Shaykh al-Islām was asked:

About a soldier who has copied out by hand the Sahīh collections of Muslim and al-Bukhārī and the Quran, intending to write down hadith and the glorious Quran. If he hears of paper or pens, he buys a thousand dirhams’ worth and says, “Allah willing, I shall fill all this paper with the Messenger’s hadiths and the Quran.” He entertains far-reaching hopes. Is he sinful or not? And which Quranic commentary is closest to the Book and the Sunnah: al-Zamakhsharī’s, al-Qurtubī’s, al-Baghawī’s, or someone else’s?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah. He incurs no sin through his intention and his work of writing down the religious sciences. Indeed, writing down the Quran, authentic hadiths, and the available, established Quranic commentaries is among the greatest acts of worship and means of drawing near to Allah.

As for the Quranic commentaries in circulation, the soundest is the commentary of Muhammad ibn Jarīr al-Tabarī. He records the statements of the early generations with reliable chains of transmission. His commentary contains no religious innovation, nor does he transmit from suspect narrators such as Muqātil ibn Bukayr and al-Kalbī. There are many commentaries not transmitted with chains of narration, such as the commentaries of ʿAbd al-Razzāq, ʿAbd ibn Humayd, Wakīʿ, Ibn Abī Shaybah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh.