Is it acceptable to use weak hadiths in tafsirs (Quran exegesis)? What does this mean exactly? Does it mean that they are authentic according to tafsir?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

In brief, scholars of hadeeth assign greater attention and care to investigating the authenticity of the reports attributed to the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, their chains of narration, and (the trustworthiness of) the narrators compared to the attention that they assign to other reports attributed to the Companions and Taabiʻoon or others.

The same applies to the marfoo’ ahaadeeth (directly attributed to the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam). Hadeeth scholars and critics are rather strict when it comes to verifying their authenticity, the soundness of their chains of narration, and the trustworthiness of their narrators corresponding to the subject of the hadeeth. For instance, hadeeth scholars are stricter in investigating the marfoo’ ahaadeeth addressing the lawful and unlawful matters and those from which religious rulings are derived. On the other hand, hadeeth critics are less strict in investigating the chains of narration and narrators of ahaadeeth pertaining to the areas of Tafseer, biographies, and heart-softening topics. They are less strict in investigating their chains of narration and narrators and may relate weak ahaadeeth in these areas and act upon them as long as they are not false or fabricated. For more benefit, please refer to fataawa 86128, 13202and 166199.

The fact that weak ahaadeeth may be acceptable in Tafseer does not mean declaring them to be authentically attributed to the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, or that it is obligatory to act upon them in all cases and scenarios. Rather, it means that the weak chain of narration does not necessarily entail rejecting these reports and negating their indications at all cases. They may still be rejected for other reasons such as being contrary to another report of more authentic chains or narrations or the like.

In general, the marfoo’ ahaadeeth in Tafseer are few compared to other areas of Islamic studies.

The weak reports cited in Tafseer books are mainly related to those narrated on the authority of the Companions and Taabiʻoon. To criticize the chains of narration of such reports using the same approach used in criticizing the chains of narration of the marfoo' ahaadeeth on the lawful and unlawful matters is wrong, and this was not done by the leading late hadeeth scholars or the scholars of Tafseer. It is sufficient to reflect on the approach adopted by the leading Imaam of Tafseer, At-Tabari in this regard and how he did not reject any report narrated on the authority of a Companion or Taabiʻi simply because its chain of narration is weak.

One point needs to be addressed with regards to the less strict approach in the criticism of the reports and traditions and accepting weak reports in this field of Islamic knowledge underlined by Al-Bayhaqi . He said, “Scholars of Tafseer were less strict in criticism of the reports in the area of Tafseer because their interpretation of the Quran relies on the explanation of the words in the Quranic texts based on the acceptable reported usage of the language; so they opted for the approach of gathering the relevant reports and reconciling between them in this regard...” [Dalaa'il An-Nubuwwah]

This means that the interpretation of the Quran is the explanation of the meanings of the Quranic words, and the decisive factor in this regard is the correct usage of the language based on the Arabic literature or the language of Arab people because the Quran has been revealed in Arabic and identifying the correct interpretation of the Quranic verses does not depend on the soundness and authenticity of the chain of narration (of the relevant reports).

Dr. Musaaʻid At-Tayyaar commented on Al-Bayhaqi's statement saying:

“Tafseer has its own standards and criteria that are different from those of the discipline of criticism and evaluation of narrators (Jarh and Taʻdeel). Tafseer is related to the explanation of the meaning of the Quranic words and this has nothing to do with the authenticity and soundness of the chains of narration of the reports. Therefore, the optimal way of verifying the correctness of the interpretation of the Quranic verses is by examining the meanings against different contexts and correct language usage, and the common usage of language and techniques in the Quran and Sunnah...”

For further information, please refer to the article “Kayfiyyat At-Taʻaamul maʻa Asaaneed At-Tafseer” written by Dr. Musaaʻid At-Tayyaar, and “Asaaneed At-Tafseer” by ʻAbd Al-ʻAzeez At-Tereefi; both of them are available online (in Arabic).

Allaah knows best.