Tafseer by the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings upon him, has multiple purposes.

  1. Explains: It explains vague commands such as Hajj, and clarifies details. It also explains unclear concepts, such as the “white thread of dawn [seperated from] the black thread of night”.
  2. Connotations: Example forthcoming inshaAllah.
  3. Clarifies: With commands like “amputate the hand of the theif”, it clarifies (they must steal something worth 25 dinar or more, the item must be properly guarded, it cannot be food, etc.)
  4. Intent of Verses: Tafseer by the Sunnah reveals the intent behind verses, such as the last two verses of Surah Fatiha: “not of those who earned your anger, nor of those who went astray” — the Jews earned the anger of Allah, and the Christians went astray. May Allah guide them.
  5. Abbrogation Explaination: Tafseer by the Sunnah sorts out the order of abbrogation. For example, alcohol was mentioned multiple times in the Qur’an–as something with good and evil in it (and more evil then good), as something outlawed, and so on.

Wallahu ‘alim.