ABSTRACT
The present chapter provides an informative analysis of the origins of Qur’anic exegesis as a procedure. The main focus of our discussion is to offer an in-depth account of the various historical stages of Qur’anic exegesis that has started from the early first/seventh century to our present time, the exegetical tools employed by given exegetes of a paricular school of exegesis during an evolutionary phase, as well as the characteristic features and sources of each phase. Our account focuses on the degree of authority in tafsir, whether Muhammad has authorized the exegesis of the Qur’an, how much exegesis Muhammad has actually provided to his companions, whether his compnaions’ exegetical views can be taken for granted and whether there has been reluctance to the exegesis of the mutashabihat (the stylistically and linguistically similar or dissimilar) ayahs.
