the Torah in Hebrew and explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Do not affirm the People of the Book, nor declare them false; rather, say: ‘We believe in Allah and in what has been sent down …’”—the verse.
It is better for the exegete to refrain from these Israelite traditions—that is, the latter two categories—and to turn away from that which serves no purpose and constitutes a diversion and distraction from the foundational sources relied upon in our sacred law. This is sounder and safer.
- It may be noted that he, may Allah have mercy on him, frequently transmits from al-Kalbi. He was Abu al-Nadr Muhammad ibn al-Sa'ib ibn Bishr ibn Amr ibn Abd al-Harith al-Kalbi, of Kufa. He died in Kufa in the year 146 AH. Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman narrated from his father: “There were two liars in Kufa, one of whom was al-Kalbi.” (1)
The truth is that al-Baghawi, being one of the scholars of hadith and careful in verifying reports, did not make what he transmitted from al-Kalbi a basis for asserting the meaning of a verse with certainty. Yet his occasional breadth in reporting, so that people might know what had been said concerning the purport of a verse, led him to cite al-Kalbi’s statements—despite the fact that al-Kalbi may sometimes offer sound remarks in exegesis that accord with transmitted reports. Al-Kalbi’s narrations, and the scholars’ position concerning them, are well known.