The Meaning of the Qur'an (Arabic: Tafhim al-Qur'anhttp://www.tafheemulquran.org/Tafhim_u/000/surah_all.htm) is a book in six volumes written by the Islamic scholar Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi (1903–1979). Among the newer ones, this is an exegeses

Exegesis

Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...

 of the Qur'an

Qur'an

The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

 (Arabic: tafsir

Tafsir

Tafseer is the Arabic word for exegesis or commentary, usually of the Qur'an. Ta'wīl is a subset of tafsir and refers to esoteric or mystical interpretation. An author of tafsir is a mufassir .- Etymology :...

), based on the Sunni hadith

Hadith

The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....

 literature.

Among things, it includes a chapter introductions for each and every Surah

Sura

A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...

, explaining the name, period of revelation and a large section on its historical background.

Criticism

Shi'a do not regard his tafseer as authentic and show that a clear minded person can see a bias in his book towards the Holy Prophets (saw) household that even other Sunni scholars do not show in their tafseers.

External links

• Tafhim al-Qur'an in English
• Tafhim al-Qur'an in Urdu
• Tafhim al-Qur'an in Urdu
• Syed Abu-Ala' Maududi's Chapter Introductions to the Qur'an
• The Meaning of the Qur'an. A. A. Kamal (Editor) (ISBN 1-56744-134-3)
• http://www.halalco.com/quran_m_special.html