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Fatwa CenterRecommended books on reasons of revelation
Question
Salaam, Can you kindly recommend some books for me on the topic of asbaabun-nuzool and its fundamentals? Secondly, do you need to have a good foundation of hadeeth before studying Tafseer? Jazaakallaahu Khayrana
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
There are many books which were written about the Asbaab-un-Nuzool (reasons of revelation); the most important of which are the following books:
- Al-'Ujaab fi Bayaan Al-Asbaab, by Shihaab Ad-Deen Ahmad ibn ‘Ali;
- Lubaab An-Nuqool fi Asbaab An-Nuzool, by As-Suyooti;
- Tanzeel Al-Quran, by Ibn Shihaab Az-Zuhri;
- Manaahil Al-‘Irfaan fi ‘Uloom Al-Quran, by Az-Zarqaani;
Also, the books of ‘Uloom Al-Quran (sciences of the Quran) in general and the books of Tafseer (interpretation of the Quran) often mention the reasons of revelation.
On the other hand, it is not a condition for a person who wants to study Tafseer to be well-versed in Hadeeth, but it is advisable for him to seek this knowledge at the hands of a trustworthy Shaykh who is well-versed in Tafseer.
In the old times they said: “That whose Shaykh is his book, is more likely to make mistakes than to be right.”
It might be that you are confused about studying Tafseer and what a person who wants to try to interpret the Quran should do. Studying the Tafseer of the Quran has its rules and conditions which the scholars mentioned in the principles of Tafseer. For instance, Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah 
mentioned them in his introduction to Usool At-Tafseer, and Ibn Katheer mentioned them in the introduction of his Tafseer.
Allah Knows best.
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