After the Qur’ân and Sunnah, the next important source for understanding the Qur’ân is the understanding of the Companions. The statements of the Companions are taken as a fundamental source of tafsîr for the following reasons:

1) The primary reason is that the Companions are a generation that was chosen by Allâh to accompany the Prophet (saws), and to pass on the religion and teachings of Islâm to later generations. Their character and religious knowledge has been testified by Allâh and the Prophet (saws), for Allâh says in the Qur’ân,

Muhammad (saws) is the Messenger of Allâh. And those who are with him (i.e., the Companions) are severe against the disbelievers and merciful amongst themselves. You see them bowing and falling down in prostration, seeking the Bounty of Allâh and His Pleasure… [48:29]

In more than one verse of the Qur’ân, Allâh mentions the fact that

He is well pleased with them, and they with Him [99:8]

Thus clearly showing the superiority of the Companions over other generations. The Prophet (saws) said,

“The best of all mankind are my Companions, then those that will follow them, then those that will follow them.”[1]

2) The Companions actually witnessed the revelation of the Qur’ân. Many of its verses were revealed to cater to problems that had risen amongst them. As such, they were familiar with the asbâb an-nuzûl,with the makî and madanî verses, and with the nâsikh and mansûkh,and did not need to go searching for this knowledge, as later generations would have to do.

3) The Qur’ân was revealed in the Arabic that the Companions spoke. Therefore, many words and phrases that later generations had difficulty understanding were clear to the Companions.

4) The Companions were the most knowledgeable of generations with regards to pre-Islâmic customs. Therefore, they understood the references in the Qur’ân to such customs.

There is a difference of opinion whether the interpretation of a Companion is of definitive authority. In other words, once a Companion has given an interpretation of a verse, must that interpretation be accepted, as is the case with the previous two sources of tafsîr?

Al-Hâkim an-Naisapûrî (d. 404 A.H.), the author of al-Mustadrak, considered any interpretation by a Companion to be equivalent to a hadîth of the Prophet (saws), for he believed that all such interpretations must have originated from the Prophet (saws). However, this opinion is not accepted in its generality, and the majority of scholars, such as an-Nawawî (d. 676 A.H.), As-Suyûtî (d. 911 A.H.), and Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 A.H.), held the view that the interpretation of a Companion is equivalent to a hadîth of the Prophet (saws) only when it concerns matters which are not based on personal reasoning ( ijtihâd), such as reports concerning sabab an-nuzûl, or the knowledge of the unseen.
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