regarded speaking about Quranic interpretation as a grave matter. Among them were Sālim ibn ‘Abd Allāh, al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad, Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab, and Nāfi‘.”

Abū ‘Ubayd said: ‘Abd Allāh ibn Sālih narrated to us, from al-Layth, from Hishām ibn ‘Urwah, who said: “I never heard my father interpret a single verse from the Book of Allah.”

Ayyūb, Ibn ‘Awn, and Hishām al-Dastawā’ī reported from Muhammad ibn Sīrīn, who said: I asked ‘Ubaydah al-Salmānī about a verse of the Quran. He replied: “Those who knew what the Quran was revealed concerning have passed away. So fear Allah and adhere to what is right.”

Abū ‘Ubayd said: Mu‘ādh narrated to us, from Ibn ‘Awn, from ‘Ubayd Allāh ibn Muslim ibn Yasār, from his father, who said: “When you report something from Allah, pause until you have considered what precedes it and what follows it.”

Hushaym narrated to us, from Mughīrah, from Ibrāhīm, who said: “Our companions were wary of Quranic interpretation and stood in awe of it.”

Shu‘bah reported from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī al-Safar, who said: Al-Sha‘bī said: “By Allah, there is not a single verse about which I have not asked. Yet interpreting it means reporting on Allah’s authority.”

Abū ‘Ubayd said: Hushaym narrated to us, saying: ‘Umar ibn Abī Zā’idah informed us, from al-Sha‘bī, from Masrūq, who said: “Beware of Quranic interpretation, for it is nothing less than reporting on Allah’s authority.”

These authentic reports, and similar reports from the leading scholars of the early generations, are to be understood as reflecting their scrupulous avoidance of speaking about Quranic interpretation without knowledge. As for someone who speaks about what he knows on linguistic and religious grounds, there is no blame on him. Thus, statements interpreting the Quran have been transmitted from these scholars and others, and there is no contradiction: they spoke about what they knew and remained silent about what they did not know. This is everyone’s duty, for just as one must remain silent about what