah means:  [We have revealed the Qur’an in the Arabic language.]  In another ayah, Allah informed us that the Qur’an was revealed in an explicit Arabic mother tongue. This meaning is explicit in the saying of Allah:  {بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُبِينٍ} (Surah ash-Shu^ara’, 195).  Moreover, the richness contained in the vocabulary of the Arabic language is non-existent in other languages.  For instance, the Arabic word qur’ ( (قُرءmay refer to the menstrual period and/or to the cleanliness period of the woman.

Allah revealed many Holy Books to His Prophets.  Shaykh Shamsud-Din ar-Ramliyy mentioned in his book, Nihayat Al-Muhtaj Fi Sharhil-Minhaj, that these Books numbered one hundred and four (104).  Fifty (50) of these were revealed to Prophet Shith (Seth), thirty (30) to Prophet Idris (Enoch), ten (10) to Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), and ten (10), other than the Torah, to Prophet Musa (Moses).  The last four (4) revealed Holy Books were:

1.      The Torah, revealed in the Hebrew language to Prophet Musa (Moses)
2.      The Zabur, revealed in the Hebrew language to Prophet Dawud (David)
3.      The Injil, revealed in the Syriac language to Prophet ^Isa (Jesus)
4.      The Qur’an, revealed in the Arabic language to Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.

Of these books, the Qur’an is the only Holy Book which remains intact and unchanged to this day.  It is the lasting miracle revealed to Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, which Allah protected from being perverted.

The complaints of non-Arabic speaking Muslims at large emanate mainly from the absence of reliable interpretations of the Qur’an in their own respective mother tongues.  Sadly, most of the available translations are unsatisfactory and dangerous, because the methodologies used in producing these translations deviate from what is permissible under the rules of the Religion.

Because the Qur’an was specifically revealed in the Arabic language does not mean it is meant only for Arabic speaking people to read and understand.  On the contrary, Islam, the religion of all the prophets, is pronounced the only true religion for all people[3]; therefore its terms and teachings must also be attainable by non-Arabic speaking people.  The religious prohibition is in translating the verses of the Qur’an word for word and claiming these are the expressions revealed by Allah to Prophet Muhammad , sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.  What is permissible, however, is to explain the meanings of the verses of the Qur’an in other languages.

Interpreting the meanings of the Qur’an require qualified scholars who have the necessary scholastic tools. Many renowned scholars of interpretation have authored precious books. Ibn Hayyan Al-Andalusiyy, for example, authored Al-Bahr Al-Muhit, a text that Muslim scholars hold as highly reputable and credible. Translating similar works constitutes a proper methodology of spreading the meanings of the Glorious Qur’an into other languages.

The overall layout of this book consists of giving a general interpretation of the meanings of each individual verse (ayah) in table form, with the English interpretation in the left column and the corresponding verse in Arabic in the right column.  A more detailed interpretation of each verse follows the table format in the body of the book.  Transliterated words are italicized and the following transliteration system has been adopted for this work:

Transliteration System