Editing Tafsir (section)

=== Origins ===
The earliest explanations or clarifications of the Quran are attributed to Muhammad, including traditions that aim to help explain names, places, times and other features not explained in the Quranic verse.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abdul-Rahman |first=Muhammad Saed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kwYWUY7aGjgC&q=Tafsir |title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 7 (Part 7): Al-Ma'idah 82 to Al-An'am 110 2nd Edition |date=2009-10-29 |publisher=MSA Publication Limited |isbn=978-1-86179-691-2 |language=en}}</ref> Scholars debate if Muhammad commented on the whole of the Quran or just portions of it.<ref name="Jo" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Saeed |first=Abdullah |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm57211181 |title=Interpreting the Qurʼān: towards a contemporary approach |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-36537-6 |location=Abingdon [England] ; New York |pages=9–11 |oclc=ocm57211181}}</ref> According to Islamic tradition, the act of interpreting the Quran, and transmitting earlier interpretations, fell upon Muhammad's companions (''[[sahabah]]'') after his death, because of their being adept with the language of the Quran, its social context of the revelation (such as the norms of the Arabs), and Muhammad's way of thinking.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=McAuliffe |first=Jane Dammen |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/quranic-christians/792C023C210760F93C87F694AD61DF54 |title=Qur'anic Christians: An Analysis of Classical and Modern Exegesis |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-36470-6 |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511598203}}</ref> At this stage, ''tafsir'' was selective and concise regarding its coverage, and only certain words, phrases and verses were explained.<ref name="Jo" />

The origins of the written commentary literature on the Quran are later. Some traditions state that the earliest written tafsir was by [[Mujahid ibn Jabr]] (d. 722), although this is unlikely and the tafsir that exist in his name were compiled and redacted in later centuries.{{Sfn|Leemhuis|1988|p=19–22}}{{Sfn|Berg|2003|p=269, 277}} The earliest commentary on the Quran that survives today was composed by [[Muqatil ibn Sulayman]] in the middle of the 8th century, back when the use of poetry, discussion of variants, and the use of the [[isnad]] was still rare in Islamic approaches to the Quran. In contrast to later commentaries, the bulk of Muqatil's commentary is made up of brief glosses on what the Quran says instead of offering detailed narratives. Some evidence suggests that Muqatil's commentary was the first one to explore the entire Quran.{{Sfn|Sinai|2014}}