A Concise Interpretation of the Noble Book

Author's name: Abu al-Hasan al-Wahidi

Al-Wahidi's commentary, known as "Al-Wajiz fi Tafsir al-Kitab al-'Aziz" (The Concise Commentary on the Noble Book), is one of the oldest and easiest concise commentaries on the Quran. He wrote it at the request of his students, who desired a simple and accessible book that would focus on a single interpretation of verses with differing meanings. He quickly fulfilled their request by authoring this book, which generally presents only one interpretation. The book is considered among the best concise commentaries on the Quran, and scholars who came after him made it a primary source for their own works on exegesis. Knowledge and understanding of this book provides sufficient foundation for anyone seeking to master the science of Quranic exegesis. Al-Wahidi al-Nisaburi relied on interpreting the Quran with the Quran whenever possible, and with Prophetic hadiths when a hadith clarified the meaning of a verse. He also included the interpretations of the Companions and their Successors, discussed the reasons for revelation, explained Quranic vocabulary using the opinions of linguists and scholars of semantics, occasionally addressed some legal issues, and briefly touched upon grammatical matters. At the beginning of each chapter (surah), he included hadiths praising its virtues.