Principles and rules of exegesis (usul and qawa'id al-tafsir)

The principles and rules of exegesis are general rules that help the exegete understand the words and meanings of the Qur'an. A later example is the appendix with which al-Sa'di closed his Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman, titled 'Principles and generalities of exegesis that no exegete of the Qur'an can do without'; the Obeikan edition prints it at the end of the book. ^{1 2}

• An indefinite noun after a negation, prohibition, question or condition is general, as is a singular noun in a genitive construction; wherever you find this, include everything the word covers and do not look to the occasion of revelation alone, for the general wording governs, not the particular occasion. ²
• Events past and new should be placed under the Qur'an's general statements; this shows that the Qur'an explains everything. ²
• The definite article on descriptions and generic nouns signals that everything they cover is included. ²
• A meaning's necessary implications, conditions and corollaries follow it; verses that seem to conflict are each read in the situation that suits them. ^{2 3}
• Omitting objects and the like signals that the meaning is general, but nothing may be supplied that neither context nor circumstance indicates; rulings tied to conditions show those conditions are required. ³
• A command from God forbids its opposite, a prohibition commands its opposite, and denying a deficiency of Him affirms the perfection opposite to it. ³

Al-Sa'di also gathers generalities about what the Qur'an calls to: God's oneness, by mentioning His names, attributes and acts; the Messenger's truthfulness, by showing the soundness of what he brought; and the return, by mentioning God's perfect power and the earth's revival after its death. ² He then gives concise definitions of many Qur'anic terms: faith, righteous deeds and piety; guidance and error; excellence (ihsan) and setting right; certainty and patience in its three kinds; gratitude, fear, hope, turning to God and sincerity; arrogance, justice, truthfulness and trust. ^{3 4} He holds that the whole Qur'an is 'clear' in that it accords with wisdom and the whole is 'alike' in its uniform eloquence and mutual confirmation, while part of it is clear and part ambiguous in that the ambiguous is what admits a general or uncertain meaning and is referred to the clear; and that God's 'being with' is of two kinds: general, by knowledge and encompassing, and particular, by help and support. ⁵ He notes that 'umma' in the Qur'an has four senses — a group of people (the most common), a period, a religion or creed, and a leader in good — an instance of polysemy and parallels. ^{5 6}