06

Language, readings, and the news of the Book

اللغة والقراءات والإسرائيليات

He argues from grammar and from the qiraat — the accepted readings — when a vowel changes a ruling. He also carries israiliyyat: news taken from the People of the Book, often through Ibn Ishaq and Wahb ibn Munabbih, to fill hours the Quran left silent. The Prophet ﷺ allowed us to narrate those, not to believe or deny them, unless the Quran or a sound hadith has already spoken. Tabari transmits. He does not always fence them. Ibn Kathir fences more. Nur’s rule is the same as on the Tarikh shelf: the ayah first, the sahih second, Tabari’s extra cloth last and named as cloth.

Qiraat are part of how the ummah read. Israiliyyat are not. If a story of Adam’s height or a palace of Sulayman has no ayah and no sahih hadith, leave it as ‘it is said.’

His history and his tafsir are one method poured into two vessels: years, and ayahs.