Key Debates

Where Tafsīr al-Tasnīm weighs other readings of a verse and answers them. Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī names those he answers: the great exegetes, Sunni and Shia, and the theologians and philosophers. Where his teacher ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s reading helps settle a question, it is given with a link to al-Mizan. Each page sets out the question and his argument, compares the views point by point, and has a reading guide that opens al-Tasnim at each step.

With other exegetes

Readings of the great exegetes, Sunni and Shia, examined and answered.

1:1The Whole Qur’an in the Bāʾ of Bismillāh?Can the teachings of the whole Qur’an be contained in Sūrat al-Ḥamd, in bismillāh, and in its letter bāʾ?With Tafsīr al-Manār, al-Kāshif1:4Master of the Day of JudgmentCan mālik describe Allah if the Day of Judgment has not yet come, and should the word be read mālik or malik?With al-Zamakhsharī, al-Nasafī, Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Qurṭubī, al-Ālūsī1:6“Guide Us” and Free WillDoes the prayer “Guide us to the straight path” refute those who hold that human beings act by their own will, as al-Qurṭubī says?With al-Qurṭubī2:30Was the Angels’ Question an Objection?When the angels asked “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein?”, were they objecting to God, or asking to learn the wisdom of His decision?With Balāghī, al-Ṭabrisī, al-Zamakhsharī, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī2:30Who Is the Vicegerent?When God says “I will make upon the earth a vicegerent”, who is the vicegerent: Adam alone, the perfect human beings, the believers, or every human being?With al-Zamakhsharī, al-Ṭabrisī2:30Whom Does the Vicegerent Succeed?Every vicegerent stands in for someone. Whose vicegerent is the human being in 2:30: the angels, the jinn, all beings, earlier humans, or God?With Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī2:31What Were the Names Taught to Adam?What were “the names, all of them” that God taught Adam: the names of things, the words of a language, or the unseen realities of the world?With al-Ṭabrisī, al-Ṭabarī, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī2:33Could Adam Have Erred in Telling the Angels the Names?The angels learnt the names from Adam, not from God directly. How did they know that he made no mistake in telling them?With Sayyid Murtaḍā, al-Ṭabrisī, Ṣadr al-Mutaʾallihīn2:34Is Iblīs a Jinn or an Angel?Iblīs was commanded with the angels and is excepted from them. Was he one of the angels, or a jinn?With Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, Shaykh al-Mufīd2:35Did Adam Sin?If Adam was a prophet and prophets are infallible, how are his eating from the tree, and the words “disobeyed” and “wrongdoers”, to be understood?With Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Ālūsī, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Ṭabrisī2:37Must God Accept Repentance?When repentance is complete and sincere, must God accept it, or is His acceptance a pure favour?With Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Ṭabrisī, Ṣadr al-Mutaʾallihīn, Shaykh al-Mufīd, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Ālūsī2:38Why “Go Down” Twice?“Go down” is said in 2:36 and again in 2:38. Are these two descents, or one command repeated, and if so, why?With al-Jubbāʾī, Fakhr al-Rāzī, Ṣadr al-Mutaʾallihīn, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Ālūsī2:124Can a Repentant Wrongdoer Receive God’s Covenant?Does “My covenant does not extend to the wrongdoers” bar only those doing wrong at the time, or everyone who has ever done wrong, even after repenting?With al-Ālūsī, the author of Kashf al-Asrār, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī2:124What Is the Imāmah Given to Abraham?When God says “I am making you the Imam of mankind”, what is the imāmah given to Abraham in his old age, after many years as a prophet?With Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Ālūsī, al-Qurṭubī, al-Ṭabrisī, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī2:130What Is “the Religion of Abraham”?What is the religion of Abraham that only a fool would turn from, and if part of Abraham’s law was later abrogated, did Islam itself turn from it?With Fakhr al-Rāzī2:135A Persuasive or a Demonstrative Answer?Is “Rather, the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth” only a persuasive answer to the People of the Book, or a demonstrative one?With Fakhr al-Rāzī3:42Was Mary a Prophet?The angels spoke to Mary. Does that make her a prophet, as some Sunni exegetes hold, or not?With al-Qurṭubī, al-Ālūsī, al-Zamakhsharī, Fakhr al-Rāzī3:49Did Jesus Actually Work His Miracles?Does the verse say that Jesus actually made the bird, healed the sick and raised the dead, or only that he had the power to?With Tafsīr al-Manār, Rashīd Riḍā3:59Jesus, Adam and AnalogyWhen God likens Jesus to Adam, is that the jurists’ analogy (qiyās), and so proof that analogy is valid?With al-Qurṭubī3:61“Our Sons, Our Women, Ourselves”: Plurals for One or Two?Why does the verse say “our sons”, “our women” and “ourselves” in the plural, when only al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, Fāṭimah and ʿAlī came?With Ibn Taymiyya, Tafsīr al-Manār3:61Is ʿAlī Superior to the Earlier Prophets?If “ourselves” makes ʿAlī as the Prophet’s own self, is he superior to all the prophets but Muhammad, or does consensus rule this out, as Fakhr al-Rāzī holds?With Fakhr al-Rāzī3:61Who Is “Ourselves” in the Mubāhala?In “let us call … ourselves and yourselves”, who is meant by “ourselves”, and does it show that ʿAlī stands as the Prophet’s own self?With al-Ālūsī, Ibn Taymiyya, Tafsīr al-Manār4:59Consensus and Analogy in 4:59Does the verse prove that the consensus of the community, and analogy (qiyās), are sources of religious law alongside the Qur’an and the Sunnah?With al-Ṭabrisī, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, Fakhr al-Rāzī, Tafsīr al-Manār4:59Those Vested with AuthorityWho are “those vested with authority among you”, whom the believers must obey as they obey God and the Messenger?With Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Ṭabrisī, Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad Jawād Mughniyya, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī4:159“Before His Death”: Whose Death?In “There is none among the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death”, whose death is meant: Jesus’ at his return, or each of the People of the Book’s own?With al-Zamakhsharī, Fakhr al-Rāzī4:172The Messiah and the Angels Brought NearSince the verse names the angels brought near after the Messiah, are they above him in rank, and is the Holy Spirit superior to him?With Majmaʿ al-Bayān, Tafsīr al-Manār5:55The Guardian in 5:55: Fakhr al-Rāzī’s EvidenceIs the guardianship of “the faithful who give the zakāt while bowing down” the friendship of all believers, as Fakhr al-Rāzī argues, or the authority of the one who gave alms while bowing, ʿAlī?With Fakhr al-Rāzī5:55ʿAlī’s Alms While Bowing: The ObjectionsCould ʿAlī have given alms while bowing in prayer, and is the report that the verse was revealed about it sound?With Fakhr al-Rāzī, Ibn Taymiyya, al-Qurṭubī, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī5:112“Can Your Lord Send Down a Table?”How could the disciples, who had just renewed their faith, ask Jesus whether his Lord was able to send down a table from the sky?With al-Kisāʾī, al-Zamakhsharī, Fakhr al-Rāzī, Tafsīr al-Manār5:115Did the Table Come Down?Did the table the disciples asked for actually come down, and what can be known about it?With Fakhr al-Rāzī, Tafsīr al-Manār, al-Qurṭubī, al-Tibyān18:65Was Khiḍr a Prophet?Does the Qur’an show that “one of Our servants” whom Moses met, Khiḍr, was a prophet?With Fakhr al-Rāzī18:67“You Will Never Be Able to Have Patience”Does “you will never be able to have patience with me” show, as the Ashʿarīs argue, that a person has no capability for an act before he does it?With Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Jubbāʾī, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī18:80“So We Feared”: Can Fear Be Attributed to God?In “so we feared that he would overwhelm them”, who feared, and how can fear be attributed to God?With Sayyid Murtaḍā18:83Who Was Dhū al-Qarnayn?Who was Dhū al-Qarnayn, whose travels and barrier against Gog and Magog the Qur’an recounts: Alexander of Macedon, Cyrus the Great, or someone else?With Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Ālūsī, ʿAllāmah Shaʿrānī

With other faiths

Christian and Jewish beliefs the Qur’an answers, such as the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus.

