Advice of Scholars - READING THE BOOKS OF TAFSÎR (II)

Valuable Tafsîrs such as Mawâkib, Tibyân, Abu’l-Lays are among them. Tibyân is an interpretation that was prepared in 1110 A. H. The interpretation by Vehbî Efendi of Konya is a book of preaching. Since there are parts containing personal views in all those newly written books, which are considered to be the most valuable, their harm is greater than their good to those who read them. Especially those tafsîrs and translations by enemies of Islam and by holders of bid’at, which have been written to defile the meaning of Qur’ân al-kerîm, are fully harmful. These are all poisonous.

A number of doubts and objections arise within the young people who read them. Besides, it is unsuitable for those who, like us, have little religious knowledge, to read tafsîrs and hadîths to learn Islam. It causes one to lose one’s îmân if an âyat or hadîth is misunderstood or doubted. A tafsîr or hadîth cannot be understood only by knowing Arabic. He who considers those who know Arabic as savants is wrong. In Beirut and in other places there are many priests whose native language is Arabic and who know Arabic literature well. Yet none of them understands Islam.