As-Salamu 'Alaykum, I have several questions regarding tafseer. Is Tafseer At-Tabari the best tafseer (and do you know if it available in English)? Secondly, I wish to become a mufassir (or study tafseer deeply at the very least). Can you tell me how to go about it? Any entry level primer books on tafseer you can recommend for me? Who are our foremost present day scholars of tafseer? What are the foundations of a good tafseer? JazaakAllahu Khayran!

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.

You have done well to engage in learning the Tafseer of the Quran. We ask Allah The Exalted to help you realize this goal, and we advise you to obtain this science (Tafseer) by sitting with a trustworthy Shaykh (scholar) and not only depending on reading books.

Regarding Tafseer At-Tabari we do not know if it has been translated into English or not; but there is no doubt that it is one of the best books on Tafseer. There are two books that we rely upon for translating the meanings of the Quran (into English). They are: The Saheeh International translation from Al-Muntada Al-Islami in London and the Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Quran in the English Language by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khaan and Dr. Muhammad Taqiyy Ad-Deen Al-Hilaali published in Saudi Arabia. We recommend this second one to you.

Other books that are decent introductions to Tafseer include: Muqaddimah fee Usool At-Tafseer (An Introduction to the Principles of Tafseer) by Shaykh Al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyyah), a beneficial summary that is useful to understanding this topic. There is also the introduction of the Tafseer of Ibn Katheer, which contains many benefits and useful notes, and the introduction of the Tafseer of Al-Qaasimi, called Mahaasin At-Ta’weel.

As for good contemporary works, there is At-Tahreer Wat-Tanweer by At-Taahir ibn ‘Aashoor and Tayseer Al-‘Aliyy Al-Qadeer by Abu Bakr Jaabir Al-Jazaa’iri but we do not know if these two were translated to English or not.

Other contemporary scholars of Tafseer include the knowledgeable scholar ‘Abd Ar-Rahmaan Naasir As-Sa‘di who wrote Tayseer Al-Kareem Ar-Rahmaan Fee Tafseer Kalaam Al-Mannaan, and the 'Allaamah Muhammad Al-Ameen Ash-Shinqeeti who wrote Adhwaa’ Al-Bayaan Fee Eedhaah Al-Quran Bil-Quran.

Finally, the optimal way to perform Tafseer of the Quran is by using the Quran itself, the Prophetic Ahaadeeth, the sayings of the Salaf (righteous predecessors), and by referring to the Arabic language.

Allah Knows best.