2:30Adam in the Qur’an and the TestamentsHow do the Jewish and Christian accounts of Adam (the angels consulted, man made “in the image of God”, a nation chosen through Adam) compare with the Qur’an’s story?With the Talmud, Maimonides, Philo of Alexandria, Judah Halevi4:157Killed, Crucified, or Raised?Was Jesus killed or crucified, as some of the Children of Israel claimed and the Gospels relate, and what does it mean that God “raised him up toward Himself”?With Jewish belief, Christian belief, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī4:171Excess about the Messiah: “Son of God” and the TrinityDo Jesus’ titles in the Qur’an, “His Word” and “a spirit from Him”, lend any support to the Christian belief that he is the son of God and one of a Trinity?With Christian belief5:72“God Is the Messiah” or “the Third of Three”?How does the Qur’an answer those who say that God is the Messiah, son of Mary, or that God is “the third of three”?With Christian belief, al-Wāḥidī, Fakhr al-Rāzī

On method

How the Qur’an is to be understood and interpreted.

Intro.A Criticism of al-Mīzān AnsweredDoes ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s method of explaining the Qur’an by the Qur’an set the Prophet aside as the Qur’an’s teacher, as some critics claimed?With ʿAllāmah ṬabāṭabāʾīIntro.Is the Qur’an an Authority in Itself?Can the apparent meanings of the Qur’an be understood and relied on by themselves, or only through the narrations of the Prophet’s Household?With the Akhbārīs, al-AstarābādīIntro.Religion and PoliticsWhen the prophets fought oppression and governed, did they act as God’s messengers, so that their example binds their followers, or only as individuals seeking justice?With the advocates of secularismIntro.What Is “Interpretation by Opinion”?The narrations forbid interpreting the Qur’an “by one’s opinion”. What exactly do they forbid, and what does that leave the exegete free to do?With al-Ṭabarī, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī

By scholar

The scholars and works whose views al-Tasnim weighs in these debates.

Fakhr al-Rāzī1:4 Master of the Day of Judgment2:35 Did Adam Sin?2:37 Must God Accept Repentance?2:38 Why “Go Down” Twice?2:124 What Is the Imāmah Given to Abraham?2:130 What Is “the Religion of Abraham”?2:135 A Persuasive or a Demonstrative Answer?3:42 Was Mary a Prophet?3:61 Is ʿAlī Superior to the Earlier Prophets?4:59 Consensus and Analogy in 4:594:59 Those Vested with Authority4:159 “Before His Death”: Whose Death?5:55 The Guardian in 5:55: Fakhr al-Rāzī’s Evidence5:55 ʿAlī’s Alms While Bowing: The Objections5:72 “God Is the Messiah” or “the Third of Three”?5:112 “Can Your Lord Send Down a Table?”5:115 Did the Table Come Down?18:65 Was Khiḍr a Prophet?18:67 “You Will Never Be Able to Have Patience”18:83 Who Was Dhū al-Qarnayn?

ʿAllāmah ṬabāṭabāʾīA Criticism of al-Mīzān Answered2:30 Was the Angels’ Question an Objection?2:30 Whom Does the Vicegerent Succeed?2:31 What Were the Names Taught to Adam?2:124 Can a Repentant Wrongdoer Receive God’s Covenant?2:124 What Is the Imāmah Given to Abraham?4:59 Those Vested with Authority4:157 Killed, Crucified, or Raised?5:55 ʿAlī’s Alms While Bowing: The Objections18:67 “You Will Never Be Able to Have Patience”

al-Ālūsī1:4 Master of the Day of Judgment2:35 Did Adam Sin?2:37 Must God Accept Repentance?2:38 Why “Go Down” Twice?2:124 Can a Repentant Wrongdoer Receive God’s Covenant?2:124 What Is the Imāmah Given to Abraham?3:42 Was Mary a Prophet?3:61 Who Is “Ourselves” in the Mubāhala?18:83 Who Was Dhū al-Qarnayn?

al-Ṭabrisī2:30 Was the Angels’ Question an Objection?2:30 Who Is the Vicegerent?2:31 What Were the Names Taught to Adam?2:33 Could Adam Have Erred in Telling the Angels the Names?2:35 Did Adam Sin?2:37 Must God Accept Repentance?2:124 What Is the Imāmah Given to Abraham?4:59 Consensus and Analogy in 4:594:59 Those Vested with Authority

