Abstract

This study focuses on the narration, "Whoever makes a tafsīr the Qur'an according to his own opinion, let him prepare his place in Hell," which Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944) considered as a basis while defining the terms tafsīr and tawīl in the introduction of his work titled "Ta'wilatu'l-Qur'an." Various scholarly studies have examined al-Māturīdī's distinction between the terms tafsīr and tawīl from both theoretical and practical perspectives. However, it has not been examined in terms of the narration, authenticity status, and its impact on subsequent works when explaining the difference between these words, while making a choice among the various wordings and containing the verb "فَسَّر". In this study, initially, an investigation of how the terms tafsīr and tawīl were used in dictionaries, ḥadīth literature, and exegesis works before al-Māturīdī’s time a diachronic reading was conducted to comprehend the intellectual background that led al-Māturīdī to distinguish between them. Explanations and narrations related to these words found in dictionaries and exegesis works after al-Māturīdī were excluded from the scope of the study. Subsequently, other narration variants distinct from the one al-Māturīdī utilized in his argumentation, which prohibited making interpretations about the Qur'an through personal opinion and which differed from al-Māturīdī’s preferred variant, were examined. The study also presents the approach of early Islamic scholars to this issue. Finally, al-Māturīdī's interpretation, defined as "the only and definitive explanation made with Allah as a witness regarding the verses," and his preference for the variant of the narration, "Whoever makes a tafsīr the Qur'an according to his own opinion, let him prepare his place in Hell," are analyzed in terms of their authenticity, their impact on Islamic sciences, and the possible reasons behind al-Māturīdī's choice of this particular variant.