The Hadith of Fadha'il Al-Suwar as A Motivation for Tadabbur Al-Qur'an: A Comparative Study between Ibn Katsir and Al-Tsa'alibiy in the Interpretation of Surah Al-Baqarah

Abstract

The virtues of surahs or verses in the Qur'an is a part of the Qur'anic discourse. They are also mentioned in hadith literatures as components of the major subject of narration from the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions. In the science of Quranic interpretation, citing narrations about the virtues of verses and surahs is part of the method employed by several commentators where they became the primary component of the introduction to the interpretation of a surah. The quality of hadiths, in particular raises a number of concerns among researchers in this context. In addition, the connection between the virtues indicated in a hadith or narrative and the content and purposes of the surah are worth a study. The primary purpose of this study is to examine, evaluate, and formulate the hadith selection methods of two leading commentators from the tradition-based interpretation, namely Ibn Katsir and al-Tsa'alibiy as well as their approach in combining the meaning of hadith or narration with regard to content and the objective of the surah in the context of attracting the attention of the audience. This study employs the technique of document analysis to two texts, namely Tafsir Ibn Kathir and Tafsir al-Tha'alabiy, in their interpretations of surah al-Baqarah. The study concluded that these two commentators cite authentic and valid hadiths regarding fadail. However, no significant effort is made to connect the benefits of the surah mentioned in the hadith to the surah's objectives.