How does Tafsir al-Jalalayn explain the verses on the divine attributes?

كيف يفسر «تفسير الجلالين» آيات الصفات؟

The two Jalals explain some attributes by what they entail — mercy as willing good for those who deserve it, the 'hand' in the verse of the pledge as God's knowledge of their pledge and His requital of it — and say of the rising over the Throne 'a rising befitting Him'. The reviser of the Maktabat al-Iman edition holds that the book contains departures in the verses on the names and attributes that agree with the Ash'aris or others, and that the truth for Ahl al-Sunna wa'l-Jama'a is affirmation without likening, figurative reinterpretation or negation.

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Egypt & Nile

Contested: This record includes matters on which scholars differ. The speaker's views are labelled as his, and other views are marked where no cited source yet exists.

Scripture and its sciencesSects and schools

Summary

Tafsir al-Jalalayn explains some of God's attributes by what they entail, with a phrase of deferral for the rising over the Throne; the reviser of the Maktabat al-Iman edition, Muhammad Muhammad Tamir, flags this. 1 2 3 This entry sets out the text and the reviser's caution without a verdict.

What the text says

In al-Fatiha, which belongs to al-Mahalli's part: the two names of mercy are glossed "possessing mercy, which is willing good for those who deserve it". 2 In the verse of the pledge in Surat al-Fath, the hand is the one "with which they pledged to the Prophet ﷺ; that is, He knows of their pledge and will requite them for it"; see al-Fath 10. 4 In Surat Yunus, from al-Suyuti's part, the rising over the Throne is "a rising befitting Him"; see Yunus 3. 3 Al-Suyuti says his completion draws on al-Mahalli's part and that "in the ambiguous verses it relies and depends" on it. 5

The reviser's caution

Muhammad Muhammad Tamir writes that this commentary contains some departures in the verses on the names and attributes, agreeing in part with the Ash'aris, the Jahmiyya, the Mu'tazila or others, and that the truth, which Ahl al-Sunna wa'l-Jama'a hold, is to affirm what God affirmed of Himself and what His Messenger affirmed of Him, as befits Him, without likening, figurative reinterpretation or negation, while believing He does not resemble creation. 1

Disagreement and views

Compared with al-Tafsir al-Muyassar

On the same verses al-Tafsir al-Muyassar, whose rules require explaining the verses by the creed of the early generations, says in the verse of Yunus that the rising is "that is, He rose high and ascended", then "a rising befitting His majesty and greatness", and in the verse of the pledge keeps the mention of the hand as it stands, adding that He is with them, hearing their words and seeing where they are. 6 7 8 The two Jalals say in the verse of Yunus "a rising befitting Him" without mentioning height, and read the hand in the verse of the pledge as knowledge and requital. 3 4

Opinions on the question

The question: Reinterpreting or affirming the attributes in Tafsir al-Jalalayn

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni: Muhammad Muhammad Tamir, reviser of the Maktabat al-Iman editionMain reference

the book departs in the attribute verses; the truth is affirmation without likening, reinterpretation or negation 1.
More opinions (2)

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni (Ash'ari): the Jalalayn textMain reference

mercy read as willing good, the hand as knowledge and requital, and the rising as "a rising befitting Him" 2 4 3.

Not yet given here viewOther opinion

academic studies of the creed of the Jalalayn and the views of its commentators and glossators have not yet been added; later books will supply them.

Connections

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Subject of
Tafsir al-Jalalayn
Mentions
Tafsir al-Jalalayn

People and things also explored

Tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis)· Ahmad ibn Hanbal· al-Shawkani· al-Shaykh al-Tusi· Tafsir al-Jalalayn· Al-Kadhimiya Mosque (Kazimayn shrine)· Imam Husayn Shrine, Karbala· The probity of the Companions ('adalat al-sahaba)

Sources

  1. Tafsir al-Jalalayn — al-Mahalli and al-Suyuti, revised for publication by Dr Muhammad Muhammad Tamir (Maktabat al-Iman, Mansura) , p.3
  2. Tafsir al-Jalalayn in the margin of the Mushaf in the Uthmani script, with al-Suyuti's Lubab al-Nuqul fi Asbab al-Nuzul (Dar al-Ma'rifa, Beirut) , p.23
  3. Tafsir al-Jalalayn in the margin of the Mushaf in the Uthmani script, with al-Suyuti's Lubab al-Nuqul fi Asbab al-Nuzul (Dar al-Ma'rifa, Beirut) , p.286
  4. Tafsir al-Jalalayn in the margin of the Mushaf in the Uthmani script, with al-Suyuti's Lubab al-Nuqul fi Asbab al-Nuzul (Dar al-Ma'rifa, Beirut) , p.700
  5. Tafsir al-Jalalayn — lithographed copy completed in mid-Sha'ban 1278 AH / 1862 (University of Toronto Library copy) , p.369
  6. al-Tafsir al-Muyassar — prepared by a group of scholars (King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an, Medina, 2nd ed., revised and enlarged, 2009) , p.10
  7. al-Tafsir al-Muyassar — prepared by a group of scholars (King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an, Medina, 2nd ed., revised and enlarged, 2009) , p.224
  8. al-Tafsir al-Muyassar — prepared by a group of scholars (King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an, Medina, 2nd ed., revised and enlarged, 2009) , p.528
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islam.museum contributors. “How does Tafsir al-Jalalayn explain the verses on the divine attributes?”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/questions/how-does-tafsir-al-jalalayn-treat-the-divine-attributes/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-04.

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Tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis)

Tafsir in Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy's course is a reading of Juz' 'Amma that begins with Surat An-Naba' and then An-Nazi'at. It joins verses to one another, returns to the sense of words, and reads the scenes of Judgement together rather than from a single surah.