Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs
(He it is Who hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture) who sent you Gabriel with the Scripture (wherein are clear revelations) expositing the lawful and unlawful which are not abrogated and which are acted upon. (They are the substance of the Book) they are the foundation of the Book as they are the leading theme in each book. They are all acted upon. An example of this is the saying of Allah: (Say: Come, I will recite unto you that which your Lord hath made a sacred duty for you…) [6:151]. (And others (which are) allegorical) vague in their meanings to the Jews, like the use of the letters of the alphabet according to their numerical value (hisab al-Jumal) in such instances as Alif. Lam. Mim, Alif. Lam. Mim. Sad, Alif. Lam Mim. Ra; and Alif. Lam. Ra; it is also said that (others (which are) allegorical) means: other verses that are abrogated and no longer acted upon. (But those) the Jews Ka'b Ibn al-Ashraf, Huyayy Ibn Akhtab and Judayy Ibn Akhtab (in whose hearts is doubt) scepticism, opposition and deviance from guidance (pursue, forsooth, that which is allegorical seeking) in the Qur'an ((to cause) dissension) pursuing disbelief, ascribing partners to Allah, and holding fast to the error they are in (by seeking to explain it) to determine the future of this nation so that dominion reverts back to them. (None knoweth its explanation) the future of this nation (save Allah). Here Allah interrupts His speech and then resumes it by saying: (And those who are of sound instruction) those who have a sound grasp of the knowledge of the Torah: 'Abdullah Ibn Salam and his fellow companions (say: We believe therein) in the Qur'an; (the whole is from our Lord) Allah has revealed both those verses which are clear and those which are ambiguous; (but only men of understanding) who have sound minds such as 'Abdullah Ibn Salam and his fellow companions (really heed) take admonition from the simile of the Qur'an.
Tafsir Ibn 'Abbas, trans. Mokrane Guezzou
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