Shaykh al-ṬūsīWhat Is “Interpretation by Opinion”?2:30 Whom Does the Vicegerent Succeed?2:34 Is Iblīs a Jinn or an Angel?2:35 Did Adam Sin?2:37 Must God Accept Repentance?2:38 Why “Go Down” Twice?4:59 Consensus and Analogy in 4:594:59 Those Vested with Authority

Tafsīr al-Manār1:1 The Whole Qur’an in the Bāʾ of Bismillāh?3:49 Did Jesus Actually Work His Miracles?3:61 “Our Sons, Our Women, Ourselves”: Plurals for One or Two?3:61 Who Is “Ourselves” in the Mubāhala?4:59 Consensus and Analogy in 4:594:172 The Messiah and the Angels Brought Near5:112 “Can Your Lord Send Down a Table?”5:115 Did the Table Come Down?

al-Qurṭubī1:4 Master of the Day of Judgment1:6 “Guide Us” and Free Will2:124 What Is the Imāmah Given to Abraham?3:42 Was Mary a Prophet?3:59 Jesus, Adam and Analogy5:55 ʿAlī’s Alms While Bowing: The Objections5:115 Did the Table Come Down?

al-Zamakhsharī1:4 Master of the Day of Judgment2:30 Was the Angels’ Question an Objection?2:30 Who Is the Vicegerent?3:42 Was Mary a Prophet?4:159 “Before His Death”: Whose Death?5:112 “Can Your Lord Send Down a Table?”

Christian belief4:157 Killed, Crucified, or Raised?4:171 Excess about the Messiah: “Son of God” and the Trinity5:72 “God Is the Messiah” or “the Third of Three”?

Ibn Taymiyya3:61 “Our Sons, Our Women, Ourselves”: Plurals for One or Two?3:61 Who Is “Ourselves” in the Mubāhala?5:55 ʿAlī’s Alms While Bowing: The Objections

Ṣadr al-Mutaʾallihīn2:33 Could Adam Have Erred in Telling the Angels the Names?2:37 Must God Accept Repentance?2:38 Why “Go Down” Twice?

al-Jubbāʾī2:38 Why “Go Down” Twice?18:67 “You Will Never Be Able to Have Patience”

al-ṬabarīWhat Is “Interpretation by Opinion”?2:31 What Were the Names Taught to Adam?

Sayyid Murtaḍā2:33 Could Adam Have Erred in Telling the Angels the Names?18:80 “So We Feared”: Can Fear Be Attributed to God?

Shaykh al-Mufīd2:34 Is Iblīs a Jinn or an Angel?2:37 Must God Accept Repentance?

al-AstarābādīIs the Qur’an an Authority in Itself?

al-Kāshif1:1 The Whole Qur’an in the Bāʾ of Bismillāh?

al-Kisāʾī5:112 “Can Your Lord Send Down a Table?”

al-Nasafī1:4 Master of the Day of Judgment

al-Tibyān5:115 Did the Table Come Down?

al-Wāḥidī5:72 “God Is the Messiah” or “the Third of Three”?

Balāghī2:30 Was the Angels’ Question an Objection?

Jewish belief4:157 Killed, Crucified, or Raised?

Judah Halevi2:30 Adam in the Qur’an and the Testaments

Maimonides2:30 Adam in the Qur’an and the Testaments

Majmaʿ al-Bayān4:172 The Messiah and the Angels Brought Near

Muḥammad Jawād Mughniyya4:59 Those Vested with Authority

Philo of Alexandria2:30 Adam in the Qur’an and the Testaments

Rashīd Riḍā3:49 Did Jesus Actually Work His Miracles?

the advocates of secularismReligion and Politics

the AkhbārīsIs the Qur’an an Authority in Itself?

the author of Kashf al-Asrār2:124 Can a Repentant Wrongdoer Receive God’s Covenant?

the Talmud2:30 Adam in the Qur’an and the Testaments

ʿAllāmah Shaʿrānī18:83 Who Was Dhū al-Qarnayn?