Tafsīr

Best Tafsir Books for Beginners

Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan advises beginner students to start with smaller, reliable tafsir books. Begin with Tafsir al-Baghawi, then move to Tafsir Ibn Kathir and Tafsir Ibn Jarir. For a simple and clear option, Tafsir Ibn As Sa’di is also recommended.

November 4, 2017

Questioner:

May Allah reward you. A questioner asks what a beginner Student of Knowledge [is] advised with [regarding] the exegesis of the Qur’ān?

Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān:

The smaller books. He starts with the smaller books like Tafsīr al-Baghawī. It is concise and it is reliable. [The author is] a noble Imām and his Tafsīr is great and concise. Tafsīr ibn Kathīr likewise. It comes after Tafsīr al-Baghawī and it is larger and more extensive. Tafsīr ibn Jarīr. This is the mother of the books of Tafsīr. If he advances step by step.

There is now a book [written] in Tafsīr that is simple and outstanding and comprehensive of [the] meanings of most of the Qur’ān. It is the Tafsīr of ibn as-Sa’dī. This is very good. May Allah have mercy upon him; it is beneficial. However, it is not sufficient but it is possible to start with that.