— al-Khaazin —
-Name of the Mufassir:
He was Abu’l-Hasan, ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, al-Sheehi, al-Baghdadi, al-Shaafi’ee, al-Soofee. He is best known by the title, al-Khaazin. He was especially skilled in the hadeeth sciences, and authored a number of other works related to those subjects. He died in the year 741Ah/1341CE.
-Name of the Book:
Lubaab al-Ta’weel fee Ma’aani al-Tanzeel [لباب التأويل في معاني التنزيل]
-General Description of the Book:
al-Khaazin made his tafsir a summary of al-Baghawi’s Ma’aalim al-Tanzeel, however he did not limit himself to merely selecting from what al-Baghawi had written and transmitting that. The author was prolific in including narrations and ahaadeeth in his explanations, and was very precise and exacting in attributing each one to its source collection. His book is also known for being filled with many historical accounts and Judaeo-Christian narratives, for which the tafsir of al-Tha’labi was a primary source. Other notable features include his special attention to reporting legal rulings and their evidences. He also included many points of admonition and heart-softening tales in his explanation.
Thus, this tafsir combines a number of different bodies of knowledge within it, however it has become best known for its emphasis on historical and Judaeo-Christian narratives, which ultimately has had the effect of discouraging greater use and reliance on this work as a whole.
–‘Aqeedah:
In most cases, he made ta’weel of Allah’s attributes according to the way of the Ash’aris, meaning that he would interpret them in a manner contrary to their apparent meanings and contrary to the understanding of the salaf. He would sometimes mention explanations that were in keeping with the understanding of the salaf alongside those Ash’ari explanations of Allah’s names and attributes, but without including any discussion of the relative merits or soundness of the different positions.
-Stance regarding isnaads (chains of narration):
al-Khaazin copiously mentioned narrated statements and ahaadeeth in his explanations of ayaat and especially for the ayaat regarding legal rulings, however he did not list their full chains of narration. Instead, he would use a letter coding system to indicate which hadeeth collection the narration could be located, as he explained in the introduction to his tafsir. For example, the letter (خ) would indicate that the hadeeth could be found in al-Bukhari, (م) that it could be found in Muslim, (ق) that is could be found in both al-Bukhari and Muslim, and so on. al-Khaazin justified this abbreviation system, hoping that it would ease the task of students of knowledge.
Along with mentioning the ahaadeeth, he would also explain any uncommon vocabulary and touch upon some related benefits it might contain. In addition to hadeeth narrations, al-Khaazin also included many historical reports and stories of battles, especially those battles that took place during the time of the Prophet and which are referred to in the Qur’an.
-Stance regarding Fiqh (legal) Rulings:
al-Khaazin devoted special and extensive attention to fiqh-related issues, regularly digressing into discussions of the positions of the different madhhabs and their evidences. He also included many ancillary fiqh discussions not directly related to the topics at hand, often listing a number of secondary fiqh issues that would branch off from the ayah and then discussing each one in turn.
-Stance regarding Qiraa’aat (different recitations):
He followed al-Baghawi in mentioning the different qiraa’aat without going into detail.
-Stance regarding Israa’eeliyyaat (Judaeo-Christian traditions):
al-Khaazin made frequent mention of Israa’eeliyyaat narrations and other unsubstantiated tales throughout his tafsir, drawing heavily from previous works of tafsir such as that al-Tha’labi and others who also gave these stories attention. In general, he would not follow up these stories with any notes regarding their contents or veracity.
Bibliography:
القول المختصر المبين في مناهج المفسرين لمحمد بن حمد الحمود النجدي
التفسير والمفسرين لمحمد حسين الدهبي
التيسير لمعرفة المشهور من أسانيد وكتب التفسير لعلي بن أحمد الرازحي
Back to Mufassir Profiles Index
See also: Advice Regarding the Books of Tafsir with Distorted ‘Aqeedah
Tulayhah 